Re: [CR]Re: thread on change in styles

<classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Sent: Friday, February 01, 2008 12:44 PM Subject: Re: [CR]Re: thread on change in styles

> One of the most surprising moments for me was during a descent of a
> mountain
> pass on my early 70's touring bike. Prior to that ride, I had ridden new,
> cutting edge racing bikes for many years. During a particularly steep and
> straight, and hence high speed, section, I took a hand off the bar (can't
> remember why, whether to drink of simply shake out an arm) and hit an
> unseen
> dip in the road. I was amazed on how little this effected me or the bike.
> On one of my new, racing bikes, I would have had to quickly grab the bar
> with my free hand to regain control of the bike, but the old, slack
> angled,
> long stayed, low bb'd, touring bike was totally unfazed. That made a big
> impression on me, and now my only "new" bike is a custom, lugged steel
> frame
> with very similar geometry to my old touring bike. Anywho, I can
> definitely
> relate to the one handed instability issue with current road race
> geometry. I personally would not be surprised if this instability is due
> as much to the higher bottom brackets, as to steeper angles.
>
> John Wood
> Red Lodge, MT
>
> On Feb 1, 2008 11:31 AM, Kenneth Freeman <ken4bikes@att.net> wrote:
>
>> I have a friend in one of the LBS, who races CX and road events locally,
>> in her mid-20s (half my age!). While talking about getting some OT
>> handlebars and how I'm not going to friction shift this bike, she said
>> she
>> can't imagine riding without both hands on the bars, and that there is
>> instability if she takes one off for much other than drinking water.
>> This
>> seems new! My more classic frames, 1980 Masi and 1982 or so Mondonico,
>> can
>> easily be controlled and ridden with one hand, and I have nowhere near
>> her
>> skill and fitness level.
>>
>> She feels she needs this constant positive control in the peleton, but
>> won't have it if she releases a hand.
>>
>> This change in riding style may be driven by different geometry, in turn
>> driven by not needing to let go of the 'bars. I assume she rides a (ot)
>> Specialized Tarmac or something, maybe an Orbea.
>>
>> Ken Freeman
>> Ann Arbor, MI USA
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----
>> From: Emily O'Brien <emilyonwheels@emilysdomain.org>
>> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org; classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
>> Sent: Wednesday, January 30, 2008 11:36:02 PM
>> Subject: [CR]Re: Classicrendezvous Digest, Vol 61, Issue 103
>>
>>
>> > I'd factor in huge improvements in road surfaces. I've had guys INSIST
>> my
>> > PX-10 is a "touring" geometry and not racing! That shows you how
>> angles, top
>> > tube lengths and fork rakes have changed as road surfaces have
>> improved. How
>> > many modern cyclists even know why racing cyclists wore goggles up to
>> about
>> > the mid 1950s?
>>
>> Another difference is how pro races work, and how the format has changed.
>> Stages of the Tour de France have gotten shorter, but they've also
>> gotten
>> faster. When it started, support wasn't allowed at all; now those guys
>> don't even take a piss without help. They don't have to ride for nearly
>> as
>> long at a stretch, but they have to go a lot faster.
>>
>> > When you look at old bikes, you begin to realize that much of the
>> > technology changed because riding styles changed, and on the other
>> > hand, riding styles changed because technology changed.
>>
>> Those are the things I'm curious about; after all, it's always a two way
>> street.
>> It does make me speculate about how the geometry or ride styles from
>> different periods might suit different riders or body types in different
>> ways. Seat tube angles, for example, will vary partly with the usage,
>> partly with style over time, but partly with the biomechanics of an
>> individual rider's leg and the requirements of what they're doing.
>>
>> I'm not so much interested in any one period in particular; just whatever
>> periods people care to talk about.
>>
>> Emily O'Brien
>> Medford, MA