Understeer and oversteer are terms used in automotive vehicle dynamics to describe one axle or the other having a greater slip angle under lateral accelerations. I'm having trouble imagining how these terms might might apply to a bicycle in real everyday use. Do you have either a specific definition of these terms in mind for bicycles or a way of quantifying or identifying them empirically? For me on a bicycle, rear wheel slide is no big deal but front wheel slide gets exciting real fast.
Kurt Sperry Bellingham, Washington USA
2009/3/22 <mrrabbit@mrrabbit.net>:
> Yeah, I was wondering the same thing...
>
> Sounded like another one of those "waxing eloquent" statements that I jum
p on
> people for when it would just be easier to make an effort to provide deta
ils
> that are a little more objective - identifiable - observable or comparabl
e.
>
> For example...
>
> My Mexican made Benotto 2000 had a laid back Italian geometry with Ishiwa
ta 019
> and a steep head angle - yet it rode just like my Japanese made Lotus wit
h a
> laid back head angle. The Lotus had a very long wheelbase but could hi
t the
> hills and sprints just like the Benotto 2000.
>
> My Italian made Tommasini has a very laid back geometry - but with a tigh
t
> fitting rear wheel and shorter wheelbase - yet it has the same understeer
my
> Lotus and Benotto had.
>
> My Raliegh Competition from the 80's rode just like my French made Peugeo
t 501
> bike from the 80's - but the Peugeot flexed like a noodle. But the Peu
geot
> didn't feel anywhere near as soft and comfortable as an Italian made Beno
tto
> 5000SL which also flexed like a noodle.
>
> And my Spanish made Zeus Victoria? Upright seat tube that tosses and b
end you
> over the front - and an agressive head angle makes for a bike that has no
> understeering - "takes corners like it's on rails" like one person said a
while
> back...
>
> Do I "wax eloquently" and...
>
> 1. Attribute a "Mexican, Italian, or a Japanese feel" to the Benotto a
nd
> Lotus?
>
> 2. Dare I attribute a "Japanese feel" to my Tommasini?
>
> 3. Should I attribute a "Culinary feel" to my Peugeot and the Benotto
5000SL?
>
> 4. Should I attribute a "Spanish feel" to my Zeus?
>
>
> Personally, I prefer to talk in terms of:
>
> 1. Angles
> 2. Road shock absorption
> 3. Whether you are upright or stretched out.
> 4. Whether there is oversteer or understeer.
> 5. Whether there is stiffness for hill and sprint attacks - or flex for l
ong
> flats and comfort.
>
>
> The closest I come to making a "feel" statement regarding my bike is simp
ly the
> following:
>
>
> All except the Zeus were road bikes. However I "felt" the Benotto 2000
and
> Lotus were more responsive on the hills and in sprints. My Zeus "feel"
like a
> criterium bike.
>
>
> At least I can describe the angles and other characteristics that I can "
claim"
> support the generalized statement. Other would still reserve judgement
for
> themselves for the obvious reason...
>
>
> =8-)
>
> Robert Shackelford
> San Jose, CA USA
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Quoting Nor Meyer <norbikes@gmail.com>:
>
>> * It definitely feels more Italian than French,
>> *
>>
>>
>> > I'm curious. What exactly duz the above evaluation mea
n? Do
>> differant nationalities produce bikes with differant "feel"? A little mo
re
>> explication, please.
>> Thanx!
>>
>> Nor Meyer, in Mt. Vernon, IA
>>
>>
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>>
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