Re: [CR] Was: gios frames, Now: How bikes ride

(Example: Racing:Roger de Vlaeminck)

References: <621270.54443.qm@web54405.mail.re2.yahoo.com> <8CC70B0A49436E5-75FC-64BC@webmail-d089.sysops.aol.com> <2BC0C46B8C4F46DF9F7EEC9EB5917124@ARSPC>
To: <Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Date: Sun, 31 Jan 2010 12:53:06 -0500
In-Reply-To: <2BC0C46B8C4F46DF9F7EEC9EB5917124@ARSPC>
From: <oroboyz@aol.com>
Subject: Re: [CR] Was: gios frames, Now: How bikes ride


Andy wrote:

<< Attempts to place a value or description on bike handling can be like trying to compare art work. We do it all the time but it doesn't really mean much. >>

Well said!

It always amuses me when one of us makes a statement like "X brand rides like crap" or "Nothing rides like a Y brand!".

Or worse, when someone places a judgment; "What an idiot! Can you believe he thinks that Z brand is a great riding bike?"

Rider's expectations vary widely and are totally personal.

One person's "responsive" is another fellow's "twitchy". "Stable" is someone else's "sluggish", etc.

And then there is fit... Short torsos won't like long top tubes, light folks won't like stiff frames (or maybe they will!) Everybody brings their own set of expectations and preferences...

Dale

Dale Brown Greensboro, North Carolina USA

-----Original Message----- From: Andrew R Stewart <onetenth@earthlink.net> To: Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org; loudeeter@aol.com Sent: Sun, Jan 31, 2010 12:28 pm Subject: Re: [CR] Was: gios frames, Now: How bikes ride

To add to Lou's post.

Frame size, wheels and rider build also have major effects on bike handling. Our bias further confounds any description we can write and how another reads into it. Like speedman's wobble being present and problematic for one rider yet another on the same bike might not experience any.

Attempts to place a value or description on bike handling can be like trying to compare art work. We do it all the time but it doesn't really mean much.

----- Original Message ----- From: <loudeeter@aol.com> To: <Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Sent: Sunday, January 31, 2010 12:19 PM Subject: [CR] Was: gios frames, Now: How bikes ride
>I personally have a difficult time commenting about the ride of a >particular brand unless I know for sure whether the bike was built custom >or "off-the-rack". If it was custom, but the reader doesn't know that, >then commenting about the ride gives the impression that most bikes of that >brand are built with that particular geometry, tubeset, etc. If it was >from that builder's standard issue bike geometry, then the comment may have >more credibility and merit. Unless you know for sure the history of the >bike, it makes for interesting reading, but really doesn't tell us the >whole story. Not calling anyone out here, but just a comment in general >about classifying bikes by their ride. Lou Deeter, Orlando FL USA
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Andrew R Stewart
Rochester, NY