"Unless you deliver newspapers off the front of the bike (i.e., what Kogswell and Jan Heine seem to want to design for), I see no reason to compromise high speed handling for the sake of being able to carry a front load."
Come now. You're joking, right? So, Jan did PBP in around 55 hours and he delivered newspapers the whole way? Amazing. -AK On Dec 30, 6:39 pm, "Piaw Na(蓝俊彪)" <[email protected]> wrote: > > Rivendells are spec'd with high trail, because that's the way Grant > > likes it. I suspect that there are a number of reasons for his > > preference, but I would like to say first and foremost that he > > probably considers trail to be insignificant in comparison to other > > design considerations; in fact, I've heard him say as much. That said, > > some of what I think might be informing that is his preference for > > rear loading (the proportion of rear/front load does indeed affect the > > way the bike handles), his feeling that toe-clip overlap is not > > significant, the speeds he likes on downhills, and that he prefers > > stability and the ability of a bike to hold a line well. > > Higher skill riders prefer higher trail, because those riders tend to > go for higher speeds and tougher cornering situations, in which case > the increased stability and ability to hold the line helps keep the > bike stable over rough roads or under less than optimal conditions. > For those riders, at low speed the increased wheel flop is not an > issue, because the rider is skilled enough to to compensate (I can > control my circa 1993 Grant-designed bicycle at 2mph climbing a hill > no matter what). Toe clip overlap is similarly not an issue. > > I've attempted to descend with Grant, and he's definitely a very > highly skilled descender, but having known his tastes his bikes, I'd > say that the feeling of agility and freedom when you get on one of his > designs is as much a factor in his design as to achieve such > performance goals. > > Unless you deliver newspapers off the front of the bike (i.e., what > Kogswell and Jan Heine seem to want to design for), I see no reason to > compromise high speed handling for the sake of being able to carry a > front load. > -- > Piaw Nahttp://piaw.blogspot.com --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Bicycle Lifestyle" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/bicyclelifestyle?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
