I suspect that geometry is more important than tube diameter when we're talking about bikes that climb well vs bikes that don't.
On Jan 18, 5:59 pm, Tim McNamara <tim...@bitstream.net> wrote: > On Jan 18, 2009, at 10:18 AM, Steve Palincsar wrote: > > > On Sun, 2009-01-18 at 08:04 -0800, Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery wrote: > >> Curious, since, among the more mass marketed race-style bikes, > >> stiffness (especially in the BB area) is one of the primary selling > >> points. > > > Right. I've seen comments like "it's impossible to have too much > > stiffness" and stiffness has been one of the big selling points since > > the 1970s. One of the biggest contributions BQ has made, I think, has > > been to call this into question. > > And it's a good assumption to question. Stiffer = better is an > article of faith and seeming common sense, but there's not really > much data to support it. Sean Kelly's favorite racing bike was the > Vitus 979; he won hundreds of pro bike races on those. If more > flexible = worse, he'd have been losing those races and would have > switched to a different frame. But it seems to me that there's an > equal danger in going with the other article of faith, that frame > flex and "planing" (I really wish he'd picked a more suitable > metaphor) is a benefit. > > The main difference that I can tell between the various standard and > OS tubed bikes I've ridden over the years is that my OS frames don't > have as much derailleur rub and ghost shifting. My stiffest bike (a > Ritchey) is also the best climbing bike I have ever ridden, just the > opposite of Jan's experiences and Steve's. It is probably a matter > of "horses for courses." What works well for me might be execrable > to the next person. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
