Bear with me for a moment: All else being equal, should a bike with more trail have wider bars to harmonize with the handling of a bike with less trail? (In terms of switching back and forth between two bikes.)
Here is my situation: I have been riding my newish Hillborne and am loving it, and recently rode my 1990 Fisher Sphinx "monstercross" again, whose handling used to seem perfectly fine. After getting used to the Sam, the Sphinx feels like it's running on bushings rather than headset bearings, requiring a surprising amount of effort for even minor directional changes. The headset was overhauled 2 years ago, and I do not think there is anything wrong here. I think it's just an example of the range of handling characteristics that one can get used to and that work fine. But switching back and forth sure feels strange. I don't know the geometries of the Fisher, but guess that it's fairly standard 1990 mtn bike geometry. I assume the issue is a high amount of trail on the Sphinx (correct me if you think I am wrong). Here is a photo (fork offset seems low, but I haven't measured it): http://www.flickr.com/photos/25150...@n08/4341891127/ In terms of relevant parts, the Sam is sporting 42mm knobbies, the Sphinx 33.3mm Jack Browns. The Sam has 46cm noodles, the Sphinx 42cm Bontragers. Here is the question: :) I have a 44cm noodle that I am about to put on the Sphinx, but am wondering if it would be better to move the 46 noodle from the Sam to the Sphinx and use the 44 noodle on the Sam, to partially compensate for their different handling characteristics? Thanks, Gernot -- 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-bu...@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.