I can't speak of causes, but here is my experience, for what it is worth. About 5 or 6 years ago I switched my 42 cm Nitto 185s on 8 cm stems, 7-8 cm below saddle to much longer and shallower Maes Parallels on same stems but now higher; height gradually settled at present ~1.5" below saddle, with hoods slightly further out. All of this made the riding positions more comfortable in many ways, but I can't say I noticed an effect on handling.
I've made considerable changes in my Matthews's cockpit setup since I got it in Spring 2016, moving the bar out by a full 5 cm and down by almost 7 cm (per Jim G's app; 8 cm 30* with 2-3 spacers to 10 cm -17 and the equivalent of 1 five mm spacer). The most noticeable difference was in comfort, but the difference also put more weight over the front wheel, making the bike track more precisely in turns and wander slightly less on the straight -- this is confused by the fact that I run my tires at less than pavement-optimized pressures, so there is some minimal sidewall flop in turns; this for the sake of more float on dirt. Over the years, too, I've moved to narrower bars -- 37 or 38 on the road bikes, 42 on the Matthews, after having used a 46 Noodle and tried half a dozen different models of flared dirt drops. This too was principally for comfort, and I can't say that I recall feeling a huge difference in handling. And lastly, I recently removed the 2" bar extender on the Hon Solo to try, once again, clamping the (original design) Moustache bar directly on the bar mast -- this has no extension; this moved the bar in by about 3.5-4 cm and lowered the grip position by 2-3 cm (I angled the bar upward more than I had had it in the extender). This caused more pressure and immediate pain in my palms, so I re-installed the extender. Once again I noticed no difference in handling, but then, this is a folder. On Tue, Feb 5, 2019 at 6:54 PM 'Deacon Patrick' via RBW Owners Bunch < [email protected]> wrote: > There seem to be three factors involved in the question (but correct me > where I’m wrong, physics folks!): > > 1. Stem length > 2. Bar width > 3. distance of grip from in-front or behind stem bolt (I’m least certain > of this of the three). > > Stem length: presuming steering from the stem, without bars, as stem > length forward from the stem bolt increases, less pressure but greater > distance is required to turn the handlebars. > > Bar width: as bars widen, leverage increases each direction, also > requiring less effort but greater distance to steer. > > How do these two interact with each other? And does #3 above play any > role? (yes, I’m ignoring the rabbit hole of trail, head tube angle, and no > doubt other things, but Rivendells are generally in a similar camp in those > areas, so that is the focus of my question). > > With abandon, > Patrick > > www.CatholicHalos.org > www.MindYourHeadCoop.org > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- *------------------------------------------------------------------------------------* *Still 'round the corner there may waitA new road or a secret gate,And though we pass them by today,Tomorrow we may come this wayAnd take the hidden paths that runTowards the Moon or to the Sun.* --- J.R.R. Tolkien ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, and letters that get interviews By-the-hour resume and LinkedIn coaching Other professional writing services Expensive! But good. http://www.resumespecialties.com/ Patrick Moore Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
