On Fri, Mar 18, 2011 at 8:52 AM, Jan Heine <hein...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> > > [...] . My bike rides > the same whether I carry only a spare tube in the handlebar bag or am > loaded down with 10 lbs of food and clothes for a 600 km brevet. (Yes, > you can measure the difference on a long climb, but it doesn't change > how the bike feels, nor how much I enjoy the ride.) > This is not at all my experience! True, steady state efforts are not much affected by weight, but frequent accelerations, turns, ups and downs certainly are. I can tell a difference in the way my 18 lb bike feels when I "throw it around" compare to the barely 5 lb heavier commuter, not to mention the 10 lb heavier Motobecane (which is itself very nice; in a way perhaps nicer riding than the Rivs because of its standard gauge, lightweight 531 tubing -- or perhaps just the lower gearing; haven't decided). And climbing with fewer lbs at least in a fixed gear, certainly is different! > > That said, I really dislike riding bikes with heavy frames. Not > because they weigh more, but because they feel different. Call it > "lively feel" or "planing," there is a joy to a high-performance bike > that is absent from a bike that is overbuilt and too stiff for the > purpose. Putting lighter parts on a heavy frame doesn't make a > difference... > I expect that here, as with gearing, individual capacities and style and tastes decide what frame is heavy and what is light. I've wondered tho' if the OS custom Rivs I have would feel better if they used tubing more like the Motobecane's. Tho' I also ride the Fargo and find that enjoyable -- I am beginning to suspect that I am happiest with a gear of about 67". Must try the Rivs with such a gear. (And then I get on a Riv after the Motobecane and tell myself, "Revelation! Glory! Who wudda thunk?) > > In the 1960s and early 1970s, time trial bikes were equipped with > drilled-out components and even cantilever brakes to save weight. > (Remember <a href="http://www.bikequarterly.com/rebour.html";>Merckx' > hour record bike</a>?) The conventional wisdom was that a TT bike had > to be as light as possible, even on a flat course. Of course, we all > know that the bike's weight matters little in a flat time trial, but > the old wisdom probably had some underlying grain of truth. I am sure > that I would have preferred to ride at a constant, all-out effort on > the superlight frame of a TT bike than on the heavier frame of a > standard racing bike, because of its "lively feel" or "planing," and > not because of the holes drilled into the chainrings! > > Jan Heine > Editor > Bicycle Quarterly > http://www.bikequarterly.com > > Follow our blog at http://janheine.wordpress.com/ > > -- > 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. > > -- Patrick Moore Albuquerque, NM For professional resumes, contact Patrick Moore, ACRW at patrickmo...@resumespecialties.com -- 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.
