On Wed, Oct 19, 2011 at 9:52 AM, reynoldslugs <be...@perrylaw.net> wrote: > My only quibble is not really a quibble, just an observation. Jan, > Hahn, and his crew are lighter and in a lot better shape than I am.
This is why I really miss Alex Wetmore's contributions as a BQ tester/reviewer. I think he just got too busy with other things to put in the (considerable) time. I'd love to see BQ expand in this direction with average but enthusiastic rider/testers in addition to the usual suspects Jan/Hahn/Mark VdK. It would be fascinating to test whether the handling and performance traits that superfit & skilled riders prefer are also preferred by us mortals. Alex seems to agree with most of Jan's preferences (low trail, light tubing, front loading) despite his different build and riding style. He was always at a disadvantage in the blind tests, though, because he didn't have a similar riding partner to serve as comparison. As an example, I feel like BQ's city/utility bike reviews have fallen flat, even though I appreciate them. They read a little like an F1 driver testing a minivan. It would be great to get a "second take" in these cases from a daily non-sport rider (maybe there was one in the Big Dummy review. I can't remember all of a sudden). I think such a rider might actually be more attuned to certain features of non-sport bikes, just as Jan et al. are more attuned to high performance bikes. At least in Portland, I've met a substantial number of riders who are very interested in bike design, ride a lot, but rarely if ever ride for sport. In fact, I find myself drifting toward that end of the spectrum. BQ is by far the most interesting bike pub since the Riv Reader, though. I've learned a lot, rethought a lot, and thoroughly enjoyed it. My cycling's the richer for Jan's efforts! Best, joe broach portland, or -- 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.
