Thanks, Kelly, for saying what many of us are probably thinking!
Every hobby has a joyous geekery about it, and every hobby shared with like-mined enthusiasts always gets explored to its extremes. I think that's normal and, to some degree, part of the fun; but the fun bleeds right out of it when the discussions devolve into intellectual warfare.
I think you are a very good representative of how bicycle enthusiasm ought to be enjoyed. A great number of folks on this groups make it about the minutia instead of the fundamental enjoyment.
Having someone occasionally call "bullshit!" to the crowd is grounding and refreshing, and thank you for it.
Dave On 11/24/2011 9:19 AM, Kelly Sleeper wrote:
It really isn't low trail against every other trail. Yet you couldn't tell that from this thread. Down the line there are nothing but excuses and defiance of the experience of others. Many say their bikes ride great with medium to high trail and have no issues with front loads... Oh that's because you don't know ... The low trail (extra low) road bad at low speeds and bad at high speeds but I got used to it. The high trail is unnoticeable with front load... low trail folks yell... but if you ride low trail bike it's much better you just don't know it because you are used to it. Sheesh sounds like politicians.. no matter what low trail is the only way to go... now it's ohhhhhh saddle bags and rear loads are bad too.. if loose and you are sprinting, climbing blah blah and throwing the bike side to side ... throw a loose load on the front and throw the bike side to side... hell put a big loose load anywhere and throw it side to side... ohhh wait you'll get used to it. Kinda of reminds me of the cheating husband to his wife... "are you going to believe me or your lying eyes" The truth is some people prefer the handling of low trail bike and others medium and other high and some in-between... some want to take the way they ride and tweak trail, weight load, handlebar height, stem length, body weight, arm length, shoe size, and run formulas. Then there is a new racers (oh sorry randonneurs) routine to ride a bike... weight front bag, banana, nuts, rain coat... place 2 lbs packages at 10 mile intervals incase it rains and I need to replace weight of rain gear in front rack along the way.. (after all optimal performance on this bike is with 12.7779076 lbs front) Get the air pressure to exactly 40.1155576 lbs (new electronic air monitoring for tires will be out next year to update your home computer that will send snmp traps to you via email in case of fluctuation about 2.3357%) Ok... check.. I can ride my bike now and carve turns and feel like a really good race bike.... No Thank You.. I purchased a Rivendell as it handles front loads, rear loads, front and rear loads and doesn't need a load to feel great.. I check the tires once a week.. and carry what I need as an all around bicycle... I change handle bars, tires, bags etc often .. then join a Rivendell Owners group on the web to discuss and explore the wonderful uses of it.. only to have to defend not the bike but my own experience as someone else decides unilaterally that since they don't feel the same way I'm wrong... and no evidence from anyone is valid...they are just used to it and don't know. I'm sarcastic blunt and things make sense or they don't. Low trail sounds great the way Jan did it .. built the bike to be a performance (race machine) for a specific purpose.. He loves it. The bikes are beautiful and I'm sure they ride great and people get used to them just as "Most" bikes ride wonderfully and people get used to them. After all they are bicycles.... After all from the vast difference of experiences and not just opinions it's obvious that it's not "just a trail thing". It's also true that there are trade offs in bike design. It may be true that low trail bikes with xyz handle a front load of x better than bike z with x amount of load at frame size k rider weight L and front to rear load weight M under N amount of power. It's not the answer to all loads though and writing off others experience is just tiring at best. Don't tell low trail bike owners they have a nice bike either... they know it already.. you were just to dumb to figure it out as quickly as they did. Guess we only need one bike geometry after all. FYI: this is not a personal attack on anyone no matter how much you may want to try and feel it is. Also no single sentence by itself above stands alone.. overall this is just stating in a sarcastic but honest statement of opinion based perceptions.. so far in this thread and others. It also goes back to my original notice to the original poster that I disagree with the instant assertion that front loads are bad for all but bike X because your bike can't handle it BS! Mine and others experience and knowledge of how our bikes handle are just as valid as others opinions. I don't argue or believe my bike is better than yours except for me, that is the same respect I expect / demand from you. If not I am sarcastic enough and a big enough asshole to be as obnoxious and oblivious to the truth as anyone just not as eloquent. Your friendly bear in the china shop Kelly
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