On Friday, April 4, 2014 11:08:43 AM UTC-7, Patrick Moore wrote: > > You do have a problem! I love my later edition blue Ram, also 58 (I'm 2" > shorter but mostly shorter in the legs) and, while the Ram doesn't feel as > spritely as my 2 remaining customs (tho' the Parigi Roubaix tires help make > up for that) it is hardly piggish and it does encourage energetic riding. > > I've found that weight doesn't always mean "feels faster". I owned a bike > a couple of years ago that the two previous owners sold because (I am > extrapolating) it felt sluggish to them -- didn't "plane". The first time I > got on it, it felt as if it just "fit" and "wanted to go". It was rather a > tank with f and r racks and fenders and lights; heavier than the Ram but > not by much. And it had mediocre tires -- IRC Tandems. > > The Ram also "fit" right away and feels as, or almost, as fast, even > though I guess the geometry is quite different -- medium versus low trail. > It certainly has better tires. > > From these experiences, and from experience with other bikes, I tend to > think that a frame's geometry can complement or resist one's body type, > preferred setup, and customary riding style, so that some bikes just feel > faster because they "fit" better -- regardless of tires, tubing, weight, > and paint color. This is a guess, but my experience to support it has been > remarkably consistent. > > Another thought: I rode that earlier bike (an old Herse) first with 32 mm > Pasela Tourguards, and *those* were pigs. Even the scavenged IRC Tandems > felt much better. Perhaps you should try better tires? > > Or .... "just ride"....??? (Just kidding.) >
Thanks -- I have thought about using a higher-quality tire before I give up, as I've found that makes a pretty big difference in ride quality. I built up a set of nice wheels for this bike with some used King hubs, and that made a significant improvement, but it's still a pretty un-fun ride. I don't think it's a weight issue, as many of my bikes are pretty heavy, and don't have the same qualities. -- 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 rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
