Some folks prefer more flexible frames and some folks prefer stiffer ones. Ones disliked noodle may be another's delightful springiness. Similarly taste in handling varies. The same bike may strike one rider as wonderfully responsive and another as dreadfully twitchy. It's often a good idea to actually ride a bike you are thinking of buying. Particularly if you don't know a lot about it already. When thats not practicable relative descriptions are good. Like "this bike you are thinking about is more stable than that one you have ben ridding".
On Dec 8, 1:21 pm, Steve Palincsar <palin...@his.com> wrote: > On Sat, 2012-12-08 at 13:02 -0800, charlie wrote: > > Yea Marc's bike is typical.....weight wise. Not sure what my double > > top tube Sam weighs probably 8 ounces more though. The Sam in my > > opinion isn't 'overbuilt' or 'heavy'. I think the whole weight thing > > is a little over emphasized and something Grant has some strong > > opinions about. > > Someone who says Riv's are "overbuilt" isn't necessarily talking about > their weight. They could very well be talking about their stiffness. I > certainly am when I say that -- and I do indeed say that. > > > Even BQ magazine didn't find much difference in a Ti bike weighing 17 > > pounds and a steel one weighing 26 pounds (as far as performance). > > Your body position, fit and power output have more to do with your > > ultimate performance. I fail to see how less than five pounds will > > make a significant difference. Frame stiffness, performance and feel > > depend on rider weight and power. You can't put a 200+ pounder on a > > light tube bike and not expect it to feel like a wet noodle > > That's a common belief, but it's just not so. I have several bikes with > standard diameter tubing that's fairly light gauge: 8/5/8 throughout for > two, and one that's 7/5/7 with an 8/5/8 downtube, and I'm definitely 200 > + pounds. These bikes feel "sprightly," and "springy" and they're all > lots of fun to ride. None feel "like a wet noodle." > > The two 8/5/8 bikes are "frame upgrades" -- components switched over > from a Rambouilet and a Saluki -- so I have a direct comparison of the > frame alone. Although the Rivs were nice bikes, I much prefer the less > stiff replacements. > > And what on earth are they thinking when they add a second top tube? > That's got to add to the already excessive stiffness... -- 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.
