Didn't really know what to title this thread...but I've got a 58cm 5.2 Madone that I put about 350 miles/month on and have owned it for 3 yrs after upgrading from my trusty steelie. Smooth ride but always been curious what part of the bike geometry makes a bike unstable when you sit up/no hands for a break.
This came to light when I rode a Ridley Damocles yesterday and really noticed the difference. I used to be comfortable *bombing* down hills on the steelie with my mitts on the handlebar stem...would never attempt same on Trek. The Ridley brought back that same confidence...very stable. It was also a great deal firmer of a ride and seemed to be much stiffer in the headset area (virtually zero give in the forks under braking...my Trek forks track aft at least 1cm at the tip under braking).
Geometry specs- Trek top tube about an inch longer thus I'm just guessing that this places the center of gravity farther aft and the potential root cause of a less stable platform. Thoughts???
I knew I shouldn't have ridden that Ridely...now I know what I'm missing....
This came to light when I rode a Ridley Damocles yesterday and really noticed the difference. I used to be comfortable *bombing* down hills on the steelie with my mitts on the handlebar stem...would never attempt same on Trek. The Ridley brought back that same confidence...very stable. It was also a great deal firmer of a ride and seemed to be much stiffer in the headset area (virtually zero give in the forks under braking...my Trek forks track aft at least 1cm at the tip under braking).
Geometry specs- Trek top tube about an inch longer thus I'm just guessing that this places the center of gravity farther aft and the potential root cause of a less stable platform. Thoughts???
I knew I shouldn't have ridden that Ridely...now I know what I'm missing....