D
dvt
Guest
Michael Press wrote:
> Two experienced riders, 1.72 m, 70 kg, `normal
> proportions'. Give each of them identical 54 or 55 cm
> frames, identical saddle, stem, and bars. Let them fit
> themselves to the bicycles and compare the results. Call
> this pair A1 and A2. Now let them pick saddle, stem, and
> bars for themselves. Call this pair B1 and B2.
>
> What do you think will happen? I think that A1 and A2 will
> be significantly different. I think that B1 and B2 will
> be significantly different.
Most of the time, the riders will leave the bike just as it came. They
will adjust the postion of the saddle, and maybe even adjust the
rotation of the handlebars and brake levers to suit.
Now if you further narrow down the selection of riders to the types of
people that might read r.b.tech, or even people that regularly ride more
than 50 km in a given day, you might get the answer you've chosen. But
for the vast majority of riders, the bike will stay as it came from the
shop floor until something breaks.
Maybe I need to restate your original quote, in my own words, since
there seems to be a disconnect. This discussion has very little bearing
to the original point with which I disagreed. You said "A bicycle must
be constructed as painstakingly as a good suit." That sounds like an
absolute; I think it says that all bicycles must be custom, or at least
customized. That's a pretty extreme position, and that's what prompted
my response.
--
Dave
dvt at psu dot edu
> Two experienced riders, 1.72 m, 70 kg, `normal
> proportions'. Give each of them identical 54 or 55 cm
> frames, identical saddle, stem, and bars. Let them fit
> themselves to the bicycles and compare the results. Call
> this pair A1 and A2. Now let them pick saddle, stem, and
> bars for themselves. Call this pair B1 and B2.
>
> What do you think will happen? I think that A1 and A2 will
> be significantly different. I think that B1 and B2 will
> be significantly different.
Most of the time, the riders will leave the bike just as it came. They
will adjust the postion of the saddle, and maybe even adjust the
rotation of the handlebars and brake levers to suit.
Now if you further narrow down the selection of riders to the types of
people that might read r.b.tech, or even people that regularly ride more
than 50 km in a given day, you might get the answer you've chosen. But
for the vast majority of riders, the bike will stay as it came from the
shop floor until something breaks.
Maybe I need to restate your original quote, in my own words, since
there seems to be a disconnect. This discussion has very little bearing
to the original point with which I disagreed. You said "A bicycle must
be constructed as painstakingly as a good suit." That sounds like an
absolute; I think it says that all bicycles must be custom, or at least
customized. That's a pretty extreme position, and that's what prompted
my response.
--
Dave
dvt at psu dot edu