What makes a bike ride well? (well, it's not the frame!)
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- Опубликовано: 10 окт 2023
- Prof. Ronnie gets in depth and dispells myths about all the factors that go into making a bike ride "well" - "good" - "great" incuding frame geometry, contact points, tires and other mysteries of yore
for further reading : escapecollective.com/the-whys... 
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In my case, the recipy for a good bike is a 90s steel frame one size small, with the biggest tires you can fit in, long seatpost and long stem. The tires should cost more than the frame and you should build the bike yourself like if it was intended for survival on an apocalyptic world. Then you really understand and love your bike
That is the way to do it!
hmmm poetry!
Had no idea cyclist carry a climbing chalk bag on their handlebars.
Love this recipe.
@@ultraromancethe saddle to the left which model is that please?
This video is like a glance into another universe where it's always summer and time stands still.
I like this pointing stick. It truly helps bring out the finer points of this lesson.
Ronnie makes me feel less alone in my obsession for bicycles
After riding stiff aluminum frames for decades, I a threw a leg over a late 80's Trek 400 chromoly lugged frame and was amazed at how smooth a ride it provided. The rear triangle certainly feels like it flexes over sharp bumps. Many times I think to myself that the frame must be cracked some hidden place it flexes so much, and I have actually gone over the rear triangle with a magnifying glass looking for that crack. But no it just rides so damn smooth and soaks up road cracks so well that it is my favorite human powered vehicle of all time.
The wheelbarrow provided one of the clearest examples I’ve seen of bike geometry
I heard it first from Jeff Jones many years ago. Hopefully proper credit is given.
Like a bike tech friend of mine said, "Almost all innovations are competition driven. But, for 99.9% of us all we want is a bike that rides well, shifts smooth and slows down when we squeeze the brake levers."
Thank you, Ronnie, for one of the most informative videos I have ever watched about bicycles. I liked everything about the way this information was presented.
Absolutely love your quirky sense of humor and just how much you're unapologetically yourself
Just back from a long ride on my Lightning Bolt, smoking my summer harvest for the first time, and getting some quality education. Really appreciated Ron!
ooh la la --- a dancer of a tubeset on the ol' LB --- fun one to ride! enjoy the harvest!
Always a fun watch with the wisdom of Mr Ron! I did learn a thing or two. I have been a steel snob for many years but I am on the road to Al curious now for sure! More videos please - have a great day Ronnie 🌞
Much of the technical jargon went right over my head but I love the delivery, you my friend are the Bob Ross of bikes.
This is the material that brings me back to RUclips, time and time again
From experience I agree with nearly all of this - it is a tiny bit suspicious when all the "best" things are also all the most trendy but it just seems that some of the cycling world is starting understand that the right compromises were already found a long time ago and the trends are going the right direction for the most part (when they don't over do it).
I say start at what contacts the ground, find tires you like, on a bike like a bmx where there are no complicating factors like suspension or flex you can instantly feel that the right tire can make the bike feel nimble and trustworthy and the wrong tire and make the bike feel washy and vague.
Then replace what you touch, grips, pedals, seat. People are looking at new forks or frames when they are still running some rock hard stock grips or are standing on some tiny stock pedals with no grip.
Great video, Ronnie! The design & engineering principles you've used explain everything super clearly. Hopefully, you can change some minds about frame materials, bar/stem diameters, seat post lengths, and straight blade forks! 🎉
Thanks Ronnie, appreciate you company!❤
Loved the ammount of concentrated personal info you just put in 10 minutes! I felt your words like my experience after 30 years on two wheels. Fully agree with the new Ideale saddle. Have one and feels so nice to ride. Will try a titanium bar as soon i can! Thanks mate! Karl.
I can’t agree more with Ron’s main point. I like to lock in the one or two tires I want to roll, then build the bike around their characteristics and requirements.
great stuff ron - keep up the great work. very important to have a voice like yours out there combatting the gram cutting, race-centric, aggressive KOM voice that seems to dominate most of the bike industry.
CONTROVERSIAL!
That's what the sticks are for. Poking, stirring and whipping it up!
Here’s how you can do your tape experiment on a straight blade fork: firmly zip tie or tape two pencils perpendicular to the fork blade and parallel to each other, say 6 inches apart, one down by the dropout, one higher up. The pencils are facing toward the front of the bike. Then run your tape strip between the ends of the pencils. Any small deflection of the straight tubes will show up as slack in the tape.
I am gonna try this! thanks for the science
Loves me a great bike nerd / bike tech vid. Great run though of the many factors that make these machines so magical and a few of the most important ones to focus on. Thanks!!
thx for video, it's nice to watch advices given so clearly, I like your approach to cycling
First time viewer of your channel. Thoroughly enjoyed your video! Thanks 🙏
Great overview of bikes , pretty much in agreement and too many folks get hung up on one thing providing comfort, tires, saddle, frame, wheels….. ect , where it’s more of a whole package that can make a bike truly comfortable
this is top tier info, and top tier vibes. I feel so much more informed... and so much more comfy. Can't ask for more.
Great video Ron! Digging the heady blend of science and wisdom
An often overlooked factor by most manufacturers and many high end bike shops in setting up a new frame is facing the head tube and fork bearing seats. Getting the bearings nicely lined up so they rotate at a consistent torque can make the difference between a bike feeling a little bit twitchy or being a hands free wonder on downhills; and as a bonus your headsets will last a long time.
Quill type headsets frequently coming loose are a good indication bearings may be out of alignment.
One of my old favorite frames came back from a repaint feeling funky, just the overspray on the headtube seats was enough to make it feel a little twitchy when hands free, cleaning up the bearing seats put it back to normal.
PREACH. Biggest omission in setups, along with failure to assay and correct dropout alignment. I always cringe when I see a Chris King headset pressed into a painted or unmachined surface.
good point! I will admit to knowing this, but ignoring most of the time, perhaps to my own detriment --- I was installing headsets with a hammer and 2x4 until a press was gifted to me 10 years ago.
Great lesson, explanation, and suggestions!❤
The main triangle is really more of a parallelogram (irregular quadrilateral) since the top tube and downtube don't meet at the same point but are offset on the headtube. Think about how a derailleur parallelogram moves, that is similar to how a frame deflects in the vertical plane.
*but for all intent and purposes* that means F-all because any vertical deflection in the frame is negligible compared to vertical deflection in other parts of the bike (tires/fork)
On the topic of steel vs aluminum, I don't ride steel for the feel, but because aluminum has a cyclical fatigue limit, where the limit is practically infinite in a steel frame. Not to mention there's no need to heat-treat if you need to fix or want to modify the frame in some way.
It depends a little on the frame size though. In some cases, the gap between the top and down tubes is small to non-existent at the headtube. The headtube is also quite chunky and short which reduces the parallelogram effect and brings it closer to a triangle in effect.
I ride both steel and aluminum frames on and off-road. Mostly custom built just for me.
With fat low pressure tires I don't seem to notice a difference in ride quality. On a road only ride (rare for me) with higher pressure tires, I'll always favor the lightest thin steel tubing like Kaisei. It rides like a Cadillac and insane cornering traction with sweet cotton tires no bigger than 33mm.
I pretty much refuse to ride an aluminum road bike.
The older Kleins and Crackenfail roadies I've tested felt like riding on a brick wall. Just horrific.
I have three 'cross and mtb bikes built from Easton tubing. Two are large diameter Easton Ultralight tubing and the ride is very nice. I was pretty surprised. I might ride that tubing on the road, but my old steel road frame suits me just fine.
I've damaged or broken several frames/forks of several materials (steel, aluminum and plastic) in crashes or doing stupid stuff they weren't really designed for.
The only frame I've ever broken from long use fatigue was a Columbus SL cromo 'cross race frame. No bottle mounts or anything. Bare bones and light. Ive heard the builder wasn't a great brazer, but the previous owner raced it on the Pro Euro 'cross circuit, so that probably had something to do with 'fatigue'. I used it for fixed gear on rocky trails too! The down tube peeled away from the head tube lug like a freakin banana peel. Weirdest failure Ive ever seen in 50 years of underbiking and abusing bicycles.
Fantastic video! Supper clean and simply put, love it !
Love your content. Mind blowing that most folk STILL pump their wire beaded tyres hard as rock!! Also reached a point where ‘latest tech’ went cold on me…Industry promoted,along with MANY other aspects of our lives ( health springs to mind) but many things ,unscientific,gimmick’s,pushed as ‘factual’ in order to sell ideas and products. Thank you.
A lot of the pros in the peloton run on 28mm tyres with lower pressures.
Personally, I’ve got a gravel bike that has 45mm tyres and run with 34psi in the front and 37psi in the rear (Yes, I am heavy).
Triangles are the stiffest shape. Imagine if you had a triangle with the corners being pivots. You still can't change the angles of the triangle. Now a triangle can still deform through deflection. A force on a triangle can cause the lengths of the sides of the triangle to change. By the side lengths changing, it'll cause a change in the triangle's angle, causing flex.
Former serial flatter! Switched to schwalbe and have made it a year (3500 mi.) without a flat! I even had an allen wrench go through the tire (not the tube). Thanks for the video - totally worth the watch!
Schwabs are the way to go if you want reliability.
@@OrangeTree253schwalbes for the commuter, supple stuff for the weekender.
Frame and fork , geometry have a lot to do with the ride. Yes contact points , etc have a lot to do with feel. Geometry makes a bike twitchy, stable, etc. So I'm wondering about this video.
"due to the two axis ... Uh ... theres no place to attach the tape"
instant classic!!
My 90s KHS team mtb with Ritchey Logic tubeset has flexible seat stays that bow out away from each other that translates to a vertical compliance. It also has a Kenesis aluminum fork that deflects more than the chrome moly fork it replaced. These are a couple of the things I've discovered.
Hey, that's pretty interesting! I especially like the comparison of fork blade shapes. I think Jan Heine called it splay. Uh, the movement of the fork reacting to trail bumps.
I have a trek 7200 bicycle, with the Tannus solid tires, no tubes, no air, just solid tires, out of all my bikes too this is my favorite I would never go back too pneumatic tires, no maintenance no Flats no worries absolutely one-hundred-percent the best investment I ever made
This is the greatest video you've ever made. Fave part is about the headtube angle. Keep up the good work!
Off topic, but hoping to see some winter vids from CT. ;)
glad you liked the wheelbarrow science! see you in the snow!
Love everything you’re putting out past and current. From the Ted Talks at PBE to going over what works for you has me building my bikes aesthetically first with components from the early 90s that will outlast everything else. Thanks for sharing your philosophy and dropping the science on the community. About to switch to friction shifting to try it out and playing around with handlebars.
The 8/9 DA and XT/R still kill it today, especially in a 3x9 format. (No shade on all the 1x kids out there).
Still using Sun Tour and Dura Ace bar end shifters,
circa 1970s- '90s. The clicky bits on my '90s 9 speed DA shifter wore out. So I switched to friction and they still work fine after well over 100k ridden. The oldest SunTours have never skipped a beat and I've never broken a cable. Sorta like my ancient '70s Campagnolo hubs.
What makes the biggest difference to improve shifting was modern chains and the newer ramped and pinned gears used with a slant parallelogram derailleur. Lots of that 'junk' is pretty damned old too.
I'm a pro mechanic, retired machinist and inspector. Modern bike junk is my certain job security. I get all sorts of barely used 'old junk' on account of idiot's need to constantly 'upgrade'. Ask Eddy Merckx about 'up-grades'
Piss poor QC is reality, a bad joke! So are warranties and recalls, simply more job security. 🤣 It's a bad joke! It's almost entirely marketing BS.
It's the RIDER, not the freakin bike. We simply roll around on that thing.
Believe it or not!
friction shifting rules man. becomes intuitive almost instantly, and you can use pretty much any components you want!
@@tblakemusic With 10-12 speed you may need a specific type friction shifter that pulls more cable so you can reach all the gears. The cassettes are wider. Without that you'll need a 7-9 speed derailleur with a 10 speed cassette to reach all the gears. 11&12 spd. you pretty much require a specific friction shifter. The 'old school' bar ends and thumbies won't pull thru the spread.
I've modified the end stops on some of my shifters to allow more rotation also.
I limit myself to 10 speeds and that's more than I know what to do with! Cool thing is I can use any 5-7 speed freewheel or 7-10 speed cassette on all my various old wheels. On a long tour you can find anything to keep going and it's generally pretty affordable.
@@rollinrat4850 was gonna say… who needs more than 10 speeds? lol
Great video Ronnie thanks for sharing. I don’t agree on straight forks: in my experience they aren’t as compliant and comfortable as the curved ones. 100% agree on 26 mm handlebars and anything else you said.
Great supply of bike info to help have the most comfortable ride posssible
Great video Professor Ronnie! My takeaways are these. First, I'm glad to see you gravitate back to your Alumalith with flat bars. It seems you've been riding drops an awful lot lately. Second, your installation of frame pumps. Third, your explanation of seat tube and head tube geometry which to me makes all the difference when considering bike frames and their effect on ride quality. Lastly, the Casa de Ronnie looks like paradise. Oh, and the sword usage is also a nice touch.
you get an A+ on this synopsis
I like my bikes with the supplest tyres I can find, although I don't necessarily always go for the fattest. I really like the tight little "blep" feeling/sound you get when you ride a perfectly tuned supple skinny tyre over a small bump. (like 25-32C)
Another upside of supple tyres is they're usually very light which just makes the whole bike feel more lively
I use 33mm cotton Somas (Supple Vittesse) on my road wheels for my 'roadie commuter', but it's really a fixed gear Miyata 'cross bike. I need every advantage to keep the wheels rolling up the steep climbs. Never pumped up more my tires more than 60psi though. They're ultra smooth, comfy, quick to accelerate, and corner hard like I'm trying to escape a bank robbery. I love to descend rough roads fast and even go off-road when I can't resist, so these suit me well. They feel almost like the old silk tubulars I used to race on. ALL sorts of descending and rough road confidence
I also use 42mm Rene Herse knobbies on my drop bar 29er/bike packing rig. They're incredible and roll amazingly well for a full knobby tire.
Really Nice tires make a gigantic difference to ride quality that's very addictive! Good tires are a pricey habit.
This was great! So many essential points! Well explained.
Muchas Garcias. The wheelbarrow analogy is brilliant.
Good analogies. I like the skinny tubes, but think the curved steel forks are sexy, lol. Just sent it on my Ultradynamico race series tires at a race this weekend. Steep decline, fresh chunky gravel with no clear paths on a steep HT steel bike, albeit curved fork. It ran true, tires performed well, and seemed sturdier than their tan sidewalls would suggest.
You were helpful in assisting me get them setup tubeless, and I like them quite well.
Good video, love the jorts, lol.
Triangles have no vertical compliance…but…front “triangles” are almost always trapezoids
You truly are a doctor in bike science sir. I believe that you are very correct indeed
Love the informative video and love the presentation.
I thoroughly enjoyed this lecture!
My most comfy bike is a grandpa spec hybrid with a suspension fork, suspension seatpost, 40mm tyres, flat bars with bar ends. I may look like a geezer but it just works.
Thanks, I enjoyed this. It covered so many good topics!
So happy to see the Charlie Cunningham shout out! He deserves more credit. Awesome video of course.
It’s those shorts
I’m so in love with your new, musa aluminum bikes.
10:40 Been having the exact same issues because of urethral strictures and pain riding for even short periods due to the pressure. I've searched and searched for a possible solution, and now I've just stumbled across it. Gonna give the hammock style saddle a go. Thanks dude! 🚴
is that from just riding a bike for extended periods of time? or genetic? both? thanks mate....this seems like a problem I'd like to avoid if possible
Thank you very much! There's a lot to learn from this video - I did! And I love your practicyl approach to it, using the wheelbarrow and tape and stuff! I was never a science person. If you would've been my science teacher though, that'd look differently today!
For me the question of high or low trail skirts the more noticeable issue of heat tube angle. Cause you can have a high trail mtb with a slacked out HT and it will ride significantly different than a high trail road bike with a 74 HT. So likewise a low trail mtb (Jones) and low trail road.
You’re obviously right that one can get used to whatever and ride it. But for me, anyway, HT angle is what I always want more of
To measure telescopic compliance on a straight blade I think you could attache tape from the straight blade to the head tube or handle bars. As well you could put tape on the length of the straight blade but use tape to back the middle of the strip so you only have 2 contact points and the middle of the tape is free.
100% straight up facts in this video. So many worthless (to the consumer) sales and marketing gimmicks in cycling , it will make your head spin.
That being said, I'm not riding a hardtail MTB offroad much less a fully rigid one... I renounced that decades ago and am *never* going back.
I really enjoy this video every time I play it.
Thank you for an amazing explanation on bike riding! You nailed it here. I have been riding for over 40 years and feel that this new cr@p that they keep dumping on us actually makes riding less enjoyable. I have a mid-fat 27.5x3 that had the best of all new technology on it and when I stripped it down to what was needed for my style of riding it fit better and was 6 pounds less. Sorry I didn’t get rid of the suspension fork (but I added remote lockout). I put shorter bars put a longer stem and dumped the stupidest invention since the pogo stick on wheels (full suspension) the dropper post! My mid-fat is aluminum and boy I wish I would have done steel! It creaks it flexes and is not the most comfortable ride. I am moving on to a karate monkey for my next bike. This one will be all ridged with drop bars. I have a set of 27.5x3 wheels and a set of 700x43 wheels for it. People say this is a bad idea because of the boost spacing but I think it will work well for me since I’m a big 270 lb 6’2” dude. Oh and that picture of you off the back of the saddle is what riding is about flowing with the bike! If you know how to ride you don’t need a crutch (suspension, dropper post etc)thanks for the best video on bicycling I’ve ever seen. Keep pedaling.
Kiml😊
I have had and old steel bike that I got for cheap when I was in college and it was really smooth even on dirt trails. I upgraded to an aluminum bike and everything about the aluminum bike is better except I feel the bumps way more. I think it’s easier to make a cheap steel frame that feels good on rough ground than it is to make it out of almost anything else.
I am the first to admit I am a Western US jingoist but I gotta say your place is really nice. Green and leafy with a morning coffee after sleeping with the house windows open. Oh! And a great discussion that gave me stuff to consider
Great to see somebody speaking sense about this. And talking about these topics.
But frame actually makes a huge difference when it comes to geometry, size.
so old school MTB bikes for example you sit too far back, reach is short, cockpit low, so it gives neck, back pain, fatigue, head angle making the bikes wiggly, long stem also makes you swing instead of turn the bar.
But the way your bike is set up and the head tube angle will make it steer nicely. In this case a long stem makes sense, due to the handlebar used, so the hands are in the right spot.
For some reason bicycle industry moved to steeper head angle, big mistake IMO. But now it's making more sense, longer reach and steeper seat tube angle.
3:24 You are right, vertically it won't flex, by side to side the rear end can flex. so some brands claim to tune that to have perfect combo of flex for control, grip, comfort, and not be too flexibly.
I see some frames have weird designs to make it flex, and have elastomer in the seat stay top area, they call it soft tail, but that's usually titanium or carbon frames. But it will barely make a difference I think, IMO that's more hassle than it's worth. might as well get a full suspension bike then.
I was waiting for the talk about the chain stay length I got kind of excited when you started talking about Rivendell‘s more relaxed geometry.
I am not much on chain stay length -- really depends on how fast and how tight the terrain you encounter --- and if you like hopping over things more easily .... but for pure sitting and cruising with minimal input at speed ---- the riv geo allll the way
Yeah that makes a lot of sense I never even knew there was a difference until a few years ago, I once had a 1980’s Stumpjumper probably had a longer chain stay very long bike large size and rode very nicely that was a shoulda coulda woulda deal I regretted selling it not long after. Dig your videos and get a good laugh out of most of them thanks! @@ultraromance
Great video as usual, you always keep things interesting! What frame is your drop bar bike with the red bar tape in this video? You build up the best bikes !! Cheers
For a 30-minute nerdy deep dive, that was surprisingly enjoyable to watch, and definitely got me thinking. I feel you about suspension forks. Had a bad accident due to my fork not being pumped up correctly. The fork nosedived and sent me over the bars and into a tree. Now I'm thinking of ditching it entirely.
Suspension is definitely fun since it can be used to ride in places you probably wouldn’t think of with a rigid bike. But I prefer rigid bikes because of the simplicity and feedback you get from that. Ultimately I see the bike as a fun machine and I don’t want anything complicating it too much. Less to think about before a ride is better in my book
I was in on suspension from the earliest days. I was a mechanical inspector and machinist at Rockshox in early '90s. It makes a big difference in how long long I can ride on rough surfaces. It makes a bigger difference if I want to ride the next day and the next.
BUT, it's the rider, not the freakin bike. If you've got the skills, strength and will power, you can ride almost any bike, anywhere. Underbiking rules! We took road race bikes with sew ups off-road back in the '70s. We could not suppress our need to explore!
@@rollinrat4850 I'm cyclo newbie and I have Suntour's trekking suspention fork and I always wonder - what terrain is too much for it? To avoid any damage and future failure? Hard to find any info on those and it makes me bit nervous not knowing its limits.
@@laughingbeast4481 I'm not very familiar with what Sun Tour offers now. They generally are equipped on entry or maybe mid level bikes. If they have some sort of a damper cartridge with oil in them, this will make them more capable in tough terrain.
Dig deep on the interwebs. Pretty much any service is in there or something sorta similar, but you'll need a bit of mechanical intuition to tear stuff apart blindly. Suspension service/maintenance is not newbie level maintenance. It can get quite technical. A bit more technical than bleeding hydro brakes. If youre mechanically inclined and can do everything else on your bike, it's not hard to learn. Ive got experience working on performance motor vehicles so it's pretty straight forward stuff. There lots of videos online. That's almost always how we learn about new products. RUclips is a pretty good tool. But getting into dampers and tuning can be quite a 'black art'. In pro racing (especially motorized off-road racing) people pay huge money for suspension tuners and gear. It makes huge difference in how fast you can go.
The very cheapest 'suspension' forks are springs only, no damping and minimal seals. They don't last long or offer much performance advantage at all. A spring can be an air spring or a coil spring. A cheap fork is there pretty much for looks only. This is Chinese bottom dollar 'quality'. Stuff I can certainly ride without. Not necessarily Sun Tour products though.
I probably wouldn't start doing super agro rides or big jumps on Sun Tour forks. Stick to smoother trail with smaller obstacles.
But I could be wrong. They might make some pretty decent forks. Most of my bikes don't use suspension. I like simplicity and low maintenance. 'Riding more than I wrench'.
Keep your fork stantions and seals cleaned, lubed and see if you can buy a seal kit for them. Slick Honey is the lube you need. Regular maintenance is what helps suspension to last. If you neglect suspension components or frame pivots, repair becomes much more expensive.
I would rather buy a used Fox fork in good condition. Fox supports their products for many years and you can get service parts for many years down the road. My Fox forks are about 17 years old I think. I bought these used for $200. New Fox forks can exceed $1000! I'm not a super aggressive rider anymore. I can ride extremely technical rock trails and even go fast (used to race on all sorts of bikes) but I'm old, a new granddad and relatively slow now. My style is more slow 'trials' type riding. I enjoy really long endurance and multi day bike packing rides into deep back country. I like to explore and look for empty beautiful places in big mountains. I enjoy being alone and getting away from humanity when I ride.
New Fox suspension components might be some of the most expensive, but they offer great performance and last a very long time, given regular maintenance. I believe in long term value and well made tools. I also ride and own many bikes, wheels and parts that are decades old. None of 'my junk' is new, about 1/2 of it was custom made by me or just for me. If I can't find what I want on the market, I make it happen myself. I own a small fab shop in my man cave. I also build lots of 4wd stuff.
After being an inspector at Rock Shox I simply would not buy one unfortunately. I rejected over 10,000 unsafe FORKS (a safety liable component) that were put on the market against MY better judgement. They did not meet the standards on engineering drawings and I identified the exact source/cause of the problem. That's irresponsible and greedy. Plain and simple. I resigned on the spot.
Honestly, this was back in the '90s. Rockshox (owned by SRAM) is a different company now. But quality, design and engineering issues are still there.
After being a professional shop mechanic for 8 years, I refuse to recommend Sram products. I will try to steer my customers clear or to replace their worn junk with what I see is of better value. I see SRAM's lack of quality control as very evident. I also warranty and recall lots of Sram products. We have done this for almost a decade and I've had issues with their hydro brakes for over 20 years. Especially Sram garbage BRAKES!! This junk is not cheap either.
Nobody's fooling me regarding quality. I'm an expert with over 40 years experience. Quality is proven, it's not 'assumed' the way so much consumer garbage actually is. I've worked on aircraft, spacecraft and surgical instruments in my career. The highest levels of quality on this earth.....So maybe Im jaded, BUT Humans rely on 'quality assurance'. 'QA' standards are far beyond mere quality control (QC).
Human LIFE also relies on bicycles. For lots of us, bikes are not mere toys. I've raced on them and ridden across the US on them. I rely on bikes nearly every day of my life.
Bicycles are my lifelong lifestyle. I rely on them as transportation to get somewhere at least as much as I do my motor vehicles.
I hope this helps a little.
Sorry/not sorry if I ranted! Feel free to ask more questions.
I rant here because I want to help people at least avoid wasting money and their time.
@@rollinrat4850 Thank for reply. I take my bike to the shop regularly so hopefully service is ok. It's Suntour fork meant for trekking(hybrid?) bikes specifically. It's less robust than MTB forks. I'm not going to jump anytime soon. It's just that I ride some terrain and sometimes I'm like "wasn't this too much for it?" But I guess I'm just overly cautious.
I've been wanting to swap out the fork on my road bike for a steel fork, this is the push I needed. Also my cat loves the stick pointer.
I am interested in one of your mountain bikes but I must not be going to the correct site because it only shows single speed mt. bikes. What is your website?
Ron, you inspire me to get fluffier and jazzier to ride bikes 🎉
I've always had suspicions around the idea of vertical compliance in bike frames. As you say a triangle is intrinsically stiff, no vertical flex there.
So yes, I agree the tyres are doing the work in terms of vertical compliance, and generally the bigger the better, particularly off road.
Your point about torsional flex coming from the tyres was particularly interesting, something I've not thought of, but makes perfect sense.
I also think Aluminium makes a great frame material, and love my Mason Cycles Bokeh, currently set up with 650b x 55 tyres.
However, on the road, where the bike is receiving smaller higher frequency vibrations, and you're also not shifting your weight around so much, I really find the frame to make a difference.
A lighter frame with thinner tube wall thicknesses seems for me at least to do a better job of absorbing road vibrations. It's not to do with frame flex as such, but the way the frame dissipates vibration. It doesn't seem to matter what the frame is made of, all the standard materials, steel, aluminium, Ti and carbon can do this if designed properly.
Again, I find I'm much more fussy with saddles on the road. The combination of high frequency vibration and the tendency to just sit relatively inertly in one position for longer periods means getting the saddle right is much more important. Off road I find I can get by with almost any old saddle.
Funny, I have one the last light Steel dedacciai XC MB from 2001 and I find it less vibrating than aluminium but alive and nervous.
.
But I also have a 1979 road bike - basic frame, wich we would call "made of heater pipe" in France, but with mid 80s high end peripheric and wheels, and I ended by mistake in a long heavy gravel section : even with my road/touring tyres (slick 35mm) with quite high pressure (5 bars), I have found the vibration to be amazingly low on rocks and the bike to be forgiving.
The tubes may have thicker material than light steel frame, but their shape is much thinner. Those may explain why they absord better.
I also have an aluminuim gravel and aluminium cheap road bike and if their tyres are too pumped up I feel the vibrations more than on steel.
Especially from the back of the cheap road bike the fork being steel. The gravel less but it has a carbon seat post and fork. I know it's not scientific so it is not about the suspension provided by the frame itself, but what about the vibration frequency ?
Thanks Mr. Romance, I ride steel bikes 'cause I'm poor and they look cool. My main ride is a Falcon of England, mid-80s road bike. It's still equipped with BioPace Shimano 12 speed components. I get a few comments from other graying old dudes who remember this gimmicky. I always thought the frame was a bit small, but I guess I stumbled into something good with the long seatpost and stem. it has moustache bars and skinny tires with an old French hammock saddle, it's served me well for decades with occasional modifications.
You are my first source for bike knowledge. Keep up the fantastic work, you handsome devil.
the zenith overview you have made an impression
Switching to a Brooks Cambium with the hole cut in it was a game changer for me. Bit of flex and no more post ride numb nob. Moulds to the sit bones too which is nice.
Hello professor, I assume you've already tried every possible saddle because you mentioned health issues. But since you didn't bring this up, I thought I'd leave a short note on pressure-relief saddles (the ones with a recess in the middle): depending on the rider's anatomy and riding style, they might not only be a relief for the perineum, but through that they let the basin rotate futher forward. This in turn releases the back (especially upper back), hence improving comfort during those lengthy rides.
I was mesmerized watching this. I kept wanting to turn away but couldn’t.
I found if you have taint issues just tilt the seat forward 2 or 3 degrees. I had an old bike that caused a lot of pain after I was getting it ridable again.
I googled a bunch and tilting it forward was the key. It sorta gives you the feeling you're going to slip off but soon it feels normal and no more pain.
In the end I think this was it's original position and it had slipped back at some point and when I leveled it I leveled the average of the whole seat. It now looks level in the front maybe with a slight decrease in angle but a rise at the back.
Yours like like they're leveled including the back rise. A lot of bikes are like this.
Anyway a few degrees can make a world of difference without even changing seats.
This entire time I thought that a 26.0 stem would be too big for a 25.4 handlebar! Gah, I've spent so much time looking for 26.0 stems on Ebay, they are tough to find. Thanks for the tip, Ron!
This was great. So good to hear some different opinions on bikes. 🤓🌞
Thank you, Ron!
Ron looking extra buff and ready for ye ol' nutmegger. And great job, video production is off the charts.
For forks, I find my vertical fork bikes to be more twitchy, responsive? Like less motion makes more of a difference. might be just frames but I've always thought moving the wheel axis forward makes it more like a buik. And it creates sort of a centered resting spot for lower speed stability.
A scientific test of a the gravity aligned bent fork might be possible by seeing how slow you can ride hands free on various forks without falling over.
Might also be interesting to see if you have to lean more or less when cornering at speed. Maybe you could tape a level to the bike and ride around a culdesac in a yellow vest until a Karen calls the cops on you for casing houses?
Anyway... For there are newer stile flared out drops you see on some touring bikes that flex like the swept back upright bar you show and still let you get under the wind. I really like those for a comfortable riding drop.
Are we just going to gloss over the hoochie daddy shorts? 😂 Great video with a lot of information with most of it things I’ve never really considered nor heard discussed before. Most of the focus today is on “slackness” and “modern geo” while skipping some of the more important things. For me, the most important things I look for are bars/grips, saddle, pedals, fork and tires. If I feel comfortable sitting on it and rolling over things I am happy. Tires, I want the bike to be predictable and in control when going around turns/over obstacles. Earned my sub!
I used to be a serial flatter. Oh crap! I just jinxed myself back into it! Brooks Champion Flyer / French Caskets(Rene Herse) / Oury grips are my preferred method of tuning vibrational locomotion.. I make my own leather conditioner similar to Brooks.
oooh forgot to mention comfy grips --- and I certainly hope you remain flat free for a while longer!
ESI grips are the best in this regard
For me? There is a warmth to steel. Great vid. Fun stuff.
My best buddy lives in New London. Beautiful there. Happy riding
Thanks for doing this. Very informative and entertaining.
"Theres no place to attach the tape." 😂
lol I lived in Litchfield for many years & hated all the hills.
Relocated to st pete FL & love the flat land. Thx f/posting ☆
p.s. I'm a rigid fork / hardtail guy for sure.
Thank you for going in more depth and more detailed analysis on “hard to find” questions. Ive been asking around the internet for weeks about steel fork curved vs straight etc. I rode straight into a curb at night due to not paying attention as well as it being the same shade of the road. As you could imagine, my front wheel shoved my fork blades backward and the top tube probably prevented my fork blades from going way out of alignment. There’s also a very subtle dent right where the wheel had smashed. I plan on replacing my fork but would you think it’s safe to bent fork blades back into its original position? There not _that_ far out of alignment.
Just enjoy your new geometry ;)
Aligning steel forks is not a problem if the deformation is not massive. People stretch old frames to fit new wider wheels too, and thats fine.
Great stuff - We will never reach nirvana with our bicycles and that's why we keep cycling. constant tinkering and adjustments make us better cyclists and in search for that ultimate ride and bike build. Thanks for a great video.
I enjoyed this video very much and I agree it's all about the tires.
Very sensible. Thank you.
My comment has a very remote connection to this vid, but I still think asymetrcal deflection in the rear triangle and in the fork when braking with disc brakes is dangerous for road bike racers.
Take care and all the best.
I am with you! its a crying shame what big bike has done to road bikes with those totally overkill disc brakes. Suppose the move to larger volume road tires have muffled a bit of the associated ride quality loss
it all makes sense. I was surprised by the fork portion of the presentation.
Great explanations and common myths debunking. I , myself prefer steel bikes purely due to aesthetical preference for skinny tubes. When you like how the bike looks you tend to ride it more often.
Just curious, how often do you look at your bike while riding it?
I love Ron’s perspective on bikes.
Finally, practical explanations for bike geometry. I would to see each of these bikes how you got them for a ride.
Do you start with down tube for slacker feel or aggressive.
Then choose the setup after that?
Thanks Ronnie! 🌹🌹🌹
Gotta agree on the steel for comment. Have a All City 5 segment fork from a Log Lady model they made and Im never letting it go.