My journey

III said:

I test rode a R600 from Cannondale's '02 line.

I could never balance the bike with out placing my hands on the bar while pedaling or freewheel.
My old touring bike I could roll out of the driveway and turn direction without touching the bars.
Can the lack of balance be correct? The bike in general rocked left and right. I tried a 58 and 60
with similar results. My schwinn does not track like this at all.

Bill,

I'm not surprised. The R600, like many contemporary road bikes, are designed with the preferences of
contemporary racers and racer wannabees in mind. These days, that means steering that you might
consider "quick," or "twitchy and jittery," depending on your mood. If you otherwise like the bike,
you might eventually get used to the handling enough to ride it no-hands, or you might not.

If you like the handling on your Schwinn tourer and are favorably disposed towards C'dales, you
might consider one of their touring bikes, which handle more slowly.

Trent

III said:

Good morning,

I have not maded it to Sheldon Brown's shop, yet. I've looked at TREK & CANNONDALE over and over at
two stores that I had not visited prior to my first post. I love how several of the LBS act like
used car lots and sell on commission. Their prices approach used cars.

I test rode a R600 from Cannondale's '02 line.

I could never balance the bike with out placing my hands on the bar while pedaling or freewheel. My
old touring bike I could roll out of the driveway and turn direction without touching the bars. Can
the lack of balance be correct? The bike in general rocked left and right. I tried a 58 and 60 with
similar results. My schwinn does not track like this at all.

Depending on what your Schwinn was, most likely, you are experiencing the fact that a true touring
bike (if that's what you had) has much shallower frame angles and typically a longer rake to the
fork. This makes the bike more stable and will hold a track easier. A road bike like the ones you
have been testing are probably more of a racing breed with steeper angles and shorter rake. This
makes them more nimble, but will take more effort to ride "no-handed". Not difficult, but it
requires more attention - especially at lower speeds.

William H. O'Hara said:

Good morning,

I have not maded it to Sheldon Brown's shop, yet. I've looked at TREK & CANNONDALE over and over
at two stores that I had not visited prior to my first post. I love how several of the LBS act
like used car lots and sell on commission. Their prices approach used cars.

I test rode a R600 from Cannondale's '02 line.

I could never balance the bike with out placing my hands on the bar while pedaling or freewheel.
My old touring bike I could roll out of the driveway and turn direction without touching the bars.
Can the lack of balance be correct? The bike in general rocked left and right. I tried a 58 and 60
with similar results. My schwinn does not track like this at all.

Racing bikes are generally more flippy than tourers and will be harder to ride no hands. But in my
experience every bike rides slightly differently and you will find any bike you are used to easier
to ride no hands than any bike you are not used to, pretty much regardless of the inherent stability
of the bike.

The R600 is almost certainly inherently less stable than a typical tourer. The angles are _very_
short. This makes for a responsive bike that is fun to ride, but the consequence is it is very much
more sensitive to balance. If you get used to it you'll be able to ride no hands without problem.

I don't know what your Schwinn is like - in Europe they have a reputation for being rather cheap and
nasty, but this may be because the good ones aren't aren't imported here - but unless it is a
specialist road-racing bike it is almost certain to be more directionally stable than a CAAD5.

The Cannondale is a beautiful bike and will be a complete blast to ride fast. But it isn't a tourer
and if what you want to do is pootle down lanes and admire the scenery it may not be the right bike
for you. If you were looking for a faster, more responsive bike than your Scwinn, you've got it, and
that's what you're feeling.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) jasmine.org.uk~simonOpen ↗

Anagram: I'm soon broke.

"Simon Brooke" <[email hidden]> a écrit dans le message de
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

William H. O'Hara said:

Good morning,

I have not maded it to Sheldon Brown's shop, yet. I've looked at TREK & CANNONDALE over and over
at two stores that I had not visited prior to my first post. I love how several of the LBS act
like used car lots and sell on commission. Their prices approach used cars.

I test rode a R600 from Cannondale's '02 line.

I could never balance the bike with out placing my hands on the bar while pedaling or freewheel.
My old touring bike I could roll out of the driveway and turn direction without touching the
bars. Can the lack of balance be correct? The bike in general rocked left and right. I tried a
58 and 60 with similar results. My schwinn does not track like this at all.

Racing bikes are generally more flippy than tourers and will be harder to ride no hands. But in my
experience every bike rides slightly differently and you will find any bike you are used to easier
to ride no hands than any bike you are not used to, pretty much regardless of the inherent
stability of the bike.

The R600 is almost certainly inherently less stable than a typical tourer. The angles are _very_
short. This makes for a responsive bike that is fun to ride, but the consequence is it is very
much more sensitive to balance. If you get used to it you'll be able to ride no hands without
problem.

I don't know what your Schwinn is like - in Europe they have a reputation for being rather cheap
and nasty, but this may be because the good ones aren't aren't imported here - but unless it is a
specialist road-racing bike it is almost certain to be more directionally stable than a CAAD5.

The Cannondale is a beautiful bike and will be a complete blast to ride fast. But it isn't a
tourer and if what you want to do is pootle down lanes and admire the scenery it may not be the
right bike for you. If you were looking for a faster, more responsive bike than your Scwinn,
you've got it, and that's what you're feeling.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) jasmine.org.uk~simonOpen ↗

Anagram: I'm soon broke.

So, bike moron ...

More Bison, ok?

---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (grisoft.comgrisoft.comOpen ↗).
Version: 6.0.516 / Virus Database: 313 - Release Date: 01/09/2003

trg said:

More Bison, ok?

Mmmm....bison....<drool>...

--
Rick Onanian

Simon Brooke said:

"William H. O'Hara, III" <[email hidden]> writes:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I test rode a R600 from Cannondale's '02 line.

I could never balance the bike with out placing my hands on the bar while pedaling or freewheel.
My old touring bike I could roll out of the driveway and turn direction without touching the
bars. Can the lack of balance be correct? The bike in general rocked left and right. I tried a 58
and 60 with similar results. My schwinn does not track like this at all.

Racing bikes are generally more flippy than tourers and will be harder to ride no hands.

...

Quoted message said:

The R600 is almost certainly inherently less stable than a typical tourer. The angles are _very_
short. This makes for a responsive bike that is fun to ride, but the consequence is it is very
much more sensitive to

balance.

This has not been my experience. My first road bike, with (by today's standards) very relaxed
geometry, I could never ride no hands. My track bike, with geometry that even now would be
considered radical, tracks perfectly no hands. The difference was that the road bike's fork was not
properly aligned from day one -- not that I knew it at the time.

I would question the Canondale's alignment.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. _`\(,_ | That is easy. All
you have to do is tell them they are being (_)/ (_) | attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for
lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any <country. --
Hermann Goering

"William H. O'Hara, III" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Good morning,

I have not maded it to Sheldon Brown's shop, yet. I've looked at TREK & CANNONDALE over and over
at two stores that I had not visited prior to my first post. I love how several of the LBS act
like used car lots and sell on commission. Their prices approach used cars.

I test rode a R600 from Cannondale's '02 line.

I could never balance the bike with out placing my hands on the bar while pedaling or freewheel.
My old touring bike I could roll out of the driveway and turn direction without touching the bars.
Can the lack of balance be correct? The bike in general rocked left and right. I tried a 58 and 60
with similar results. My schwinn does not track like this at all.

thanks bill

I find it hard to ride bikes no hands if they have Shimano STI shifter cables - the cables seem to
give steering input that I find hard to compensate for. Do both your Schwinn and the Cannondale have
those cables?

Nigel Grinter

Quoted message said:

Depending on what your Schwinn was, most likely, you are experiencing the fact that a true touring
bike (if that's what you had) has much shallower frame angles and typically a longer rake to the
fork. This makes the bike more stable and will hold a track easier.

You're right about a touring bike being more stable, but a longer fork rake actually reduces trail,
and makes a bike less stable. Popular misconception.

A road bike

Quoted message said:

like the ones you have been testing are probably more of a racing breed with steeper angles and
shorter rake.

Again, the opposite is true about rake.

This makes them more

Quoted message said:

nimble, but will take more effort to ride "no-handed". Not difficult, but it requires more
attention - especially at lower speeds.

[email hidden] (Nigel Grinter) wrote in :"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

"William H. O'Hara, III" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

I find it hard to ride bikes no hands if they have Shimano STI shifter cables - the cables seem to
give steering input that I find hard to compensate for. Do both your Schwinn and the Cannondale
have those cables?

Part of this whole excerise is to have some new drivetrain and shifters.

The Schwinn has friction levers. The R600 had STI shifters. I did not purchase it. One fellow made a
comment that I am very inclined to believe. I question whether they aligned the forks or anything. I
am beginning to wonder if there was something work with the crank, too. It made some clickety noise
while I was riding up an easy hill.

bill