I used to ride a Felt F3 (a great bike) but was riding a 54cm when I would prob be appropriately fitted to something in the 50-52cm. I am 5’7" and have about a 30" inseam. I ride a hill on my weekly loop that has a quick downhill that reaches about 40mph on an S-bend. I would always overshoot the 2nd bend a bit and find myself in the oncoming lane (not cool) unless I slowed down a bit. I now have an R3-Sl in a 51cm and have been able to take the 2nd bend at full speed and staying well within my lane. So the question is who can explain to me why this is so? I welcome the wisecracks but seriously I would like an informed answer. Thanks.
I like to tell people that “tri bikes don’t really climb hills slow, only slow people do,” the same applies to going downhill. A bike goes downhill as fast as the rider lets it go. As a previous person said, your confidence in going downhill is really all that matters. The first year I did American Zofingen, I had to break during the first crazy descent. By the third lap I knew I could carve the turns at 40ish mph and did not use the brakes at all.
My first tri bike scared me to death on descents and that certainly didn’t help me on technical courses.
Chad
that is, unless it is a longer wheelbase . . . . . . . . bicycle turn by leaning. a sweeping corner for most people would probably have more to do with stabilty, than quickness.
I could have sworn that I did not feel that I could make that bend on my Felt. But, I can accept that my confidence could be the major contributing factor.
So, presumably the Felt with a longer top tube would have a longer wheelbase and thereby may make it more difficult to handle around a tight turn, yes?
I guess what I am trying to learn is proper bike fit as important to overall handling and maneuverability as it is to comfort and of course the ability to go FAST.
"I like to tell people that “tri bikes don’t really climb hills slow, only slow people do,”
I’ll tell you based on my experience I totally disagree with you. My tri bikes sucked on hills compared to my road bikes, even when I compared them back to back on the same hill.
To the OP, I’ve found differences in bike handling on different bikes, especially on high speed downhills…
Geomety. Simple as that. Good fitters or mchanics can look at the geometry and the"ll you how it will handle. Its why I have thrown down 5 grand on bikes I never seen or road. Testrides are useless.
Yaqui is a tri bike brand made my Ves Mandaric. He’s been making bikes for 30 years and was making bike with steep seat tubes for the Yugoslavians (home country) in team pursuit in the late 70s. The last time I talked to him, he wasn’t building many bikes because carbon fiber is sexy and a solid, well-built bike with good handling characteristics but made of aluminum is not.
I ordered it online and raced it two days after it arrived. It fit exactly right and handles perfectly for a bike I ride very steep.
Chad
that isn’t an equal comparison, you should be able to put out more power on the road bike.
I really don’t see why there need be any substantive difference if you set up the handlebars right.
it might be difficult for some people, depending on their bodyshape and lowness of aeroposition to find aerobars that get them in the right position when sitting up i suppose.
Wheelbase and steering angle/trail will absolutely make a difference on how tightly a bike can corner. That’s not to say that the rider doesn’t still have more to do with it, but nobody would debate that a given driver could carve tighter turns in a civic than a suburban, right?
My top road bike (which has criterium geometry for quick handling), I’ve had sweeping 180* hairpins on a descent where I encountered a spot of gravel mid-turn and was able to flick the bike in tighter at ~30mph to carve an inside line… no way I could have done that on my Tri bike, or touring bike, both of which have longer wheelbases and slacker steering angles for greater straight-ahead stability. That’s Frame Design 101.