Originally Posted by
Sixty Fiver
I got to do some side side side comparison of a few bikes today as I went riding with my friend who has a Gardin road bike and I was riding my Raleigh Gran Sport which is a sport class bike with longer chain stays and slacker frame angles.
The Gardin was really twitchy at low speed but really settled down nicely once I got it dialled up... my friend was so impressed with the Raleigh that I am sure he will be hunting for one now and should note that the Gardin had it's fork replaced which may not be an exact match to it's factory fork and may have reduced the trail a little.
After riding the Trek much more and finding that the headset lower caged bearings were installed upside down, I found the ride similar to what you describe with the Gardin, a little unpredictable at low speeds, but smoothing out at higher speeds.
I often see sellers including tube angles with lengths, and it has always been a mystery to me. I'd like to be able to determine the riding characteristics of a bike by understanding its' geometry. I know this is too big of a topic for this thread. Are there any articles, books, etc. on the subject that would explain such a complex subject?