I'm embarassed to admit this, but I was riding down a residential street yesterday, and I noticed that the stem wasn't quite lined up with the front wheel. How could I have missed this? It was off only by about a degree or so, I guess that's my excuse. Also, most of the time I'm either riding at night in town, or out in the forest, dodging trees. This was one of the few times I was riding in bright sunlight, in a residential neighborhood. It was one of those "Aha!" moments. I immediately whipped out a hex wrench and lined it up as best as I could. Man, what a difference! I can now ride the bike down the street on a perfectly straight line. I must have had it on crooked for years.
Yep, twitchy really does come from the geometry! I'll be preaching that for the rest of my life.
But it was only slightly crooked! I wouldn't have thought it would make that much of a difference. There must be a lot of guys who are scratching their heads over that same problem.
Thanks for that stem tip seely. That is something I might try if it still isn't quite right. You asked about my inseam... it's about 34"... depending on which leg you measure. I'm one of those freaks who has to wear a really high lift in one shoe (over an inch!).
I can't hike anymore bacause of this; it would be nice if there were more wilderness trails open to bicycles.
The stress fracture question is something I am a bit worried about. I'm thinking next year I will get a new frame.
I'm still looking for some way to increase the suspension travel. Even when I do get a new bike, I would be nice to have a good spare bike.
Maybe some one could x-ray the frame for me? I know they do this to test pipeline welds. For shure, I will have the local Cannondale shop eyeball it.