Originally Posted by
Russcoles11
Everyone should have more than one bike! Ideally you need 3 minimum, One for riding distance, one for trips to the shops and one for rougher terrain/winter use. If you have a bike suitable for all your needs then just get another one anyway
If you're happy doing upgrades to bikes, consider buying a second hand bike with a good frame and build yourself the bike of your dreams. This can be very rewarding.
Incidentally I built a 1975 Dawes kingpin into a nice little touring bike. It has a long stem but very little flex as it doesn't have a folding stem, just a quick release to allow it to be lowered. If you are pulling back on the handlebars to much this may also be part of the problem, try leaning forward to put more weight on the front.
Another solution is to use butterfly or trekking bars mounted to give a more forward hand position to use when going up hills. There is a point where you are far enough forward that pulling the handlebars moves you forward rather than the handlebars back and moving your mass forward will keep the front wheel on the ground better when going up really steep hills.
Haha. 3 bike minimum, I like it. Unfortunately, space and resources are the limiting factor at the moment.
I don't really understand the importance of frame stiffness because I haven't ridden that many bikes to have felt it myself, however, doing an Internet search on the topic opens up a can of worms. I will say, however, that I've never felt any noticeable body flex on the nova frame, except at the handlebar/headset area. I've been noticing it more lately--creaking even when I'm not pedaling out of the saddle (I am pulling the handlebars towards me via the bar ends though).
I don't have any expectations of turning this thing into a road bike slayer, but just curious if getting it to the level of a dahon speed 8, or maybe a swift is realistic.
If I had to do over, I would've just bought a better bike, but now that I have these cards, I wanna see what I can do with it, and whether the price-to-improvement ratio is worth it.