waynesulak

I made an unusual change to my position on the bike which may be an interesting observation for this subject. I changed my cleat position from the traditional to under the arch of the foot. Why I changed is not important to this discussion but part of the change was lowering the saddle well over an inch due to the change in pedal location changing my effective leg length. Lowering the bottom bracket height would be very similar because it to would cause a lowering in the saddle and the center of gravity.

The point here is that the bike felt much more solid in the same turns with all other factors held constant. Same tires, bike frame, fork, road, tire inflation. I concluded however that the bike was not really any more stable and that I could not actually corner faster but it still felt more stable. I believe that this was caused by a reduction in the distance I fall when cornering the bike at the same lean angle. The lean angle is the same but the distance traveled to reach that angle is reduced with a lower saddle. In effect it doesn't feel like you are having to fall in to the corner quite as far and therefore cornering takes less effort and it is easier to take a series of corners on a twisty course.