Originally Posted by
Andy_K
Well, I've only ridden it 7 miles so far, and I'm of the opinion that most things you can say about the ride of a bike are attributable to either the fit or the tires. That said, I'm very happy with it. I can tell, even from riding with this ridiculous stubby stem, that I'm going to be able to make the fit work very well. I didn't experience any of the sluggishness that some people report (probably the tires). It did a great job of absorbing the little bumps from road debris (again, probably the tires).
The bike's tendency to want to hold a line was frankly a bit disconcerting. I guess I'm used to bikes that are more twitchy/responsive. When I did things like swerving around junk in the road, I was caught off guard by just how much the bike wanted to straighten itself out. Generally, I think that's probably a good thing. At the same time, cornering felt very natural and I didn't get any sense that the bike was fighting me there.
It was horizontally stiff, but vertically compliant.
Ask me again in six months and I might have something useful and non-delusional to say.
That's cool! I haven't gotten to ride an LHT, but I would imagine that the high trail and long wheelbase (and heavier frame) will tend to feel sluggish to people used to sportier bikes. Actually, I bet it's much like the drop-bar-converted mountain bikes that we discuss a lot in C&V. Stable and heavy, but not
that bad.
There are things about the LHT that I like in theory, so I'll be interested in your future thoughts. I may end up with one someday.
