Originally Posted by corwin1968

I did a lot of research into what is available in framesets in the Surly/Soma/Salsa price range and also what frame geometries were available. The one difference I've seen in the Rivendell bikes, and the Hunqapillar in particular, is that it has a mostly touring bike geometry but Grant adds a higher rake fork to achievem road bike trail measurements. This also lengthens the wheelbase a bit more. I know that Marc had a LHT and he's commented that the Hunqapillar is much more lively (or something to that effect). The LHT is very, very similar to the Hunq in geometry except it only has a 45 mm for rake, resulting in a higher amount of trail. Since Marc made that comment I've wondered how much the Hunqapillar's lower trail measurement had to do with the difference he felt.

My Handsome Devil has a trail measurement that is basically the same as a Hunqapillar, which is what I wanted (lower trail..not necessarily the same as the Hunq) but I sometimes find myself thinking it's too low. I rode into some dirt and hit some loose dirt clods and the front-end almost got away from me. I used to ride my 95 Trek Multitrack (very high trail) in the same type of terrain and that never happened. It's interesting that the Hunq is basically billed as a MTB/tourer with a road bike level of trail.