Andrew R Stewart 

Jeff- you are probably correct. I passed by the carbon fiber Trek reference. It is interesting how sensitive some are to handling and geometry, or changes to such. I test ride hundreds of bikes, after servicing them, each year and do notice differences in the handling between otherwise similar types of bikes. But rare is the bike that i would label as unstable.

Perhaps the ones with their forks splayed to one side are the least stable as they want to turn to one side always. But then what is the definition of "unstable"? A bike that always handles in a certain manor could be called very stable, perhaps just not what most would call acceptable. I recall reading about birds VS airplanes WRT this topic. Planes are so stable they are unmaneuverable compared to the highly nimble birds, which are very unstable but expertly controlled. Andy.