corrado33

We've all felt it. We get on a bike and it just feels... nice. It rides smooth, no rattles, rolls nicely, feels comfortable, brake feel is good. But then there is the opposite. The bike you get on, expect it to ride nicely, but it doesn't. The ride is jarring, bike feels stiff instead of compliant, brakes don't work well, etc. I notice the biggest differences in similar bikes with vintage bikes. (Most modern bikes ride... similarly, sure some are lighter than others, but unless you really go out and hammer it you'll have a hard time pinpointing differences.)

For example, we recently had a few older schwinns in. One was a traveler, one was... something else, no decals... perhaps an old continental. I expected the traveler to feel nice, but for some reason the bike was just uncomfortable. I can't pinpoint what it was. The bike rolled fine, the brakes were ok. It shifted good. (Friction shifters after all.) Tires were new. The saddle was uncomfortable, but that usually doesn't affect my judgement.

I don't know, to me the bike just felt.. rickety? I'm not sure what would make a bike feel that way. I really liked the bike and hoped that it rode well, but as soon as I got on it I was disappointed. It's not a bike quality thing either. I've had really cheap old Nishikis ride REALLY nicely, but a "nice" old schwinn which sold for 2x the price originally ride crappy.

So what is it? What makes an old bike ride nicely compared to old bikes that ride not well at all. (I know, it's all subjective and different for every bike, but I'm appealing to C&Vs experience. Some of you must know what I'm talking about...)