Originally Posted by
Rowan
acantor, I'm interested in who the frame builder was, and what changes specifically were made, and most importantly, what change in the handling and feel of the bike in both loaded and unloaded form resulted from the alterations.
The frame builder was Hugh Black of True North Cycles (
www.truenorthcycles.com), who offers excellent post-sales support. I don't know whether he tweaked the geometry of the frame when he replaced the damage tubes, but the most obvious change was that he replaced the carbon fork (which had moderate rake) with a steel fork that had more rake. (I no longer wanted the original fork after hearing about a catastrophic carbon fork failure.) Also, at my request, he swapped 28 mm tires for 32 mm tires, and installed a Brooks saddle.
The "new" bicycle handles noticeably differently. It feels more secure and comfortable to me... but I had no complaints about the security and comfort of the original bicycle. It would be hard to sort out whether the differences are due to the new fork, fatter tires, a great saddle, minor changes to the frame geometry, or the fact that the carbon fork made me nervous. The bottom line is that it is hard to compare before and after, because essentially, I had a new bike.