Fahrenheit531 

@andy k gave an uber-thorough description that I largely agree with. And so I won't try to add a bunch of new stuff... just this:

When the factors Andy K (and others) mentioned all come together in the right way, it seems like all I have to do is think "I wanna be there," and suddenly, effortlessly, I'm there. And that, for me, is a great-riding bike.

Dfrost 

The nicest bikes somehow encourage me to keep riding farther. And when I'm in better shape they seem to encourage me to shift up a gear, or spin a little faster. I find that I'm looking forward to the next ride. And they always make me smile.

I had a very comfortable bike that met all my objective criteria and intended purpose (sport touring), but I realized it just didn't have that "ride farther/faster" feel. I tried to love it for ten years, but rebuilding my old Miyata 912 with the same upgraded drivetrain reminded me what I was missing. Then fate led me to the Marinoni SLX Sports Tourer, which brought back memories of my two (departed) '70's Masi Gran Criterium, while adding versatility with some load carrying ability that doesn't detract from the the riding experience.

One factor I would add to Andy K's comprehensive list is that nice bikes feel confidence-inspiring whether it's on sketchy surfaces, or steep descents and climbs. I can trust that they will do what is asked of them.

Wulf

A bike rides nice if:
It has a livelyness that you can feel from handlebars to pedals
It tracks straight with no hands on the bars.
It feels that all the pedaling effort is going into forward motion and not being absorbed by the frame
If I stand on the pedals the chain doesnt rub the front changer.
And I do own such a bike.

corrado33

So, if any of you are interested, I took the Traveler I talked about in the first post and spent a bit of time with it today. I basically... semi-restored it. Cleaned the crap out of everything, relubed everything, clean and regreased everything. Fixed the pedals that had been cross threaded ALL OF THE WAY onto the cranks... rewrapped the bars, fixed the levers and suicide levers. It rides much better now, I'd even consider taking it out for a 30-40 miler. It looks like the only thing not original on the bike is the handlebars. Well, that may not be true, but the rest of the parts are "Schwinn Approved" so they're probably from the period.

Unfortunately the "newer" handlebars just don't fit the bike. The catalog page shows drops with a long reach and a relatively short drop. The handlebars that were used to replace it don't have quite such a long reach, so the bike feels "squished." It's perfectly comfortable in the drops or on the tops, but not on the hoods. It also seems that it puts a lot of weight on your hands. I tried finding handlebars that would fit the bike better, but we didn't have many that would work. The one set of long reach bars I found were too skinny for the size of bike it was (23", 58 cm). I think the bars were only a 38 cm or so. Far too small for that bike. (Even by the old standards, IIRC)

Basically the reason for doing all of that was to see if you can take a bike that rides "like crap" and make it "ride nice" with a bit of work. I'd say it's a yes and a no. Does the bike ride as well as I'd want any of my normal road bikes to ride? No. I don't think I'd like riding that bike every day. And in all honesty it wasn't a great bike to begin with, so that's probably the reason. But I could definitely take it out for a classic ride, maybe a half century. So yes, you can fix up a bike that rides terribly, but no, you can't make all vintage bikes ride very nicely.

Barrettscv 

This.

If the bike is a comfortable fit, rides well, accelerates, corners and climbs well, it eventually will disappear as the cyclist enjoys the route.

If you are distracted by the way the bike functions, it's an imperfect bike for that moment in time.

RobbieTunes

When I no longer notice that I no longer notice the bike, it's nice +

Bad Lag

0. Good quality steel frame (I've never ridden a gas pipe special that rode "nice").


1. Excellent brakes (therefore, it must also have aluminum rims not steel).


2. Light wheels and tires (a lively feel as opposed to heavy plodding).


3. High pressure tires with little to no tread (high pressure depends upon tire width).


4. A good fitting saddle


5. Excellent brakes :-)




I agree the bike has to fit you. Without that, none of the above matters. However, a bike that fits must then have all the above or it will not "ride nice".

Rollfast

I expect it will need adjustments and work, rinse and repeat. No perfect rides, Frejus, but no well...the point is made.

jiangshi

I was getting ready to post that when the bike disappears, it's a nice ride.

Same thing.

I've had identical bikes that have ridden differently. I'm convinced that it is the attitude of the man that held the torch that day.

qcpmsame 

Probably in the same train of thought as having the bike seem to disappear, for me its not realizing how far I've ridden, and still wanting to keep pedaling on.

Bill

Rollfast

I want to notice the bike, feel everything happening, and adapt, react, improve.

RiddleOfSteel

Meant to weigh in on this a little bit ago.

In my limited five years of serious involvement in building and riding, with an ever-increasingly-aware conscience in this, and having and going through more than a few bikes, I initially thought up a long list (nine points). Condensed, I had pretty much two.

1) Fit, as so many have pointed out and I agree with. And from a proper fit stem one's preferred components at the three touchpoints (saddle, bars, pedals). For me, a saddle is either a Brooks B17 or something with the same sit-bone profile as a Velo Classic (with rivets, for like $25). The bars are modern with horizontal ramps, level/slightly angled up hoods that 'continue the plane', with thicker bar wrap. Pedals are SPD mountain units for walkability and clipless for power transfer. With fit and touchpoints satisfactory and mentally out of the way, I or we are free to concentrate on the bike itself.

2) The frame. The core. The center from which everything builds on. jiangshi, you bring up a fantastic point. Angles do matter. Frame material does matter (I do like full DB 531). But the final variable is the human(s) or robots making the frame. I think that a great frame or a great frame that I/one of us likes will let us know that it is great almost no matter what the component setup. This is my Ross 294S. DB Ishiwata 024 tubing, BB drop at just under 60mm (not 70+ where I'd like it), decently sporty/race'y geometry incl. chain stay length. Spec'd with lovely-looking yet indifferently-shifting Campagnolo Triomphe from the factory. Regardless, I liked the way it rode. 9-speed Veloce (triple front ring)? Still nice, and a faithful companion during this February's squall-like Chilly Hilly--never skipped a beat. 10-speed DT shifting Dura Ace all around this summer and she really found herself. Effortless acceleration and speed. Now graced with 10-speed Record/Chorus/Comp Triple and full fenders for winter and rain duty, it took all of two pedal strokes to reaffirm how great a ride it is, and the Campy stuff is a real complement to the entire operation. Certainly no downgrade from DA.

The initial frame specs don't scream "this thing is guaranteed to be your favorite thing/awesome," but the frame was hand made. And whomever built it did a superb job, to the point of wanting to meet the guy(s) who did so. Buy them a beer or two.

Good parts do help noticeably. They need to work well and be trouble free--very crucial!. If fit, components, and everything else besides the frame are dirt--to employ an analogy--and the frame is a treasure chest with unknown contents (a good frame or 'meh' frame or not good frame); removing the "dirt" fully to reveal the treasure chest will allow us to access and assess how good or not good that chest is--whether or not there is any gold in it, and how much.

Other frame examples are my mid-level Mangalite-tubed Peugeot PB14 and mid-lower-end Fuji Supreme. The Fuji I build for the least amount of money. It is very happy to be a bike, which makes the proposition of selling it difficult. Sentimentality!

ramzilla

Exact same here. When I can sit up & pedal with no hands I know I've got a well balanced bike that fits. If it's nice and light, even better.

RobbieTunes

Silence.

It needs to be quiet and get out of the way.

Then it's right.

Darth Lefty 

Some people have mentioned cornering and I don't think I've ever noticed how a bicycle corners or steers. They are all so light compared to a motorcycle that it requires no attention.

tmh657

When 1 bike gets 80% of my saddle time and all others wait their turn then it rides nice. See avatar.

WolfRyder

Only the mid to higher end Schwinns are any good. What do you expect from a Schwinn Traveler or Varsity model? Although I would agree that a mid level Nishiki or Centurion would ride better than the same level Schwinn.

jimmuller 

The question was what to consider first. What I do first is remove any fenders (some may disagree with this), give it light wheels and functional components, and adjust it to fit. If it doesn't fit or work properly then I can't judge it; maybe others can, I dunno'.

After that, there are many ways for a bike to "ride nice". It could seemingly roll forever. It could feel like an extension of my body, or ever better, an extension of my mind. It could feel smooth on the road surface, or just fast with little effort. The good bikes exhibit a combination of those features. The great ones exhibit all of them.

OldsCOOL

This right here. When I read that, it just popped.

My '88 Cannondale Criterium Series is exactly that. I built it from a frameset in the winter and when the weather cleared for a first ride I knew it was that one bike. Intuitive handling.

OldsCOOL

Like an extra expensive Huffy.

mcours2006

My Gardin just feels nice. The ride is quiet. It rolls beautifully, able to absorb and soften those bumps on the road. Every pedal stroke is just sublime. Brakes are buttery smooth. Eight-speed friction shifts beautifully. Difficult to quantify the 'nice' feeling, but somehow it just feels nicer than any of my other bikes. It's even better on a windy day. The slim profile of all the tubing feels like it cuts through the wind very efficiently.

WolfRyder

Wow man that is one thing that I notice about a bike in particuler is how it handles and corners. Everybike is different and Road bikes and Mtn handle diff as well. Geometry comes into play alot and rider position in regard to handle bars /neck.

For streets I like a nails racing bike the best. I tend to like a long top tube racing geometry like on Bridgstone RB1,2

Also for old steel MTB often add on non stock suspension fork just ruins the responsive handling that the bike was designed for. My 92 Bridgestone MB2's handeling was very responsive with steep top tube. Put a fork on it and really would affect the geometry handleing.

I see alot of mtn bikes since advent of front suspension fork with a upward facing top tube design. Maybe an ok climber like that but won't handle any good. Modern frame designers have comphensated for that by balencing out angles from top tube near seat. After all these years still weird animals to me but good for off road I guess

Darth Lefty 

Well, I have found that bikes with aero brakes and shifters are harder to ride no-hands but I figured it was the housings adding some steering force.

catgita

Picking a nice bike from another can be like picking fly poop out of ground pepper. But there is a quality to it. Assuming an identical fit:

A lot has to do with how the bike responds to my movements. In the saddle, I feel like I can get used to very different feels. Out of the saddle, some bikes say "more, more, more". Others are like "this road is too narrow to be doing this right now, can't we just go home?"

It is hard to identify what makes this feel. I built up one bike as a Rando bike, and handling was crap. Then I rebuilt it as a single speed with larger tires, and it is a blast to ride.

I think a fork that does not track well, like those non-tubular Shwinn prongs, make a bike feel rickety, even when all else is working smoothly.

blacknbluebikes 

first thing I consider before I say "the bike rides nice" is whether I want to use an adjective or an adverb. Sorry, can't help it, Mom terrorized my grammar growing up.

But on topic, I think a big part of that has to do with fit, which is not really reflective of the bike per se. If fit is great, then it's totally about how the bike turns for me. Does it easily go where I look? How does it behave when going downhill a bit too fast? How does it act when I'm about to miss a turn? "It's like you're not ridin' nothin', like you're flying in a dream, just going where you think."

ride different. <hmm>