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Colorful Fins of Steel - Show us your LAND SHARK!

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Colorful Fins of Steel - Show us your LAND SHARK!

Old 05-05-19, 12:18 AM
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Colorful Fins of Steel - Show us your LAND SHARK!

After searching high and low, on the computer, in the water, on the phone, and totally not on the computer at work, it is more than time to create a "Show Me" thread on one of the coolest small hand-built bike companies out there: Land Shark! A little history of how the one-man company began in the latter years of the 1980's lives on their website, so I will spare you repetition, save for the fact that he received a scholarship to Art Center College of Design, of which I attended and graduated from. One has to be good to get into that school with a scholarship. It is thus no surprise that his bikes are celebrated not only for their craftsmanship, but also their one-of-one paint work. Truly an artist through and through. John Slawta has moved on from steel with regard to frame material, but his ethos hasn't changed.

I figure if we can get a multiple page thread going for the Teledyne Titan, a thread for Land Sharks should be at least as easy. Or do I deceive myself?

Serial Number location for Land Sharks: Non-drive side rear drop out, inner side (hub facing). If there are any other locations, please advise. Research and my own Land Shark corroborate this location.

*******

So without further ado, let me introduce my 1988 Land Shark Road Shark!

Serial Number: 88661
Frame Size: 66cm CTT
Top Tube Length: 57cm CTC
Head Tube Angle: 75°
Seat Tube Angle: 74°
Tubing: Tange Prestige throughout

From the SN, I can reasonably guess that the "88" is year number (1988), "66" is the frame size (in cm), and "1" would be the sequence number. Being as small a company as it always has been, with commensurately low production volumes; and considering the extreme dimensions of this frame--to say absolutely nothing of the paint job--it being the only one of its kind makes complete sense. Perhaps further Land Shark bikes in this thread will corroborate this logic, perhaps they will clue us in to a different SN logic.

EDIT 5/5/19: "88" is confirmed (by at least one other) to be the production year, with the "661" being the sequence number (from the man himself, via La Brea Bike). Looks like the sequence numbers didn't reset after each year given the examples so far. Will know more as we go.

From the first time I saw a Land Shark over five years ago at Recycled Cycles, I liked them. I was early in my bike knowledge and knew I liked real race-geometry'd frames, and a Land Shark was 100% that with their Road Shark. Short wheelbases and super short chain stays that rivaled Cannondale Criteriums from the 3.0 era (1989+). The paint work was super cool, too. The employee who owned that Land Shark was/is a great guy and has since moved on from the bike shop. Sadly, his bike also moved on to Bike Heaven. It is fondly remembered.

I obtained my Road Shark from a friend who had picked up the frame and fork off the 'Bay for a quite low price. There were small paint chips that revealed rust here and there as well as occasional under-paint bubbling. He touched up some things with a small air gun (I have no idea where--must have been very minor) and built it up with slightly older Suntour Superbe Pro (non-indexed). He is an older gentleman right about my height, if a touch taller. Former racer, and thus builds his bike in that fashion (stretched out). He found the 57cm top tube to be too short as he prefers 60-62cm top tubes. He also wasn't on board with the paint job. I expressed excitement at the fact that he had a Land Shark, and soon he offered it to me to buy from him, including the anodized IRD headset and purple-painted bottle cages. I sold him my too-long 66cm x 61cm Cannondale SR800 and he sold me the Land Shark. Totally '80s colors and sweet jellyfish-esque paint job??? SIGN ME UP!!

Let me regale you with some more extreme measurements:

Frame/Fork/Headset weight: 2875g --- This is over a quarter pound lighter than my lightest two lugged steel frames, which were no slouches themselves (and shorter!). My Prestige-tubed 63.5cm '87 Schwinn Prologue comes in at 3000g even, and my '83 Guerciotti Super Record is a touch lighter at 2988g. Crazy!
Wheelbase: 982mm --- Normal 63-64cm road/race bikes have wheelbases in the 1010-1018mm range. Cannondale Criteriums are at or just duck 1000mm, and those things have the seat tube center offset to the front of the BB shell centerline. On this Shark, I have to put in the tire with minimal pressure (20 psi).
Chain Stay Length: 400mm

BB drop is a standard 70mm, fork offset is a normal 42mm, resulting in a lower-trail figure of about 47mm. At present, it is not a manic steerer at all. That's the task for the Guerciotti.

*******

Upon purchase, I waxed the frame for protection and increased shine, which was a success. I had finally obtained a 175mm length Shimano 6400-era 600 crankset in good shape after slowly and somewhat inadvertently collecting the rest of an 8-speed 6400 groupset over the last year or so. [I have 7-speed and 8-speed downtube shifters as well as 8-speed STIs--completing the whole set!] The rear derailleur is an early 7-speed example with the oh-so-'80s fully shrouded pulley cage, the crankset's chainrings were switched out for much prettier 7400 examples, and the brake calipers are later-generation dual pivots with, coincidentally, same-rank (but much newer) 6800 Ultegra cartridge brake pads. The wheelset is comprised of 6400 hubs laced to Matrix ISO-CII aero rims. The rear hub was originally a 7-speed freehub, and was changed to an 8-speed with a donor 6400 hub. Re-dishing was performed.

With nearly every Land Shark out there possessing Dura-Ace, part of me has felt like I was "slumming it" with "only" Shimano 600. The reality was that I loved the wheels with the dark grey rims, I liked the 600 8-speed STIs' coloring more than the Dura-Ace 8-speed's coloring, and in general, thought that the coloring of the entire 600 groupset just plain matched the paint colors and theme the best. The only Dura-Ace is the 12-23T cassette, which will be going shortly for something that has a big cog of 25T or 26T. The bike weighs 22 lb as pictured. Newer and lighter parts can knock this all the way down to below 19 lb, but there is magic in this setup.

*******

This bike is silk smooth. There is rough sections of road that I ride that are bone-rattlers on all my other road/race bikes, and this Land Shark basically does the Jedi hand wave trick. "These are not the bumps you are to feel." For a nutso-geometry race bike with 23mm tires (ok, they're Vittoria Open Corsas, but still!), this should not be happening. Sure, the wheelset plays a role, as do the tires, but at some point, the frame will do the talking, and it talks a very smooth game. Smooth as my plush-tired '81Trek 710. Smooth(er?) as my '92 Specialized Epic Carbon with 25mm tires. As a result, I find myself accelerating and riding faster for the same effort (in the saddle). It's plenty sprightly in out-of-the-saddle climbing and acceleration, but that's not its primary calling card. The steering is quicker, always smooth, and is happy to take any line into a curve that you wish (no diving or "high-line'ing" tendencies). Top flight stuff, all around. Absolutely stellar bike!

Enough of the monologue. We're all here for the pictures.


Last edited by RiddleOfSteel; 05-05-19 at 10:58 AM.
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Old 05-05-19, 12:25 AM
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Cinelli stem and 65-series Criterium bars (my favorite for vintage drops) host the 8-speed STIs, found in remarkable condition a while back. The slenderness of the brake lever blade, combined with its metal construction, feels great. Shifts are fast, accurate, light, and very crisp.



I love this logo. Hysterical!


All branding/artwork is great on this. Also, Prestige. And notice how up in the slots the brake pads are. Another 'extreme' bit of building. Great leverage I will say. Sadly, you can only fit 23mm tires in front, so front and back got 23mm tires instead of 25mm as planned.


Would you just look at this paint???


More of my favorite tubing badging!

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Old 05-05-19, 12:29 AM
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Shimano 600 seat post is also present and accounted for. Trusty Prologo Scratch Pro saddle as well. Note the blended seat stays. So smooth!


Road Shark, count it!


More 600.


Columbus dropouts.


Some of my favorite hubs. Right behind 7400.
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Old 05-05-19, 07:22 AM
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Yes, I'm liking that one.
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Old 05-05-19, 07:47 AM
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Finally, a bike where the purple anodized parts add to the look, instead of sticking out like a sore thumb.

Seriously nice ride (seriously).
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Old 05-05-19, 08:22 AM
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The paint kind of reminds me of a smack of jellyfish...
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Old 05-05-19, 08:31 AM
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So, not as colorful... 1985 Levis-Raleigh contract built racer. S/N 85077. Your serial number convention doesn't seem entirely accurate. From what John Slawta had told me, First two digits were year, and last three were sequence. I wonder if the sequence didn't start over every year...

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Old 05-05-19, 08:31 AM
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Yep, lots to like there. Nice one.
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Old 05-05-19, 09:10 AM
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Oooo yes a Land Shark thread

A buddy and his wife have his and her Land Sharks. I'll try to go over and get some pics. Sadly I myself am finless.
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Old 05-05-19, 11:21 AM
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Originally Posted by La Brea Bike
So, not as colorful... 1985 Levis-Raleigh contract built racer. S/N 85077. Your serial number convention doesn't seem entirely accurate. From what John Slawta had told me, First two digits were year, and last three were sequence. I wonder if the sequence didn't start over every year...
I remember seeing the thread/posts on this one when I was searching to see if there was a "Show me" thread for Lands Sharks. It may not be as colorful as mine, but it is absolutely stunning! I'd stare at it all day.

Thank you for correcting me on the SN code. I have corrected it in my first post in the SN section. I would agree with your assessment of non-resetting sequence numbers. We can get an approximate yearly output, as well as have an even better idea of when he actually began making bikes to sell. The LS website mentions 1986, though it alludes to an as yet unknown prior date to start. That you have the 77th frame ever is pretty freaking sweet. 661 bikes over four years is about 165 bikes/year--this is obviously ballpark-scale approximate math, so even if yearly production wasn't 165, it isn't, say, early Trek numbers.
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Old 05-05-19, 11:27 AM
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Originally Posted by Mr. 66
Yes, I'm liking that one.
Thanks, man.

Originally Posted by thinktubes
Finally, a bike where the purple anodized parts add to the look, instead of sticking out like a sore thumb.

Seriously nice ride (seriously).
Thank you! Yeah, the purple is...strong. As is the bottle cage design. If the cage design was a bit more standard, I wouldn't be as worried about it, but I've settled a lot on it as it works with the general extroversion of the paint scheme. The anodized headset I have always been a fan of. Maybe I'll find some white bottle cages--I'm not actively looking though.

Originally Posted by Ottomotion
The paint kind of reminds me of a smack of jellyfish...
That's exactly what I thought! It's great, isn't it?
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Old 05-05-19, 11:28 AM
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Originally Posted by jyl
Oooo yes a Land Shark thread

A buddy and his wife have his and her Land Sharks. I'll try to go over and get some pics. Sadly I myself am finless.
Ohhh, that would be cool. Snagging the SN for both would also be cool, just to see where they fit into the timeline!
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Old 05-05-19, 05:03 PM
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My Landshark is only one color though it's a bright one:



I picked this up as a frameset on CL, and the previous owner had had the top tube replaced at some point (because it had some dents, he said), but hadn't gotten around to painting it though the rest was purple. The fork also wasn't original and was a different color. I had the whole thing PC-ed the current color, which I'm happy with. I'm also very happy with the way this rides; Reynolds 853 is sweet stuff.
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Old 05-05-19, 07:28 PM
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Originally Posted by nlerner
My Landshark is only one color though it's a bright one:



I picked this up as a frameset on CL, and the previous owner had had the top tube replaced at some point (because it had some dents, he said), but hadn't gotten around to painting it though the rest was purple. The fork also wasn't original and was a different color. I had the whole thing PC-ed the current color, which I'm happy with. I'm also very happy with the way this rides; Reynolds 853 is sweet stuff.
That color is gorgeous. I have yet to try 853 to see how it compares to 531 or SL or Prestige in ride quality for a given race-focused geometry.

Do you know what the serial number is?
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Old 05-06-19, 07:52 AM
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Originally Posted by RiddleOfSteel
That color is gorgeous. I have yet to try 853 to see how it compares to 531 or SL or Prestige in ride quality for a given race-focused geometry.

Do you know what the serial number is?
Thanks! I have a couple of bikes built with 853. Really nice riders both.

Looks like the serial # is 9626 98:



And here's my favorite frame detail:

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Old 05-06-19, 09:03 AM
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Your '88 shark is a beauty. The builder was not on my radar in the 80's but did have a lust for the fillet brazing technique and unique paint jobs in the 90's. Enjoy
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Old 05-06-19, 03:30 PM
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@nlerner very cool detail! The shark is hilarious to me, almost like it's trying to be a trained Orca a la Shamu.
@kevincgove thank you!
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Old 05-06-19, 05:45 PM
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Originally Posted by nlerner
My Landshark is only one color though it's a bright one:



I picked this up as a frameset on CL, and the previous owner had had the top tube replaced at some point (because it had some dents, he said), but hadn't gotten around to painting it though the rest was purple. The fork also wasn't original and was a different color. I had the whole thing PC-ed the current color, which I'm happy with. I'm also very happy with the way this rides; Reynolds 853 is sweet stuff.
That color is awesome, love it!
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Old 05-06-19, 05:55 PM
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I saw Steve Wynn somewhere in NY getting his Land Shark tandem tweeked. 26lbs! Beautiful light blue color.
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Old 05-25-19, 12:05 PM
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A small update on my Road Shark--refitted a number of components (ok, not small update) as I employed the Shimano 600 bits in an effort to sell a similar-period Cannondale. I had found a 1" threadless Control Tech (Made in USA) stem in great shape and even more fortuitously, a -15° rise, which would perfectly match the 75° head tube angle and give a perfectly horizontal profile, matching the top tube. I liked the Cinelli setup before, but with the bike as tall and short-in-wheelbase as it was, more horizontal emphasis was what I've sort of wanted for the bike. The large and very purple water bottle cages were changed out for a matched pair of white ones to not only bring out the colors in the frame more, but also to "neutralize" or bring a clarity to the overall composition. I really like how it turned out.

The wheels and tires remain, as they are a big part of the magic ride formula and look good with the bike. 10-speed Dura-Ace down tube shifters and the host of accompanying 7800 and 7700 pieces that I like joined the party. All of that helped shave the weight to 20.9 lb as pictured (cages and pedals). I know what I could do to make it lighter, but none of it would look as good at all, and I don't know how the ride would be affected (change in wheels). I really like it how it is, and will keep it that way.

I'll have to tweak the front left brake pad angle as it creates a buzz and honking upon braking (Koolstop pads may not help either). I think a definite contributing factor to brake shudder at low speeds, of which this has had/still sort of does, is due to the very flexible fork. The fork is a huge reason why it rides as well as it does, so I'll just need to mind it over the really crummy stuff--a small price to pay for a sublime ride and smooth handling.

Anyway, photo during Friday's evening "commute" home.

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Old 05-25-19, 01:29 PM
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Originally Posted by RiddleOfSteel
A small update on my Road Shark--refitted a number of components (ok, not small update) as I employed the Shimano 600 bits in an effort to sell a similar-period Cannondale. I had found a 1" threadless Control Tech (Made in USA) stem in great shape and even more fortuitously, a -15° rise, which would perfectly match the 75° head tube angle and give a perfectly horizontal profile, matching the top tube. I liked the Cinelli setup before, but with the bike as tall and short-in-wheelbase as it was, more horizontal emphasis was what I've sort of wanted for the bike. The large and very purple water bottle cages were changed out for a matched pair of white ones to not only bring out the colors in the frame more, but also to "neutralize" or bring a clarity to the overall composition. I really like how it turned out.

The wheels and tires remain, as they are a big part of the magic ride formula and look good with the bike. 10-speed Dura-Ace down tube shifters and the host of accompanying 7800 and 7700 pieces that I like joined the party. All of that helped shave the weight to 20.9 lb as pictured (cages and pedals). I know what I could do to make it lighter, but none of it would look as good at all, and I don't know how the ride would be affected (change in wheels). I really like it how it is, and will keep it that way.

I'll have to tweak the front left brake pad angle as it creates a buzz and honking upon braking (Koolstop pads may not help either). I think a definite contributing factor to brake shudder at low speeds, of which this has had/still sort of does, is due to the very flexible fork. The fork is a huge reason why it rides as well as it does, so I'll just need to mind it over the really crummy stuff--a small price to pay for a sublime ride and smooth handling.

Anyway, photo during Friday's evening "commute" home.

As usual, very awesome, love this whole package.

Nice touch with the oil tankers in the background, you do great work all the way around.
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Old 05-25-19, 02:40 PM
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Originally Posted by merziac
As usual, very awesome, love this whole package.

Nice touch with the oil tankers in the background, you do great work all the way around.
Thank you!

Happy the oil tankers could provide some visual interest. Heading north from the piers in downtown Seattle, the bike and walk paths run through Myrtle Edwards and Centennial Parks that really are one continuous park. The trail crosses a road and heads up through Interbay and the main rail yard, keeping quite close to the expanding and contracting number of rails (it's two lines once in the city, but 12+ in the main yard). As such, you can get lucky and pace a train as it trundles through. Lately I've been able to do so, once at just under 20 mph going south, and once as the train was 25-ish mph and outpaced my very concerted effort to keep up. The south bound occurrence had me lined up with the lead locomotives, which was super cool. They may not be living, breathing steamers (which are magnificent), but their sub-bass rumble and effortless gliding along the tracks are mesmerizing enough to be enjoyed.
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Old 05-25-19, 02:57 PM
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That frame art motivates me to follow through on some graphic ideas I have for my 1993 Trekenstein 5900.

Those tall frames always make me wonder whether a giraffe frame might handle better with a longer wheelbase without compromising handling too much.

So far the only person I've seen riding a giraffe frame bike was Bill Walton in the 1980 Tijuana-Ensenada 75 mile ride (back before the Rosarito-Ensenada twice-a-year 50 miler). Alas, Bill chugged past me so quickly I didn't get a chance to ask him about bike handling. That was during his injury year with the Clippers. Even while recovering from injuries he was pretty strong on the bike, surprisingly so on the climbs where he passed me.
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Old 05-25-19, 04:07 PM
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Originally Posted by RiddleOfSteel
Thank you!

Happy the oil tankers could provide some visual interest. Heading north from the piers in downtown Seattle, the bike and walk paths run through Myrtle Edwards and Centennial Parks that really are one continuous park. The trail crosses a road and heads up through Interbay and the main rail yard, keeping quite close to the expanding and contracting number of rails (it's two lines once in the city, but 12+ in the main yard). As such, you can get lucky and pace a train as it trundles through. Lately I've been able to do so, once at just under 20 mph going south, and once as the train was 25-ish mph and outpaced my very concerted effort to keep up. The south bound occurrence had me lined up with the lead locomotives, which was super cool. They may not be living, breathing steamers (which are magnificent), but their sub-bass rumble and effortless gliding along the tracks are mesmerizing enough to be enjoyed.
Yep, very cool trains are, however my nod was to the contrast of the huge carbon footprint of that hauling oil? no less to the comparative minuscule one of the bike.

It's all good, only so much we can do.
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Old 05-25-19, 05:20 PM
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Originally Posted by merziac
Yep, very cool trains are, however my nod was to the contrast of the huge carbon footprint of that hauling oil? no less to the comparative minuscule one of the bike.

It's all good, only so much we can do.
Ah, I see what you were getting at now. The contrast in carbon emissions is very apparent. Though, thankfully, so is what each is hauling. Me versus a bazillion tons of cargo. For hauling all our "medium" freight/cargo, diesel-electric locos do extremely well. To do any sort of work requires energy, and hopefully we do it as efficiently as possible. Union Pacific's #4014 "Big Boy" locomotive was fully restored in time (literally JUST in time) for the May 9-10th celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Golden Spike, double-heading with UP #844 out of Cheyenne all the way to Ogden, UT. Even as she was converted to burn oil, she's no match in overall efficiency and maintenance for modern locos. Still, she'll haul more than a 143 double-stacked "revenue train" like her predecessor, #3985 "Challenger", whereas it would take 5 or so modern diesels to do the same job.

Originally Posted by canklecat
That frame art motivates me to follow through on some graphic ideas I have for my 1993 Trekenstein 5900.

Those tall frames always make me wonder whether a giraffe frame might handle better with a longer wheelbase without compromising handling too much.

So far the only person I've seen riding a giraffe frame bike was Bill Walton in the 1980 Tijuana-Ensenada 75 mile ride (back before the Rosarito-Ensenada twice-a-year 50 miler). Alas, Bill chugged past me so quickly I didn't get a chance to ask him about bike handling. That was during his injury year with the Clippers. Even while recovering from injuries he was pretty strong on the bike, surprisingly so on the climbs where he passed me.
I think some proportionality exists between frames built for short riders vs. tall riders. The 'Shark bucks that trend still, as it should be pretty insane, tucking a huge frame and rider under a super short wheelbase frame suited for a 50cm rider. I've had a few large "proportional" frames (sport touring to touring--think super vintage PX10 geometry) that felt wobbly upon initial big-watt out-of-the-saddle efforts (when starting at a lower cadence and spinning up), but then I have my '74 Paramount with its full DB 531 tubing and it is tight and ready to rock at any cadence or input level. I suppose it is indeed proportional, I just hope that the small sizes aren't bone-jarring. As much as I try to find the "God particle" that explains most/all frames' character traits, I can't.
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