Frame Geometry and Ride Characteristics...
 

I am looking for a brief description of how differences in frame geometries affect ride characteristics.

Some examples: How do longer chainstays affect acceleration or control as opposed to short chainstays? How do changes in fork rake affect the way the bike handles? Other than fit, does a different head or seat tube angle change the way the bike rides?

Any other related items would also be welcome.

Here's a 5-page exceprt from Lenard Zinn's "Zinn's Cycling Primer" re: frame geometry and bike stability:

http://www.velonews/media/block40.pdf

He describes himself as a framebuilder with a background in physics. I'm neither and didn't make it all the way through the five pages.

Alas, that link is dead. I'm trying to google it but not having much luck....

Whoops. Try this:

www.velonews.com/media/block40.pdf

Forgot the ".com"

Also, my dime-store physics is guessing:

Chainstay length will contribute to rider position (and therefore, location of weight) relative to rear wheel. Hence, bikes with seattube cutouts to place rider weight more over rear wheel.

Total wheelbase contributes to response to steering input. Shorter wheelbase responds more/faster to small inputs than long wheelbase.

More acute (closer to 90 deg) seat tube angle will contribute to more road input translated to seat of pants. Slacker angle will contribute to "plusher" ride.

More acute head tube angle will contribute to more response to steering input.

Is any of this accurate?

I appreciate the information from your post, but the link is still dead. :)

Once more, with feeling:

http://www.velonews.com/media/Block40.pdf

Yay! That worked. You'd think folks would be not using case-sensitive web servers anymore. Must be Apache/*nix [giggle]