Evil bike..?

[xeney]

Does it fit? That's how my road bike felt when I got a new saddle that was less adjustable than my old one, and I wound up way too far forward over the cranks. It just felt pedaling through Jello or something!

[Popoki_Nui]

Does it fit? That's how my road bike felt when I got a new saddle that was less adjustable than my old one, and I wound up way too far forward over the cranks. It just felt pedaling through Jello or something!

Yep, the bike fits fine. When I rescued it from a junk pile, I took measurements of the frame dimensions and compared them to the measurements of my Gitane, just to make sure the bike was going to fit and hence worth restoring. The only differences are the rear triangle is a little shorter, and the fork rake is a little less, resulting in a shorter wheelbase. Otherwise, the frame is a good fit, and the saddle height and angle, stem and bar height are identical to my Gitane.
It's so weird: all my other bikes (mountain, road, cross) feel better the longer I ride them. This one is just the opposite.

[gnarwhal]

I think i'd have a good fiddle with the saddle if i were you...not sure what else to offer, except that my bike too is evil. In a slightly different manner though...it did this to me last week.

[Popoki_Nui]

I think i'd have a good fiddle with the saddle if i were you...not sure what else to offer, except that my bike too is evil. In a slightly different manner though...it did this to me last week.

Ouch! What happened??

edit: I have indeed adjusted the saddle (and replaced the one in the pic). For some reason, the bike just does not want to roll)

[DeniseGoldberg]

I could be wrong, but I believe that both the shorter rear triangle and the fork rake will change the feel of the bike. The fit may be correct, but you are probably comparing the feel of the bike to your other bikes and it sounds like the frame geometry is very different.

From an article by Sheldon Brown on bike frame materials:

Frame geometry. Generally, frames with longer chain stays, and less vertical seat-tube and head-tube angles are more comfortable. This doesn't make them any slower, but may reduce maneuverability (also known as twitchiness.)

I know that you weren't asking about frame materials but if you're interested in the full article, it can be found here.

There are probably some women here who are a lot more familiar with frame geometry and how it changes the handling of a bike - hopefully one of them will chime in here. Now I'm curious...

[mimitabby]

I'm curious too. It looks like a great bike, why doesn't it roll well?

[Popoki_Nui]

Sure, the shorter rear end and steeper fork does change the feel of the bike (this one is indeed a lot "twitchier than any of my other road bikes), but that shouldn't have a significant effect on speed. Even going downhill, this bike is slow. ( to put it another way, a LOT more effort is required to attain the same speed as on my other road bikes, even downhill). FWIW, the geometry of the frame (main triangle tube angles and lengths) are virtually identical with my TdF, only the wheelbase is different. Both are d/b steel.

I'm wondering if I'm using tires which are too narrow? I have read in the past that tires which are too narrow can cause a loss of efficiency. Maybe that's the problem??

[Bad JuJu]

Interesting.... I've always thought that it was wider tires that cause lower efficiency by providing greater rolling resistance. But hey, you learn something every day--how would narrow tires cause decreased efficiency?