>
>Second, is the Cooper a purpose built racing bike? Was it designed
>for US criterium racing? The angles seem plenty steep for an early
>70's bike. Looking at the numbers, I'd guess she'd zing around the
>corners, but be a bit fatiguing on long rides. What's the reality?
>
To make a guess simply based on head angle regarding a bike's handling is impossible. Many old randonneur bikes use 73 or 74 degree head angles, and while they do zing around corners, they aren't fatiguing at all on long rides. Even trail (i.e., the combination of head angle, fork offset/rake and wheel diameter) is a poor predictor of a bike's handling - many of the above-mentioned randonneur bikes have much less trail than even criterium bikes, without handling like one.
Sorry, have been thinking about this way too much in the past weeks...
--
Jan Heine, Seattle
Editor/Publisher
Vintage Bicycle Quarterly
c/o Il Vecchio Bicycles
140 Lakeside Ave, Ste. C
Seattle WA 98122
http://www.mindspring.com/