RE: [CR]Historical developments in riding styles, technique, form, etc?

(Example: Bike Shops:R.E.W. Reynolds)

From: "Kenneth Freeman" <ken4bikes@att.net>
To: "'Emily O'Brien'" <emilyonwheels@emilysdomain.org>, <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
References: <20080130221257.19050.qmail@server291.com>
Subject: RE: [CR]Historical developments in riding styles, technique, form, etc?
Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2008 20:23:33 -0500
In-Reply-To: <20080130221257.19050.qmail@server291.com>
Thread-Index: AchoOIIWCpAgayviSJeLFiDWXterlQAJSlkg


Several years ago Chuck Schmidt posted the geometries of a number of his 50's and 60's bikes. They all had relatively small values of trail and pretty long chainstays and wheelbases. It was speculated that this was due to the quality of roads in post-WWII Europe, being generally lower than it is today.

I would think (read "speculate") that with today's shorter wheelbases, and the apparent need for bikes to have good stability over a day stage, that trail has increased (Cycling Plus typically finds trail around 60 mm in modern bikes) to achieve this stability in the absence of length.

Discuss!

Ken Freeman Ann Arbor, MI USA

-----Original Message----- From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of Emily O'Brien Sent: Wednesday, January 30, 2008 5:13 PM To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: [CR]Historical developments in riding styles, technique, form, etc?

Over the decades, as bike construction and geometry have changed, so have rider positions and preferences. Some things are relatively obvious how they affect riding styles, such as handlebars getting lower in relation to the saddle. Older bikes had higher bars, and the drops were in a position that was more comfortable for spending lots of time in, and the brake hoods were not as comfortable to ride on top of. As handlebars got lower, the drops got usable for a smaller percentage of the time, but the brake hoods got bigger and more designed for holding onto from above.

I'm curious about other ways that riding styles or techniques have changed over the years. Has thinking changed about crank length? Cadence? Seat tube angle? How have bikes changed or changed back to favor one style of riding versus another? How have riding styles changed to favor one type of bike design versus another?

I'm just curious what you all have to throw out there, be it speculation, hearsay, or from refutable sources.

Emily O'Brien
Medford, MA