> I have to agree. As Brian said in a previous post, the perception that a
> Confente, for example, is the best-riding bike ever built is probably only
> true for the person who states that
If I paid +10K for a bike, it would definitely be the best riding bike ever:)
The point is, best riding bike is very subjective depending on the rider's style, his mass (we are all getting older), intent and his mindset.
All of the bikes in my quiver are very purpose built so it is hard for me to say that my Toei rides better than my Baylis for instance.
In the last issue of Bicycle Quarterly Jan tested a Toei and his ride experience was really different from mine. Both bikes were not built for either ride. He had pronounced shimmy on the Toei he tested which he felt may be due to the King headset but my Toei does not shimmy at speed at all. In fact, it descends faster than my Landshark go fast bike. I think the Toei he tested was 700c while mine is 650B.
I like reading Jan's reviews since he compares notes with Mark and although they are of similar build and riding fitness, they sometimes experience bikes differently. I think the issue before had a double blind test with some bikes built by Jeff Lyon to see if the riders could identify which bikes "planed" better when the bikes had different diameter tubing.
Jan can define planning since I am still fuzzy on the whole definition but I don't think there is any doubt that some bikes respond to power to the pedals better than others. Does that mean they ride better? I don't think so.
Mike Wilkinson
Castle Rock, CO