Hmmm... - I'd take a look at the fore/aft saddle placement with respect to the bb. - I might drop the bars slightly - IIRC, don't your other bikes have bars 1-2" below the saddle?
Both those steps could shift just a bit more weight onto the front end. The technique which always worked for me while climbing is to pull down with my elbows. It's an mtb trick which helped to get up steepy-steep bits without popping wheelies. It would be interesting to see what happened if you took about 5-7 lb's out of the rear and put them up front. When you say the panniers were not "optimal", how so? Do they tend to hold the weight more rearward? More weight behind the rear axle will tend to act as a lever. If you are comparing the loaded handling to the flexy 531 bike, you might want to give it a few rides before changing much. It might be less of a correction than you think right now. hope that helps a bit, - Jim -- Jim Edgar cyclofi...@earthlink.net Cyclofiend Bicycle Photo Galleries - http://www.cyclofiend.com Current Classics - Cross Bikes Singlespeed - Working Bikes The Gallery needs your photos! Send 'em in - Here's how: http://www.cyclofiend.com/guidelines "She edged in to get a better look at the bike, how it was made, the intricacy of its brakes and shifters pulling her straight in. Beauty." -- William Gibson, "Virtual Light" -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
