This was my experience exactly on the Sam Hillborne, both with all the weight (no more than 35 lb in my case) in the back and even worse when some of that weight was in the front in a bar bag (Ostrich, firmly attached by decaleur to stem and front rack). Front low riders did slow the flop a bit but made the steering feel very sluggish -- very *oddly* sluggish with 30 lb divided evenly between the two: it was very hard to initiate a turn!. My own solutions was to sell the Sam Hill and buy a Fargo, which handles unobjectionably in all loaded conditions; but of course that is rather drastic. I personally would also be interested in others' suggestions for solutions. I expect finding the right mix of front/rear and high/low is one area to investigate?
Jan's experience of feeling more confident in mid, fast turn with a low trail bike is interesting; perhaps it's simply lack of experience with either or both kinds, but my own impression is that higher trail "corner as on rails" bikes (Rivs) feel more confidence inspiring than the Herse -- not that the Herse is bad, just not "ideal" -- it takes more concentration; one is not as blithely and unconcernedly ready to "let the bike go." Now the trike seems to handle the same with or without a front load. (That's a joke, Steve -- tho' it's true.) On Mon, Nov 21, 2011 at 10:05 AM, allenmichael <[email protected]> wrote: > I just did my first tour this past summer on a 56 Atlantis. The > Atlantis was terrific except for climbing at very low speeds. I was > carrying a lot of weight, about 65 lbs., and some of it was on the > front. I had a riv high rider nitto rack with two loaded panniers and > my wife's sleeping pad riding up there. > > At low speed, almost no speed, the front tire (and all of the front > weight) kept wanting to flop over. The worst part of the trip, by > far, was fighting with this weight and trying to keep the bike on the > road under these conditions. To the point where I don't think I would > take this bike again if I had to carry so much weight. > > Any suggestions, apart from carrying less weight or balancing it > better or loading it lower? Other bikes? Other handlebar set-ups (I > had noodle drop bars, just above the saddle)? Other tires (I had 1.75 > Marathon Plus)? > > Thanks, > Michael Allen > > > -- Patrick Moore Albuquerque, NM For professional resumes, contact Patrick Moore, ACRW http://resumespecialties.com/index.html -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
