qcpmsame 

Chicks dig scars

jonwvara 

Whichever bike I ride is my favorite. I take out a bike I haven't ridden in a while and immediately I start thinking "Whoa! This is the best bike of all. Why do I even bother riding any of the others?"

Rocket-Sauce 

Uphill both ways? No, that is ridiculous.

But a headwind both ways is a fact.

palincss

The most significant by far in my opinion is the feeling that you are going faster when you pump up the tires so they're rock hard.

noglider 

They also roll over bumps more nicely, since they're taller.

noglider 

I get that a lot! The biggest repeating surprise is my Raleigh Super Course, maybe because it was cheaper when new or because I picked it out of the trash or because it looks like hell.

RobbieTunes

Exactly.

Same concept applies when you decide to sell one, and tune it up and test-ride it:
-Price goes up, bike often goes back on the rack-

RobbieTunes

sports cars, Bill. That's what I told myself.

qcpmsame 

If you say it long enough, you begin to believe it.....

USAZorro

Now imagine Jackie Stewart is saying it.

Hills have gotten steeper in the past 40 years.

qcpmsame 

+1 @USAZorro, Mr. Stewart is my favorite F1 driver, he stuck his neck out for safety to be taken seriously. He is the consummate gentleman, also!

Continuing Tom's OP intent:
I never get flats, and the spare tube is just fine even though its been in the bag since 2016.....

1 extra CO2 cartridge is plenty, I don't need a hand pump also.....

Bill

noglider 

Actually, that's not the intent. I'm not looking for axioms. I'm looking for things people experience kinesthetically (i.e. that they feel) that are not true.

qcpmsame 

Apologies Tom, pleading ignorance and being plain old dumb

Bill (the repentant)

noglider 

No worries.

Metacortex

The title of this thread instantly reminded me of one of the records my parents had in the '60s, which I played many times at home as a kid. From 1967: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaleid...c_from_Way_Out

jamesdak 

My lightest bike has to be the fastest.... even uphill!

bwilli88 

Handlebars never look straight while on the bike.

RiddleOfSteel

A big framed (25" w/ long stays), friction shifted (down tube), smaller-than-normal cranked (170mm vs. 175mm), sluggish-tired ($12 27x1.25 Kendas), heavy (27 lb) bike won't want to nor be much good at keeping up with rapid downtown traffic...

...proceeds to reach decent speed, shift to the big ring, get out of the saddle, and quickly accelerate to nearly 25 mph quite comfortably, continuing on several bigger, faster streets before turning off into a residential zone.

This is my '74 P15 Paramount.

She may be a bit shy in her braking ability, but her mid-range+ acceleration is always a fun surprise.

RobbieTunes

Life.
Women.
Employers.
The drive-thru girl that says "My Pleasure."

tricky 

LOL. That about covers it.

brandon98

This is not an illusion. The terrible Kinesis aluminum straight blade forks of the 90s were terrible, buzzy things that took all the road issues and amplified them straight into your wrists Best thing I ever did to my 99 853 Peloton was to replace the fork with a rather generic steel, later a carbon fork.

RiddleOfSteel

Ugh, straight blade forks of just about any stripe look like they'd be a bad time. Straight steel looks a bit unnatural. I say to myself, when I see one, "but you're supposed to be curved!" My '89 Cannondale SR800 with an aluminum fork (which was curved) felt just fine, thankfully.

noglider 

Perhaps I wasn't clear. Cannondale frames were very stiff in the beginning. It's because of their diameters, not the material. If you build with steel using the same weights or diameters as steel, the result will be less stiff. Aluminum is less stiff than steel unless you do something different such as increase weight or diameter or both. Someone saw a picture of my Lemond which has a titanium frame and aluminum fork. The fork has the same dimensions as a normal steel fork. He said my fork must be stiff, I guess because he extrapolated data in the wrong direction, so to speak.

Jadesfire 

Shipping takes longer when a build is almost finished and just needs one or two last minute items.

RobbieTunes

For me, A.K.A. "China is farther away when you really need that part."