oldbobcat

From the start I could tell the bike was less stiff than the Felt F5 that it replaced. But it had a nice snap and it fit perfectly, and it was all Dura-Ace with Mavic wheels. I liked it. The decline started as getting just plain "whippy," the old-school term for a steel bike that was too big or too long for the selected materiall, mushy steering, energy-soaking sprints, and difficult to control out of the saddle. At first I thought it was just me getting out old. Then it got squirrelly. Descending, I had to stop pedaling at 35 mph just to keep it in a reasonably straight line. If there was a crosswind, my knees were clamped to the top tube. I had to borrow bikes from the shop's rental fleet to lead the Saturday group ride. I couldn't trust myself riding next to anyone. I retired the bike when I noticed that the wheelbase got longer when I sat on it.