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Old 11-25-22, 12:48 PM
  #86  
vespasianus
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Join Date: Jul 2019
Location: In the south but from North
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Bikes: Turner 5-Spot Burner converted; IBIS Ripley, Specialized Crave, Tommasini Sintesi, Cinelli Superstar, Tommasini X-Fire Gravel

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Originally Posted by 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.
Except for the elongating wheelbase (eek!) and the issue in crosswinds, what you describe sounds like old wheels that need some work. How much did the wheelbase change?
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