KONAS CRATE DRIVERS

The main variables are diameter and tube wall thickness. One custom builder recounted a fun and revealing but time-consuming experiment of building a frame and then cutting out and welding in downtubes of different diameters and wall thicknesses to test a range of variations. Stiffness in this context is torsional stiffness, namely the propensity of the frame to resist twisting forces.

KONAS CRATE DRIVERS

My knowledgeable framebuilder informants tell me that one of the main drivers of whether a bicycle feels stiff is the downtube. For me, my reactions to the feel of the LTD mostly have to do with frame stiffness. I quickly enough got used to the feel of the LTD, but comparing it to several of my personal bikes always revealed again those differences, and thinking about a ride at the end of the day gave some perspective on the hard-to-articulate flashes of reaction that I was having to it. After that, an embodied familiarity erases any feel of alienness, punctuated by occasional reminders that a bike requires different inputs than one expects or prefers. Bicycles exhibit their most in-your-face habits in the first few minutes of riding them and especially when switching from one to another.

Stepping back and reflecting a bit, let me try to make sense of those impressions. I didnвЂ™t have any trouble achieving a comfortable fit in the size 54 that I was testing, so it was easy to be happy on the bike, position-wise, for long days. At very high speeds, especially in moderately chunky contexts, itвЂ™s as placid and relaxed as one could want. At very low speeds there is wheel flop but a reluctance for the bike to radically change its direction. At first, I felt acutely aware that the front wheel was perceptibly further ahead of the bike than IвЂ™m used to, but of course that sensation went away. But then while cruising along, it was comfortable and confident, with no sense of twitchiness or uncertainty. The LTD felt a bit plodding when trying to sprint up to speed. It turns out that I appreciate that more in an MTB format than in an all-road format. There was more of a вЂњsitting between the wheelsвЂќ sensation than I usually expect in an all-road bike, reminiscent of the contrast between 26-inch wheel mountain bikes and 29ers, where the former can feel like riding on top of the bike while the latter more within. Here is a distillation of my notes from the live experience of riding: The Rove LTD is purposeful and stable, stiffer than IвЂ™d normally prefer, and better in a straight line downhill than going uphill or twisting through the woods. I donвЂ™t pretend that I can achieve some kind of wholly pure sense of feel in a bike, but I want to at least aim for a faithful report of my impression of the feel of the Rove LTD after riding it for many months. My better self wants to resist that, what with our endless capacity for confirmation bias, rationalization, and selective attention. We sometimes wear it as a badge of achievement that we can look at a table of numbers and speak allegedly authoritatively on how a bike rides. IвЂ™m as guilty as any bike nerd of conjuring notions of what a bike is likely to feel like given its geometry, the materials of construction, and the general ride aesthetic of the company that produced it.

Angles (54cm): 71В° Head tube, 73.5В° Seat tube.For someone who gets along with a somewhat unyielding feel and wants a neutral geometry that makes the slightest nod to a long cockpit/short stem style, the Rove merits consideration. ItвЂ™s a flat-out great looking bike, with paint and details that pop and glint. It feels stable and planted, it holds tenaciously to a high-speed line, and it graciously copes with whatever rugged conditions thrown at it. KonaвЂ™s Rove LTD is an all-road bike that is ready for mixed terrain day rides and bikepacking trips alike.

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