I never was good at math.

Geometry.  Angles, dimensions, millimeters, degrees.   Toss all that stuff into a bucket with bike tubing, add glue, and shake well.  Out pops a bike frame.  More or less.

And the result can be quite varied.  A bike is a pretty simple thing yet at the same time it is quite complicated if you are looking for a specific result in a handling trait or 'feel' to the bike.  'Feel' is sooo subjective.  This bike feels fast,  It feels slow steering.  It feels nimble. 

As a guy that spends time riding bikes and talking about them as a reviewer, I am constantly reading the tea leaves to divine what the bike provides as far as handling, etc.  So, you rely on your years of experience and decent skills to put into words what you hope is the truth mixed with opinion and spat out onto the keyboard in words for the eager readers.

I has been eagerly expecting the arrival of a new SS frame to possibly replace the SS Jabber.  I have really liked the little, orange, steel beast over the last couple of years.  It is a fine perch to pedal the countryside from, but there were some things I wanted to 'tweak' in the next steed.  This new SS hits all the marks on paper that I hoped would give me the results I wanted.

And, I am pleased to report, after two rides, it looks to be all that I had hoped it would be.  There is a lot more trail time to come in that regards, since two rides is just a quick hit off the sippy cup, not a long drink, but I am always surprised how a very few changes in a tube length and degrees of angles can produce such a subtle but noticeable difference.

Never let anyone convince you that one bike is just like any other.  While you can get used to anything and you certainly can obsess over the 'perfect' bike, it is worth a bit of effort to grab a ride on different bikes to find the one that meets your expectations.  Bikes can be very different, as different as each rider on them.

Vive' Le Difference.