Do the new-style sparrows like Aeon Glow and the faction sparrows handle differently than the older-style Vanguard and Crucible sparrows? I didn't have a new-style sparrow last year to test with but it seems to me they handle better than the older-style ones. I can cut corners with them far easier than with the old ones and feel like I just have better control overall. BUT they feel slower, like they just don't move as fast as the old ones despite having the same stats. I know all guns have hidden stats, so are there maybe hidden stats on the sparrows too? Is there a difference or am I just imagining things? EDIT #1 After some digging I noticed that my primary old-school sparrow, the EV-40 SnowScream, has the Quick Brake perk, while my primary new-type bike S-35 Aeon Glow has Destabilizers. I'm betting that is the source of the handling differences I've been experiencing. I'll be spending some time on Lysander's Cry tonight, as it is an old-style bike with Destabilizers instead of Quick Brake, and see if I fly it any better than the SnowScream. Edit #2 Okay, spent a good few races last night swapping between Lysander and SnowScream. Lysander handles better than SnowScream (for me) so the difference between Destabilzers (DS) and Quick Brake (QB) seems to affect handling. All the old-style sparrows, in both QB and DS, seemed to either take corners very tight or get thrown way, way wide. I then switched to Aeon Glow and noticed a marked improvement in handling over Lysander. The newer-style also seems to be more forgiving in the turns. So, with a sample-set of one, it seems to me that the old style sparrows, with QB, handle the worst, the few old style with DS handle better, and then all the new-style sparrows with DS handle the best. Corollary 1: I use the bumpers a lot for course-correction. I need a sparrow with DS so I can do tricks to refill the bumper fuel. A buddy of mine almost never uses the bumpers and is just as competitive as I am. He doesn't need a trick bike to do well in a race. So the old QB sparrows are plenty viable in a race if you know how to handle them. I apparently do not. Corollary 2: This is not to say they are 'the best sparrow': there isnt one. It all depends on how well you can handle the one you have. Research indicates there is a consensus that the SR-1 Swiftriver could be called the "best" sparrow, given it's a DS bike with 160 speed and higher-than-average boost of 40. Most bikes have a 35 boost. Raid bikes have an even higher boost, and overdrive, but apparently are prone to blowing up and are very twitchy if you hit small rocks: they apparently bounce like ping-pong balls. It takes skill to run raid bikes well. TLDNR: Bikes do seem to handle differently, but they're all viable if you know how to drive them.