Fork rake and handling

[Waldo]

I have an older French bike that corners a bit too quickly for my liking. I prefer more ponderous handling bikes, but this one reacts super-quickly to inputs. If I change the fork will I be able to slow it down a bit?

[e-RICHIE]

prolly yes.
get a fork with less rake atmo.
perhaps the diff in trail will be to your liking.

[palincss]

I have an older French bike that corners a bit too quickly for my liking. I prefer more ponderous handling bikes, but this one reacts super-quickly to inputs. If I change the fork will I be able to slow it down a bit?

What tires do you have on it now? It's very possible the bike was designed to be used with wider, lower pressure tires than you are currently using, and switching to a wider tire will slow the handling a bit.

Also, many older French bikes were designed to carry a load on the front, and putting a handlebar bag with three or four pounds on there will damp the steering a bit as well.

[e-RICHIE]

Also, many older French bikes were designed to<cut>
vlad is this one of those french bikes atmo?

[Waldo]

No. The builder's initials are neither RH nor AS.

[e-RICHIE]

mon dieu* so get a fork with less rake and see what happens atmo.





* french for my dyoo

[Brian Smith]

Check the stem quill diameter and headset race size before you buy a fork; you might need a new stem and headset to apply a non-french fork to the old machine.

[sg8357]

Vlad, What is it and how big is it. ?
Any Simplex parts ?


Scott G.

[palincss]

No. The builder's initials are neither RH nor AS.


Many Peugeots, Gitanes and Motobecanes were designed that way too.

While I don't disagree with e-RICHIE's suggestion: "mon dieu* so get a fork with less rake and see what happens atmo" it's a h*ll of a lot cheaper to first try either a 32mm tire at 70 psi or a 5 lb load in a handlebar bag, than it is to purchase and install a new fork.

[e-RICHIE]

Many Peugeots, Gitanes and Motobecanes were designed that way too.

While I don't disagree with e-RICHIE's suggestion: "mon dieu* so get a fork with less rake and see what happens atmo" it's a h*ll of a lot cheaper to first try either a 32mm tire at 70 psi or a 5 lb load in a handlebar bag, than it is to purchase and install a new fork.
the thing is -
we don't even know if he has a road bicycle or one made for pbp atmo.
so my suggestion was based on the former. the french do make those
too no?

[palincss]

the thing is -
we don't even know if he has a road bicycle or one made for pbp atmo.
so my suggestion was based on the former. the french do make those
too no?

What would you call the UO-8? The most common Peugeot, atmo, and if its cheering section on the iBOB list is to be believed, a bike beloved for its low trail geometry. (And certainly not one made for PBP.)

Besides -- what was the most common tire size on the most common French bikes during the bike boom years in the US? IIRC, either 27 x 1 1/4" or 700x32. PX-10s had tubulars, but they were pretty rare. By the time the drive towards ever narrower and higher pressure wired-on tires got rolling, French bikes had largely vanished from the U.S. market. So the chance that this unnamed French bike was designed for moderately wide, relatively low pressure tires is good.

[Spicoli]

Do I have this backwards?

If you have a fork with say a 43mm rake/offset and put it on two bikes, one with 73HTA vs. a 72HTA, which bike will turn quicker?

I always thought slacker meant slower, ie; the 72* will behave a lil slower/ less responsive to rider input and maybe lil' more comfortable. While the 73* will have a quicker feel to inputs?

So by going less rake ie; putting a 43mm fork on if he now has say a 45 or 50, wouldnt that make the bike turn quicker? Or do I have the terms confused, by less rake does it mean more kicked out/45/50mm fork as opposed to a current fork that like a 43mm?

Sorry if sounds simple, I may just be overthinking this and confusing myself?

[e-RICHIE]

What would you call the UO-8? The most common Peugeot, atmo, and if its cheering section on the iBOB list is to be believed, a bike beloved for its low trail geometry. (And certainly not one made for PBP.)

Besides -- what was the most common tire size on the most common French bikes during the bike boom years in the US? IIRC, either 27 x 1 1/4" or 700x32. PX-10s had tubulars, but they were pretty rare. By the time the drive towards ever narrower and higher pressure wired-on tires got rolling, French bikes had largely vanished from the U.S. market. So the chance that this unnamed French bike was designed for moderately wide, relatively low pressure tires is good.
i guess i assumed that vlad did not mean a UO-8 or its ilk.
i'm not on the iBOB list so don't summon up its biases that
quickly. there were many racing bicycles made in france,
prolly because of that tour thang. i am aware that there
are also the other (types of) bicycles. regardless, reducing
the rake will solve his issue atmo.



Do I have this backwards?

If you have a fork with say a 43mm rake/offset and put it on two bikes, one with 73HTA vs. a 72HTA, which bike will turn quicker?

I always thought slacker meant slower, ie; the 72* will behave a lil slower/ less responsive to rider input and maybe lil' more comfortable. While the 73* will have a quicker feel to inputs?

So by going less rake ie; putting a 43mm fork on if he now has say a 45 or 50, wouldnt that make the bike turn quicker? Or do I have the terms confused, by less rake does it mean more kicked out/45/50mm fork as opposed to a current fork that like a 43mm?

Sorry if sounds simple, I may just be overthinking this and confusing myself?
he wanted to slow it (the steering in turns) down iirc.
increasing the trail (reducing the rake) should help atmo.

[Spicoli]

Awe forget it.....still confused? math was never my bag anyhoo. ;)

Oh yeah, you forgot this one also...."It puts the Joe Dirt in the hole"!

[e-RICHIE]

Awe forget it.....still confused? math was never my bag anyhoo. ;)

Oh yeah, you forgot this one also...."It puts the Joe Dirt in the hole"!
what is it that you don't get atmo?

http://www.mathacademy.com/pr/prime/articles/trig_ident/trig_ident_2.gif

[Bud]

Here's a decent explanation (http://www.phred.org/~josh/bike/trail.html) of trail.

[Spicoli]

Here's a decent explanation (http://www.phred.org/~josh/bike/trail.html) of trail.
Thnx Bud,
I pretty much had it right for the most part, just spun some terms around in my head. Confusing my simplton self ;)
Jeff