Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter P.
You mean to tell me your Parlee, with the same head angle as the BMC but a mere 2mm more fork rake, handles much better? I can't believe 2mm makes that much of a difference. It's the tire size I tell ya!
I've experimented with rake and trail on my bikes and will say yes; 5mm makes a easily discernable difference. 2mm, no.
I'd temporarily put 25s on the BMC and confirm it handles better. Then either buy another fork or get rid of the bike. I think part of your problem is the gyroscopic effect of the heavier, larger tire and tube.
Oddly enough, retired framebuilder Dave Moulton who had quite a following in the 80s and 90s, built high trail road frames and people liked them! I was always intrigued by his bikes and wanted to try that geometry. |
If I recall, Dave’s geo arrived at high trail via a combo of short fork offset and steep head angle?.. This may give an interesting sensation of steering stability, yet little flop. I’ve a couple of frames that seem to have these features, and they’re surprising decent on dirt roads even with 32 mm tires. They’re excellent on smooth roads. (For the record, I hate wheel flop, but I also like being able to ride no-hands to have a snack or pull off a layer, and don’t ride with large front loads enough to need a low trail.)