Let's see if I can do this correctly for once!
The line drawn from the head tube and main part of the fork intersects the ground in front of the place where the tire actually contacts the ground. Making the fork rake larger effectively brings the tire contact patch closer to the line drawn from the head tube. This "closer" is called reduced "trail", or the distance the contact patch "trails" behind the imaginary line. Less trail equals snappier but less stable handling, more trail equals more stable but less responsive handling. (That more trail is more stable seems like an easy to make connection to me.)
Did I get it kinda sorta right for once?
Steve "on the trail" Freides wet from riding in rainy Ridgewood, NJ
Richard M Sachs wrote:
>
> <<I take it from Brian's comment that the reduced fork rake makes
> > the bike handle quickly, no?>>>
> Douglas Brooks
> Canandaigua, nY
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
> reducing the rake produces a slower handling bike,
> not a quicker one.
> e-RICHIE
> http://www.richardsachs.com
>
> _______________________________________________
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Steve Freides