Re: [CR]Balance

In a message dated 1/23/2005 9:17:31 PM Mountain Standard Time, wickedsky@sbcglobal.net writes:

This may sound like a ridiculous question, but to this day I have not figured it out: What EXACTLY causes a bicycle to pull hard to one side (more often to the left I have experienced) when you are seated, riding, and remove your hands from the bars?

Some bikes pull so hard that you have to grab that bars within a second of letting go (or else you will take a dive.)

sounds to me like a bad relationship between head angle and trail, combined with your own tendency to lean to the left. i experienced a similar thing, riding a number of serotta 7-11 team bikes, maybe 1981 or so, can't remember exactly. it left a bad taste in my mouth ever since for serotta front ends. i'd like to have that perception changed, as i respect ben. you'll be able to find many articles about head angle -- trail relationship. i just googled " "head angle" & trail" and here are some results:

http://www.velonews.com/tech/report/articles/7322.0.html (mapped) (see: larger turning radius but less stable; less rake, more stable..... very counter-intuitive)

http://www.moots.com/messages/1040.shtml (mapped) (interesting exchange)

http://traylorfwd.home.mindspring.com/geometry_def.html (mapped) (definitions)

http://www.velonews.com/media/Block40.pdf (mapped) (make sure that you get through page 3)

cheers,

peter bridge
denCo