Remember the camber of the road and how they slightly set the wheel balance in cars to compensate. On a banked track We lean to the right. On the road we usually lean a little to the left. When wheel dish, frame or fork alignment, head adjustment, etc. are out of whack, then we start from scratch and go one step at a time till we find the problemo. That's one reason we try to find a very flat street and go in both directions, hopefully in no wind when we test ride a bike. Unless an old leather seat is broken in off center, ouch!, and you find your bike being a rival to Pisa. Ted Ernst Palos Verdes Estates.,CA
>
>
> 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_
> (http://www.velonews.com/tech/report/articles/7322.0.html) (see:
> larger turning radius but
> less stable; less rake, more stable..... very counter-intuitive)
>
> _http://www.moots.com/messages/1040.shtml_
> (http://www.moots.com/messages/1040.shtml) (interesting exchange)
>
> _http://traylorfwd.home.mindspring.com/geometry_def.html_
> (http://traylorfwd.home.mindspring.com/geometry_def.html) (definitions)
>
> _http://www.velonews.com/media/Block40.pdf_
> (http://www.velonews.com/media/Block40.pdf) (make sure that you get
> through page 3)
>
> cheers,
>
> peter bridge
> denCo