Question about Fork rake

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by IanD
All,

Could anyone tell me the difference in ride handling between a straight fork versus one that was rake ? For example on most Colnago's their forks appear to be rather straight no rake whereas most of all Reynolds Ouzo forks are have the standard 43 rake. What gives ? Are certain bikes designed for no rake ? What happens if you mix and match ?

Thanks,

Ian

If you take another look, there is a rack to these "straight" forks. The amount of rake is determined from the end of the steerer/fork crown.

It may affect the ride, but then you'd have to ask all of the Colnago owners, and they all seem happy with their C-40's

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by glynrd
If you take another look, there is a rack to these "straight" forks. The amount of rake is determined from the end of the steerer/fork crown.

It may affect the ride, but then you'd have to ask all of the Colnago owners, and they all seem happy with their C-40's

Everything else being equal,it does not even affect the ride.

'Straight' forks are only straight in the legs. Theres an angle at the crown race. This is where the rake comes from. More rake sets the front wheel further forward, longer wheel base more stable but more effort to turn in tight situations....

does that make sense? (I'm really just making it up).

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by xc_gumby
'Straight' forks are only straight in the legs. Theres an angle at the crown race. This is where the rake comes from. More rake sets the front wheel further forward, longer wheel base more stable but more effort to turn in tight situations....

does that make sense? (I'm really just making it up).

Sheldon Brown, at www.harriscyclery.com has a glossary of bike terms.Check rake and more importantly trail..There will be a test.

hello, a quick question about fork rake: based on this information: "Fork offset influences geometric trail, which affects a bicycle's handling characteristics. Increasing offset results in decreased trail, while decreasing offset results in increased trail ". 40mm offset means a longer trail than 43mm or 45mm ? or is it the other way around ? ONline chat support just told me that the higher the rake, the longer the trail...

vspa said:

hello, a quick question about fork rake: based on this information: "Fork offset influences geometric trail, which affects a bicycle's handling characteristics. Increasing offset results in decreased trail, while decreasing offset results in increased trail ". 40mm offset means a longer trail than 43mm or 45mm ? or is it the other way around ? ONline chat support just told me that the higher the rake, the longer the trail...

The more offset, the less trail you'll have. The front bicycle tire's contact patch centroid is behind the point where the steering axis intersects the ground. The distance between those points is "trail." Offset is the distance, measured parallel to the ground, that the axle is in front of the steering axis. With more offset, the contact patch is moved forward, closer to the intersection of the the steering axis with the ground. Road bike trail is usually--but not always--on the order of 5 to 6cm. Longer trail tends to produce steering that is more stable, less twitchy.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by alienator [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Longer trail tends to produce steering that is more stable, less twitchy.

And too much trail gives so much stability that you're constantly over-correcting. Hence, the magic 5-6 cm range.