Rans Rocket - knee interference

[Arthur Yeates]

I have a new 2003 Rans Rocket with the handlebars set "forwards". My knee interferes with (strikes) the bar while pedaling. Will rotating the bars to place the curve at the top of the handlebar stem facing the rear improve the situation? Any other fixes available. I am 6'-0" tall and this interference seems unreasonable.

This is my second Rocket and I also ride a Rans V2. I am not a novice. The Rocket is my commuter "rat" bike.

 

[g19glock1]

Originally posted by Arthur Yeates
I have a new 2003 Rans Rocket with the handlebars set "forwards". My knee interferes with (strikes) the bar while pedaling. Will rotating the bars to place the curve at the top of the handlebar stem facing the rear improve the situation? Any other fixes available. I am 6'-0" tall and this interference seems unreasonable.

This is my second Rocket and I also ride a Rans V2. I am not a novice. The Rocket is my commuter "rat" bike.

Isn't there a height adjustment at the bottom of the risor, similar to that on a V-Rex? Two Allen head screws and I think you can gain some height on the risor.

 

[Seth Jayson]

I'm 6-3 and don't get interferance. I'm kind of a tinkerer and I still experiment with my seat
position/angle and bars to see how things will work out.

Can you extend the bars toward you a bit more? As I got my bike, I was able to get another 1/2 to
3/4 inch length out of the riser and still have a comfortable safety margin to tighten them up.

 

[John Foltz]

Arthur Yeates wrote:
> I have a new 2003 Rans Rocket with the handlebars set "forwards". My knee interferes with
> (strikes) the bar while pedaling. Will rotating the bars to place the curve at the top of the
> handlebar stem facing the rear improve the situation? Any other fixes available. I am 6'-0" tall
> and this interference seems unreasonable.
>
> This is my second Rocket and I also ride a Rans V2. I am not a novice. The Rocket is my commuter
> "rat" bike.
>
Normal positioning for the riser is to curve back toward the rider. It sounds like your Rocket has
the riser reversed to the A.P.E. position. The solution is simple (at least on paper): put the riser
back in its o.e.m. position.
--

John Foltz --- O _ Baron --- _O _ V-Rex 24 --- _\\/\-%)
_________(_)`=()___________________(_)= (_)_____

 

[Mike Warner]

Arthur Yeates wrote:

> I have a new 2003 Rans Rocket with the handlebars set "forwards". My knee interferes with
> (strikes) the bar while pedaling. Will rotating the bars to place the curve at the top of the
> handlebar stem facing the rear improve the situation? Any other fixes available. I am 6'-0" tall
> and this interference seems unreasonable.
>
> This is my second Rocket and I also ride a Rans V2. I am not a novice. The Rocket is my commuter
> "rat" bike.

Why are you setting the handlebars forward of the knee? IMO, the handlebars should be set behind the
knee. The more forward the riser, the more the front wheel tends to spin like a top around the
headset-axis, exacerbating twitchiness. The more rearward the riser, the less the torque required to
counteract the tendency of the front wheel to spin around the headset-axis.

mc
--
Replace "****" with "warnerm" in my email addr

 

[Arthur Yeates]

Originally posted by Mike Warner
Arthur Yeates wrote:

> I have a new 2003 Rans Rocket with the handlebars set "forwards". My knee interferes with
> (strikes) the bar while pedaling. Will rotating the bars to place the curve at the top of the
> handlebar stem facing the rear improve the situation? Any other fixes available. I am 6'-0" tall
> and this interference seems unreasonable.
>
> This is my second Rocket and I also ride a Rans V2. I am not a novice. The Rocket is my commuter
> "rat" bike.

Why are you setting the handlebars forward of the knee? IMO, the handlebars should be set behind the
knee. The more forward the riser, the more the front wheel tends to spin like a top around the
headset-axis, exacerbating twitchiness. The more rearward the riser, the less the torque required to
counteract the tendency of the front wheel to spin around the headset-axis.

I agree with all of the above. The Rocket came with the bars set up forwards, something Rans says us customers may like. The option to clear the knees in this configuration is to make the riser more vertical and, yes, this certainly makes the handling very quick. I like a little more "tiller effect" on those fast downhills. Applying brakes on downhills is not something I want to develop into a habit.

I did raise the stem out of the base, but am concerned about how much overlap must be retained. I will reverse the bars this weekend and report back. I do appreciate the feedback.

mc
--
Replace "****" with "warnerm" in my email addr