Preparing to build up the old 140mm Brodie and maybe modernise it a little.
Current head angle is 67.5 degrees, whats the magic angle nowadays?

I was thinking a drop down to 66, but works components will go to 65.5…is that too far?

Way I always see it is, if you go as far as you can, you’ll at least know something. If you go 3/4s of the way you’ll always wonder if it was the right choice.

But half a degree isn’t a huge difference anyway.

Quite, my spitty is 66 but thats in a FS role.

Just seen the BFe that i used to have was 67 also…hmm

Go as slack as you can. Remember that sagged and static angles are very different things on a hardtail.

The only issue will be reach, you won’t be able to match the slack angle with a short stem without compromising the reach to the bars, so if you stick with a mid length stem the steering may be a little slow.

I’d go as slack as you can. I’m very tempted by one for my Trek Stache- 29+ with a 66 degree head angle sounds pretty mad.

Surely the change in reach is minimal with an angle set, 10mm max? And if you have a 20mm spacer under the stem with 10mm rise bars is the reach longer with no spacer and a 30mm rise bar? Haven’t drawn that out, just idle musing in my caffeine fuelled brain.

My P7 claims 65 degrees and feels absolutely mint. Reckon I could go a bit slacker too, for cheeky Calderdale. I run a short stem to help offset the slackness.

a slackset will (slightly) lower the front end, (slightly) extending reach, whilst the angle of the steerer will (slightly) reduce reach. there’s naff all in it either way.

what is worth noting is that a sagged hardtail will steepen it’s head angle by a couple of degrees, but a full sus will not (as it sags at both ends). therefore we should really all be running HTs with 2 deg slacker head angles than the equivilent full sus (so 63s static for a hardcore hardtail), yet almost no-one does

Surely the change in reach is minimal with an angle set, 10mm max? And if you have a 20mm spacer under the stem with 10mm rise bars is the reach longer with no spacer and a 30mm rise bar? Haven’t drawn that out, just idle musing in my caffeine fuelled brain.

I meant more that a bike designed many years ago around one head angle with a 70mm stem, slackening it out will slow the steering down, but you can’t just fit a 40mm stem to compensate like you would on a brand new bike as that would make it feel too short.

what is worth noting is that a sagged hardtail will steepen it’s head angle by a couple of degrees, but a full sus will not (as it sags at both ends). therefore we should really all be running HTs with 2 deg slacker head angles than the equivilent full sus (so 63s static for a hardcore hardtail), yet almost no-one does

The counter argument is that for an intended use a HT just isn’t as fast so shouldn’t be as long, slack, or have as much travel.

A smidge under 63 static works for me. 🙂
Love this bike.

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That is ssssslack!