Are there any guides out there on how to change the handling of a bike?
Specifically, the idea of changing or moving components to achieve different things.
e.g. say I thought my bike was a little twitchy, what happens to the handling when you get a longer/shorter stem, raise/lower the handlebars, have morel/less sweep on handlebars, run shorter/longer forks etc....
Umm... well it's mostly about weight distribution. More up front makes it less manoevrable, but being more stretched out helps power transfer...
Longer stems put your weight forward and slow steering down.. longer forks slacken head angle and slow steering to a point beyond which the bike ends up unrideable as the contact patch puts too much leverage on the fork's turning axis. handlebars up and down is mostly about comfort and weight on the front. If you sit upright and back you will be able to handle steep stuff better but you'll be less efficient putting power down..
I could go on.. Loads of factors, too many for clearly defined rules. Just fiddle with it and see 🙂 Twitch handling could be caused by lots of things. Just have a good think about it and experiment.
best post a spec of your bike with lengths of stem, forks, etc etc for people to comment easier 🙂
Sorry, it wasn't really a question about my bike being twitchy as such, I was just asking if there were any rules about how to change the handling.
The only thing I can think that is wrong with my bike (spesh rockhopper comp 09) is that it feels a bit "light" at the front, so I'm thinking of lowering the handlebars to put more weight at the front. It just got me wondering if there were other ways of fiddling with the handling.
How long is your stem?
alot of bikes with a "light" feeling front end (especially if climbing) could benefit from an increse in stem length...
bit longer stem to get you over the front or higher ride bars swept forward, perhaps slightly shorter travel forks (possibly if frame will allow) this will drop the head angle and again promote you further forward. I think really it depends on what you want to change in the handling? quicker steering, better pedaling, more or less grip / more or less responsive steering, better braking etc, change of body position?
Are lay back seat posts to change position without changing stem length?
I have been looking at some ,and wondered what they were about.
technically speaking a frame will not instally fit anyone, so you can either add a longer / shorter stem you can use longer or shorter cranks, a layback post to make the frame feel larger (give more room in the cockpit) but........ that puts your body further back over the rear wheel and can change your position over the cranks, so in a word you could end up being in a non ideal pedaling position, that said it may put you in a better position. basically you need to sit on your bike and ensure you have a straight ling down from your hips to the BB, if you are too far forward or back you can adjust your saddle position or change to a laybak post to adhjust until its right, as for the stem adjust so your not constantly leaning too far forward ot not too upright. TBH it is trial and error. Best bet is to google set up or bike radar is not too bad