Sat Dec 7 01:06:45 1996 - Message No. 262
From: Jorn Ronnow

Subject: Re: front fork, oil, air...


At 19:30 96-12-04 +0100, Micha wrote:
>In deed the pressure to the ground has to be the same with or without an
>indive of the front fork. But how can you explain, that I nearly went
>down because of a blocking front wheel, only 50m after I had put some
>air in the front fork (dry ground, best conditions) ?

>Is it only because of the more "direct" operation of the brake while you
>have additional time to release a bit of brake power when your fork is
>diving? 

I think it's simpler than that: when a rider gets used to a certain bike's
diving during braking, he learns to judge the braking force by how much the
bike dives rather than by the g-forces. So, you probably just didn't know
how hard you were braking.

A bike that dives less changes the steering geometry less during braking -
it makes the fork angle less "steep" (25 degrees = steep fork angle, 27
degrees = not so steep). A steeper fork angle makes the bike quicker to
turn. During braking, this means that it's easier to loose control and crash.

If the bike dives less, you have a bigger chance of staying up even if the
front wheel locks for a moment.

On the subject of driving with a locked front wheel: To to do that, you must
be able to make small, sensitive steering adjustments. This requires two
things: First you can't steer sensitive if all your weight is on the
handlebars. To take the weight off the handlebars during braking, press your
knees to the tank so your weight ends up there instead. Second, if you brake
with four fingers, it's easy to twist the steering/handlebars when you try
to ease off the brake pressure. Braking with two fingers is much safer.

And: No, I haven't done this with the AT, just on lighter and cheaper bikes.
I'm afraid to try it on the AT, it's expensive and it's got a new paint
and... :-)

Keep sliding
-Jorn



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