I have a road bike and was looking at some lighter weight forks. The rake on the road bike is 45mm... believe it or not, finding it sort of difficult to find a proper, tapered and straight fork leg with a 45mm rake from enve or ritchey, there are chinese ones, but I don't know if I want to go that route since I don't know which are good or not. Anyways, what does the rake do? and would it be harmful to handling if a different rake was used... like 43mm or 45mm... I guess that as far as I understand the 43mm the wheel would be closer to the center.
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Re: Fork Rake question [tomspharmacy]
[ In reply to ]
Rake is just part of the equation....to full understand the impact, you need to look at "trail" A good primer can be found here:
http://davesbikeblog.squarespace.com/blog/2007/5/4/trail-fork-rake-and-a-little-bit-of-history.html
Quick synopsis - less rake = more trail = increased stability. Yes, it seems counter-intuitive, which is why you need to understand what trail really is.
The best example I can give you is playing "Ghost Rider" as a kid....roll your bike down a hill and see who's goes the furthest. If you turned your wheel around backwards (an extreme version of having less rake), the bike would basically roll until it ran out of steam because there was a HUGE increase in trail (which made the bike more stable). If you rolled it "normal", the bike would usually fall over in less than 10 feet because the smaller trail was less stable.
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http://davesbikeblog.squarespace.com/blog/2007/5/4/trail-fork-rake-and-a-little-bit-of-history.html
Quick synopsis - less rake = more trail = increased stability. Yes, it seems counter-intuitive, which is why you need to understand what trail really is.
The best example I can give you is playing "Ghost Rider" as a kid....roll your bike down a hill and see who's goes the furthest. If you turned your wheel around backwards (an extreme version of having less rake), the bike would basically roll until it ran out of steam because there was a HUGE increase in trail (which made the bike more stable). If you rolled it "normal", the bike would usually fall over in less than 10 feet because the smaller trail was less stable.
Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!
"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams
Re: Fork Rake question [tomspharmacy]
[ In reply to ]
What is the head tube angle?
Re: Fork Rake question [jaretj]
[ In reply to ]
73 degrees
Re: Fork Rake question [tomspharmacy]
[ In reply to ]
It's not just the rake that will affect a change in the bike's handling -- if you change the A-C (axle-to-crown) length, it may cancel out or exacerbate any changes in rake.
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Provided you have the same type of headset and the final length of the forks are the same you will have a trail of 56.3 with the 45mm fork and 58.3 with the 43mm fork.
Both are within an acceptable range but the 45 will be a little more responsive and the 43 will be a little more stable. I doubt you will be able to tell the difference between the two.
The 43mm fork is approaching the limit of what is considered good for a road bike.
jaretj
Both are within an acceptable range but the 45 will be a little more responsive and the 43 will be a little more stable. I doubt you will be able to tell the difference between the two.
The 43mm fork is approaching the limit of what is considered good for a road bike.
jaretj