bars go one way, forks go the other

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deadman13

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ok, so i got my first long bike and its been a b*tch with a few geometrical mistakes...but whatever, ill make it work!


the issue im having is the fork is sooo raked its .... near close to horizontal, and when i ride the front wheel will flop to either the left or right no matter how hard i hold the bars straight. ive got the nuts so .... tight that the front wheel barely turns (you cant make a turn on this thing anyway.) and the handle bars are a snug as i can he-man them.

is there anything i can do to keep the forks from twisting? im really trying to make this thing work, but im not sure if itll be a winner.

also, whenever the wheel/bars turn, the bottom of the bike kicks out hard to that side. like if the bars go right, the bottom tube swings out 45* to the right.

orange2.jpg


to compare with a hollywood...its about 2 feet longer...
orange.jpg
 
the rake is your problem.. to much. tire is just pitching from side to side it's not really turning. prolly going to cut and fix it.

good rule to go by is the frame shouldn't move up and down when you turn the tire from side to side.
you are fighting against your weight to keep the bike straight. just you being on the bike makes it wanna turn
 
well there goes all that then. powdercoated bike, and itll throw the bottom line and whole angle off. .... it. whats a good angle? like, whats the point of no return?
 
numbers i can't say. when and if you try to fix it . take like 1 inch pieces off the bottom tube till the frame stops moving up and down or very little weld it and ride to see if it's better. trial and error brah..

didn't ride it during mock-up??
 
More leading edge on the fork would probably help, but it would take a lot to compensate for that much rake. You would end up needing longer legs to keep it off the ground. :?
 
picture me smashing my head on keyboard right now. i just bought this thing, paid what amounts to me to be a lot for it. nice guy, and no hard feelings and all, but .... i am stuck.
 
If he is a "nice guy" and stands behind his stuff, ask him to take the bike back and refund your money, It sounds like the bike is not ridable as is, it is not that you just don't like it, it is more of a defective item, and should have been corrected before being sold. Good luck with it
 
i wouldnt necessarily throw the frame out, if you access to a welder, just cut the head tube off, figure up how it needs to be to be right, then weld it back on. then just repaint the fork and head tube like maybe flat black and do like a fade job to the orange or put some scallops down the tp and bottom tubes..... but dont just throw in the towel so quick bro.

Easy E
 
While it's very difficult to fix the real problem (whoever built the frame didn't have a freakin' clue about 2-wheel geometry) I think there is a bandaid fix you can do.

If you use a motorcycle style fork with triple trees that put the fork tubes several inches in front of the steering head (especially if it also had leading axle tabs) you might be able to get the trail under control.

You'll still have a serious case of chopper flop at very slow speeds, but you just might make it ridable without having to rebuild the frame.

The forks you need look like this:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=11470&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=occ
 
Upper Class White Trash said:
numbers i can't say. when and if you try to fix it . take like 1 inch pieces off the bottom tube till the frame stops moving up and down or very little weld it and ride to see if it's better. trial and error brah..

didn't ride it during mock-up??
Click to expand...
That's what I'd do. It looks to be around 45 degrees, now. I would go to around 75 degrees. That will RAISE the front up considerably. So if you want the same stance, I would then slightly bend the forks and use a smaller tire and wheel combo, maybe a 20inch.............But then again I've "ruined" my share of bikes. :roll:
 
just a thought, why not run curved forks but backwards? it might look stupid but worth a shot if ur thinking of throwing in the towe
 
the only reason i piped up on this is my buddy did the same thing on his first build. every thing we tried didn't work once you go past a certain point it just don't work. if looks is a concern any half donkey fix is going to look like crap. but if you wanna see if it will work turn the forks around and ride it if it feels better go find some ten speed with a curve in them and do this like who ever said it
IMG_0113.jpg


the fix will be a small area. the char from welding it can be kept under control with heat paste and can be covered with a close to the color you got.
 
i don't know all the rake and geometry of it, but that's why i usually put a 20" front wheel on my stretch projects. you can pull the rake in some and the bike still sits level and the front tire still clears the pedals. i still haven't gotten it right enough to ride with no hands, but there's no fighting at all as long as you have a hand on the bars.
 
it'd probaly be easier than you think. set the bike up sitting strait up and set the bottom tube on whatever combination of things (2x4, brick, layers of plywood) makes it sit as if the front wheel is still on it. then cut the head tube off. put a 20" wheel on the front fork and set it up against the frame so that it lines up with the two tubes that should meet it with the tire on the ground. it ought to pull it in a good couple inches. check to make sure it still clears the pedals in a turn.

you should end up just needing to file a filet'(sp?) in the top tube, and have to cut off a few inches from the downtube before you file it too, then just take it back to be rewelded (and maybe a gusset. at least for me 'cause fooling with cutting off and re-attatching head tubes scares me a little).

bet you'll have a rider then.
 

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