performance road bike - trail

Callistus Valerius said:

What performance road bike has the most trail. They seem
to range from
5.7cm to 5.00 cm (trek 1000 - trek 5200). Since trail
determines how stable a bike will be, I was thinking
about a performance road bike with about 6.2 cm trail
for a frame that would fit someone 6 feet tall ( a 58
frame on a Trek).

Head angle has an effect on stability too, so you can't look
at trail alone. It's the combination of the two that
matters, and there's no magic number. Generally, larger road
frame sizes have steeper head angles, and more trail to
compensate.

Matt O.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

What performance road bike has the most trail. They seem
to range from
5.7cm to 5.00 cm (trek 1000 - trek 5200). Since trail
determines how stable a bike will be, I was thinking
about a performance road bike with about 6.2 cm trail
for a frame that would fit someone 6 feet tall ( a 58
frame on a Trek).

Head angle has an effect on stability too, so you can't
look at trail

alone.

Quoted message said:

It's the combination of the two that matters, and there's
no magic number. Generally, larger road frame sizes have
steeper head angles, and more

trail to

Quoted message said:

compensate.

Matt O.

The little guys get super stable bikes with lots to
trail, and the big guys are stuck with little trail and
unstable bikes. I guess that comes with mass production,
since the target is smaller guys.

Callistus Valerius said:

The little guys get super stable bikes with lots to
trail, and the big guys are stuck with little trail
and unstable bikes. I guess that comes with mass
production, since the target is smaller guys.

That really has nothing to do with it. Small frames have
slack head angles for better toe clearance, and also to make
up for a shorter wheelbase. Big frames have steep head
angles to make the wheelbase shorter.

I do agree that larger frames tend to be overly quick
steering, because of an obsession with short wheelbases and
steep head angles. But the solution is not just to find a
bike with more trail. Merely adding trail to a steep bike
might make it more stable at high speeds, but create other
handling problems.

Look for a bike with a longer wheelbase and a slacker head
angle, matching trail, and an overall milder design -- like
the 70s-style bikes that seem to be making a comeback --
usually called "club sport" or "road sport" geometry. Though
they're out of the mainstream these days, there are plenty
of stable, sweet handling bikes around. Just find one of
those and buy it, instead of screwing around with geometry
yourself. Cross bikes are another good choice. Tim McNamara,
who posts here, told how he beat all his friends to the
bottoms of mountain passes in the Alps, because his Gunnar
Crosshairs handled so much better than their bikes. I
borrowed a Bianchi Reparto Course cross bike once, and I
can't imagine a sweeter all around handler.

I'm a fan of bikes like this too. That said, I ride a short,
steep, quick/wobbly Italian job.

Matt O.

Quoted message said:

The little guys get super stable bikes with lots to
trail, and the big guys are stuck with little trail
and unstable bikes. I guess that comes with mass
production, since the target is smaller guys.

Actually, no. Wheelbase is a major contributor to stability,
and the larger bikes have longer wheelbases than smaller
ones. Stability with most modern larger-framed road bikes is
almost a given, providing that materials & design make for a
rigid-enough platform.

Ideally, you want a bike that doesn't handle like a boat at
moderate speeds, and remains stable at higher speeds. I
doubt many currently-made road bikes are too far off the
mark in that regard, given that geometry isn't exactly
rocket science, and we're many many years into the future
from such twitchy designs as the older Gios Torino (what did
that have, a 76 degree head tube???!!!).

I think it's a tougher job on the smaller bikes to get a
combination of handling characteristics that works well.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles www.ChainReaction.com

"Matt O'Toole" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Look for a bike with a longer wheelbase and a slacker head
angle, matching trail, and an overall milder design --
like the 70s-style bikes that seem to

be

Quoted message said:

making a comeback -- usually called "club sport" or "road
sport" geometry. Though they're out of the mainstream
these days, there are plenty of stable, sweet handling
bikes around. Just find one of those and buy it, instead
of screwing around with geometry yourself. Cross bikes are
another good

choice.

Touring frames have geometries similar to the older frames
without the high BB's of cross bikes. Long chainstays are a
must for stable large frames.

Wouldn't too much stability be a BAD thing on a racing
machine? You want it to be nimble and have a quick response.
Stability would resist this, I would think.

- -

"May you have the wind at your back. And a really low gear
for the hills!"

Chris Zacho ~ "Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

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