View Full Version : Head angles
Do you prefer steeper (68deg or more) or slacker (less than 68deg)?
Discuss.
haha i'd say that 68 is slack, my PX with a 4 inch fork sits at about 72 and for techy urban i wouldn't want it any slacker, when doing slow stuff like going up to abubica it feels great having the smallest correction translate into a direction changing movement, same for riding fakie.
for DH theres nothing around here where you need the stability of a really slack head angle, my boy bike probably sits at 69ish and i've never felt it get overly twitchy, there is no "flat out" really high speed tracks.
Ah yeah, I was referring to DH. Street/jump bikes are a whole different thing!
There's a few f'n fast tracks down here (Narbethong and Granton come to mind) where the slack head angle is a help. Personally I prefer a slack head angle, it just makes the bike rail corners that much better.
Jared
17-05-2003, 06:16 AM
dh 65
4x 68-69
frank-oi
18-05-2003, 01:55 PM
man your so slack jared.
65 that the shit that i dream of.i think thta mine is 67.5 or 68.
dh 65
4x 68-69
Do you ride a V10 or somethin? That's hella slack!
um, if Jared was riding a V10, i'm sure Iron horse wouldn't be happy.
fastrider gus
19-05-2003, 11:28 AM
i wouldnt realy care.. just ride it..
CHEWY
19-05-2003, 11:41 AM
i dont know gus, riding trobbs bike is like a chopper and its only really good for dh
lindsay
19-05-2003, 12:56 PM
I'm with jared but my dh head angle is a degree or so steeper. There's no way i'd run anything steeper than 69 except on an xc bike.
Jared
19-05-2003, 02:48 PM
we got 65 on the dot, feels kinda weird at first then ya get used to it and you'd never go back, could even be a bit slackert
my boy bike was a pimped out chopper when i threw dual clamps on it. I dont know what it was but it was pretty raked out...
weve lowered the clamps a tad now though to reduce the angle ..
i love it now.
Mines a tad slacker then Ty's id say ..
um, if Jared was riding a V10, i'm sure Iron horse wouldn't be happy.
hahaha ok, I didn't know...
Um... which Jared is this? THE Jared?
Jared Graves
Just some guy who tests computer and console peripharels for madcatz...i think what they refer to his job description as is a 'progamer'
fastrider gus
20-05-2003, 02:37 PM
my mates ADX D8 has the slackest head angle i've ever seen before.
my bike is just between steep and slack.. its a bit steep at the moment because i have dual 26"ers.. im not used to that, so im waitin to get my 24"er back. i might go 24" rear AND front..
i always run by big hit at 67 deg
i just dont like the 69 asmuch its too twitchy for me
i only run it for dirt jumping
i think for me the perfect angle would be apporx
66 to 66.5 anything slacker then that and id feel like i have
no control over the front end
thats just what i like i guess every ones different
Holy jeebushellfuckingchrist.... I had a go on a mate's brand spankin new M1 yesterday (with WC Boxxers, Hope M4s, Raceface, MRP, and 321s - possibly THE coolest build ever), and shiiiiiit it was slack. Seriously... I could read the headtube badge while I was pedalling (slight exaggeration).
CHEWY
24-05-2003, 07:26 PM
yeah my mates avanti d-8 is incredibly slack to, feels like ur riding a chopper harley or something. anyone know what the head angle on a 01 stinky is? i have no idea
Stinkys are about 68 I think.
its all about 222's ,you can have it from super steep - hellishly slammed and all in between
:twisted:
its all about 222's ,you can have it from super steep - hellishly slammed and all in between
:twisted:
And linear rate, all the way to falling rate! Yay!
fastrider gus
26-05-2003, 09:44 AM
and they clank and ting like a brick in a washing machine...
socket, no offence bro but when you design bike that wins a world cup you can then start to bag out on other people designs, even if it does have a falling rate there must be something right about them. who cares about the maths if they ride well and win races.
socket, no offence bro but when you design bike that wins a world cup you can then start to bag out on other people designs, even if it does have a falling rate there must be something right about them. who cares about the maths if they ride well and win races.
Do you want to misinterpret EVERY non-serious thing I say? I'm not bagging them, in fact I had considered buying one, I was just trying to "playfully" reject whatzizname's suggestion.
stylinruss
06-06-2003, 06:03 PM
I always ran my DHi at 66 degrees and that felt just about perfect.
perfor8r
06-06-2003, 07:30 PM
yeah my mates avanti d-8 is incredibly slack to, feels like ur riding a chopper harley or something. anyone know what the head angle on a 01 stinky is? i have no idea
Don't know about '01, but I had a few runs on my friend's '03 Stinky and that was pretty slack!
They might even be the same, since i haven't ridden an '01
CHEWY
06-06-2003, 07:33 PM
nah mate mines not really slack at all, id say sockets right bout 68 methinks
duncan^kona
24-06-2003, 12:20 AM
[mod:Ty] keep serious threads ontopic
trobb
04-07-2003, 11:36 PM
I prefer more slack. The steeper it is, the more chance you have of going over the hangers. if it's slack you still can but it's heaps harder.
fastrider gus
05-07-2003, 03:53 PM
and you cant turn at all!
i run about 66.5 and that isnt to bad but could be slacker
MrPlow
05-07-2003, 09:22 PM
we got 65 on the dot, feels kinda weird at first then ya get used to it and you'd never go back, could even be a bit slackert
Jared is your old racey (Josh's) that I rode on Friday this slack? Didn't feel that bad, thought it steered quite nicely (round the carpark though, not real good test!)
ricky lee
11-07-2003, 11:28 PM
yeah Jared after reading your head angle I think I might try making my head angle a bit slacker.
Does it take a lot of extra work to ride the thing
ricky lee
12-07-2003, 12:12 AM
Yeah Jared thanks for the tip I think I will try slackening the head angle from my 69.
Does it take a lot more arm pressure to turn.
ricky lee
12-07-2003, 12:14 AM
Can anyone tell me how to get rid of that B----- Huffy Owner below my name.
Post more, Huffy owner just means you've got less than 20 posts or something.
nicklouse
12-07-2003, 02:07 AM
Do you prefer steeper (68deg or more) or slacker (less than 68deg)?
Discuss.
are you talking about the angle with the bike unloaded or with the rder on in normal ride gear and position or with predetermind fork length?
because that will affect the answer! obviously the longer the travel the slacker the angle un loaded. but loaded the angle could be the same. the same with a stock fork length measurement.
so you discuss the way you measure the head angle. :idea:
nick
curtisrider
12-07-2003, 08:11 AM
Mines pretty slack wouldn't have a clue waht though.
Do you prefer steeper (68deg or more) or slacker (less than 68deg)?
Discuss.
are you talking about the angle with the bike unloaded or with the rder on in normal ride gear and position or with predetermind fork length?
because that will affect the answer! obviously the longer the travel the slacker the angle un loaded. but loaded the angle could be the same. the same with a stock fork length measurement.
so you discuss the way you measure the head angle. :idea:
nick
You can only measure a head angle when the bike is unloaded, otherwise it's a variable... I could set mine up to run anywhere between 68 and 64 if I was to change the spring stiffness drastically enough, but that's no reflection on how steep/slack the bike is, and it affects bottom bracket height as well.
obviously the longer the travel the slacker the angle un loaded. but loaded the angle could be the same."
Wha? That's incorrect (I think you mean steeper)... and the travel of bikes doesn't necessarily reflect on their head angle.
wombat
12-07-2003, 04:32 PM
But Socket, the loaded headangle is the thing that is going to affect the bike's handling. The unloaded angle is not a fair comparisom, unless you're comparing the same fork, with the same settings, with the same weight rider.
But Socket, the loaded headangle is the thing that is going to affect the bike's handling. The unloaded angle is not a fair comparisom, unless you're comparing the same fork, with the same settings, with the same weight rider.
Yep, but the loaded head angle also affects BB height and other shit, as well as being dependent on how far into your travel you are, and as such, you could claim that 99% of all bikes have identical head angles.
wombat
13-07-2003, 06:26 PM
and as such, you could claim that 99% of all bikes have identical head angles.
Oh come on! That's just being pedantic. The truth is that the unloaded head angle is a purely academic figure, which is usually only quoted because it is the easiest one to measure.
I understand that the head angle varies with suspension movement, but if you're trying to compare two bikes, the most accurate way to do so is to compare the loaded head angle, unless you're comparing two bikes with the same fork, for the same rider, in which case an unloaded angle would be adequate.
Unless you can accurately measure your head angle under sag (good luck, because a single degree is a noticeable difference), the unloaded figure is really the only thing you can go by. And yes, there has to be at the very least, a similar axle-crown length (within say 5mm) on the fork used when you're comparing bikes, however this isn't hard to do as most bikes of similar type (eg DH bikes) have 175-180mm travel forks, and the crown is nearly always close to bottoming on the tyre usually.
If you're going to measure it loaded, you have to do it with the same weight rider, with the same weight distribution (ie the position you actually ride it in), with the same weight spring, AS WELL AS the same forks etc. Much easier to leave fine-tuning to setup and measure the unloaded angle.
wombat
13-07-2003, 06:48 PM
No, the idea of measuring it loaded is that the setup you're running is irrelevant, because the difference that it makes is already accounted for by the fact that you're measuring it loaded. Think about it, you want to compare for example how the head anle affects the way the bike turns. So here's a scenario: you're going down a (smooth) track and want to turn right. The actual headangle at that stage is going to be the loaded head angle. I know that that is a drastically simplified scenario, but you get the idea (i hope).
No, the idea of measuring it loaded is that the setup you're running is irrelevant, because the difference that it makes is already accounted for by the fact that you're measuring it loaded.
That makes no sense. Like I said before, if you're going to do it like that then you're comparing setups, not the bike itself. I could set my bike up to have about 5 degrees of change in the head angle under sag, but that's not really relevant to how the bike handles. Measuring it under sag also changes all the geometry, the rate of the remaining travel, the BB height etc.
If you did it the way you're saying, you could have an M1 (very slack) and a Norco (pretty steep) that have exactly the same head angle.... when in fact we know that the Intense is much slacker and will handle way differently.
oneoftheboys
21-07-2003, 10:06 PM
well my bikes a chopper..... it less then 65 i am sure... but who cares... the is all about the bottom bracket height.. 13.8" for me i thinks jarreds iron horse is 13.5" that is some serious crank slapping i like it.
shmity
21-07-2003, 10:10 PM
Hmm, my bike is 66* at the ha, but the bb height is something rediculose like 14.6" which is something that norco really needs to work out. Although if i drop it down to 7 in the rear, it slackens it out to 65* and a nice 13.4" bb.
toodles
22-07-2003, 11:28 AM
How do you measure the head angle easily? I wouldn't have a clue what mine is set to at the moment. I like it pretty slack, but I've found if I don't keep weight on the front it pushes the tyre out around corners.
How do you measure the head angle easily? I wouldn't have a clue what mine is set to at the moment. I like it pretty slack, but I've found if I don't keep weight on the front it pushes the tyre out around corners.
It's actually pretty hard to measure the head angle on your bike - it's usually done at the design stage. However, if you're any good at trig you can just measure the distance vertically from the top of your fork to the ground, and measure parallel with the fork - then work it out.
toodles
23-07-2003, 12:57 PM
Ah stuff it - if it feels too fast or slow I'll just adjust it. The actual degrees is a kind of pointless figur because my suspension is seldom compressed by the same amount front and rear so it's gonna vary a lot.
i have a balfa bb7 and i got it on 66.5
you gotta remember that when you sit on a dh bike it should sag a bit which would slacken it off. im running about 2" of sag and it feels hella slack to me whcih is good
head agnle is also personal preferance to a point.
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