After building my 29er HT I've been thinking about bike geometry a lot and one thing keeps bugging me: the effect of bb height and drop on the handling.
I'm pretty sure bb drop is responsible for how poppy a frame feels because it determines the 'tipping point', getting the front wheel off the ground when manualling or hopping. My Fit bmx used to have a 11.75" bb which is about 1.75" rise whereas my Tonic Howie has a 12.8" bb which is about 0.2" drop, at roughly the same position the bmx feels a lot easier to pull up. Not taking other factors into account this should support my idea. Would it be bb height (i.e. relative to the ground) the 26er should be more poppy - which it isn't.
What I'm not sure about is what makes a bike more willing to turn: the relation between bb and axles or the height of the centre of gravity. Intuitively I'd say the latter.
I got into this after building my Kona Honzo. The thing is a blast to ride - one of the best cornering bikes I've ever ridden but it's next to impossible to get off the ground. This got me thinking about 29ers: to me it seems to make for a compromise between jumpiness and cornering which 26" doesn't as you can have a nice c.o.g. without having to lower the bb so much under the axles it spoils the fun jumping it.
Can anyone shed some light on this?
I'm pretty sure bb drop is responsible for how poppy a frame feels because it determines the 'tipping point', getting the front wheel off the ground when manualling or hopping. My Fit bmx used to have a 11.75" bb which is about 1.75" rise whereas my Tonic Howie has a 12.8" bb which is about 0.2" drop, at roughly the same position the bmx feels a lot easier to pull up. Not taking other factors into account this should support my idea. Would it be bb height (i.e. relative to the ground) the 26er should be more poppy - which it isn't.
What I'm not sure about is what makes a bike more willing to turn: the relation between bb and axles or the height of the centre of gravity. Intuitively I'd say the latter.
I got into this after building my Kona Honzo. The thing is a blast to ride - one of the best cornering bikes I've ever ridden but it's next to impossible to get off the ground. This got me thinking about 29ers: to me it seems to make for a compromise between jumpiness and cornering which 26" doesn't as you can have a nice c.o.g. without having to lower the bb so much under the axles it spoils the fun jumping it.
Can anyone shed some light on this?