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jdcamb

Tool Time!
Feb 17, 2002
20,046
8,767
Nowhere Man!
Kranked style. Yinzer wings.jpg


Kranked style Yinzer WWings. Garlicky and spicy hot. Tips on the flats was the only complaint I had. They serve them in a box if you get them to go or in house?
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
55,966
22,011
Sleazattle
Are head angles that slack tolerable for normal trail riding? I don't think I've owned a bike slacker than 67 degrees and never thought that anything much slacker than that would be necessary.
I like a 64 HA for what I consider to be trail riding. Most of my rides are on the steeper side of things, but while not optimal it works just fine on rolling stuff too. Also all suspension movement on a hardtail steepens the head angle and just sag will add about a degree just from sag.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
20,104
10,670
AK
On flat terrain at speed, I find that slack HTAs won't carve the turn radius a lot of the time, going outside the turn, either having to slow down or deal with blowing out on the outside of the turn. It's generally ok going downhill with a lot of speed, you can weight the front a little better and play with that more in that situation, but just cranking along, not so much.
 

Adventurous

Starshine Bro
Mar 19, 2014
10,840
9,875
Crawlorado
I like a 64 HA for what I consider to be trail riding. Most of my rides are on the steeper side of things, but while not optimal it works just fine on rolling stuff too. Also all suspension movement on a hardtail steepens the head angle and just sag will add about a degree just from sag.
Thank you. I realize what is "acceptable" is largely subjective, but there's gotta be a point where the benefit downhill is outweighed by the impact to performance on the flats/uphill. I've ridden bikes steep enough to find that point, but not slack enough to find the lower bounds.
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
55,966
22,011
Sleazattle
Thank you. I realize what is "acceptable" is largely subjective, but there's gotta be a point where the benefit downhill is outweighed by the impact to performance on the flats/uphill. I've ridden bikes steep enough to find that point, but not slack enough to find the lower bounds.

Riding style does have to change a bit. One must bend the elbows more to get weight on the front wheel for flatter corners. As wheel bases and wheels have gotten bigger one must counter steer more for quick turn-in. But I found once I embraced that I can throw bigger bikes around tight trails pretty damn well.
 

Adventurous

Starshine Bro
Mar 19, 2014
10,840
9,875
Crawlorado
On flat terrain at speed, I find that slack HTAs won't carve the turn radius a lot of the time, going outside the turn, either having to slow down or deal with blowing out on the outside of the turn. It's generally ok going downhill with a lot of speed, you can weight the front a little better and play with that more in that situation, but just cranking along, not so much.
And when a good 85% of my saddle time is spent just cranking along, prioritizing that 15% at the expense of the 85% is a poor trade-off.

Riding style does have to change a bit. One must bend the elbows more to get weight on the front wheel for flatter corners. As wheel bases and wheels have gotten bigger one must counter steer more for quick turn-in. But I found once I embraced that I can throw bigger bikes around tight trails pretty damn well.
Makes sense. Has the industry hit peak longer/lower/slacker and have backed off a bit? Interesting to see that push happening alongside the widespread adoption of 29" wheels. The bike itself has become less nimble/responsive, requiring more input from the rider to compensate.
 

HardtailHack

used an iron once
Jan 20, 2009
7,722
7,073
Are head angles that slack tolerable for normal trail riding? I don't think I've owned a bike slacker than 67 degrees and never thought that anything much slacker than that would be necessary.
No, they aren't fun until the trail opens up a bit.
I don't want that frame, the one I want would be 64.5 static and I'm fine with that even for pretty tight XC stuff.
My last one was 62.5 and it was a lot of fun but it would try to kill you if you got lazy or sleepy and that's me 90% of the time.
 

scrublover

Turbo Monkey
Sep 1, 2004
3,205
6,955
Aster got the hot dog, I got the birria tacos.

20240306_105252.jpg


Taken by potato cam. It's possible some lunch may have been smeared on the phone lens.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
88,748
26,966
media blackout
Thank you. I realize what is "acceptable" is largely subjective, but there's gotta be a point where the benefit downhill is outweighed by the impact to performance on the flats/uphill. I've ridden bikes steep enough to find that point, but not slack enough to find the lower bounds.
one consideration with hardtails is that once preloaded, the head angle gets steeper, and will only get steeper the further into the travel it goes.
 

rideit

Bob the Builder
Aug 24, 2004
24,638
12,454
In the cleavage of the Tetons
I used to really like Pernod. Especially when I was loaded touring in France. The old drunks were mildly interested that this American cyclist like to come in and sip a Pernod or three in the afternoon. Definitely got into more conversations in (bad) French than U would today. Even places to stay.