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#1
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"stabilizing" a stratus?
I recently "inherited" my wife's Stratus. It's a 2001 model (I think), standard
size, and box-stock except for XT cranks (170mm, 26/36/48) and Calhoun Evo Sport bars/stem. The seat is about 1" from being all the way back, so I'm sure that the weight distribution is less-than-optimal. Aside from getting an XL Stratus (whic hain't gonna happen), can anyone recommend ways to make the front end feel "less light" (i.e., MORE stable)? I'm going to remove the bottle cages from the seat and try mounting them/one forward, and maybe find a more forward position for my spare/tool pouch. Thanks in advance. |
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#2
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"stabilizing" a stratus?
rans make an underseat rack and a lowrider rack, could carry your stuff up
front http://www.shoprans.com/Racks.asp -- -- Radio Frequency IDentity tags. The end of privacy. http://www.securityfocus.com/columnists/169 http://www.nocards.com/welcome/index.shtml http://www.stoprfid.org/ "Mile High Skates" wrote in message ... I recently "inherited" my wife's Stratus. It's a 2001 model (I think), standard size, and box-stock except for XT cranks (170mm, 26/36/48) and Calhoun Evo Sport bars/stem. The seat is about 1" from being all the way back, so I'm sure that the weight distribution is less-than-optimal. Aside from getting an XL Stratus (whic hain't gonna happen), can anyone recommend ways to make the front end feel "less light" (i.e., MORE stable)? I'm going to remove the bottle cages from the seat and try mounting them/one forward, and maybe find a more forward position for my spare/tool pouch. Thanks in advance. |
#3
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"stabilizing" a stratus?
try turning the fork around. It works for some people and some bikes. It
doesn't work for others. Your results may vary. Bill Patterson |
#4
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"stabilizing" a stratus?
Frodo22222 wrote:
try turning the fork around. It works for some people and some bikes. It doesn't work for others. Your results may vary. While this has been reported to be successful on certain SWB bikes (e.g. Vision R-40), the amount of fork rake on the RANS Stratus [1] would produce a huge amount of trail if it were reversed. It would also create pedal/wheel overlap. [1] http://www.ransbikes.com/2004Bikes/Stratus.htm. -- Tom Sherman – Quad City Area |
#5
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"stabilizing" a stratus?
The fork rake is the problem. A change to a straight fork might work. Twitchy
bikes can be slowed down by adding trail. The problem is picking the right amount. Some riders object to the other forces that occur with increased trail. Many recumbent builders seem to prefer criterium quick handling. IM not so HO, this is why recumbents haven't been widely accepted. Bill Patterson home.earthlink.net/~wm.patterson/ |
#6
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"stabilizing" a stratus?
"Frodo22222" wrote in message ... The fork rake is the problem. A change to a straight fork might work. Twitchy bikes can be slowed down by adding trail. The problem is picking the right amount. Some riders object to the other forces that occur with increased trail. Many recumbent builders seem to prefer criterium quick handling. IM not so HO, this is why recumbents haven't been widely accepted. Bill Patterson home.earthlink.net/~wm.patterson/ Bill, you have just stated above what I have often thought myself. Some recumbents are so quick handling that you practically have to have circus performer skills to ride them. Why the hell can't the designers of recumbents get the trail right? Surely there must be a formula which is optimum for trail for everybody regardless of the particular configuration of the recumbent. A twitchy bike will drive a normal person crazy! -- Ed Dolan - Minnesota |
#7
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"stabilizing" a stratus?
"Edward Dolan" wrote in message ... "Frodo22222" wrote in message ... The fork rake is the problem. A change to a straight fork might work. Twitchy bikes can be slowed down by adding trail. The problem is picking the right amount. Some riders object to the other forces that occur with increased trail. Many recumbent builders seem to prefer criterium quick handling. IM not so HO, this is why recumbents haven't been widely accepted. Bill Patterson home.earthlink.net/~wm.patterson/ Bill, you have just stated above what I have often thought myself. Some recumbents are so quick handling that you practically have to have circus performer skills to ride them. Why the hell can't the designers of recumbents get the trail right? Surely there must be a formula which is optimum for trail for everybody regardless of the particular configuration of the recumbent. A twitchy bike will drive a normal person crazy! -- Ed Dolan - Minnesota Perhaps the problem isn't that you need to have circus performer skills but instead you have lousy coordination. |
#8
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"stabilizing" a stratus?
"Mark Leuck" wrote in message news:XcYJc.107109$XM6.10040@attbi_s53... "Edward Dolan" wrote in message ... "Frodo22222" wrote in message ... The fork rake is the problem. A change to a straight fork might work. Twitchy bikes can be slowed down by adding trail. The problem is picking the right amount. Some riders object to the other forces that occur with increased trail. Many recumbent builders seem to prefer criterium quick handling. IM not so HO, this is why recumbents haven't been widely accepted. Bill Patterson home.earthlink.net/~wm.patterson/ Bill, you have just stated above what I have often thought myself. Some recumbents are so quick handling that you practically have to have circus performer skills to ride them. Why the hell can't the designers of recumbents get the trail right? Surely there must be a formula which is optimum for trail for everybody regardless of the particular configuration of the recumbent. A twitchy bike will drive a normal person crazy! -- Ed Dolan - Minnesota Perhaps the problem isn't that you need to have circus performer skills but instead you have lousy coordination. Here is someone who in the past has threatened to kill file me. But of course that is not possible if you are an intelligent person. So Mark passes muster on that score. I am totally in the mainstream when it comes to coordination and bicycle riding skills. Yet I continue to object to twitchy bikes. I don't believe there is any reason for it. The real problem is that some recumbent bike designers are not up to the mark. In other words, they do not know what they are doing. They remind me of people who are constantly reinventing the wheel - and getting it wrong! For heaven's sakes, it cannot be rocket science to get the trail right! And why the hell can't recumbent designers get the tiller right either? Recumbent designers should all be consulting with another Minnesotan by the name of Mark Stonich who knows what the hell he is talking about with respect to these very elementary design considerations. Frankly, I am fed up with recumbent designers who cannot get the trail right and who cannot get the tiller right. Such designers ought to be taken out and horse whipped to death for all the aggravation they cause. I have lost all patience with them! The problem is that they love to build the g.d. things, but they don't put any effort into designing them. May the devil take them! -- Ed Dolan - Minnesota |
#9
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"stabilizing" a stratus?
My class was all about how to design a bike with geometry different from the
upright. The airplane guys call it "HANDLING QUALITIES". When I wrote the class note, I didn't have Mark Stonich's information. However, tiller is only one way to add control centering spring to slow down the responsiveness. I did find a simplified equation for predicting a bikes twitchyness. It's in the "Lords of the chainring". We find that bike manufactureres go out of business when their bikes aren't up to snuff. I'm glad that I don't have to be a businessman. Bill Patterson |
#10
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"stabilizing" a stratus?
"Frodo22222" wrote in message
... My class was all about how to design a bike with geometry different from the upright. The airplane guys call it "HANDLING QUALITIES". When I wrote the class note, I didn't have Mark Stonich's information. However, tiller is only one way to add control centering spring to slow down the responsiveness. I did find a simplified equation for predicting a bikes twitchyness. It's in the "Lords of the chainring". We find that bike manufactureres go out of business when their bikes aren't up to snuff. I'm glad that I don't have to be a businessman. Bill Patterson Bill, I am convinced that trail and tiller for recumbents is what make or breaks them (other than seat comfort of course). This cannot be rocket science. A curse on all those who prefer twitchy bikes. These very elementary considerations were solved over a hundred years ago with respect to uprights. The kind of guys who design and manufacture recumbents are the most pig headed bunch of guys who ever existed. They design them for themselves and do not consider what might be best for the vast majority of cyclists who want a bike that is easy to handle above all else. -- Ed Dolan - Minnesota |
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