Handlebar Angle/rotation

[cleaner]

So I have been experimenting with different fork spacers, stock vs different shorter ones as I weigh only 150lbs. The stock spacers are great for drops etc. but I find softening the fork action with shorter spacers makes the front deflect less and soak up bumps a lot better. Also been playing a lot with handlebar rotation and found that the further forward I rotate, the lighter the steering becomes to the point that I am fighting the wheel to not turn so easily. I notice that a lot of TY's have the bars quite far forward. What are your findings and opinions on this? I have Falcons on the back with the top mounts dropped forward 4 inches. The forks are set at 20mm protrusion. Thanks

[feetupfun]

Bar position, rise, sweep and width are all meant to be used to set the bike up to suit the rider. It's really up to you to set the bars up how you like them. Some people like a lot of room to move around. Are you talking TY175 or TY250?

Fork oil viscosity can also affect the way the forks react on sudden compression

[cleaner]

Yes I know about the personal preference thing, I actually like the bars a bit further back as far as comfort goes but was surprised at the big difference in handling when moving them forward. I am wondering what kind of average position people prefer. I am running 10 wt fork oil, have tried 15 but the 10 works better for me. Thanks.

[0007]

I changed my bar angle to slightly fwd of vertical, it's better in a section but not so comfy on roads etc

Spring spacers cannot make the fork stiffer, they can only change ride height by increasing pre load

Think of it this way, if a spring can hold 100 lbs, it doesn't matter how much preload spacer you put on it, 100 lbs will always take it to full compression

A spring with fewer coils and or thicker wire makes springs stiffer

[feetupfun]

OK to answer your question. I'm 5' 10" and have a long arm reach for my height. I run the bars in different positions on my various twinshock bikes. On my standard-framed bikes, the furtherest forwards is with the rise section about 10 degrees forward of the line of the fork tubes and the furtherest back is with the rise section in line with the fork tubes. In the case of a standard TY250 twinshock I use about 5 degrees forward of the line of the fork tubes.

Generally I find that the limit for moving them forwards is that I can't get my weight far enough back for all situations.

I also find that moving them forwards and back makes a huge difference to the amount of kickback from the front tyre hitting little things off-centre - much more of an effect that fiddling with fork spring preload, spring rate or oil viscosity.

Too far back and my hands are too close to the line of my body when the bike is acsending steeply under power.

Also too far back and my knees get in the way of the bar ends in some situations. On one of my TY175s I moved the headstock forwards by 25mm mainly to give more room to move around without the bar ends being too far forwards of the steering axis.

[cleaner]

Yes the spacer size does not change the spring rate but the pre-load. I have tested many different spacer sizes (pre-load) and it makes a big difference, especially in a rocky section such as a stream bed. For me the stock spacer makes my fork action stiff, while the shorter spacers make the forks more supple, absorbing more, creating a better handling bike. The trade off however is easier bottoming. Coming over a big log with the stock spacer is great. With the shorter ones the forks will bottom, not harshly though, and make the landing more difficult. I have had best average results with a spacer about 3/4 the length of stock. Thanks all for the input. I am interested to see what others where experimenting with and their findings. The 175 is a great light bike and I am trying to reach it's full potential.

[feetupfun]

It's good to know which bike we are talking about now (TY175). The reason you have had the result that you have by reducing the preload spacer length is because TY175 springs have a special design feature. The coils are wound with a section a few inches long with almost no gap between the coils. This creates a dual rate spring. When the legs are fully extended in use, the section with the small gaps still has gaps, but as the forks compress, the coils in that section of the spring touch each other, which causes that section of the spring to effectively become a spacer. Because there are then less active coils in the spring, it has a higher spring rate for the remainder of the fork travel.

By shortening the spacer from its standard length, you have increased the proportion of the fork travel that has the lower spring rate. This benefits heavy riders too, because they can fit a longer spacer and cause the higher spring rate to cut in at less compression of the forks.

You can test for correct sag with you aboard and with all your weight on the pegs, and none on the bars. The forks should ideally be at 40% to 50% of their total travel, if you have the spring preload right for your weight.

[cleaner]

Thanks feetupfun for the info!