How do I stop the front wheel from breaking away from me?

Darra8

Hi Guys,

It seems that when ever I go out on a ride at some point I will feel that the front wheel is about to break away from me and I will lose my balance an fall off. It's mostly when going around corners, and at any speed. It can also happen on very loose sandy ground going in a straight line.

I have been running kenda SB8's all Summer on a bike I put together myself, from a malt 1 frame and exotic rigid fork. Because of this, I tend to ride around these corners with my weight off the front end...is this the right thing to do? Can any one give me any tips on how to ride to stop this from happening, as it's really effecting my confidence

Cheers,

Steve

Nick Dastardly

Try lowering your front tyre pressure a few psi. Makes all the difference.

geordiefreerider

Well this is a minefield topic, there are many aspects and contributing factors, ie; tyre pressure, tyre width, suspension settings, bar width/rise, stem length and riding style.

I can however offer a few pointers, firstly your riding style, I corner (as im sure many do) with my outside foot on the bottom of the crank stroke thus transferring your weight to the push the tyres into the turn, this has the added benefit that if your front wheel (or rear) does slip then you may be able to catch it with a dab of your inside foot.

Secondly is tyre pressure and suspension set up which can vary greatly depending on rider weight and preference so I wont go into too much detail but its worth looking at.

Thirdly, things like your bars and stem, try if you can to swap parts with a mate and give longer/shorter stems and wider/higher rise bars etc a try and see what you like. I find a shorter stem gives me better feel of the bike but others may disagree.

frazerbrown

I'd suggest getting your weight toward the front wheel rather than further back over the bike, and turn your hips into the turn.
Maybe you need a shorter stem, it might put you over the front wheel a little more. You could always try a different front tyre as well.

Darra8

Front tyre pressure is around 35 psi at the moment, and my stem is 90mm.

Anonymous

Darra8 wrote:

I tend to ride around these corners with my weight off the front end

THAT, is precisely where you're going wrong. You need to force the front wheel into the ground. You can practically ignore the rear wheel, it will follow you round anyway.

And, contrary to previous advice, a LONGER stem will force you to be leaning more weight over the front, not a shorter one - but I wouldn't bother with that.
Just practice weighing the front down on corners. It will feel quite unnatural until you get the knack of it.

paul.skibum

Like Yee...... says - gotta weight the front wheel into the corner you can let it go away from you out of the corner getting the weight on the back to power out of the turn but weight the front in.

Daz555

Darra8 wrote:

I tend to ride around these corners with my weight off the front end...is this the right thing to do?

No weight, no grip.

supersonic

What is the bike? What is the head angle?

captainfly

Firstly check the rotation direction of the front tyre, yes I put mine back on wrong after a puncture and the front end was awful

There is the old chestnut of tyre pressure, then general technique you know load the front end and lean in more, for balance and more tyre contact, simple handling stuff. Start off slower then build up speed gradualy feeling for what works for you.

dave_hill

Have you got front suspension? Is the rebound damping adjustable? You may have too little rebound damping, in which case add more..

Stay off the brakes when cornering (especially the front, despite what Supersonic will tell you... ).

Try to keep your weight more central/forward biased.

What sort of tyre are you using and in what conditions? Some tyres are blimming awful for cornering.

xtreem

[b]dave_hill[/b] wrote:

Have you got front suspension? Is the rebound damping adjustable? You may have too little rebound damping, in which case add more..

What sort of tyre are you using and in what conditions? Some tyres are blimming awful for cornering.

He said in the first post, " exotic rigid fork" and "kenda SB8", you just didn't read.

My words, your tires are not so good for nice angles when cornering. Small knobs.
Put Highrollers 2.1 and you'll see what I'm talking about. But I don't recomend it for on road use.

And as yeehaamcgee said about weight.

Darra8

Thanks for all the help guys.

I will try and put my weight more forward and see what happens.

Steve

kitenski

I've not found those tyres to be the best in anything apart from bone dry conditions, the front slipped out on me doing a switchback climb in Dalby on the same tyres in damp conditions a week or so ago.

dave_hill

Xtreem wrote:

He said in the first post, " exotic rigid fork" and "kenda SB8", you just didn't read.

D'oh!!