Twitchy front end.

widge34

I've been riding a few singletracks, nothing too technical, just weaving in and out of trees and a few low jumps.
My problem is the front end of my Mongoose feels very light and twitchy. It doesnt fill me with confidence. Everytime i hit a bend the front wheel feels like its just going too slip sideways.

A few questions i have asked myself.

1 do i need better grip tyres. I have Kenda Nevegals.
2 Is it the way i ride. Do i need to push my weight a bit more forward.
3 i am 12 stone. Do i need to get the Rockshox Tora 302 adjusted

Any other ideas appreciated

Mental Mickey

Stem length.

widge34

Longer?.

Mental Mickey

^^ Usually yes, playing around with that type of thing can have quite an effect.

Do you happen to have any mates with a longer stem (oooh matron) that you could perhaps borrow to try before you buy?

widge34

Yeah i have a mate who has an Orange Five. He usually has some spare kit floating about.

Atz

1, Nevegals are fine
2, Probably onto something
3, No

I'd say before buying, consider doing about your positioning on the bike. You should try to be roughly equally balanced between front and back for most of your riding. A lot of people hang off the back of the bike because they think they should but do it when it's not needed.

widge34

What sort of tyre pressure should i be running?

Mental Mickey

Sorry, I'm a bit absent minded tonight.

Other than length, I think the degree of the angle can make a difference too? I changed a 120mm stem on my HT because it was necessary as I felt too stretch out, changed it for a 70 mm thomson elite with more rise in it, instead of the 120mm which was really straight, if it is more twitchy now due to being shorter, it;s not the noticeable.

The obvious thing is bar width, wider bars would help too.

rudedog

Atz wrote:

1, Nevegals are fine
2, Probably onto something
3, No

I'd say before buying, consider doing about your positioning on the bike. You should try to be roughly equally balanced between front and back for most of your riding. A lot of people hang off the back of the bike because they think they should but do it when it's not needed.

This is good advice

Anonymous

rudedog wrote:

Atz wrote:

1, Nevegals are fine
2, Probably onto something
3, No

I'd say before buying, consider doing about your positioning on the bike. You should try to be roughly equally balanced between front and back for most of your riding. A lot of people hang off the back of the bike because they think they should but do it when it's not needed.

This is good advice

Agreed. Almost certain it's technique/rider positioning.

Johnny Napalm

Agee with the above too ^^^^.

I also have a Mongoose with Nevegals and run a short 50mm stem with 10 degree rise. I'm only 5' 6" with a short reach, so I find shorter stems better for me. They do make the front end more lively, but it's something I'm used to now...but it's not to everyone's taste.

I used to always have my weight at the back of the bike because I was afraid of getting over the front. Now, through the help of people oh here, such as Mr. McGee, and through reading articles, I can now corner faster than I used to.

I'm no expert, and others are still better, but it has improved my riding (unless I try to jump, of course :oops: ), so I have seen an improvement in my riding. Another forum member (sorry, name escapes me at present) also said to ensure you have your weight on the outside pedal, which is common sense, but until you know it and put it into practice, you'll find that your cornering won't be as efficient.

I use the following methods, which have helped greatly and is advice given to me by forum members and reading articles.

Look ahead.
Equally balanced attack position.
Chest over handlebars to help the front wheel obtain grip where necessary.
Lean the bike where leaning with the bike is not possible.
Weight on the outside pedal when cornering.
Look towards the exit of the corner when entering.

I'm not great, but these tips have helped me and I'm sure the more experienced can add more and maybe even correct me where applicable.

paul.skibum

Weight forward more into corners, check the fork is set up to the correct sag (if its too stiff it wont compress into corners and help you out). Play with your technique before you spend cash on new bits.

widge34

Newbie question. How do you set the sag on the fork?

Anonymous

You adjust sag by changing the spring preload, or if that's not giving enough adjustment, changing the spring. On air sprung forks, you just change the air pressure.

fielonator

I try to make changes during a ride so I can see the difference better. Sounds obvious but a lot of factors can affect the way a bike feels from day to day, e.g. weather, terrain, fatigue etc.

Only when I'm riding alone though, otherwise I'd get slated for fiddling too much.

tri-sexual

everything you mentioned will have some effect on how a bike handles.
the type of tyre used will be dependent on the style of riding, the terrain and the conditions you ride in.
the condition of the tyre, tyre pressure and the width of the tyre you choose is also very important.
fork set up should be dialled in and tailored for you.
check bike for damage especially to the frame,forks and stem.
make sure everything is secure and nothing is loose, this includes the QR, i have seen loads of riders with wheels not tightly secured to the forks
lastly and probably the thing which will improve your overall riding is practice, a good rider can make riding seem effortless, very smooth, great lines and carries more speed through turns.
an unexperienced rider has poor positioning, rough riding, poor line choice and not very smooth, very rough turns (sawing action) and improper use of the brakes makes the bike a handful because it changes how the bike will handles due to fork compressions and overall grip on the trail.
read the trial and do your braking before you reach the turn, braking whilst in the turn can cause skidding and loss of traction

Mental Mickey

yeehaamcgee wrote:

Agreed. Almost certain it's technique/rider positioning.

I must admit, I made the assumption he already had good technique but have since read another thread of his where he mentions being a newbie.

As a fellow newbie, I can tell you that it;s a common mistake to lean back too much, especially on steep downhill stuff but I read a really good article (either in MBUK or MBR) once that was written by a downhiller, talking about some of the techniques DH riders use and keeping low and more forward than you normally might makes a real difference when you start putting more weight on the front.

Think of it as attacking the trail, I think I underestimated the importance of weight shifting continuously, knowing where the weight should be is so important for everything from a off camber section, bermed corner or jumps etc...especially when conditions are loose or slippery.
A good thing to learn is the balance point in the attack position, this guy explains this fairly well if you haven't seen this video before.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tBIY07YFCM

Another thing I constantly forget is 'pumping' pumping the trail really can add to the traction and help with keeping momentum, I often have to remind myself of this.
Another downhiller told me to lean the bike more on corners too, instead of leaning my body and think of keeping my weight centralised over the bottom bracket while leaning the bike, this does work very well too, digging those tyre edges into the trail more.

Try some of this stuff, then consider talking to a good LBS for advice if you don feel changes need to be made to the bike.

Best of luck.

widge34

Cheers for all the advice guys. Will take it all on board.

MarvintheAndroid

Some of the trails in the forest are pretty twitchy anyway, how long have you been riding ? If you find the front end trying to lift then it's definitely more about rider positioning / anticipation but if you find it uncomfortably twitchy even with weight on the fork then I'd certainly consider a longer stem.

Above all, keep doing it !

Marv

Northwind

One wee thing, sure Nevegals are fine if you've got the good ones, but the OEM spec wire bead ones are pretty horrible- totally different construction and compound, they look the same but that's about it. They're still usable but they're like something from the 90s.

Anonymous

Northwind wrote:

They're still usable but they're like something from the 90s.

Hey, HEEEEY. I really liked my old Smoke and Dart and Velociraptor tyres. And I am genuinely saddened that I can't buy IRC Kujos anymore.

Northwind

Objection sustained! I should've said "They're like most tyres from the 90s". I just used smoke/dart because everything else I tried immediately tried to turn me into a bloody smear

Anonymous

Seriously though, I am saddened by the loss of the IRC Kujo. Those things were amazing.

cooldad

Scrounged a Dart last year and tried it out for fun. It was terrible.
Tried a pair of reissue Onza Porcs over winter though and they were great in the snow and mud.
Not so great now it's dry, have stuck the Maxxis back on.