New bike, front end...
 

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[Closed] New bike, front end light on climbs...

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Wandering or lifting front wheel on sheepish climbs, (Llandegla) on my new Cotic Soul.

50mm stem 20mm of spacers below it while I get used to the bike and before I chop too much off the steerer, revelations at 130mm.

Is there a simple fix, longer stem, shorter travel forks (change travel to 120mm)


 
Posted : 04/12/2017 10:27 pm
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Or lean forward a bit more?


 
Posted : 04/12/2017 10:28 pm
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New slack head angle requires more weight forward.


 
Posted : 04/12/2017 10:41 pm
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Buy a heavy light. My Hope R8 and battery do a lot of keeping the front end down. 😀
More reasonably: after I fitted offset bushes to my Jekyll I found certain climbs had me out of the saddle a lot more. The slacker fork angle had also dropped the saddle back over the rear wheel so I had to compensate.


 
Posted : 04/12/2017 10:46 pm
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ride downhill, push back up. Easy


 
Posted : 04/12/2017 10:55 pm
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Is it “new” new or new to you?


 
Posted : 04/12/2017 10:57 pm
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Just use the cowish climbs instead


 
Posted : 04/12/2017 10:57 pm
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Is it “new” new or new to you?

New, but last model new, not new new as in not yet even available new,

Three weeks old, discounted non slack head angle new.


 
Posted : 05/12/2017 3:48 am
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If its the non-slack model, would you not be needing a longer stem to keep your weight forward?

I found this with my last Mojo HDR. To run a short stem (60mm or less) it had to be WIDE bars and no spacers under the stem. PITA really as I quite like a high front end.

Without these it wandered all over the place when climbing.


 
Posted : 05/12/2017 6:20 am
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Try sliding your saddle forward on its rails and the spacers above the stem perhaps?

I've got a new ish FS which is slack (65.5 degree headangle), but the front end is relatively low and it has a steep seat tube angle and the front is glued to the floor on steep climbs (even with 160mm travel forks).


 
Posted : 05/12/2017 6:40 am
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embrace it and manual up that mile long climb!


 
Posted : 05/12/2017 7:10 am
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Drop your elbows and slide forward on the saddle or buy a new bike 🙂


 
Posted : 05/12/2017 7:19 am
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Pedal standing up. Problem cured.


 
Posted : 05/12/2017 8:07 am
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50mm stem 20mm of spacers below it

I'd start by sticking the spacers above the stem, which'll put slightly more weight on the front end. If you have a high rise bar on it, you could always swap for a lower rise or even flat one again to put more weight on the front end. You can also move the saddle forward, even go to an inline seatpost rather than a layback if that's what you have already. A longer stem'll do a bit of that too. The balance is between the bike fitting you and the weight distribution working.

Basically you're trying to lower the front end so more of your bodyweight goes onto it. It may also have the advantage of increasing front end grip all round. You could reduce fork travel or fit a fork with a lower A/C measurement, but the obvious starting point is to drop the stem and maybe move the saddle forward and see where that gets you. Five minute job.


 
Posted : 05/12/2017 8:12 am
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Either move saddle forward or slide forward when climbing. Elbows stick out as this also helps move weight forward on front wheel. Roll bars slightly forward to move you forward as well. Drop stem 1 spacer.
All should help get a bit more weight over the front and keep the wheel from lifting.


 
Posted : 05/12/2017 8:16 am
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Yep, lower the handlebar in first instance, as BWD says.

Bike optimised for 120mm is it?


 
Posted : 05/12/2017 8:21 am
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Bar ends


 
Posted : 05/12/2017 8:50 am
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There's an idea for the next tech innovation. Dropper stems. Extended for the climbing, retracted for the descent. 😀


 
Posted : 05/12/2017 8:52 am
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I played with one of those at a bike show a while ago, I thought they were quite nifty!


 
Posted : 05/12/2017 9:26 am
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Dude, that's soooo 2015...

Should've known better than to think there is ever anything new in MTB! How did that pass me by?


 
Posted : 05/12/2017 9:27 am
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Put a layback post on in reverse. Be a trend setter, you know you want to!

All the long low slack brigade will follow suit and you can rest assured you were the genius that solved the trendy geometry issue!

P.S.

Or was it me?


 
Posted : 05/12/2017 9:27 am
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Anyone else wondering where the steep climbs are at llandegla?


 
Posted : 05/12/2017 9:35 am
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Anyone else wondering where the steep climbs are at llandegla?

:we are not worthy:
There's at least a couple of grinding short climbs, the one near the end especially.


 
Posted : 05/12/2017 9:38 am
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There's at least a couple of grinding short climbs, the one near the end especially.

Are they not just the faces to the jumps?

#humblebrag


 
Posted : 05/12/2017 9:41 am
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There's two steep pitches at Llandegla.

First one's a steady grind but the second one right near the end is a decent test. I'd have been off pushing on my second lap last week if I hadn't already [i]nailed[/i] my bar height.


 
Posted : 05/12/2017 10:15 am

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