I have a nervous falcon.

[User269]

Does the bike fit you? The frame looks quite big to me, and the bars and saddle seem to be set very low.

 

[sidevalve]

Toe in is not really responsible for straight line stability it is the castor angle and or trail that is responsible for that and I wonder if this is a similar prob on the bike. As a rough guide try a line from the axle to the bottom of the steering head and continue it to the ground - it should be quite a bit in front of a line vertically down from the axle. Check with your other bikes for a comparison. If the amount is too small the steering will be a bit like a unicycle. Check for any repairs or bending of the forks [cracked paint ?]

 

[Illaveago]

SORTED! Thanks for all your help it was much appreciated. I now have a Falcon that behaves itself. I swapped the bars over for another pair with a shorter stem
Original stem length 10.5cm to new length 7 cm measured from centre of the bars to the centre of the bolt. I can now ride hands on the brake hoods and on top of the bars without fear of dissapearing into a ditch. I can now ride one handed whilst looking back over my shoulder. The bike is still nimble but it feels Hell of a lot better so much so that I want go out on it.

 

[mjr]

Guess if the stem doesn't fix it I will be bar shopping if I keep my falcon then. I think has 39cm bars when I usually ride 42s. Shouldn't a falcon have wide wings anyway?

 

[Illaveago]

Well i've fixed one problem now for the computer, now where did I put my hammer.

 

[Illaveago]

The width of the bars I took off are 42.5 cms from outside to outside. I've never measured bars before I assumed they were all the same width. If you have got a shorter stem it might be worth trying it out. It has totally transformed the whole feeling of the bike. The only regret I have is that I have spent time polishing the bars, levers and bought and fitted some new red bar tape to go with the bike.

 

[mjr]

What were the ones you put on? And the shorter stem I have is something like 4cm, so it'll be from one extreme to the other

 

[Illaveago]

I'll have to go and measure them, but whilst I was looking through all the posts the elbow method came up. I thought that I would use that method to gauge how my other cycles compared. My Holdsworth and the BSA came out about the same at about 1 inch from the tip of my finger to the bars or 25mm. The Falcon was 2 inches it is now 1 inch. The ride this afternoon was on the 700 narrow tyres which were very twichy before. The width of the bars centre to centre is 38cms, and the stem length has reduced been by 3.5cm.

 

[raleighnut]

Well i've fixed one problem now for the computer, now where did I put my hammer.

Formatting?

 

[Illaveago]

Well I just googled stem length and the information said the longer the stem the more docile the ride as opposed to a shorter stem producing a more lively twichy ride. This is contrary to what I am experiencing. The frame sizes are within half an inch the same ,Holdsworth 23, Falcon 23, BSA 22.5. I am 5ft 10.5 ins my jeans say inside leg 32, about average. The stem sizes are now within 0.5cms the same and now all three bikes ride well . So what I can gather from this is that if you have a bike that isn't behaving properly and one that is, it may not necessarily be faulty, but if you can replicate the same dimensions in the faulty bike as the good one you may end up with a solution. I have.