Finally seen one out in the wild..

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slowmotion

Quite dreadful
Location
lost somewhere
OK, OK, OK.....but the bike would work perfectly well if it had straight forks on backwards , wouldn't it?. The brakes ditto. Is there a real problem in functionality?

Edit: I think I got a bit too " Brian Sewell" about it.
 

MrJamie

Oaf on a Bike
I think on the curved forks, like the bike behind in the photo the tyre would be really close to the downtube and probably hit the riders feet if not the pedals. :crazy:
 

deptfordmarmoset

Full time tea drinker
Location
Armonmy Way
OK, OK, OK.....but the bike would work perfectly well if it had straight forks on backwards , wouldn't it?. The brakes ditto. Is there a real problem in functionality?
Ah, it looks like neither of us is getting it! There's no visible difference in rake, there's no set forward of the forks and, from a quick look over my road and tourer bikes, the only difference I can see on the brakes is that the road bike has an extra washer/spacer-type-thingy on it at the front, possibly to allow a smidgin more clearance for the slight forward rake of the forks. So the cable routing is wrong and the tyre tread will now push standing water inwards rather than splaying it outwards. And of course it simply looks wrong but I still can't see that bike is significantly less roadworthy as it is.
 
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HovR

HovR

Über Member
Location
Plymouth
OK, OK, OK.....but the bike would work perfectly well if it had straight forks on backwards , wouldn't it?. The brakes ditto. Is there a real problem in functionality?

Edit: I think I got a bit too " Brian Sewell" about it.

As the forks are straight, it probably wouldn't affect the steering of the bike too much. Although, if you look at the crown of the fork, it is angled slightly so that it would move the tire's contact point forward (or in this case backwards) compared to a truly straight fork. So the wheel is probably about an inch further back than it should be. Whether this will affect the handling of the bike is another question.

The other issue is cable routing. The cable is turning 90 degrees in to the noodle over a very short area, with no outer cable to guide it, which would probably cause a lot of friction in the cable, and possibly cause the brakes to not operate properly, or perhaps take a while to return.
 

rollinstok

Well-Known Member
Location
morecambe
Reminds me of when my Brother-in-law told me he had mail ordered a bike as it was a 50% off bargain..." it must be ok as its a Raleigh" he enthused
Next weekend he turns up for a ride along with his " Reebok" which was 3 sizes too big for him .. saddle right down and he was still wobbling as he pedalled, it weighed about 40lb and yes...the fork was the wrong way round !!
 
As the forks are straight, it probably wouldn't affect the steering of the bike too much. Although, if you look at the crown of the fork, it is angled slightly so that it would move the tire's contact point forward (or in this case backwards) compared to a truly straight fork. So the wheel is probably about an inch further back than it should be. Whether this will affect the handling of the bike is another question.

The angling of the fork crown will have the effect of setting the front wheel's axle line behind the steering axis rather than ahead, which I would imagine would make the bike feel horribly twitchy and/or like riding on an over-inflated/solid tyre.

The other issue is cable routing. The cable is turning 90 degrees in to the noodle over a very short area, with no outer cable to guide it, which would probably cause a lot of friction in the cable, and possibly cause the brakes to not operate properly, or perhaps take a while to return.
Totally agree here, this should have been the giveaway to the nurk in the shop it was purchased from, one would have thought :rolleyes:
Mind you, the default brake setup herabouts seems to be the 'unhooked brake pipe' style, where the 90 degree brake pipe which connects the outer cable to the cable stop on the caliper is unhooked, normally because the wheel is so far out of true it looks like a banana or has one or more failed spokes which gives the same end effect!
 
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HovR

HovR

Über Member
Location
Plymouth
The angling of the fork crown will have the effect of setting the front wheel's axle line behind the steering axis rather than ahead, which I would imagine would make the bike feel horribly twitchy and/or like riding on an over-inflated/solid tyre.

I was afraid I wasn't very clear in my post! What I was trying to say is that when the bike is set up correctly the angled fork crown would move the tire's contact point forward, however as it has been set up wrong, it is now moving it backwards.
 

Davidc

Guru
Location
Somerset UK
The ride's probably so poor that shifting the contact point of the tyre back a couple of inches will make no noticeable difference at all. my concern would be for the safety of the front brake.

Are there construction and use standards or rules for bikes as there are for cars, and if yes couldn't the suppliers of these bikes be forced to put them together properly?
 

Fnaar

Smutmaster General
Location
Thumberland
I'm pretty sure my car's wheels are on back to front... :smile:
 
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