why allow your front wheel to do 90 degrees

[Licramite]

I may be missing something here , but what possible advantage can there be in allowing your front wheel to turn 90 degrees from straight ahead.
If your going very slowly if your front wheal does a 90 degree turn your liable to fall off.
60-70 degrees appears to be the max you would want to turn the front wheel and stay stable.
if your travelling forward anything more than 30- 40 degrees is going to throw you off.

I certainly have been thrown over the handlebars because my front wheel did a 90 degrees on me. - if it had been limited 40 it would have had to ridden up the obstacle (probably still fallen off) but it would have been less violent.

I'm sure there must be a reason , anyone?

 

[Chris S]

I turn my front wheel to 90 degrees when I leave my bike on the propstand. It stops it falling over when the ground isn't even.

I think manufacturers don't do anything to restrict the wheel range because it would be extra weight and complexity. Most people just hold the bars tight!

 

[Edwards80]

I don't think the ability to do it is designed in as a "feature", it's more a case that you'd have to engineer a way of stopping it, owing to the way bikes are put together.

If you're in a situation where your bars are turning 90 degress then something is already quite amiss

 

[Rob3rt]

Because it would require additional engineering to stop the wheel rotating? Any competent rider will not suffer from the current design! Bikes like going straight ahead, you would have to interfere quite severely for the wheel to turn 90 degree's while moving.

If you don't want the wheel to turn that far, cut your cables shorter, but since you seem to be unable to ride a bike with any degree of competency, then you will need to be careful that you don't end up pulling the brakes on as you turn! I would suggest you leave things as they are.

 

[Rob3rt]

[QUOTE 2475337, member: 30090"]Are people missing the point of the OP?

They've stated that they had an accident where the wheel rotated 90 degrees. If the wheel did not rotate then the OP would not have crashed. So why does a wheel rotate 90 degrees, is there a need for this and is there a way of preventing this?[/quote]


The OP fell off because his cycling competency appears to be next to none, not because of a bicycle design issue! This comment is based on numerous posts!

 

[Lee_M]

if it didn't rotate 90 degrees I wouldn't be able to get my bike into the cellar for storage

God knows how anyone manages to turn the wheel that far so they fall off when riding though

 

[Rob3rt]

[QUOTE 2475341, member: 30090"]Appears to be next to none? What qualifies you to have such an opinion of another cyclist?[/quote]


I don't need to be qualified to have an opinion!

I have however read enough enough posts of the OP to realise he makes a habit of doing daft things on a bike. He is hardly shy of posting about his adventures! This is a guy who thinks riding MTB trails on tri bars is a good idea!

 

[snorri]

The abity to turn to a right angle is helpful when going on escalators, it is difficult to hold a laden bike otherwise..

 

[Edwards80]

Another way to look at this. Slide your drivers seat forwards in your car. In some, you'll be able to have it touch the steering wheel. Utterly useless (erm, ignoring 3 doors . . ), but no-one should be in a situation where that causes you a problem, so no-one engineers a way to stop it.

This is the same thing. . . although it can actually be useful, sticking the bike in a bike bag with the wheel removed, so you don't need to remove/loosen the bars, for example.

One engineering solution is to snap a broom handle in half, strap it to your bars so the ends are beside you. You will get a handy prod to the ribs to remind you that you're turning too far...

 

[MontyVeda]

[QUOTE 2475337, member: 30090"]Are people missing the point of the OP?

They've stated that they had an accident where the wheel rotated 90 degrees. If the wheel did not rotate then the OP would not have crashed. So why does a wheel rotate 90 degrees, is there a need for it and is there a way of preventing this?[/quote]
is it a halfords bike with the forks on the wrong way round, resulting in a negative castor? and if the front wheel did turn 90degress and threw them off, surely the wheel would 'pringle' too

 

[mattobrien]

I am really struggling to see how the front wheel could turn a 90 degree angle while the bike is actually being ridden, unless the rider isn't holding the handlebars and the front wheel hits something or the rider does it deliberately. Either way the rider is at fault, not the bike design.

I am not claiming to be an expert, but in the last 5,000 or so miles since I returned to cycling I cannot think of an occasion where the front wheel has turned 90 degrees. How does this happen?

Surely if this was a genuine problem, the question would have been asked before

 

[gaz]

How can I track stand if I can't rotate my bars as far as I need to?

if it had been limited 40 it would have had to ridden up the obstacle (probably still fallen off) but it would have been less violent

What obstacle where you trying to ride up?

 

[simon.r]

I may be missing something here , but what possible advantage can there be in allowing your front wheel to turn 90 degrees from straight ahead.

I'm sure there must be a reason , anyone?

Google BMX Flatland

 

[Licramite]

Its not about voluntarily turning the front wheel 90 degrees, but if the wheel hits something (say a log, or a ridge or pot hole) that turns the front wheel your going to turn with it, we are dealing with forces greater than the best rider -
if there was a mechanical stop, the wheel instead of turning would be forced to go forward and may well ride over the obstruction.

we all ride what is called a safety bike (designed about 100 years ago) I dare say 100years ago people would have said - you have to be totally incompetent to fall off a penny farthing.

as far as I can see the front wheel steering design hasn't changed in 100years - of course we all drive around in cars that haven't changed in mechanical design for a 100years don't we. - so why do we ride bikes that haven't.

I was looking for a reason why you would want this inherently dangerous feature on the bike.
storage seams the only one. that could be got round.

shall have to put a limiter on the front wheel movement and see.

(If anyone followed my super bike design I now have an estimate quote for a prototype - £4000 approx.
design is not cheep.
I'm still looking to build a mock up, given up on a toothed main drive wheel , a) I can't get one, b) it would be heavy. - looking at using a bicycle wheel and belt drive.)

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I'm sure at least one american bijou framemaker puts 'stops' on their frames to limit the angle of handlebar deflection. On a loaded touring bike it can be a godsend as the bars can whip round sharpish especially when the rider is off the bike and it it leaning against something.

My solution to that specific circumstance, which has nowt to do with the OP, is dual parking brakes, a doubled up scrunchie on each drop, looped over the brake lever when I'm off the bike. If the wheels can't roll the bike is much less likely to shift and fall.