aaronM46

I have new bars coming. I do not like those at all. The backsweep puts a bad angle on my wrists.

Oh, and the fork is the exact same length as the original. I think it's mostly me getting used to it. You definitely have to pay more attention now because it is very nimble now.

smd4

All the better to avoid potholes! And I'd say the bars are uncomfortable because they aren't level. They look uncomfortable to me just looking at the pictures.

Elvo

Seems like its 1-2 sizes too small for you?

icemilkcoffee 

Do this with your picture: Draw a straight line along the center of the headtube, and see where it hits the ground. It should be hitting the ground some distance ahead of the tire contact patch. This is known as the 'trail' measurement.
What happened here is that you are using a shorter than stock fork, and now the head angle is too steep, leading to a much reduced trail.

xroadcharlie

I went riding with a cousin of mine a while back who has a Specialized Roll step through bike. I ride a Giant Sedona comfort bike. We switched bikes for a while and I was so surprised how much more relaxed the steering was on the Roll. Meanwhile my cousin almost crashed because the steering on my Sedona was so sensitive. After a while we both got used to the change.

So when I got home i looked up the specs that effect steering sensitivity and found them to be very close. But they did indicate the Sedona would be more twitchy, But I had no idea such a small change would feel so different.

My old mountain bike the Sedona replaced also had twitchy steering, And I believe my Sedona is based on a mountain bike frame. Perhaps they are designed to have more sensitive steering then other bikes.

aaronM46

I just got home from riding a few miles and it has grown on me except for the bars. I like that it is very responsive now. It was just sluggish feeling before and the bearings were junk so it didn't feel smooth. These are so smooth and nice.

Also, I ride with my dog a mile or two a day aside from riding without her. Usually a mile in the morning and a mile in the evening. If you look at my seat post you will notice a silver metal attachment point. A metal tube quick connects to that and inside the tube is a spring with a tether/leash attached to it and the leash comes out of the tube and clips to her harness. It keeps her about a foot and a half away from the bike. She just runs right alongside me and gets in her exercise. She wears shoes when the pavement gets too hot. I will take a pic of the attachment and post it in a few minutes.

aaronM46

Here is a pic of the dog running setup. She is not in the harness but you get the idea.

aaronM46

Ha. I just noticed my rear wheel QR is facing the wrong way from looking at that pic.

smd4

Lots of us use them facing that way.

smd4

He’s stated the forks are the exact same length. Of course, trail could certainly be different between the two, based on rake.

aaronM46

Yeah, I am not trail riding so I don't care. I live in a golf course neighborhood so the closest trail I will see is the golf cart path. Very nice area to ride on the streets though because of low traffic and a lot of curves.

PhilFo 

This is that "scientific method" mentioned over in the build thread, come back to bite the builder. A little research pays off and in the end saves money.

aaronM46

And once again someone doesn't understand the "scientific method". Here is what you aren't getting. The 'sixth step' of the scientific method is to make a new hypothesis based on your test results. The scientific method does not involve me listening to you or your knowledge. The scientific method is the exact opposite of following a recipe which you clearly think is the meaning of the scientific method.

PhilFo 

Incorrect. You build upon already existing knowledge. One wouldn't test gravity by walking off the top of a tall building, would they? A person might ask around "what do you think might happen if I exited that skyscraper at the top floor?"
So your new hypothesis is?
You may start with a quantitative analysis of cost, including man-hours of labor. You can also write up a heuristic thesis based upon your subjective analysis of the ride quality after you installed the new fork. Then weigh all the analyzed data against your qualitative feel for what you made and make the call if it was worth it.
I'm drawing solely on your statement regarding the scientific method over in the build thread, in which you didn't bother to research bicycle geometry, you spent a decent amount of money on something, then you came back here where your error in process was pointed out to you.
So, what is your new hypothesis? It might involve a bit of research and possibly taking the advice of others, if they are gracious enough to give it. Might save you some money and egg on your face.

PeteHski

I agree, the bars look terrible. With all that backsweep and an effectively super-short stem, I'm not surprised it's a bit twitchy. But as you've already found for yourself, people quickly get used to changes in steering sensitivity.

BlazingPedals

Agreed. Overall, the build doesn't look bad and the bike should be rideable - just twitchier than it was originally.

chaadster

That’s what it looks like to my eye, too. There seems to be a lot more airspace between the tire and the bottom of the crown on the suspension fork than on the rigid replacement.

Stock pics with the suspension fork don’t account for sag, however, although such an upright position and a seat slammed fully rearward may not result in any sag anyway, so maybe a fully extended fork is the way the OP experienced the stock fork.

I dunno how OP determined fork lengths, but if done manually, maybe simple measurement error is at play; it only takes about 10mm, or roughly 1/2”, to shift head tube angle a half-degree, which is enough to be noticeable,

smd4

Measuring to the bottom of the fork crown would not seem to be the ideal way to measure in this instance--fork crowns vary in thickness. A more-accurate measurement would be to the bottom of the headset crown race.

chaadster

Yeah, as I said, I don’t know how the OP determined the forks are “the exact same length,” but to the eye and based on the posted pics, they don’t appear to me to have the same length.

smd4

Agreed, but all I have to go by is my eye on screen photos, or the guy that says he actually measured them.

Anicius

To me too, it sounds like a trail problem. Trail provides stability because the caster effect tries to keep the wheel pointed straight ahead. But excessive trail can produce twitchiness at lower speeds ("wheel flop" - when you turn, the front of the bike drops a little closer to the ground so that gravity effectively energizes the turn and overwhelms the caster effect). But here, just from eyeballing the bike photos, there looks to be a fair amount of offset, so I'd guess trail is less than the original configuration rather than excessive.

Iride01 

So what did the bike ride like before you did all the stuff to it?

And in your pic of the final product, do you have spacers underneath the stem or is that just bare steerer tube exposed between the stem and headset? I really think that must be a large spacer or sleeve, but just asking as if that is bare steerer tube exposed, then that seems an issue right there.

But still without having a shot square on from the side it's hard to tell if your new fork changed the trail and other things up very much.

If you are just wanting to ride around the neighborhood on a paved road or sidewalk, then one of the cruiser type bikes with a very slack seat tube will be ideal for that. Your hybrid seems more appropriate to riding off road in mildly challenging terrain, not on roads.

XxHaimBondxX

What's the total bill on this build?

wheelreason

Fork can't be installed backwards, stem is backwards...

wheelreason

Larger diameter wheel in the front and smaller one in the back....