Originally Posted by
brons2
OK, sounds like what I was originally thinking was pretty much in line with what other people were running! So maybe when I get my position sorted out, I'll be more comfortable at super-slow speeds.
Wayne, the bit about the low-trail fork is interesting, but I definitely do not want the handling to be jumpy at high speeds. If I had to choose one or the other it would be more stability at higher speeds.
There is always a problem with which words to use when talking about handling because it is so subjective. I assure you it is not jumpy in my mind anyway because no hands riding is stable and the bike tracks well up to the 40 mph that we have taken it (I was full aero with hands next to stem). On the other hand I have found that some riders feel the need to constantly steer the bike and are uncomfortable with it.
Below is a Quote by Sixtycycles (Pateka Tandems) extracted from long and "spirited" thread comparing Cafee and Pateka racing tandems. The conversation started with stiffness and then turned to steering geometry.
Sixtiescycles
Hi, Wayne,
You're right; I do like low-trail designs, and if I had my druthers there would be a 60 mm rake version of the ENVE 2.0 tapered fork: low weight and optimal geometry. We have several low-trail tandems in the family, including (notably) the Bilenky T3 triplet I mentioned previously and a 1971(-ish) Alex Singer 650B randonneur. You're absolutely right in pointing out that this was all well known (by the French, who popularized tandem racing) in the 1940's-50's, when some of the tandems had trail figures as low as 18 mm (!). Common was 25-40 mm trail. It's not that a modern tandem with 58 mm trail feels sluggish, but it's also not necessarily optimal. The very first Paketa tandem built, in 2005--for me--had a 76 degree head angle so that I could get the trail lower (32 mm, IIRC) using an Alpha Q X2 43 mm rake fork. The bike feels great, but there's a humungous amount of toe overlap, too. It doesn't bother me--I still have a 1980 Team TI-Raleigh 753 bike that has toe overlap, and that's in a 60 cm frame size. But, we've found out over the years that most people don't like toe overlap. We can build a frame with whatever the customer wants, of course, and I'm happy to discuss the trade offs with people.
Link to above quote:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...tiffness/page8
In my mind higher trail requires more countersteering to start the turn. The lower trail lets me start a turn with less countersteering and adjust my line easily in mid turn. It is different than most commercially available tandems and some people miss the rock solid in the groove feeling of high trail at 20 mph.
Steering is in large part a personal thing but I decided to carry an extra pound+ of weight to get low trail with a steel fork vs high trail with a carbon fork.