Push or Drift setup

I have noticed that my bike setup tends to make the bike want to "push" into corners. It is not terriblely bad but I have noticed that I tend to feel as though the front end wants to flop over more so then the rear end wanting to drift out on ya. Think of a long sweeper on a forestery road. I have to get hard on the throttle to get the back end to slide.

So, question is: Which is better. Having a bike that tends to push or a bike that wants to drift. My thoughts are that if the rearend goes first, it is controllable (to a point) where as the front tends to just flop and your sitting on your ass. In a perfect world the balance would be perfect and this is what I want to achieve. As close as I can.

Now, if I wanted to adjust the bike, would it be:

Lower front = more drift
Higher front = more push

Or is it the opposite. I can adjust either but if I do the rear then it affects my seatheight which I would like to keep as low as possible.

Typically stock bikes are setup to understeer because a low side is better for the bike and the rider than a high side.

I can tell you from experience that body position has a huge affect as well. Sometimes I'll go into a corner with too much weight on the back end and the front wants to slide... other times I'll be sitting too far forward and the back wants to slide.

Balance is as important, if not more so, than the suspension setup. Without consistent body positioning you'll never get what you want out of the suspension.

Position is important for sure. I always try and get my body almost sitting on the tank with knees pinching (lightly) on the tank when coming into hard corners. Seems to be the best feel for me. A low side impact is for sure better then being thrown. I have alot of experience in that on the mountain bike. I want to lower the front end a little to give in more stablility at speed so I get less head shake. I am only talking about 1/8-3/16". Ideally I get a Scotts damper but thats not going to happen this year.

I guess the question I am asking is this: Will dropping the front make the bike want to push more or drift?

Also, I have changed the settings etc on the bike. Rear shock adjustment as low as it gets. Yamalink. Forks dropped 0.72".

Dropping the front should effectively increase the weight distribution to the front. I would assume that would improve turn in and front traction resulting in a greater tendency to oversteer.

I'm a lot better with 4-wheel suspension... still learning bikes.

Yep. I am new to this as well. My thought was the same, lower front should put more weight up front which should in turn make the back end lighter. I like how is it now but want to fine tune it and try and minimize the loose feeling bars at speed. Might just be to damn picky :)

Just be careful. Adjusting the front height by moving the forks messes with your trail. So if you lower it too much the bike can become unstable at higher speeds.

That is how it feels now. When doing 90km plus it gets a bit of a wobble. Should I possible lift the front end a little to minimize this or is it just simply that our bikes are light and that's the nature of the beast. Or "MiniBeast" in this case :)

There are a lot of factors from personal preference, rider weight, suspension valving/springs, and tire height.

All I can suggest is move them around, go for a ride, and see if it feels better to you.

IAmABug wrote:

That is how it feels now. When doing 90km plus it gets a bit of a wobble. Should I possible lift the front end a little to minimize this or is it just simply that our bikes are light and that's the nature of the beast. Or "MiniBeast" in this case :)

Try this next time you're pinning it; let go. Really. The faster you go, the tighter you tend to hold the bars. A lot of wobbles result from stopping the suspension from doing its thing and that sets up the shaky feeling. Try to grip the bars like you're holding a live bird - really lightly. Post up if it works.

It is more of a crappy suspension issue than fork height