User Guide

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is much less weight on the front wheel. The
result is less steering stability and the bike
becomes harder to control.
Steering and weight distribution
Steering stability on a bike is a combina-
tion of trail and centering force. Trail is the
distance from the steering axis at the ground
to the tire contact patch. But for trail to
make a bike stable, there needs to be weight
on the bars to apply a centering effect. The
greater the weight on the bars the more sta-
ble a given bike will be. This is why a touring
bike with front panniers is more stable than
it would be with only rear panniers.
A smaller man on a small bike still applies
plenty of centering force for good steering
and handling. To achieve a similar amount
of steering stability for a small woman in a
more upright position, more trail is needed.
Not only does stability lend confidence to
the rider, it also means that less strength
is required to hold the bike in a line.
This again addresses an important difference
between men and women, that of upper body
strength. By decreasing the head angle of the
women’s bike, she will get similar handling
with a similar ‘feel’ to that designed into a
man’s bike for a man.