Cannondaleriders

Say I was told that you can set the caster by using a framing square.. top should be 5/8 towards the rear then the bottom?

Can anyone offer more?

I think that is backward , if you draw a line through the ball joints you want it to contact the floor behind the center line of the ball joints .The further back it is the better the straight line tracking but worse for quick response steering for example if you take your hands off the bars quad will continue to go in a straight line.
If you move the contact point forward to centerline of ball joints =quicker response but some what twitchy feel . I'm sure someone else can explain better with the right terms but it's been about 20 yrs since I've done front alinement work . :eek: man I'm getting old:(

i set my caster to 4.5 degrees with an anglefinder.top toward the rear.never measured with square but 5/8 sounds like a heck of alot if you are measuring both balljoints.i have heard of guys setting there camber 5/8 of an inch measuring from the bottom to the top of a 20 inch tire and end up around 4 degrees but in a 4 -5 '' 5/8 sounds like alot.go to sears and get an angle finder they are not expensive.

I am putting my bike back together and I don't remember if when setting up the front end you need to have the bike rested on the ground with tires on or can I adjust the caster camber with the tires off?

Also I have dual rate speed ohilns.. how much height should have have between ground and frame.. where do you measure to set up? I am ridding thru the woods pretty flat trails and tracks.

Chris you have an angle finder i thought if not borrow mine....take a pipe and lay it against the 2 ball joints in the same spot then measure a positive 4.5 deg....I think it all needs to be done with the tires mounted and the suspension resting at where it is when you get off it not lifted all out or whatever... go to www.lsracing.com then go to tips then to front end alignment and it spells it all out for you

..I thought you were spouse to set it up with rider on it,thats were the bikes at most the time,so should be set up at that height.

Yeah I would think you'd need the weight of a rider on the bike to ge the settings correct.

Not having an angle finder I go completely by feel.

Start with the castor even on both sides. I do this by counting threads

Then I ride it around in first gear and turn the bars. Usually my first attempt will be outrageously fast in the front end. I believe this is negative or neutral castor setting where the top ball joint is right above the bottom or close to it.

Think of a shopping cart (caster wheel. A lot of negative castor makes it turn VERY easy but it becomes very unstable when you are running down the aisle being chased by the assistant manager of produce, night shift. (Its a long story)

Anyway, from there I make equal, but small (1/2 turn) adjustments to bring the top ball joint back.

Then I ride it some more. I keep making adjustments until it feels right at speed.

I find that I will sometimes have to take out or add a turn on very unique tracks. A desert race I run benefits from added castor, while a technical trail I practice on needs a few turns toward negative. Both are almost unrideable with a setting that benefits the other.

I notice that if done right you 'almost' dont need a steering dampner for the type of riding you do. I say almost because on the technical stuff you cans till have something hit the tire with enough force to rip the bars out of your hands and steering dampner limits that.

For me, the more I mess around with something, the better I understand how it works, the better I understand how it works, the better I will make the decisions that affect setup, and that makes me faster.

Good luck.

it too fast and make half turn adjustments until the front gets stable enough to track.

better to do some things by the seat of the pants