The steering axis angle, also called caster angle, is the angle that the steering axis makes with the horizontal or vertical, depending on convention. The steering axis is the axis about which the steering mechanism (fork, handlebars, front wheel, etc.) pivots. The steering axis angle usually matches the angle of the head tube.
In bicycles, the steering axis angle is called the head angle and is measured clock-wise from the horizontal when viewed from the right side. A 90° head angle would be vertical. For example, Lemond offers:
- a 2007 Filmore, designed for the track, with a head angle that varies from 72.5° to 74° depending on frame size
- a 2006 Tete de Course, designed for road racing, with a head angle that varies from 71.25° to 74°, depending on frame size.
In motorcycles, the steering axis angle is called the rake and is measured counter-clock-wise from the vertical when viewed from the right side. A 0° rake would be vertical. For example, Moto Guzzi offers:
- a 2007 Breva V 1100 with a rake of 25°30’ (25.5 degrees)
- a 2007 Nevada Classic 750 with a rake of 27.5° (27.5 degrees)
Read more about this topic: Bicycle And Motorcycle Geometry
Famous quotes containing the words steering, axis and/or angle:
“The boat is made of dry reeds, and a monkey is steering it.”
—Punjabi proverb, trans. by Gurinder Singh Mann.
“He is the essence that inquires.
He is the axis of the star;
He is the sparkle of the spar;
He is the heart of every creature;
He is the meaning of each feature;
And his mind is the sky,
Than all it holds more deep, more high.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“I fly in dreams, I know it is my privilege, I do not recall a single situation in dreams when I was unable to fly. To execute every sort of curve and angle with a light impulse, a flying mathematics—that is so distinct a happiness that it has permanently suffused my basic sense of happiness.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)