Have you ever been driving down the street and found yourself drifting out of your lane? Maybe you’ve had to take evasive action to avoid another car. Of course, none of this would be possible if your car didn’t have good steering. And just like your car, your bike also needs good steering in order to stay safe and on track. But how do you adjust the camber on your front wheels? In this article, we will explain how to adjust camber on a bicycle, as well as some tips for keeping your bike in good condition. By following these tips, you can make sure that your bike performs well both on the road and off.
What is Camber?
Camber is the angle of the front wheel at the contact point with the ground. It can be adjusted on most vehicles to help optimize handling. There are a variety of factors that can affect how a car corners, including camber and caster, so it’s important to have the right settings for your vehicle.
Different cars have different amounts of camber and caster, depending on their weight distribution and suspension type. Camber affects how the car leans while turning, while caster affects how much the car squats when driving.
If you’re experiencing poor cornering performance or if your car is constantly fishtailing, it might be time to adjust your cambers. Here’s a guide on how to do it:
1) Park your vehicle in a straight line and position both front wheels on a flat surface.
2) Look at the wheel hub where the wheel meets the hubcap. The line that bisects this area is called the wheelbase (see image below).
3) Find reference marks along each side of the wheelbase that are 1/3 of the way from either end of the wheelbase (see image below).
4) Use a level or straight edge to measure from each reference mark to the ground (see image below). This will give you CAMBER and CASTER values for each side of your vehicle (in degrees).
CAMBER = The angle between vertical and horizontal lines measuring from reference marks
How to Adjust Camber on Front Wheels
1. Disconnect the negative battery cable.
2. Raise and support the vehicle.
3. Remove the wheel bearing cap and bearing assembly.
4. Loosen the camber bolt and adjust it until the wheel is cambered to your desired degree (see Figure 1). Tighten the camber bolt to secure the adjustment.
5. Reattach the bearing cap and bearing assembly, then reattach the wheel bearing cap.
6. Reconnect the negative battery cable and raise and support the vehicle.[Figure 1]
What are the Benefits of Adjusting Camber on Front Wheels?
A properly adjusted wheel camber limits the degree to which the front tires drift inward or outward during cornering, preventing them from contacting the ground too hard and causing traction issues. When wheel camber is incorrect, all four corners of the wheel can begin to pull in different directions, creating instability and leading to poor handling. Camber adjustment also allows you to fine-tune the car’s handling characteristics by altering where on the wheel the tire contact point lies.
One of the most common reasons for a car’s poor handling is when its wheels are out of alignment. To fix this issue, you need to adjust both front cambers relative to one another and front toe angles (the angle at which the front axle points towards the road). Toe angle is often adjusted first because it has a more immediate impact on overall steering feel. If you’re having trouble with understeer or oversteer, your second step will be adjusting either caster or camber.
Caster is measured in degrees from vertical (0 degrees), while camber is measured in millimeters from horizontal (zero mm). To adjust cambers, loosen each wheel lug nut enough that it can rotate around its bolt; then use a dial indicator or template to mark each reference line on either side of the tire’s contact point. Reattach lug nuts and torque them back down using a torque wrench. Repeat this process for all four wheels.