Road Cycling - experienced "odd" sensation today

Hi Roadies,

I have my first technical question for all of you experienced ones. Today was a picture-perfect day in the Big Apple, and so I of course hopped on my bike and planned to do a 30 mile "quickie" before work. At mile 12, I noticed something I've never felt in my riding history. While I kept my handlebars perfectly straight I could feel the front tire "tugging" or "falling" first to one side and then the other. It was most noticeable at lower speeds (10-15mph). It was enough of a concern to cut the ride short and swing by my LBS. They regreased my headset and told me "new bikes can sometimes have quirks during break-in periods". Mine is 3 weeks old with just over 140 mi. It has run brilliantly up to this point. It seemed fine after the repair, but, I have yet to take it out on another ride of length. So, the question is, has anyone else experienced this problem? BTW, my headset is threadless/integrated. Thanks for any ideas.

Steve

Steve: When the shop looked at the bike did they say if the headset was loose at all? MY LBS told me the same thing about my K2 and that I should bring it back in after a few weeks of riding and let them inspect/adjust things.

Too bad you had the cut the ride short on picture perfect day :(

Zack

Hi Zack,

No, that's what was strange. Everything was tightened down. The sensation was something that couldn't be ignored. There's no way I would have ridden this bike at high speeds. It took an effort to keep it in control just to get it back to the shop. It's not what one would expect from a 3K dollar bike. But, I've heard complaints about these kinds of headsets. I'll give it another spin when the weather clears.

-S

Either your headset was loose, or your front wheel was loose in the dropouts, or your front wheel bearings were loose. Whatever it was, I bet the shop just didn't want to admit to having it misadjusted in the first place.

Dave

I agree with hayneda. They probably made up a bs answer to cover up any embarassment. If a headset is properly installed, it shouldn't need any adjusting. Sometimes, front hubs can use a little readjustment, especially on newer wheels. However, for something to suddenly go loose seems a little fishy.