Bicycle Mechanics - Wobbling post accident

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woody2shoes
10-09-08, 10:28 PM
A few weeks ago I got hit by a car on my bike and my bike was damaged quite a bit so I got a new rear wheel and front breaks and I got a full tune up just to make sure everything was okay. I just went on my first ride a few days ago but the bike felt really wobbly. I felt like I had to fight the bike to go straight. My front wheel doesn't appear to be damaged and it doesn't really look like it needs to be trued. Any idea what the problem is? Is it just me (I broke my arm in the accident but it is fine now)?

DannoXYZ
10-09-08, 11:41 PM
Most likely your front-fork is not aligned and perhaps even the rear-triangle. Have a shop do an alignment. You really should've gotten a brand-new bike for the amount of damage involved. Will end up costing more in repairs and parts than to buy a new bike.
Joshua A.C. New
10-10-08, 08:18 AM
It could also be that the frame is cracked.

If you want to spend the time, energy and learning, you could build yourself a new bike out of the remaining parts and used bits. If you don't, it's really sounding to me like the bike's unsafe and unreliable.

melville
10-10-08, 11:21 AM
Some ideas:

Borrow someone else's bike to make sure it's not you first. That first ride or two after trauma can be pretty rough.

If the frame was bent, it would be pulling to one side or the other. Wobbles would point more to a crack in the frame.

How's your headset? I'm wondering if the HS got notchy as a result of the crash. A notchy headset will fight you going down the road because you can't make the tiny corrections you need to ride a straight line, but instead have to make big swings in and out of the notches.