szewczykm

I'm a 300 pound clyde. Riding a Giant Defy 2. These are the wheels:

rims Mavic CXP22
hubs Formula sealed Cartridge Bearing 24/28h
spokes SAPIM Race, 14/15g

Front tire is a Kenda Kriterium, 700x25 and the rear tire is the same size Gator Skin.

To date, the bike has felt solid. I've never had a bike like this before and it really felt amazingly light, fast, and solid. I've put more miles on it the past two months than I have in the past 3 years. I've noticed a "squishyness" in the wheels the past few rides. I'm not entirely certain that it's not all in my head. Just when I'm riding slowly and turning. It almost feels like the wheels are slightly flexing or the tire is slightly flexing sideways.

I don't know if it's in my head, or just the road, or if I'm starting to get to really know the bike now and very small but typical twitches out of the ordinary are getting my attention. I just had the bike tuned a few weeks ago, I don't think it's loose spokes. There are no other clues, just that slight squishiness that I might be imagining.

Any ideas?

wfournier

Check the tire pressure, feel the spokes, does the tension feel even?

szewczykm

I check pressure before every ride. 120psi.

I'll feel the spokes to see if they feel odd.

Seattle Forrest

If you think the wheel is flexing sideways, try adjusting the brakes so the pads are very close to the rim, and then seeing if when you ride it, the brakes rub?

Is it both wheels, or just the back? Only during low-speed turns, like it goes away zooming down a hill or climbing one, or sprinting?

wfournier

Might want to check the quick release too (just trying to think of all possibilities).

mikehattan

Heat? Hot tires and hot asphalt can affect the feel.

szewczykm

Might be heat. That's another good way to describe the feel. Not like the bike slid, but like the tire smeared the pavement just a little.

OK, well, I'm going to check the spokes but other than that, I won't worry about it. I'm considering bringing it to the LBS for another tune-up / look over. I did it a couple hundred miles ago, but even though the bike is a 2010 I didn't put more than 100 miles on it before I started seriously riding it two months ago. It's like a new bike and things are still stretching and settling in.

st3venb

I have the same problem on my Felt when ascending...

I partly attribute it to it's in my head, and I partly attribute it to the fact that my form goes to hell when I start spinning up a hill.