Originally Posted by Carusoswi
This happened to me a half dozen times, only on that one hill.
I cannot correlate these experiences with wind direction or velocity, and there is nothing unique about the finish or condition of that road. Caruso
There might be some psychology involved here. Since rider grip/position is a variable, it is possible that once you have a bad experience you are more anxious on that hill, thus more rigid, tighter grip, etc. which can create the very situation that caused oscillation the first time, creating a "self-fulfilling prophecy".
I experienced the dreaded "death wobble" twice; 20 years apart, on two very different frames (high end steel, CF). In both cases I was already nervous when the shimmy started and in the last one, I was also cold/stiff. It would be interesting to see how often this is a factor.
BTW. re. the recent incident: I was on a long ride w/lots of hills/decents. My LBS guy, who is also a much better rider than me, was on the ride. He had worked on my bike and assured me it was me, not the bike. I reluctantly forced myself to hit a similar speed (36-38/mph) on the next decent with imporved position (farther back, knee touching top tube, light on the saddle, & loose grip on the bars) so that I wouldn't be afraid to ride again. Worked fine. No wobble. No death.