Rick Bull

Hi. I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to bikes, so sorry if my terminology is a bit off! I bought an MTB a few months back, and decided to get something half decent, so I bought a Marin Hawk Hill (with the brakes upgraded to hyraulic discs). But I've found that it won't hold a straight line when I'm riding; the steering tends to wobble from side to side. If I take my hands off, it's even worse, and I have to grab hold again almost straight away. I never had this problem with a cheap old Releigh I've had since I was a kid (used to ride around corners with "no hands" and everything ).

So I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to what the problem could be. I did find some info on this forum <https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycling/75059-whats-going-i-cant-hold-my-line.html>, but it went a bit over my head If you need any more info, please let me know.

Thanks, Rick.

seely

99% chance your headset is loose. What you need to do is loosen the two bolts on the back of the stem, tighten down the one bolt on the top cap, check for play by holding the front brake and rocking back and forth (note some play-very very little w/ suspension forks is to be expected). Adjust it until there is no more play... then re tighten the bolts on the back of the stem.

Rick Bull

Wow, that was a quick reply! Thanks. I'll try your advice, and let you know how it goes.

pnj

i doubt it's your headset.

it probably has more to do w/ the front end being raked/chopper'd and your lack of skills.

when was the last time you rode a bike with no hands?

AndrewP

Could also be that the headset (bearing that connect the fork to the frame) is too tight. When you hold the front wheel off the ground and tip the bike to one side the front wheel should turn to one side. Loose wheel bearings and worn tire could also do it.

sydney

Really? when did thay strart building bikes this way?

Rick Bull

I tested my old bike out when I bought my new one, and had no problems riding no hands


The front wheel turns to the left when I life it off the floor. Are you saying that's what it should do?

sydney

Maybe there is a brake or deralier cable/casing causing uneven pull?

bostontrevor

And finally, it may be that your front wheel is out of true. Severe enough and you'll feel it through the bars.

supcom

Since you just bought the bike, take it back to the store and let them take a look at it. It certainly sounds like a loose headset. This would be an assembly error that the shop should fix.

AndrewP

If you lift the front wheel off the floor and lean the bike left and right the steering bearings should be loose enough to allow the fork and wheel to swivel the way you lean the bike. To check if the steering bearings are too loose, apply the front brake and push the bike backwards and forwards with the wheel on the floor. If you can feel the fork rocking where it passes through the frame, the bearings need tightening. For fixing go to https://www.parktool.com/repair_help/FAQindex.shtml and scroll down to headset bearings. It may also be worth looking at the pages on wheel truing and hub cone adjustment. Even if you have the bike shop do the work, it is worth looking at the parktool web site so you can understand what they are doing to your bike.

Rick Bull

Thanks for all the great advice. I tightened the headset a little, it has helped. It's not perfect, but it's definitely better. I'll look into the steering bearings stuff, and maybe have another tinker with the headset, and see if I can make any improvements.

I did actually take it back to the shop for a free service, but I don't think they really did anything. They were trying to tell me that because the disc brake pads had closed, that it would be a major job to prise them open Anyway, they took it into their workshop, and within a couple of minutes they had finished. So I don't think they even checked the bike. Anyway, thanks again for all the help.

supcom

Be sure to get the headset adjusted correctly. A loose headset will damage the bearing races in short order.

Avalanche325

Man, that is speak to the manager time! So on any bike with disc brakes, you can never take the wheels off!

I would agree that is is probably the headset. If not it could be the front wheel out of true or a badly warped rotor.

WorldWind

your old R has a lot more trail than your new Marin Hawk Hill. The Marin has racing geometry so the stearing is going to be very quick.

Mark4

I had a similar issue with a used bike. The steering wobbled whenever I tried to ride with no hands. Turns out the spokes were all (evenly) lose. The wheels seemed true, but there simply wasn't enough tension to keep things stable. Tightening them up fixed the problem.

pnj

don't roll your eyes at me boy.

the bike is brand new, I don't think it's the headset. I think it's the geometry of the bike, as someone else mentioned.

I've been around bikes for a few years, i do have some understanding of them....

pnj

so, is this front end wobble still an issue? can you ride no handed again or what?

pnj

if you can't ride no handed, it's YOU not the bike. sure, something MAY be wrong with it, like a loose headset or spokes. but if you have the skills to ride no handed, you should be able to ride any bike no handed.

geometry has alot to do with stability. but even with bend forks, that would make your bike pull to the left or right, if you can ride no handed, you can compensate for it......

Rick Bull

Sorry I didn't reply a bit sooner; was going to have a look at some of the other options you suggested, but haven't got round to it yet.

Yes, tightening the headset did help, and I can ride no-handed now. Although the front end does still wobble a little, so I think something is still a bit wrong.

Perhaps I didn't word my original post well enough. The problem is not so much that I can't hold a straight line. It's more that the steering column [is that the right word?] jerks from side to side. I can understand what you are saying about the geometry affecting how easy it is to ride no handed, but that shouldn't make the front end jerk from side to side, should it? I would think if it was down to me, the bike would just not hold a straight line, and I could accept that

Anyway, it's not that much of a problem, as it's not often I want to ride no handed. I just wanted to be able to pull my gloves up a bit, without falling off my bike

seely

FYI, if your headset is loose its about 1,000x harder to ride no handed.

pnj

not for me. maybe for you, though.

ok, does the front end wobble when your NOT riding? if so, then something is loose. if it only wobbles when your riding, I would think it is the geometry or something is bent.

Rick Bull

Well, there's no play that I can feel when I clasp the wheel between my legs, and jiggle the handle-bars, if that's what you mean.

matheprat

Put your front break on, and stand over the crossbar, with your feet on the ground. Move the bike forewards and backwards. If there is any movement in the headset, you will feel it like this. If there is movement, get it fixed straight away. If not, check your spoke tension (squeese a couple of spokes gently togehter). If they move significantly, tighten them. Spin the wheel, make sure it runs true. Also, make sure the tyre runs true on the rim. I have seen tyres that have high and low spots in, that can cause this wobbling while riding along, especially no-handed. If all of these things seem fine, i'm not really sure what else to suggest.

pnj

if what mathepat said all checks out, then it could be your front rim is bent (doubt it, or you would probably know and if you have rim brakes, they would rub,more then likely.

I'm going to go back to my first thought and say its the geometry of the bike, have someone else ride it no handed and see if they get the same thing....?

if it is the geometry, then you simply need to practice riding with no hands more.