A question of ride feel
#1
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LBKA (formerly punkncat)

Joined: Jan 2010
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From: Jawja
Bikes: Spec Roubaix SL4, GT Traffic 1.0
A question of ride feel
Until I got my new bike, I have not ridden on CF for any significant distance (like not across a parking lot) so I don't know if what I am feeling is just natural to that material or not. I have noticed this wierd wobbly sort of feeling while going down the road. Not like a tire out of round, not brake related, but sort of like the bike is wobbling back and forth, "flexing", but not from the cranks as center. It really feels like the wheels are moving back and forth on the hub as center, but not at the same time so it feels "wavy". It isn't in time with my cranking, it has nothing at all to do with my applied power. I only get that feeling from time to time, not all the time and generally when I am going over 12MPH or so.
The bike is outfitted with the Mavic CXP22. The only other time I have felt anything like it I was riding my son's older Cannondale which was also fitted with Mavic wheels. I suspect that the feeling comes out of the wheels, but wanted to know if they have a reputation as being "loose" like that?
The bike is outfitted with the Mavic CXP22. The only other time I have felt anything like it I was riding my son's older Cannondale which was also fitted with Mavic wheels. I suspect that the feeling comes out of the wheels, but wanted to know if they have a reputation as being "loose" like that?
#3
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Joined: Aug 2005
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From: Awesome, Austin, TX
Bikes: Specialized Roubaix, Interloc Impala, ParkPre Image C6
One of the first things I noticed with my CF bike, after riding steel for 3 years, was that my CF bike accentuated my poor pedal stroke. It surges a little more with each stroke and the front twitches a bit more than my steel bike. I need to smooth things out more on my CF.
Are you noticing this all the time? Even when you're coasting? If so...I got nothin'.
Are you noticing this all the time? Even when you're coasting? If so...I got nothin'.
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2014 Specialized Roubaix2003 Interloc Impala2007 ParkPre Image C6 (RIP)
2014 Specialized Roubaix2003 Interloc Impala2007 ParkPre Image C6 (RIP)
#4
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LBKA (formerly punkncat)

Joined: Jan 2010
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From: Jawja
Bikes: Spec Roubaix SL4, GT Traffic 1.0
Let me qualify that by saying that it isn't something so unsettling as a speed wobble or the like. It is much more subtle than that.
I can't say that I recall feeling it while coasting, but as I mentioned, it doesn't seem to be in time with cranking, or does it feel like it centers on the crank.
Are you noticing this all the time? Even when you're coasting? If so...I got nothin'.
Last edited by Juan Foote; 09-24-11 at 09:35 PM.
#5
Banned
Joined: Nov 2010
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From: Downtown Phoenix
Bikes: BMC RoadRacer SL01, Kona Kula FrankensteinDeluxe, Schwinn Powerglide.
CF is very stiff. If your pedal stroke is prone to mashing (pushing down all the time) instead of a smooth, round, circular motion, this would probably explain the "wobbling." Think of every time you push down on the pedal, you're putting all of your force on that side of the bike... that will definitely make it "wobble" from side to side. Try focusing on a smooth pedal stroke going in circles and see how it feels. The fact that you don't notice this while coasting makes me think more so that it's in the stroke.
It's always in the stroke.
It's always in the stroke.
#7
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Joined: Aug 2008
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If what you describe is more like a wander and the bike acts as if it wants to very slightly weave down the road then you might have one of two issues -
loose headset
slightly loose bearings in either front or rear hubs (with the rear usually being more likely the candidate based on the symptoms)
loose headset
slightly loose bearings in either front or rear hubs (with the rear usually being more likely the candidate based on the symptoms)
#8
Middle-Aged Member
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 2,276
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From: Mesa, AZ
Bikes: Bianchi Infinito CV 2014, TREK HIFI 2011, Argon18 E-116 2013
Something else that I believe we forget often is the road. I feel this exact same problem from time to time; I over-analyzed it on the bike and ended up with nothing... coasting and pedaling I got the odd wobble... very slow and soft...but intermittent. Though it was the wheels. I finally realized it was the road! Ever so slight changes in the grade from high left to high right caused the bike to fade slightly like a very subtle track from trucks on a highway. I always felt this the most at intersections, and figured it was me mashing after a red light; but I would still get it coasting through a green... so I finally looked at the road and realized it was minor sagging/fatigue on the road making it not flat causing it to pull in the downhill direction... of course the wheels were not in the same spot at the same time so one wheel would pull then then other... Very odd... but that's all I got...
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