Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Road Cycling
Reload this Page >

A question of ride feel

Search
Notices
Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

A question of ride feel

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 09-24-11 | 09:22 PM
  #1  
Juan Foote's Avatar
Thread Starter
LBKA (formerly punkncat)
15 Anniversary
 
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 4,324
Likes: 1,016
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?
Juan Foote is offline  
Reply
Old 09-24-11 | 09:24 PM
  #2  
sbxx1985's Avatar
Senior Member
Titanium Club Membership
15 Anniversary
 
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 12,942
Likes: 282
From: Colorado
Wobbly is never normal.
sbxx1985 is offline  
Reply
Old 09-24-11 | 09:30 PM
  #3  
dstrong's Avatar
Senior Member
Titanium Club Membership
20 Anniversary
 
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 4,237
Likes: 92
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'.
__________________

2014 Specialized Roubaix2003 Interloc Impala2007 ParkPre Image C6 (RIP)

dstrong is offline  
Reply
Old 09-24-11 | 09:31 PM
  #4  
Juan Foote's Avatar
Thread Starter
LBKA (formerly punkncat)
15 Anniversary
 
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 4,324
Likes: 1,016
From: Jawja

Bikes: Spec Roubaix SL4, GT Traffic 1.0

Originally Posted by sbxx1985
Wobbly is never normal.
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.

Are you noticing this all the time? Even when you're coasting? If so...I got nothin'.
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.

Last edited by Juan Foote; 09-24-11 at 09:35 PM.
Juan Foote is offline  
Reply
Old 09-24-11 | 09:40 PM
  #5  
Banned
 
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,824
Likes: 2
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.
Vicelord is offline  
Reply
Old 09-25-11 | 12:43 PM
  #6  
sbxx1985's Avatar
Senior Member
Titanium Club Membership
15 Anniversary
 
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 12,942
Likes: 282
From: Colorado
Originally Posted by Vicelord
It's always in the stroke.
This goes untouched.
sbxx1985 is offline  
Reply
Old 09-25-11 | 02:17 PM
  #7  
GDA
Senior Member
 
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 394
Likes: 0
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)
GDA is offline  
Reply
Old 09-25-11 | 02:26 PM
  #8  
MikeyBoyAz's Avatar
Middle-Aged Member
 
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 2,276
Likes: 1
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...
MikeyBoyAz is offline  
Reply
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
ph4nt0mf1ng3rs
Road Cycling
19
07-31-14 08:31 AM
StevenAkaProek
Southern California
13
03-12-12 01:58 PM
garciawork
Road Cycling
6
06-23-11 11:13 AM
bikerjp
Road Cycling
75
03-29-11 10:08 AM
mr,grumpy
Classic & Vintage
17
11-21-10 03:31 PM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off



Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.