[thecyclingeconomist]

Back to the plague… anyone have a cough that just won’t go away! ARGH! Been coughing for 3 weeks. I’m not sick, but the residual cough is killing me.

[thecyclingeconomist]

I definitely never pass a car on the right when its turn signal is on (and there aren’t other cars in the lane in front of it that aren’t turning). F-bomb was ridiculous, and he should be slapped for that. Never is it necessary.

Insofar as the wave-through. I have waved through cars thinking that it was clear, only to see a car speeding towards us at twice the speed limit. I was trying to be courteous, but remember… the wave through should only be interpreted as “hey… that cyclist knows I am here. Now, let me make sure it is safe to pass without putting myself and the cyclist in danger.” – just my take on it.

Thank you for having the wherewithal to even consider the cyclists!

God bless, and welcome to D.C. (I’m a newb to the area too, having moved here in May, and it’s pretty nutz for cyclists and drivers and peds. too!)

[thecyclingeconomist]

@ShawnoftheDread 33422 wrote:

I can definitely make this for you for less. How does $4K sound? I’ll even true the wheels.

I’m going to bid $1K… truing and shipping included (some assembly required).

[thecyclingeconomist]

@KLizotte 33425 wrote:

The bike is not steel; it’s some sort of aluminum composite.

This is the bike: http://www.cannondale.com/2012/bikes/womens/performance-road/synapse-womens/2012-synapse-womens-alloy-5-105-21423

I’m so annoyed with myself since it is essentially a brand new bike. The crash was bad enough to cause a broken thumb so it’s possible something got slightly moved out of position. It’s been in the shop a couple of times for other reasons and no one spotted anything pertaining to this problem so it’s not real obvious.

Oh well, I need to learn more about bike mechanics anyway so this is a good learning opportunity.

The fork on that bike carbon (possibly full-carbon). Frame all aluminum (6061)…
That bike should NOT be wobbling at any speed; it’s a very nice mid-level road bike. You should be able to sit up and take your hands off the bars at 10, 20 or 40mph and have it just glide along smooth. You need to have it looked at very closely and explain clearly to the shop what’s going on.

[thecyclingeconomist]

@jabberwocky 33399 wrote:

I would check:
Alignment of bars to wheel (just stand over the top and look down; are the bars perpendicular to the wheel?)
Alignment of front wheel to frame (stand the bike up and eyeball it from the front; is the fork twisted, or the wheel angled to either side?)

If you can see something is out of alignment, then that is almost assuredly part of the problem. However, a wobble can be caused by a bend that isn’t evident to our eyes at all. I highly recommend having someone that has tools that can measure alignment issues take a look at things.

Some of the big chain stores are NOT the place you want to go. I am new to the area, but going to a smaller shop that deals with vintage steel or does their own frame building would be better depending upon your bike.

[thecyclingeconomist]

@KLizotte 33420 wrote:

Thanks for all the replies. The articles about shimmy developing while going downhill are scary!

The bike is quite new with less than 1K miles on it. I strongly suspect something is out of whack due to the bad fall I took. I’m going to try eyeballing it per instructions above but will end up taking it back to FreshBikes for a better looksie and hopefully a fix. I don’t want to have to worry about the death wobble while going downhill.

What kinda bike is it anyway?

[thecyclingeconomist]

@Tim Kelley 33400 wrote:

Grabbing the handlebars even tighter can sometimes make the shake even worse!

True, often the BEST solution is to actually power up… pedal harder and accelerate out of the wobble while slowly taking control of the bars without trying to man-handle it all.

[thecyclingeconomist]

@KLizotte 33384 wrote:

So I used to be able to ride down the length of Hain’s Pt hands-free without any issues. I hadn’t done it in a while and decided to try it again just for kicks. I was rather shocked to find that within just a few revolutions the whole front end of the bike (wheel, handlebars) starts wobbling/shaking badly out of control. I tried it a number of times at different speeds while making sure to keep my body as motion free as possible but it happened every time. It is as if the front end is working independently of the rest of the bike.

It is very disturbing.

A couple of months ago the bike was in a bad crash that did squish the handlebars a lot (they were pried back into shape by the LBS) but no other damage was detected (my body broke the bike’s fall). Could that be the reason for the strange wobble? I don’t notice anything different handling wise when I have my hands on the handlebar.

Any ideas what may be causing this? It does seem like something that should be fixed.

Thanks!

It is very possible that your wreck actually bent the fork (are you riding steel?). The rake (horizontal distance from the center of the steer tube to where the drop outs are) could have been changed, which will very likely cause a wobble when you take your hands off the bars. It wouldn’t even cause the headset to be loosened (which is my first suspect: see below) If the fork is bent, a good mechanic/frame-builder can look at it, and if your fork is steel, it can be reset in a fork jig VERY easily. (or with simple grunt and a vice, while using a fork alignment tool to make sure you aren’t screwing it up worse in the process.)

To check the headset: take your bike, hold down the front brake, and then push and pull the front end by the handlebar. If you can feel a wobble/clicking at the top near the stem, then the headset needs to be tightened. It is a very simple adjustment; but you need to ensure you don’t over-tighten. You don’t want to crush the bearings or put dimples in the race. You want to make sure the handlebar can turn freely. The headset should be tightened just to the point where there is no play (wobble), but not too tight; where the handlebar won’t turn freely. You may just need to service the headset: clean/re-grease it and have it tightened properly. If the headset is messed up, it is a cheap fix for most bikes (but can also be stupid expensive in high-end road: a top end Chris King is a hundred bucks). You’ll most likely need a bike-shop to replace it, as most people don’t have the tools to remove the cups from the frame or set new-ones in.

Wobbles can certainly be very disturbing. My Mtn. bike has a crazy wobble if I take my hands off the bars (speed wobble as referenced above). It has done it since new, and has to do with the geometry/suspension fork/amount of crap I have mounted to it. (Have you mounted anything on the front of the bike: rack, fenders etc?…that can do it too.)

God bless and Good luck. I hope you figure it out!

[thecyclingeconomist]

It’s still some SERIOUSLY crazy skills… under-inflated or not…

And to be fair, the bike really is pretty much a stock Dogma (seat is lower than it would be, but otherwise?)…and riding this on carbon wheels is just nutty!

😎

[thecyclingeconomist]

@Terpfan 33013 wrote:

Definitely saw that this morning lying upside down.

On another unrelated note, who are the rats…ok, protestors, that are sitting on the 15th st cycletrack? They were blocking it yesterday night and they were still there this morning. Since when could they camp on streets?

Another one this AM… poor little ratty! Same spot too… I’m guessing there is a family that enjoys playing chicken with oncoming cyclists…

[thecyclingeconomist]

@ShawnoftheDread 33208 wrote:

Has anyone tried painting a couple of spokes with glowing or reflective paint? It seems like it would work like a tracer round to increase side visibility. But maybe just buying tires with reflective sidewalls would be easier.

http://www.rustoleumibg.com/product.asp?lvl=B&pnv=2&snv=8&bid=8

[thecyclingeconomist]

Getting chewed out for yielding to you; a slower rider who was half-passing a jogger on 14th st. bridge… tough to swallow that kind of charm so early in the AM. Yes, you’d just waved on two others (who seemed to not care that they were three abreast on a bridge where two-abreast is sketchy)… but I’m not one for putting myself, you AND the jogger at risk.

ARGH!

[thecyclingeconomist]

I have two different lights with the same LED (It’s a CREE XML) which puts out max of around 1000 lumens. One is a spot, the other is a flood. I aim the flood low, right in front of my front wheel. It fills everything close with light. I place the spot about 100 ft. ahead or more so it blends into the flood. So, lumens isn’t the end-all.

For the sake of the discussion though: I think that LOTS of tail lights boast a 1-watt or 1.5-watt LED, making it tough to know what it is that they are actually producing.

I recommend reading, and Peter White does have a lot of good stuff. Also, Dinotte.

If you want to know about lights, hop on some of the endurance racing sites (RUSA.org) and do some reading there too…

Another thing to consider is the rated strength versus what actually is produced in any given LED. I am guessing mine actually produce between 600 and 900 based upon military flashlights I have compared them to, and I know that the military are rated at the lumen output that they actually produce.

Anyway; for SIDE VISIBILITY: use reflective clothing, and maybe some HokeySpokes: http://www.hokeyspokes.com/orderform.htm. Also, just putting reflective bands on your ankles adds a HUGE amount of visibility due to the motion etc. The craziest are these for wheels: http://www.monkeylectric.com/

[thecyclingeconomist]

For commuting… no.

For anything over 40 miles in a high-output setting, yes. I run cytomax, use D-ribose, sportlegs, and endurolytes. Been doing it a while, and these combined with clif-bars or clif-shots (I really like the caffeine hit in the mochas) really keep the energy up while completely eliminating cramping. I’ve completed many a century ride and have slowly widdled down to these specific supplements. To each there own. Distance, effort, hydration, electrolyts and rest are the key variables that determine which supplements you need and when to take them. For very long sustained output (brevets and randoneurring), perpetuem is excellent. The d-ribose and sportlegs (lactate) aren’t proven in clinical blind-trials, but I can say that they seem to have an effect. The endurolytes are an awesome electrolyte tablet, and I am a huge fan for longer rides.

[thecyclingeconomist]

I run clear goggles a simple skull cap (helmet cover if raining) and the Talus Coldavenger… it’s the best mask out there. Changed my commuting in the winter and is the best $40 I have spent on a gear upgrade.

I snowboard and have my helmet, but it’s WAY too hot if you are riding with any effort in my opinion (even in the teens.)

http://www.talusoutdoor.com/coldavenger

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