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Steering shudders when going free hand


OneMac

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also had this issue.... but I think it's my lack of skills :lol:

 

(try ride no hands on a DH bike... the geometry makes it pretty tricky... or at least that's what I find. Again, may be my skill issue)

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some tires are worse than others in this regard so this could also be the problem but my first guess would be headset bearings. Bike Geometry/steering rake and trail is also a critical factor as was mentioned elsewhere.

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I had two previous Silverback Nabraska frames, a 2007,2008 model (due to cracks) i have a third frame 2010.

I did not have any serious swinging when going without hands.

What i did pick up was that if i pedal while loose handing it, the bike does start to go side to side, this I think is due to the centre of gravity now sitting at the top of the bike. So to solve that problem, I do not let go of my handle bars.

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I am not allowed to go loose hands, my wife watches the shadow of my hands on the Tandem and if I let go she slaps me!

 

Couldnt this also be caused by a bent frame. Take a string around the headset and hook it around the axle cutouts in the dropouts at the back. Measure the distance between the string and the seat tube. Thers should be no or very small differance.

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It's called shimmy - the frame/fork/wheels resonate in response to their relative size/shape/weight and your speed. It a bastard 'cause it's so complex and in my experience will more likely happen on larger frames than smaller ones, simply because the large frame naturally resonates at a lower speed. Sloppy suspension makes it worse. My Titus RacerX (Large) shimmys like crazy at anything more than 30km/h on tar but my 29er (large) does not. Both bikes are in equally good nick with no loose/buckled anything. I just keep my hands on the bars and live with it.

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Thanks all for the comments. I will look at the headset and the alignment and let you know. :clap:

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