SeaBee Posted February 22, 2011 Posted February 22, 2011 I've switched to my current frame a couple of years back and ever since had this problem. Every now and then it bothers me enough - so now I'm going to ask... The thing is solid as can be, but the moment I hit crosswinds, my front wheel feels like it's got no objection to being blown from under me. (In the 09 Peninsulae cruise, it actually did!) The whole front-end is incredibly "light" as soon as a crosswind hits me. And it is exactly the same wheels, etc - I just rebuilt everything from one frame onto the other. And I noticed it on my very first ride. Know there's a lot of other Cannondale riders out here. Is it a normal thing? Is it the specific (think it's something like a "Slice Premium") fork? Is it just a Six13 thing? Or an edition thereof - I've heard all Six13's aren't created equal... it sort-of evolved through the years according to sources. If I look at colour-schemes, it seems mine is a 2007 version. I am getting more used to it, but have to slow down sooo much on descends as soon as the wind blows, esp if it's gusty and unpredictable that I feel like an old lady looking for parking. Are there things that can be done? Or is it just the way the bike handles and that's that?
DaLoCo Posted February 22, 2011 Posted February 22, 2011 After reading the topic I was going to suggest a sportsbra....
AndreZA Posted February 22, 2011 Posted February 22, 2011 Check setup so that you body is even distributed between the wheels.
Gravity Posted February 22, 2011 Posted February 22, 2011 Agree with Mampara but a different method, Drink more beer.
MTB_Roadie Posted February 22, 2011 Posted February 22, 2011 i bought a new frame, so whe rebuilding my bike the guy phone me my frame is to small etc....meanwhile my seatpost on the old bike was about 10cm to high cause i set it up myself....so after the change and my body distributed nicely it feels different and handling feels way better! So I agree with Mampara
Tiny K Posted February 22, 2011 Posted February 22, 2011 Not your deep section wheels maybe? Just checking whether you have or not - wind plays a large role with deep sections.
Tiny K Posted February 22, 2011 Posted February 22, 2011 My initial response was gonna be along the lines of DaLoCo's i.e. but you want a woman with a loose front end. Nothing is less appealing than 'n stryk plank met twee Disprin's. Oh wait, plumbers butt comes close. Actually beats it on a different level.
SeaBee Posted February 22, 2011 Author Posted February 22, 2011 Sorry, no plumbers butt - I wear bibs! Sportsbra... around the hoods? Might work! Setup was done by Dr Swart, so it's as good as it gets. (And trust me, it sorted out a whole lot of other issues for me, so I'm not changing it!) It was that way before and after the setup changes he made. Like I said, wheels same as on previous frame - but FWIW, not deep-section, just Ksyrium Elites.
Minion Posted February 22, 2011 Posted February 22, 2011 What was the old frame? The fork trail and head tube angles may be different which would contribute to the feeling that your bike is trying to kill you at times.
Minion Posted February 22, 2011 Posted February 22, 2011 What size was it? Looking at the geometry charts, hasn't really helped. Some Fujis have a smaller head tube angle than the equivalently size Dale, which would make the Fuji more stable, however, these same bikes have a larger fork rake/offset which would make them less stable than the Dales Even with a proper setup, it could still be setup related. The Dale geometry may just be such that, even with a proper setup, your centre of gravity is further back than the Fuji, resulting on a different weight distribution. But, the geometry charts also seem to show the two brands are fairly similar. I just don't know.
The_Break Posted February 22, 2011 Posted February 22, 2011 Seabee A lot of front end problems have 2 main reasons if headset is correctly tightened: Incorrect fork fitted to frameToo short a stem So my questions: Does your bike still have the original fork?What size is your frame and what length stem do you have?What wheels are you riding when this happens?Is it only on downhills or on flats too?
MTB_Roadie Posted February 23, 2011 Posted February 23, 2011 I know Dr.Swart sets it up...so the will change the stems, etc...the shorter the stem the weirder it feels.....so on PC the setup might be perfect and feel perfect, but maybe cause of the short stem it could be? I never knew a fork can make such a difference, i thought they all the same,hehe
SeaBee Posted February 23, 2011 Author Posted February 23, 2011 Edman, where do you still get geo charts for the Fuji? It was a 2005 model, I think. Size was a medium. Six13 is a 54. And interestingly enough, when I picked it up after the build, the comment was made that they put the frames on top of each other and they were remarkably similar ito geometry. Fork: Had a look and the current fork is a "Slice Premium +". Old fork gone with frame. (Personally I'm wondering whether it's not the fork - I hope like héll, actually, since it's something that can be fixed... at a cost, but can be fixed.) Stem: I haven't measured it, but it's a normal stem. My notes from Dr Swart states 100 - he did not change it. Actually, on my road bike setup he changed mm's, all was pretty close to what it should be. But the small changes made the difference. Wheels: also normal ones - Mavic Ksyrium Elite. Taken from old bike. Now for the interesting bit, the balance. Both Edman and The_Break alluded to it. First off, yes, it does happen on flats as well. On the higher speeds of descends it's just much more noticeable and I feel I really loose out there. On the flats I do not get the feeling that I may be planting my teeth in the tar any moment soon - whether that's because of lower speed or because of descent vs flat I really don't know. But I presume you asked the question for a good reason, so I'd appreciate your comment. Thinking of balance, what I tend to do is hover behind my saddle at times on the descends. Picked up the habbit from my limited mtb'ing. But I did that on the old bike as well... Will be buggering down some local mountain descends over the weekend - so if it's a technique-thing, I may be able to fiddle with it over the weekend. But like I said, I did not change anything in my technique between the bikes.
Minion Posted February 23, 2011 Posted February 23, 2011 I did a quick Google and found the 2009 Fuji geometry. I'm just assuming they haven't changed it much:http://2009.fujibikes.com/Road/Performance/RoubaixPro.aspx The 2007 Six13 geometry:http://www.cannondale.com/usa/usaeng/Products/2007/Road/Details/1883-7RCT1D-Six13-Team-1 The balance thing: if your weight distribution is further forward, there's more load on the front wheel. This means there's more force to resist any external turning forces. Here's a really cool article on bicycle stability and dynamics:http://www.phys.lsu.edu/faculty/gonzalez/Teaching/Phys7221/vol59no9p51_56.pdf
SeaBee Posted February 23, 2011 Author Posted February 23, 2011 Long article, will read it later on, thanks! Looks very interesting. Took the 54 Fuji as a convertion of a medium and both seat and head tube angles differ, resulting in a short wheelbase for the Six13. So it should be (and is) more nippy - but conversely it should also be easier to get weight over the front, since it's head tube angle is steeper than that of the Fuji. (The 56 has the same head tube angle...) One interesting thing is that the 2007 Six is specced with Slice Premium fork and not the Slice premium +. Will try getting forward a bit more and see what it feels like.
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