Balance

Quoted message said:

I recently had some work done on my bike. Since getting it back from the
shop it feels like it pulls to the right.

Were there any Bush posters in evidence at the shop?

Quoted message said:

The work I had done was related to
the drive on the right side of the bike and new parts were installed. Is

it

Quoted message said:

possible that this has thrown off the bike's balance? Has anyone ever
experienced this? Is there anyway to check a bike's balance and then

correct

Quoted message said:

it if it is off?

Make sure the frame is straight and that the wheels are centered in the
frame.

See:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/frame-spacing.html

Scroll down to the bottom and read "The String Method."

Art Harris

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I recently had some work done on my bike. Since getting it back from the
shop it feels like it pulls to the right. The work I had done was related

to

Quoted message said:

the drive on the right side of the bike and new parts were installed. Is

it

Quoted message said:

possible that this has thrown off the bike's balance? Has anyone ever
experienced this? Is there anyway to check a bike's balance and then

correct

Quoted message said:

it if it is off?

The first thing I'd do is loosen the quick releases and re-seat the wheels
to make sure they didn't just fail to seat them in the dropouts correctly.
Also check the cable housings up around the handlebars. Are they binding
anywhere? I've had them cross in such a way that they just wedge against
each other when turning and it creates a strange resistance.

But I like the Bush poster comment. Did you hear Rush Limbaugh on the radio
at the shop?

Bob C.

Something wrong with the angle of the front wheel.

On a bike with a bent frame you can sometimes fix the pulling right
or left by deliberately angling the wheel in the dropouts. Conversely
if the wheel is angled accidently in a straight frame it will pull
left or right.

I don't think the rear wheel has much effect on pulling, though it can
make the wheels not track each other. It's a second-order effect
otherwise.
--
Ron Hardin
[email hidden]

On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.

Quoted message said:

I recently had some work done on my bike. Since getting it back from the
shop it feels like it pulls to the right. The work I had done was related to
the drive on the right side of the bike and new parts were installed. Is it
possible that this has thrown off the bike's balance? Has anyone ever
experienced this? Is there anyway to check a bike's balance and then correct
it if it is off?

It's not the bike's "balance." It's more likely the bike's wheel
alignment. They may not have the rear wheel in straight. (They may not
have the front wheel in straight, but it sounds like they worked in the
back.) The other potential cause is a bent frame or fork, but if your
bike rode fine before the shop visit, that's an unlikely cause.

Look at the back wheel, where the tire passes between the chain stays
(the two frame tubes just behind the crankset). Is the spacing between
the tire and those frame tubes even on the left and right? If not, the
wheel's crooked in the frame.

Loosen the rear quick release lever (or axle nuts, whichever you have),
pull the axle all the way back in the dropout slots and re-tighten, then
check again. Still crooked? Loosen again and "steer" the wheel
straight before re-tightening. If you've got axle nuts, it's sometimes
helpful to leave the right one tight and loosen only the left before you
steer the wheel straight.

But now that you've fussed with it, check to be sure the wheel's
straight between the brake shoes. You don't want it to drag the brakes,
even a little.

The front wheel is usually easier. With the bike on the ground, just
loosen the axle's quick release or nuts, push down on the handlebars to
force the wheel & axle firmly up into the fork ends, then re-tighten and
check the brakes.

There are more precise measurements we could discuss, but those moves
will usually take care of things.

--
--------------------+
Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove rodent and vegetable dot com,
replace with cc.ysu dot edu]

<sstearns@main wrote: I recently had some work done on my bike. Since
getting it back from the shop it feels like it pulls to the
right(clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I have seen bicycles with one loaded pannier, certainly out of balance
more than yours could be, being ridden without difficulty. I have
ridden with an unbalanced load lashed to the rack, and all that
happens is that I shift my body weight and the angle of the frame to
compensate. I don't think your problem is caused by unbalanced
weight. Since you say that drive-train components were replaced, my
first thought is that the rear wheel was not fully engaged in the
dropouts when it was reinstalled. Certainly, if the rear wheel is set
at an angle, this would cause the bike to handle "funny."

sstearns said:

I recently had some work done on my bike. Since getting it back from the
shop it feels like it pulls to the right. The work I had done was related to
the drive on the right side of the bike and new parts were installed. Is it
possible that this has thrown off the bike's balance? Has anyone ever
experienced this? Is there anyway to check a bike's balance and then correct
it if it is off?

Pulling to one side would either be caused by alignment problems, fork or
frame, or maybe wheels that were not all the way in and straight before
they were clamped down.

One other thing might be the problem. If the work involved the handlebars
at all, say to replace a shifter, or even to raise the bars, it might be
that one of the brake cables is too tight, literally pulling the bike to
one side. It might also be shifters, depending on brand.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | Deserves death! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve
_`\(,_ | death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them?
(_)/ (_) | Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. -- J.
R. R. Tolkien

clip) it might be that one of the brake cables is too tight, literally
pulling the bike to one side.(clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I don't agree with this part. If one of the wheels is out of line, it
would certainly make the bike "pull," but not due to brake drag. Even
if one brake pad is rubbing, the drag is felt as a torque retarding
the rotation, but it does not cause the wheel to turn the bike.

Quoted message said:

I recently had some work done on my bike. Since getting it back from the
shop it feels like it pulls to the right. The work I had done was related to
the drive on the right side of the bike and new parts were installed.

Instead of us guessing ... what exactly did they fix and replace?

It's not top secret is it?

jw

I think David meant one of the cables going up to the handlebars could be
too tight or snagged, and is pulling the bar to the right.

I dont' think he meant that a brake pad rubbon the one side is making the
bike pull to that side... because, exactly as you said.. that wouldn't work
anyways.

--
Mike Beauchamp
http://www.therevox.com - custom electro-theremins and stuff.
http://www.mikebeauchamp.com - mike's personal site.

"Leo Lichtman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

clip) it might be that one of the brake cables is too tight, literally
pulling the bike to one side.(clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I don't agree with this part. If one of the wheels is out of line, it
would certainly make the bike "pull," but not due to brake drag. Even
if one brake pad is rubbing, the drag is felt as a torque retarding
the rotation, but it does not cause the wheel to turn the bike.

Bicycles that pull to one side, or require a rider to lean to one side
to ride no-hands usually has a bent fork, frame bends having little
effect on straight ahead balance. The rule is to bend the fork blades
laterally toward the side to which one must lean to ride
no-hands. This generally requires fork tip relocation of 5mm or so.

This will not show up on any frame measurement technique but must be
determined at the fork. Whether the fork is symmetrical can be
measured by laying the bicycle on its side, handlebars removed so the
fork can be rotated 180 degrees. Measure the lateral position of the
fork ends when they are in an (exactly) horizontal position, tips up
and tips down. This is a simple measurement in a fork fixture used by
frame builders.

Jobst Brandt
[email hidden]