Behemoth's Steering Finally Fixed

Elisa Francesca Roselli said:

I'm glad I gave Bethie the benefit of the doubt and
didn't terminate our relationship before allowing her
this simple test.

I'm glad you did too, it looks like a lovely machine for
your needs.

That's actually the first time I've heard of a headset being
too /tight/. Too loose on a fast downhill, well, I've Been
There, Done That, Changed the Trousers... ;-)

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch University of Dundee Tel 44 1382 660111 ext.
33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382 640177
Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net [email hidden]
dundee.ac.uk~pjclinchOpen ↗

In article <[email hidden]>,=20
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Well, I got her back from her contr=F4le technique with
her dealer in the 16th arrondissement on Friday.
=20
He said there was nothing wrong with her, brakes perfect,
shifter fine etc.
=20
But the horrendous jiggle on startup that has made
pedalling Behemoth such an issue for the past six months
turned out to be due to a trifling too-tight headset. The
ball bearings couldn't roll properly, he said. He just had
to loosen the headset screw by a quarter turn and Bethie
has gone from being Demon Bike to Bike of my Dreams as she
was meant to be.
=20
Award to Jean-Pierre Jacquot for having been the first to
suggest that this might be the origin of the problem, way
back in January. Unfortunately I was too inexperienced to
be able to test for it myself. And thanks to everyone else
who has been so infinitely patient and hand-holding
through my never-ending complaints. I'm glad I gave Bethie
the benefit of the doubt and didn't terminate our
relationship before allowing her this simple test.
=20
Looking forward to a whole new biking experience.

That's wonderful news, Elisa! I would never have thought a
tight=20 headset might cause that kind of problems.

--=20 Remove the ns_ from if replying by e-mail (but keep
posts in the=20 newsgroups if possible).

Elisa Francesca Roselli said:

Well, I got her back from her contrôle technique with her
dealer in the 16th arrondissement on Friday.

Excellent. I hope you two have many happy miles together.

Incidentally, is the machine's name homage to "The Master
and Margarita" by Mikhail Bulkagov? In light of the steering
problems, the image of an outsize, wicked cat seems quite
appropriate, while the biblical references don't.

Regards,

-david

David Nutter said:

Incidentally, is the machine's name homage to "The
Master and Margarita" by Mikhail Bulkagov? In light of
the steering problems, the image of an outsize, wicked
cat seems quite appropriate, while the biblical
references don't.

I wasn't thinking of Bulgakov in particular, just of a huge,
lumbering, diabolical thing. Behemoth apparently means
"monster" in Hebrew - some say it may actually mean
"hippopotamus", which isn't inappropriate given our combined
weights. And of course it is one of the names of Satan. But
when she's being good she gets nicknamed to Beth, like the
gentlest sister in Little Women. And then I'm Elisa, so I
suppose us two together can be ElisaBeth.

EFR Ile de France

Elisa Francesca Roselli wrote: [...]

:: But the horrendous jiggle on startup that has made
:: pedalling Behemoth such an issue for the past six months
:: turned out to be due to a trifling too-tight headset. The
:: ball bearings couldn't roll properly, he said. He just
:: had to loosen the headset screw by a quarter turn and
:: Bethie has gone from being Demon Bike to Bike of my
:: Dreams as she was meant to be.

[...]

::
:: Looking forward to a whole new biking experience.
::

Good news!

Peter Clinch said:

That's actually the first time I've heard of a headset
being too /tight/.

I'll add one to that. My old headset in the road bike had
gone digital. Each little ball sat in its own dimple so the
handlebars turned through a series of click-stops.

Definitely not a nice ride and I could no longer ride
no-hands. Loosening it helped but brought a slew of
other problems.

Swapped it for a Stronglight A9 and it has been fine
ever since.

..d

in message <[email hidden]>, Elisa Francesca

Roselli (') said:

Well, I got her back from her contrôle technique with her
dealer in the 16th arrondissement on Friday.

He said there was nothing wrong with her, brakes perfect,
shifter fine etc.

But the horrendous jiggle on startup that has made
pedalling Behemoth such an issue for the past six months
turned out to be due to a trifling too-tight headset. The
ball bearings couldn't roll properly, he said.

So, a happy ending! I'm very glad to have been wrong.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke)
jasmine.org.uk~simonOpen ↗

;; It appears that /dev/null is a conforming
XSL processor.

David Nutter said:

Incidentally, is the machine's name homage to "The Master
and Margarita" by Mikhail Bulkagov? In light of the
steering problems, the image of an outsize, wicked cat
seems quite appropriate,

My favourite book, and favourite character 🙂
--

"Bob"

'The people have spoken, the [censored]'

Email address is spam trapped. To reply directly remove
the beverage.

Call me Bob [email hidden] opined the
following...

Quoted message said:

David Nutter said:

Incidentally, is the machine's name homage to "The Master
and Margarita" by Mikhail Bulkagov? In light of the
steering problems, the image of an outsize, wicked cat
seems quite appropriate,

My favourite book, and favourite character 🙂

Swinging from the chandelier, in a fire-fight with the
police, neither party hitting the other. One of the funniest
books I've read in a long time.

Jon

In article <[email hidden]>,

Elisa Francesca Roselli said:

But the horrendous jiggle on startup that has made
pedalling Behemoth such an issue for the past six months
turned out to be due to a trifling too-tight headset. The
ball bearings couldn't roll properly, he said. He just had
to loosen the headset screw by a quarter turn and Bethie
has gone from being Demon Bike to Bike of my Dreams as she
was meant to be.

Well, I'm glad you got that fixed, and can now enjoy Bethie
in all her free-spirited splendour.

Quoted message said:

Award to Jean-Pierre Jacquot for having been the first to
suggest that this might be the origin of the problem, way
back in January. Unfortunately I was too inexperienced to
be able to test for it myself.

The antient lore is that a headset should be loose enough
to, when you lift the front of the bike up, let the front
wheel & handlebars easily flop to one side or the other; the
headset should be tight enough that the fork doesn't
palpably 'clunk' when, standing beside the bike, you close
the front brake and give the bike a little shove forward.

Quoted message said:

I'm glad I gave Bethie the benefit of the doubt and
didn't terminate our relationship before allowing her
this simple test.

Many inter-human relationships could benefit from such
patience, forbearance, perseverance and mercy. You're a nice
person. So you deserve a bike that behaves well :-) And
you've gained a deeper intimacy with, and understanding of
your Bethie. I guess that's how bikes become more than mere
chattles to their guardians.

Quoted message said:

Looking forward to a whole new biking experience.

Enjoy!

cheers, Tom

--
-- Powered by FreeBSD Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

Quoted message said:

Behemoth apparently means "monster" in Hebrew

"b'hemoth" = "huge beast"

Quoted message said:

some say it may actually mean "hippopotamus"

It's from the Egyptian "p-ehe-mau" = "water ox"

Elisa Francesca Roselli said:

Well, I got her back from her contrôle technique with her
dealer in the 16th arrondissement on Friday.

He said there was nothing wrong with her, brakes perfect,
shifter fine etc.

But the horrendous jiggle on startup that has made
pedalling Behemoth such an issue for the past six months
turned out to be due to a trifling too-tight headset. The
ball bearings couldn't roll properly, he said. He just had
to loosen the headset screw by a quarter turn and Bethie
has gone from being Demon Bike to Bike of my Dreams as she
was meant to be.

Award to Jean-Pierre Jacquot for having been the first to
suggest that this might be the origin of the problem, way
back in January. Unfortunately I was too inexperienced to
be able to test for it myself. And thanks to everyone else
who has been so infinitely patient and hand-holding through
my never-ending complaints. I'm glad I gave Bethie the
benefit of the doubt and didn't terminate our relationship
before allowing her this simple test.

Looking forward to a whole new biking experience.

EFR Ile de France

Congratulations! Another little fix that makes a big
difference. I look forward to your future posts! Best
Regards, Bernie

Tom Keats said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
Elisa Francesca Roselli <Elisa.Francesca.Roselli@quadratec-
software.com> writes:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

But the horrendous jiggle on startup that has made
pedalling Behemoth such an issue for the past six months
turned out to be due to a trifling too-tight headset.
The ball bearings couldn't roll properly, he said. He
just had to loosen the headset screw by a quarter turn
and Bethie has gone from being Demon Bike to Bike of my
Dreams as she was meant to be.

Quoted message said:

Well, I'm glad you got that fixed, and can now enjoy
Bethie in all her free-spirited splendour.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Award to Jean-Pierre Jacquot for having been the first
to suggest that this might be the origin of the problem,
way back in January. Unfortunately I was too
inexperienced to be able to test for it myself.

I once had a similar experience after installing fenders on
a bike. The bike seemed to handle poorly and was difficult
to dangerous to ride no-hands. I had the benefit of knowing
it had ridden well before, though. While futzing with it in
puzzlement, I realized the wheel did not flop freely. The
front fender bracket was rubbing on the lower headset cup. A
quick bend with a screwdriver and the problem was fixed,
never to return.

Benjamin Weiner said:

I once had a similar experience after installing fenders
on a bike. The bike seemed to handle poorly and was
difficult to dangerous to ride no-hands. I had the benefit
of knowing it had ridden well before, though. While
futzing with it in puzzlement, I realized the wheel did
not flop freely. The front fender bracket was rubbing on
the lower headset cup. A quick bend with a screwdriver and
the problem was fixed, never to return.

That's a common problem when you mount guitars on bikes. ;-)

Stratocasters were they?

--
Michael MacClancy Random putdown - "He loves nature in spite
of what it did to him." - Forrest Tucker
www.macclancy.demon.co.uk www.macclancy.co.uk

Call me Bob said:

Quoted message said:

Incidentally, is the machine's name homage to "The Master
and Margarita" by Mikhail Bulkagov? In light of the
steering problems, the image of an outsize, wicked cat
seems quite appropriate,

My favourite book, and favourite character 🙂
--

I read _Master_ about 14 years ago and enjoyed it
reasonably, but I'm not a Bulgakov groupie like many. I have
a strongly Pagan mystical disposition, and, however
mischievous and subversive, that book remains deeply
Christian and monotheist at heart. A few months later I
visited Russia in the last gasps of Perestroika and
discovered a whole _cult_ of _Master_, with underground bars
and discos in the Arbat devoted to adoration of Bulgakov and
the popular singer Vladimir Vissotsky - the defining moments
of Russian hip.

EFR Ile de France