Does your bike track well?

Quoted message said:

Badger_South [email hidden]

wrote in part:

Quoted message said:

I've ridden with no hands, pedalling and just coasting frequently on
my last bike many, many years ago, cro-moly road bike, but on this
Trek hybrid (7500FX), I'm having difficulty doing it at all. I'm
barely able to coast with no hands, but if I pedal the front wheel
wobbles like crazy - iow, none of that little bit of gyroscopic
resistance to wobble to help you get going.

Others can probably explain it better than I but what you describe is likely
more a function of bike geometry than any gyroscopic effect. If your older bike
had greater trail than your hybrid- a distinct possibility since many older
road bikes had very slack head tube angles and/or highly curved forks- then it
will always be easier to ride hands free on it than on your hybrid no matter
how often or precisely you true the hybrid's wheel.

Regards,
Bob Hunt

Hunrobe said:

Quoted message said:

Badger_South [email hidden]

wrote in part:

Quoted message said:

I've ridden with no hands, pedalling and just coasting frequently on
my last bike many, many years ago, cro-moly road bike, but on this
Trek hybrid (7500FX), I'm having difficulty doing it at all. I'm
barely able to coast with no hands, but if I pedal the front wheel
wobbles like crazy - iow, none of that little bit of gyroscopic
resistance to wobble to help you get going.

Others can probably explain it better than I but what you describe is
likely
more a function of bike geometry than any gyroscopic effect. If your
older bike
had greater trail than your hybrid- a distinct possibility since many
older
road bikes had very slack head tube angles and/or highly curved forks-
then it
will always be easier to ride hands free on it than on your hybrid no
matter
how often or precisely you true the hybrid's wheel.

Regards,
Bob Hunt

Since tracking has been brought up I have a question to add. My bike, a
lowly Huffy, rides OK with no hands but I have to lean it about 5 degrees
to maintain a straight ahead ride. The wheels are true,I did them myself,
and flipping the front wheel 180 degrees does nothing, so I am wondering
if the frame itself could have something to do with hands off riding.
My reason for hands off is that after about ten miles it is relaxing for
my hands to just sit up and pedal for about a mile before getting back
on the bars. I ride mostly country roads so cars are not much of a problem,
maybe one car every two minutes or so. I ride up to 80 miles a day, so far,
on a combination of pavement, potholes, gravel, rocks, and even foot trails
that I have to drag the bike up, so it is an MTB with 26 x 1.75 (1.95?)
street tires.
No laughing, it gets me there and back.
Any ideas on why the lean?
Bill Baka

Bill said:

Any ideas on why the lean?

Your frame ain't straight. For giggles, wrap a string tightly around the
head tube and tie the ends to the dropouts. Now measure the distance
between the string and the seat tube.

I'm off by a couple mm on my road ride after I cold set my frame to accept
a wider hub--still better than when I started, when it was 5mm off. No
hands is wobbly on this bike too, but doable--and I've got a fairly
generously raked circa 1979 tange "racing" fork on it.

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

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Since tracking has been brought up I have a question to add. My bike, a
lowly Huffy, rides OK with no hands but I have to lean it about 5 degrees
to maintain a straight ahead ride.

..

Quoted message said:

Any ideas on why the lean?

Fork ends not straight. See if Sheldon Brown's site has a how to.

I'd check the fork and the frame for alignment, you can have someone at a
good LBS to do that for you too.
There is a max height line on the stem--check it. If you have the stem
raised too high out of the head tube It can cause instability and, worse,
can cause the stem to snap off and you to face plant.

good luck!
ie

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

Quoted message said:

Bill said:

Any ideas on why the lean?

Your frame ain't straight. For giggles, wrap a string tightly around the
head tube and tie the ends to the dropouts. Now measure the distance
between the string and the seat tube.

I'm off by a couple mm on my road ride after I cold set my frame to accept
a wider hub--still better than when I started, when it was 5mm off. No
hands is wobbly on this bike too, but doable--and I've got a fairly
generously raked circa 1979 tange "racing" fork on it.

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

Quoted message said:

I've ridden with no hands, pedalling and just coasting frequently on
my last bike many, many years ago, cro-moly road bike, but on this
Trek hybrid (7500FX), I'm having difficulty doing it at all. I'm
barely able to coast with no hands, but if I pedal the front wheel
wobbles like crazy - iow, none of that little bit of gyroscopic
resistance to wobble to help you get going.

Quoted message said:

Question is, what's the problem, or is it that some bikes just don't
track straight, and you can't ride (momentarily) with no hand and
pedalling.

It may be that your skills have atrophied. Saddles play a part, since you lean
a bike to steer it no-hands, and you lean it by shifting weight. If you shift
weight while pedaling, you'll wobble all over the place. Both the gyroscopic
effect and wheel flop steer the bike into the lean, but the gyro effect
dominates and gets stronger with speed (it's also much quicker). Too much flop
can really screw things up, you can see this if you use a bar bag. No-hands
becomes easier the faster you go.

Quoted message said:

ISM you should definitely have that skill as part of bike
handling 101, but use it sparingly, I guess.

No-hands riding is an essential skill. It also is really nice to sit up to
stretch or just admire the scenery. I use it generously, especially on a
gorgeous July day like this one.

Quoted message said:

"Peter Cole" [email hidden]

wrote in part:

Quoted message said:

No-hands riding is an essential skill. It also is really nice to sit up to
stretch or just admire the scenery. I use it generously, especially on a
gorgeous July day like this one.

Like Peter, I ride no-hands more than "sparingly". Before I do I always make
sure to check for any hazards I might run into when my hands aren't on the
bars.
Unlike Peter, I seldom ride no-hands just to admire scenery. No criticism is
implied- his rides may be through more scenic areas than mine. I most often
ride no-hands just to stretch a bit, unzip/zip a jersey, grab a snack, or--
shudder-- answer my cell phone/silence my pager.

Regards,
Bob Hunt

In article <[email hidden]>,

(Hunrobe) said:

Like Peter, I ride no-hands more than "sparingly". Before I do I always make
sure to check for any hazards I might run into when my hands aren't on the
bars.
Unlike Peter, I seldom ride no-hands just to admire scenery. No criticism is
implied- his rides may be through more scenic areas than mine. I most often
ride no-hands just to stretch a bit, unzip/zip a jersey, grab a snack, or--
shudder-- answer my cell phone/silence my pager.

In British Columbia we're legally required to keep at
least one hand on the handlebars. So, there's another
law which I frequently break. Usually when I realize
I've forgotten to do up my h3lm3t straps.

cheers,
Tom

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

my hybrid was a little more squirrley than I remember my Varsity being.
I adapted by going a little faster; > 15 mph and learning to quiet up my
pedaling motion. Then when I got my more modern road bike. It really
didn't feel any different.

And to the other guy: besides the frame alignment thing check to see if
you're riding on a crowned road. Most are to help water run off to the
gutter. You may just be compensating for the bikes desire to fall down
the hill.

I too find no hands riding an essential skill. Besides it's great fun
making the neighbors jaws drop by riding around the corner leading to my
street and up my driveway no handed.

Kurt

admuse said:

And to the other guy: besides the frame alignment thing check to see if
you're riding on a crowned road.

[smacks forehead]

That's it for the original poster. 😄 Now why didn't I think of that? 🙂

For my misalignment, well, a chair and a 2x4 are in my future...

LOL

maxo said:

Bill said:

Any ideas on why the lean?

Your frame ain't straight. For giggles, wrap a string tightly around the
head tube and tie the ends to the dropouts. Now measure the distance
between the string and the seat tube.

I'm off by a couple mm on my road ride after I cold set my frame to
accept
a wider hub--still better than when I started, when it was 5mm off. No
hands is wobbly on this bike too, but doable--and I've got a fairly
generously raked circa 1979 tange "racing" fork on it.

Could be the frame. As I have admitted it is a Huffy, about ten years old,
but still going and doing what I want, except for that darn lean when I
try to sit up and stretch. Oh yeah, I got a decent bike for under $300.,
way under $300. All I have had to do is change the bottom bracket, and
rear wheel, both worn out by about 10,000 miles of beating the road and
trails. I have gotten my moneys worth. If I paid $1000. like some of the
snobs I would have had to ride well over 100,000 miles, but, duh, I
have a life off the bike.
Sorry, had to say that after seeing a post about only Freds buying cheap
rides. I am not a Fred but nobody is ever going to see me wearing bike
shorts and clip in pedals. It's all about exercise and fun, not just
doing 20 MPH on the road.
Bill

Peter Cole said:

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

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Since tracking has been brought up I have a question to add. My bike, a
lowly Huffy, rides OK with no hands but I have to lean it about 5
degrees
to maintain a straight ahead ride.

.

Quoted message said:

Any ideas on why the lean?

Fork ends not straight. See if Sheldon Brown's site has a how to.

I am going there next since I have to change a cassette for a friend
and don't want parts all over the ground. I never crashed the bike
hard so it may have come from the factory that way. My biggest wipe
out was a downhill into a sand wash and face first over the bars
with my grandchildren watching. Soft landing but they are still
talking about it and I was spitting sand for about an hour, nice
chewy, gritty sand, yuck.
Thanks for the point to Sheldons.
Bill Baka

ie said:

I'd check the fork and the frame for alignment, you can have someone at a
good LBS to do that for you too.
There is a max height line on the stem--check it. If you have the stem
raised too high out of the head tube It can cause instability and, worse,
can cause the stem to snap off and you to face plant.

good luck!
ie

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

Quoted message said:

Bill said:

Any ideas on why the lean?

Your frame ain't straight. For giggles, wrap a string tightly around the
head tube and tie the ends to the dropouts. Now measure the distance
between the string and the seat tube.

I'm off by a couple mm on my road ride after I cold set my frame to
accept
a wider hub--still better than when I started, when it was 5mm off. No
hands is wobbly on this bike too, but doable--and I've got a fairly
generously raked circa 1979 tange "racing" fork on it.

I have the stem high but not 'ape hanger Harley' high. Just enough to
match
the seat, but I have gone over face first hitting a sand wash once, one of
the small pleasures of an off road trip.
Thanks,
Bill Baka

Bill said:

Could be the frame. As I have admitted it is a Huffy, about ten years
old, but still going and doing what I want, except for that darn lean
when I try to sit up and stretch. Oh yeah, I got a decent bike for
under $300., way under $300. All I have had to do is change the
bottom bracket, and rear wheel, both worn out by about 10,000 miles
of beating the road and trails. I have gotten my moneys worth. If I
paid $1000. like some of the snobs I would have had to ride well over
100,000 miles, but, duh, I
have a life off the bike.
Sorry, had to say that after seeing a post about only Freds buying
cheap rides. I am not a Fred but nobody is ever going to see me
wearing bike shorts and clip in pedals. It's all about exercise and
fun, not just doing 20 MPH on the road.

As misguided as that guy was who said that anyone shopping for a $300 bike
is a fool, so too are you for suggesting that anyone who spends $1,000 on a
bike or wears bike shorts is a snob.

Bill "ride and let ride" S.

S o r n i said:

Bill said:

Could be the frame. As I have admitted it is a Huffy, about ten years
old, but still going and doing what I want, except for that darn lean
when I try to sit up and stretch. Oh yeah, I got a decent bike for
under $300., way under $300. All I have had to do is change the
bottom bracket, and rear wheel, both worn out by about 10,000 miles
of beating the road and trails. I have gotten my moneys worth. If I
paid $1000. like some of the snobs I would have had to ride well over
100,000 miles, but, duh, I
have a life off the bike.
Sorry, had to say that after seeing a post about only Freds buying
cheap rides. I am not a Fred but nobody is ever going to see me
wearing bike shorts and clip in pedals. It's all about exercise and
fun, not just doing 20 MPH on the road.

As misguided as that guy was who said that anyone shopping for a $300 bike
is a fool, so too are you for suggesting that anyone who spends $1,000 on a
bike or wears bike shorts is a snob.

Bill "ride and let ride" S.

Riding well, regardless of gear or bike cost is what's important. I
welcome Lycra wearers and tennis shoe mashers alike.

But to -aspire- to be an 'under 20mph' fun rider?

I am an under 20-mph fun rider, but my aspirations are for next year,
and still being on the bike, pushing ahead each day, staying healthy.

-B
Off to ride in sunny cool Va. Beach at 11:30 ;-D

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

Quoted message said:

Sorry, had to say that after seeing a post about only Freds buying cheap
rides. I am not a Fred but nobody is ever going to see me wearing bike
shorts and clip in pedals. It's all about exercise and fun, not just
doing 20 MPH on the road.
Bill

And aren't you the arrogant snob for believing that what's fun for you must
be fun for everyone.

RichC

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

Quoted message said:

maxo said:

Bill said:

Any ideas on why the lean?

Your frame ain't straight. For giggles, wrap a string tightly around the
head tube and tie the ends to the dropouts. Now measure the distance
between the string and the seat tube.

I'm off by a couple mm on my road ride after I cold set my frame to
accept
a wider hub--still better than when I started, when it was 5mm off. No
hands is wobbly on this bike too, but doable--and I've got a fairly
generously raked circa 1979 tange "racing" fork on it.

Could be the frame. As I have admitted it is a Huffy, about ten years old,
but still going and doing what I want, except for that darn lean when I
try to sit up and stretch. Oh yeah, I got a decent bike for under $300.,
way under $300. All I have had to do is change the bottom bracket, and
rear wheel, both worn out by about 10,000 miles of beating the road and
trails. I have gotten my moneys worth. If I paid $1000. like some of the
snobs I would have had to ride well over 100,000 miles, but, duh, I
have a life off the bike.
Sorry, had to say that after seeing a post about only Freds buying cheap
rides. I am not a Fred but nobody is ever going to see me wearing bike
shorts and clip in pedals. It's all about exercise and fun, not just
doing 20 MPH on the road.
Bill

I'm a Fred and I don't have a cheap ride :-)

Rich Clark said:

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

Quoted message said:

Sorry, had to say that after seeing a post about only Freds buying cheap
rides. I am not a Fred but nobody is ever going to see me wearing bike
shorts and clip in pedals. It's all about exercise and fun, not just
doing 20 MPH on the road.
Bill

And aren't you the arrogant snob for believing that what's fun for you
must
be fun for everyone.

RichC

So you guys with the expensive road bikes NEVER get the urge to go off
road spontaneously and do do serious dirt riding or exploring? Not to
viable with a specialized road bike with skinny tires. I would rather
cruise at 15-17 MPH and have the option of going wherever my wheels
decide to point. And clips just don't work well when an emergency
dismount is forced by a crash due to a trail hole/rut induced wipeout.
I am out to explore and have fun while incidentally getting into great
shape, not training for a race. Arrogance not intended, just a reality
check. This group is rec.bicycles.MISC, not roadie elites. The idea is
to help all bikers, not just to convince them that a road bike is the
only way to go, not expensive because not everyone has tons of money
to through at bikes. I still have to have 3+ cars for long range commuting
and hauling stuff/people and things I can't avoid or couldn't possibly
carry on a bike.
Bill Baka

Bill said:

Rich Clark said:

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

Quoted message said:

Sorry, had to say that after seeing a post about only Freds buying
cheap rides. I am not a Fred but nobody is ever going to see me
wearing bike shorts and clip in pedals. It's all about exercise and
fun, not just doing 20 MPH on the road.
Bill

And aren't you the arrogant snob for believing that what's fun for
you must
be fun for everyone.

Quoted message said:

So you guys with the expensive road bikes NEVER get the urge to go off
road spontaneously and do do serious dirt riding or exploring? Not to
viable with a specialized road bike with skinny tires. I would rather
cruise at 15-17 MPH and have the option of going wherever my wheels
decide to point. And clips just don't work well when an emergency
dismount is forced by a crash due to a trail hole/rut induced wipeout.
I am out to explore and have fun while incidentally getting into great
shape, not training for a race. Arrogance not intended, just a reality
check. This group is rec.bicycles.MISC, not roadie elites. The idea is
to help all bikers, not just to convince them that a road bike is the
only way to go, not expensive because not everyone has tons of money
to through at bikes. I still have to have 3+ cars for long range
commuting and hauling stuff/people and things I can't avoid or
couldn't possibly carry on a bike.

So let's get this straight: A) Your reading comprehension is awful. B) You
don't know the word "throw" (letting the too/to thing go unmentioned). And
C) You have three (plus?) cars, but can't grasp that people have more than
one bike.

Bill "got it, thanks" S.