speed wobble.

Amprodude

I would be an experienced cyclist but yesterday I was descending off a big hill with lots of turns and hit bit of gravel and got a bad speed wobble that I nearly lost control off. I didn't know what to do going at high speed when it happened but only thing I did that helped me bring it under control was I just relaxed and hoped for the best. It finally faded out but just wondering would loose chippings cause such a wobble and what should one do to correct the wobble?

Thanks

Matt Bianco

I haven't personally had a speed wobble as I would understand it from loose gravel more so from flat out speed across minor undulations

Most advice i have come across centres on lifting marginally from saddle and turning knees inwards to ground top tube - some bikes appear to be more prone than other which may be based on geometry/ size/ materials but others more knowledgeable will be able to help there I'm sure

ford2600

Stop looking at power output and keep your eyes on the road :-)

07Lapierre

IMO it was the fact that you weren't relaxed that brought on the wobble. Being tense is not good when descending. Relaxing a bit was the right thing to do.

daragh_

squeeze your legs against the top-tube - damps the wobble/vibrations

rtmie

Amprodude wrote: »

I would be an experienced cyclist but yesterday I was descending off a big hill with lots of turns and hit bit of gravel and got a bad speed wobble that I nearly lost control off. I didn't know what to do going at high speed when it happened but only thing I did that helped me bring it under control was I just relaxed and hoped for the best. It finally faded out but just wondering would loose chippings cause such a wobble and what should one do to correct the wobble?

Thanks

Happened me about a month ago coming down a steep descent, fair frightened the you-know-what out of me. Search on boards, there was a detailed thread from a couple of years ago on this that was both informative and reassuring.

Points I remember from that were:
1. Speed wobble is caused where some event e.g. hitting a stone, small bump, or perhaps some rider action triggers a shake in the bike which because of speed and other factors starts an oscillation
2. Best way to stop it is as mentioned above, press one leg/knee to the crossbar, this should have a damping effect.
3. Mostly caused by one-off as in 1 above but may be caused by bad frame design (unlikely in modern established brands) or something loose in the bike, especially headset, worth checking.

As I say this is me paraphrasing, do a search for "speed wobble site:boards.ie" in google to find the specific thread, worth reading for re-assurance alone.

Cee-Jay-Cee

I had a speed wobble a few months ago on a long (2km) straightish descent. I was doing approx 50km and looked over my shoulder to check was my mate still behind me and veered onto loose chips on the road side. It frightened the hell out of me. I knew if I braked I could make it worse so I loosened my grip ang got down lower on the bike which worked. Once I had steadied it I had to stop as my heart was doing 300bpm and I was shaking like a leaf. Not a pleasant thing to happen especially at speed.

Amprodude

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

I had a speed wobble a few months ago on a long (2km) straightish descent. I was doing approx 50km and looked over my shoulder to check was my mate still behind me and veered onto loose chips on the road side. It frightened the hell out of me. I knew if I braked I could make it worse so I loosened my grip ang got down lower on the bike which worked. Once I had steadied it I had to stop as my heart was doing 300bpm and I was shaking like a leaf. Not a pleasant thing to happen especially at speed.

I was scared but knew if I tensed up more I would definitely have a bad crash so I said to myself to relax and hope it stops up. I breaked very lightly but I knew this could make it worse so relaxed the shoulders and myself and it all came back to normal. It's a scary feeling.

Amprodude

07Lapierre wrote: »

IMO it was the fact that you weren't relaxed that brought on the wobble. Being tense is not good when descending. Relaxing a bit was the right thing to do.

I was relaxed until I hit gravel and the handlebars started shaking badly, i tensed up for a moment then but then relaxed and hoped it would settle down.

SpaceSasqwatch

if its anything like a speed wobble on a motorbike(albeit at slower speed) its the tires losing/regaining grip