Does your bike track well? - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

07-17-2004, 05:50 AM

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.

Does this mean my bike is not tracking straight? I just had the front
wheel trued and can't understand why.

I had read recently about a guy testing his bike by holding the back
of the seat and pushing it on a level bit of pavement and him saying
it was very stable and would track fine doing that seat push.

My thought is take it back to the LBS and have them do that test and
if it isn't tracking, fix the source of the problem.

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

-B

07-17-2004, 10:03 AM

>Badger_South [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

wrote in part:

>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

07-17-2004, 10:03 AM

>Badger_South [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

wrote in part:

>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

07-17-2004, 10:03 AM

>Badger_South [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

wrote in part:

>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

07-17-2004, 10:03 AM

>Badger_South [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

wrote in part:

>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

07-17-2004, 10:03 AM

>Badger_South [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

wrote in part:

>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

07-17-2004, 10:30 AM

On 17 Jul 2004 17:03:42 GMT, Hunrobe <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

>> Badger_South [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
>
> wrote in part:
>
>> 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

07-17-2004, 10:30 AM

On 17 Jul 2004 17:03:42 GMT, Hunrobe <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

>> Badger_South [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
>
> wrote in part:
>
>> 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

07-17-2004, 10:30 AM

On 17 Jul 2004 17:03:42 GMT, Hunrobe <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

>> Badger_South [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
>
> wrote in part:
>
>> 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

07-17-2004, 10:30 AM

On 17 Jul 2004 17:03:42 GMT, Hunrobe <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

>> Badger_South [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
>
> wrote in part:
>
>> 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