Am I crazy? Bike seems much more stable in hot temps vs cold

[romnation]

Awhile back I posted a thread about wobbly / loose steering at very slow speeds (less than 5mph). Basically at these very low speeds the steering feels a bit loose and almost wobbly. It does not feel as stable and it seems to require more effort to get the bike to stop in a straight up position as opposed to wanting to fall to one side. I noticed this when it was cold however. Around 30 degrees. It seems like as it's gotten warmer, the problem has basically went away entirely. It was significantly better at temps in the 50s, and at 70F the bike is rock solid stable. The wobbliness is usually noticeable when stopping or doing extremely slow lane splitting maneuvers. At 70F it feels so stable I could ride with no hands and barely even move the bike at all and it stays rock solid centered.

What is going on here? Is this normal? Really wish it was a bit more stable in the cold as we get a lot of cold temps here in Chicago. I have michelin city grips btw.

[you you]

That’s great, thanks.

[fish]

Chicago eh?
YOU are more stable when warm.

Fish

[alx123]

yes, i think your'e crazy


but it might have something to do with the tire air pressure

[springer1]

yes, i think your'e crazy

but it might have something to do with the tire air pressure

Or shock fluid viscosity.

[romnation]

Would also like to say I had a mechanic take a look at the bike awhile back and they couldn't find any issues.

[relic]

You were shivering at 30 degrees.

[Mel46]

I noticed that I am sluggish at 30°, and a bit wobbly. I don't steer very well either at that temperature. I keep heading for the great indoors. Must be the weather.

[romnation]

I appreciate the jokes, but this is a serious thread people! (We may also never get a Spring here in Chicago so I'm stuck riding in the cold) I really do notice an apparent handling difference. Anything mechanical this could be?

[Jge64]

The difference could just be in the tire pressure. In the cold your pressure goes down significantly, and in the heat it comes back up. It’s the difference between riding at 33 pounds pressure in the rear down to probably 28 in the cold… Check it next time you go through this.

[romnation]

The difference could just be in the tire pressure. In the cold your pressure goes down significantly, and in the heat it comes back up. It’s the difference between riding at 33 pounds pressure in the rear down to probably 28 in the cold… Check it next time you go through this.

I'm always usually very adamant about verifying my tire pressure about once every 3-4 weeks.

[iceman]

Any 2-wheel vehicle will try and go in a straight line above a certain speed (physics) and that may be as low as 10mph or such, slower than that and wobble may creep in, for example, starting out and going slow will probably feel wobbly where-as slowing down and going slow seems much easier (like that, I can go only a few mph and stay perfectly upright, can't do that from standstill). Pressure, physics and panic a re probably the causes.