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Am I crazy? Bike seems much more stable in hot temps vs cold
Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2019 3:15 pm
by 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.
Re: Am I crazy? Bike seems much more stable in hot temps vs
Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2019 4:50 pm
by you you
That’s great, thanks.
Re: Am I crazy? Bike seems much more stable in hot temps vs
Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2019 5:54 pm
by fish
Chicago eh?
YOU are more stable when warm.
Fish
Re: Am I crazy? Bike seems much more stable in hot temps vs
Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2019 10:12 pm
by alx123
yes, i think your'e crazy
but it might have something to do with the tire air pressure
Re: Am I crazy? Bike seems much more stable in hot temps vs
Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2019 10:19 pm
by springer1
alx123 wrote:yes, i think your'e crazy
but it might have something to do with the tire air pressure
Or shock fluid viscosity.
Re: Am I crazy? Bike seems much more stable in hot temps vs
Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2019 10:34 pm
by 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.
Re: Am I crazy? Bike seems much more stable in hot temps vs
Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2019 10:44 pm
by relic
You were shivering at 30 degrees.
Re: Am I crazy? Bike seems much more stable in hot temps vs
Posted: Thu May 02, 2019 11:50 am
by 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.
Re: Am I crazy? Bike seems much more stable in hot temps vs
Posted: Fri May 10, 2019 11:43 am
by 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?
Re: Am I crazy? Bike seems much more stable in hot temps vs
Posted: Fri May 10, 2019 12:14 pm
by 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.
Re: Am I crazy? Bike seems much more stable in hot temps vs
Posted: Fri May 10, 2019 1:32 pm
by romnation
Jge64 wrote: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.
Re: Am I crazy? Bike seems much more stable in hot temps vs
Posted: Fri May 10, 2019 10:16 pm
by 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.