CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Questions/Support/Help

a rear wheel wobbling feeling

(21 posts)
  • Started 9 years ago by Ed1
  • Latest reply from gembo
  • This topic is resolved

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  1. Ed1
    Member

    Last saturday my bike a revolution country explorer 2015 started making a wobbling feeling particularly noticeable when freewheeling. I thought may be I had bent the rear wheel as had been carrying a lot of weight on the back 20 kgs. I broke spokes and popped a tyre tube when hitting pot holes on the long dalmahoy road on my old bike.

    I took it to edinburgh bicycle co op yesterday, it was build there , I bought it used its 6 months old, done about 1200 miles, 400 since I bought it a months ago. I have used it more than my car, as unlike my budget hybrid does not cause wrist ache so can ride any distance on it,

    At the shop they checked the wheel and said although a little bent, would not notice it.

    What else could be causing the wobbling feeling, from cars, I wondered if a bearing but cant tell when I am not on it as no weight and feels ok.

    Any ideas? Also wondered what shop would be good at checking/fixing this sort of thing one where someone would test ride to test it etc?

    Posted 9 years ago #

  2. Cyclops
    Member

    Could be the bearings, cones or even the axle. A poorly running freehub can also make things feel a bit "wobbly" when freewheeling even although the wheel itself is okay.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  3. Cyclingmollie
    Member

    Did the shop check the wheel while it was in the bike?

    Posted 9 years ago #

  4. Ed1
    Member

    yes while was on the bike, I work in livingston so only got there 10 minutes before they closed at 6pm to be fair. I aimed to be there at 530 but with a lot of crazy vans and heavy rain took a bit longer riding at the edge of the A71.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  5. Snowy
    Member

    Might sound obvious but check the tyre is fully inflated. The handling of my rear wheel goes completely to pot if I let it get down to 80psi (normally 110). Check the spokes all seem tight too.

    I presume the shop tried rocking the wheel side to side to check for obvious play. This normally reveals if the bearings are worn.

    Another option. I think you've got cantilever brakes? If you slowly apply the brake so that it's not quite on, but just about touching the rim, and then at lowish speed steer the bike around sharply, do you feel the brake rubbing? If so it might indicate play in the wheel under load. It might also reveal if you've somehow managed to bend the axle, although you'd probably remember if you'd done something to cause that!

    Posted 9 years ago #

  6. Ed1
    Member

    It does not have cantilever brakes mechanical disks, they said in the shop as not rim brakes will not matter if rim a bit bent, will check tyres for air in the morning, bike has 28 continental sports and do lose air my only other bike have had had 38 and very rarely needed air so don't check as often as should.

    The shop did not appear to check the side to side, but I did come in saying think my wheel wobbling so may be focused on if my wheel bent.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  7. acsimpson
    Member

    As Cyclops said it could be the freehub. The formula one which came with my bike develop similar symptoms. Does the cassette seem loose when the wheel isn't on the bike?

    As far asa shop goes Hart's Cyclery on your side of town would certainly take it for a spin and gets good reviews for his wheel building skills.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  8. Charterhall
    Member

    I'd recommend visiting Matt at Just Bike Repairs in Juniper Green. Open til 8 Tues and Thurs http://www.justbikerepairs.co.uk/opening-hours/

    Posted 9 years ago #

  9. CycleCommute.CC
    Member

    If you want to take to shop while at work, Scot Cycles in Livi are pretty good. They are near the Morrisons in town centre.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  10. rust
    Member

    Check the front chainrings aren't loose. It sounds odd, but if they are wobbling as you put in power it can feel like the rear wheel is wobbling.

    It always takes me ages to realise it's that!

    Posted 9 years ago #

  11. ivangrozni
    Member

    Scot Cycles are good - would recommend. I will be dropping my bike in there later today for some adjustments - so if you're about around lunchtime (1pm) - might see you there!

    Wheel wobbles in my experience can come from

    (1) Wheel being out of true (pringle shape?) - you can check this with a pencil pressed against the frame and the tip almost touching the wheel. As the wheel spins if it out of true you should see the rim getting closer/further away from the pencil. You mentioned a bend? How is the rim bent? Any distortions of the rim profile could cause a wobble effect.

    (2) Hub bearing - do a hub service. If its a cup and cone type hub then check all rollers are intact and without signs of spalling - similarly for the raceways (cup/cone) - no spalls or dents. Rollers are replaceable - the cup/cone less so. It may well be that bearing components are fine and that you simply need to tighten the cone locknut. If its a cartridge bearing - just replace the bearing!

    (3) Bent/cracked axle - I have no experience with this but have seen it mentioned before.

    Useful references:
    Hub Service
    http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tooltips/hubs.html

    http://www.sheldonbrown.com/cone-adjustment.html

    Wheel Trueing
    http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tooltips/truing.html

    Posted 9 years ago #

  12. rbrtwtmn
    Member

    I second the comment about the tyre being pumped up. The effects of an under-inflated tyre on handling are odd. Also check the front wheel - and the frame for anything odd or broken. There have been a few occasions when I've failed to locate the cause of an 'odd noise' or an 'odd feeling' - but many years of experience have taught me that it's well worth investigating and persevering, even if at first the problem isn't located. This year's one was a crank about to fall off after a bike shop replacement.

    And don't automatically trust what you are told at a bike shop - respected and good shops have missed things for me in the past - serious stuff too... and I'll not get into what the not-respected shops have missed. Worst was my headset not being set up properly (would have become no steering).

    Then there was the day that my very heavily pregnant wife said 'there was this oddly mushy feeling...' after cycling down Leith Walk with the buses... turned out to be an entirely broken downtube.... That one still give me shivers.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  13. paddyirish
    Member

    probably not the cause for you, but my most recent experience was on my old hybrid- wheel wobbled alarmingly going downhill. Turned out it wasn't the wheel but that the frame had sheared near where it joins the hub...

    Assuming there is no way the wheel isn't on properly via quick release mechanism?

    Also hear a test that you lift the bike 6" off the ground and drop it and see if anything drops off/there are any funny noises...

    Posted 9 years ago #

  14. Ed1
    Member

    I pumped up the tyres and took it to Scott cycles in Livingston, the seat was loose, it was even more lose earlier in the week as already tightened it but still was still loose. With tyres pumped and seat tightened seems more stable. I checked the pressure with a pump not just pumped by feel, it may be as used to 38 tyres need to be more accurate with the smaller 28 as felt fine by finger before pumped but was a bit low, will see on the way to from Livingston to Leith after work if was just tyre low and loose seat.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  15. Ed1
    Member

    I took my bike to Halfords in Leith last weekend, they looked at the wheel then rode the bike and noticed it was wobbling much more than the slightly bent wheel. My rear tyre was bent out of shape the tyrewires bent, and the bottom bracket was worn out with a lot of play which made it feel much worse on a freewheel.

    They changed the tyre and bottom bracket and now is going perfectly

    Posted 8 years ago #

  16. Blueth
    Member

    Cue general dismay from the forum population that Halfrauds did a better job than two "proper bike shops"?

    Posted 8 years ago #

  17. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    @Blueth

    It depends entirely on who the technician is. I know at least one good bike maniac who has worked at Halfords, but he left as soon as he could get a job somewhere else because they're not allowed to take the time to do work properly. (Which in turn is caused by our reluctance to pay professional rates when our precious bikes need fixed.)

    I'd never let them near a bike of mine, but that's not to say they never have good staff.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  18. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    And things like vague wobbling feelings are really hard to find on a bike whose history you don't know. You could spend half a day stripping and rebuilding without finding anything billable.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  19. gembo
    Member

    Bike maniac at halfords? Shum mishtake Shurley?

    Posted 8 years ago #

  20. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    Don't call me Shurley.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  21. gembo
    Member

    I did call you Shirley as the predictive text turned Shurley into Shirley but I changed it back.

    What were Brian Crabtree (the wrestling referee's) parents thinking of when they called his wee brother Shirley?

    Posted 8 years ago #

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