Okay, so I've done my homework and have discovered a great many things that can cause the front end to shimmy when taking your hands off the bars. But there hasn't been a thread on this in a while so hey, let's try a new angle on it. Rather than "what causes this?" we'll play "can
this cause it?"
The bike: '79 Raleigh Competition GS, set up for commuter duty: rear rack with a trunk on top, no panniers, rarely is there more than 5-6 lbs of stuff back there. Headset and all the other maintenance-type things I've seen mentioned in previous threads are in good order.
The recent change and primary suspect: Switched from a 90mm SR Royal stem to an 80mm Technomic. Bars are now 5cm higher than they were, and are set back probably 2cm(?) from previous.
Could this really be enough to tip things into general instability? The bike seems to think so, but I'm curious if anyone has run into a similar situation after going to a Technomic.
Pic, because it's what we do here:
