Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Touring
Reload this Page >

Cannondale touring ultra low speed shimmy

Notices
Touring Have a dream to ride a bike across your state, across the country, or around the world? Self-contained or fully supported? Trade ideas, adventures, and more in our bicycle touring forum.

Cannondale touring ultra low speed shimmy

Old 08-07-11, 06:54 AM
  #1  
wicki
Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: The UK
Posts: 45

Bikes: Cannondale touring

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Cannondale touring ultra low speed shimmy

Hi guy's .

Newbie tourer alert be warned dumb questions may follow.
I have the Cannondale touring ultra 07 did my first tour this year (ok slow starter i know)
Fatty lockout 80 mm fork,mavic 117 rims
this link has a discription of the bike https://www.bikeradar.com/gear/catego...rs_description
Load 10lb each rear pannier 7lb each front ...tent and mat on the rear rack 5 lb in the bar bag.
When starting off the front shimmy's back and forth alarmingly, this soon clears and does not return,indeed the bike handles really well loaded and the off road loaded performance seams great ...my thoughts

1. its me, just week
2. its the frame
3. its the fork.
4. its all of the above

Any thoughts from the more experience would be appreciated.

Last edited by wicki; 08-07-11 at 06:57 AM.
wicki is offline  
Old 08-07-11, 10:00 AM
  #2  
LeeG
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 5,198
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 137 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 81 Times in 64 Posts
seems to me if it happens starting off and not underway it's your hands/arms over compensating with each pedal stroke.
LeeG is offline  
Old 08-07-11, 11:09 AM
  #3  
wicki
Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: The UK
Posts: 45

Bikes: Cannondale touring

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by LeeG
seems to me if it happens starting off and not underway it's your hands/arms over compensating with each pedal stroke.
Hmmmmm! you made me think ...I come from an XC/downhill background and do ride with quite wide bars .
wicki is offline  
Old 08-08-11, 08:18 AM
  #4  
LeeG
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 5,198
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 137 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 81 Times in 64 Posts
experiment with different loads and see what combo makes it worse. Front only, rear only, bar bag only, no bar bag. When you say "back and forth" do you mean side to side or the front axle actually moves front to back? Maybe it's the front shock pogoing?

Another thing you can do is tighten up all the panniers with extra bungies to see how much of the movement is stuff in the panniers moving independently of the bike.
LeeG is offline  
Old 08-08-11, 08:40 AM
  #5  
Bike Hermit
ghost on a machine
 
Bike Hermit's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Idaho
Posts: 216

Bikes: Rivendell A. Homer Hilsen, Serotta Colorado Legend TG, Rivendell Roadeo, Surly Cross Check, Surly Big Dummy

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Maybe try a few more p.s.i. in the tires?
Bike Hermit is offline  
Old 08-09-11, 07:04 AM
  #6  
Tourist in MSN
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Madison, WI
Posts: 11,112

Bikes: 1961 Ideor, 1966 Perfekt 3 Speed AB Hub, 1994 Bridgestone MB-6, 2006 Airnimal Joey, 2009 Thorn Sherpa, 2013 Thorn Nomad MkII, 2015 VO Pass Hunter, 2017 Lynskey Backroad, 2017 Raleigh Gran Prix, 1980s Bianchi Mixte on a trainer. Others are now gone.

Mentioned: 47 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3426 Post(s)
Liked 1,441 Times in 1,122 Posts
I think it unlikely that you are overcompensating, if that was the case you would have gotten used to the bike after less than two hours.

I had a bad problem with handling with my Surly Long Haul Trucker when my front panniers were too far back. When I moved them forward so that the center of gravity was over the front hubs, my problem disappeared.
Tourist in MSN is offline  
Old 08-09-11, 02:10 PM
  #7  
wicki
Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: The UK
Posts: 45

Bikes: Cannondale touring

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Cured it

Toady I think i cured this problem ...wich actually may be due to the lock out not locking the top cm on the fork for some reason ....recon for the cartridge in the fork is £172...from TFT Tuned ....so i order a Surly LHT from the LBS in Cappuccino...£300...sell the old frame and i should break even on what a shock service would have cost me and get a real tourer in the deal.
wicki is offline  
Old 08-09-11, 05:59 PM
  #8  
bradtx
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Pearland, Texas
Posts: 7,579

Bikes: Cannondale, Trek, Raleigh, Santana

Mentioned: 13 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 308 Post(s)
Liked 3 Times in 3 Posts
Reads more like you put some reasons to buy a touring frame into a hat, then plucked out this one.

Brad
bradtx is offline  
Old 08-10-11, 12:27 AM
  #9  
wicki
Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: The UK
Posts: 45

Bikes: Cannondale touring

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
The Headshock fork has been an issue almost from day one ...I came from mountain biking and just could not imagine having no suspension, with hindsight the Cannondale system with its 1.5 headtube and very expensive service prices was not the way to go but hey i had fun and learned !
wicki is offline  
Old 08-10-11, 06:14 AM
  #10  
LeeG
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 5,198
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 137 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 81 Times in 64 Posts
aha! So it was a fore/aft movement. $.02, if you like a neutral to quick handling bike the 26" wheel LHT is a better choice than the 700c LHT which is more of a straight line train/bus. I had a 700c 56cm LHT for a couple years then got a 56cm 26"wheeled LHT. The 26" is easier to maneuver at low speeds and hands off riding but still carries a heavy load well.
As much as I like the idea of a Headshock for bad roads a 2.10" front tire can provide some good shock absorption.
LeeG is offline  
Old 08-10-11, 07:16 AM
  #11  
wicki
Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: The UK
Posts: 45

Bikes: Cannondale touring

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Fore aft

Sounds right ...If you hold the front brake on and rock the bike back and forth there is a lot of flex..not in the legs but in the part of the fork running through the head tube which has the built in suspension ...I never noticed it until I loaded it.
wicki is offline  
Old 08-10-11, 10:57 AM
  #12  
LeeG
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 5,198
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 137 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 81 Times in 64 Posts
There's flex with a solid fork but I'd think loading weight on the suspended wheel would make it worse.
LeeG is offline  
Old 08-10-11, 11:07 AM
  #13  
fietsbob
Banned
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: NW,Oregon Coast
Posts: 43,598

Bikes: 8

Mentioned: 197 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7607 Post(s)
Liked 1,354 Times in 861 Posts
ultra low speed shimmy? isn't that steering correction,
to keep from falling over?
fietsbob is offline  
Old 08-10-11, 11:22 AM
  #14  
fietsbob
Banned
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: NW,Oregon Coast
Posts: 43,598

Bikes: 8

Mentioned: 197 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7607 Post(s)
Liked 1,354 Times in 861 Posts
Wicki, since you used £, in price quotes,
NB In the UK, you can get a Koga Miyata Signature program bike,
custom parts pick.
delivered to a nearby dealer,
a Thorn- Raven loaded touring specialty bike from SJS,
or A Tout Terrain Silk Road.. German..

All better than a LHT (opining), because They designed around a Rohloff IG Hub,
and in case of Koga , consider the practicality of a Kickstand..
Surly does not, only the Soma another Us importer brand, made in Taiwan,
has a KS plate.

My '04 WTR has 2, 2nd one keeps the front wheel load in check.

Koga Miyata sells complete bikes , most other brands are expecting you
to assemble racks and mudguards and such thru the dealer, at point of sale.

(I had a lucky stroke finding a used WTR, as there is only 1 dealer left ,on those
other coast from here, and they are no longer sold thru that seller)

amongst their options of the signature program, is a suspension fork ,
you said you thought that was important,
Mine was modified at the point of origin, to fit a Tubus Ergo front rack,
to the lower sliders,, machined for the purpose,
and then painted to match the frame color ..

Oh and i think someone, at Koga, in NL, puts your name on the frame..

Last edited by fietsbob; 08-10-11 at 11:39 AM.
fietsbob is offline  
Old 08-10-11, 06:13 PM
  #15  
wicki
Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: The UK
Posts: 45

Bikes: Cannondale touring

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
lol

Originally Posted by fietsbob
ultra low speed shimmy? isn't that steering correction,
to keep from falling over?

Its not ultra low speed shimmy ...its a Cannondale touring ultra!
wicki is offline  
Old 08-12-11, 03:41 AM
  #16  
wicki
Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: The UK
Posts: 45

Bikes: Cannondale touring

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Humble pie time

Ok since finding this board and starting this thread I have for the last week soaked up more good information than in the last 10 years of cycling...

I have for years thought the only way to sit on a bike is in the upright cross country/Downhill position, after reading a mind blowing thread on Fit and position I went out and totally altered my bike geometry dropping the stem 30 degrees moving the saddle back over an inch and bringing the grips half an inch inboard each side ....OMG more power better handling no shimmy ....and a large portion of humble pie as I cancel the Surly LHT (luckily they were out of stock) The thread https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...tion-Discovery was a revelation and blew away my preconceived wisdom about comfort.

Looks like the Cannondale is a keeper after all ...not so sure about the Headshok found a replacement if i want to go that route at Thorne steel bladed suspension corrected fork...costs less than a headshock service!

Apology's for wasting peoples time on this a good search would have done the trick on day one.
wicki is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
73qrp
Touring
27
08-07-19 07:09 AM
Chris!
Touring
16
08-06-19 06:46 AM
dirtydozen
Touring
34
05-28-18 07:47 PM
Roustabout
Touring
21
03-04-12 02:28 PM
ENEMY
Touring
7
02-01-11 12:42 PM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.