Tmintier

Shuddering feeling at higher speeds on 3 week old Domane sl4

I bought a Domane three weeks ago and it has developed a shuddering (roughness) to the ride when I go anything above 13mph. It’s not necessarily specific to that speed, but it definitely occurs more the faster I go. I can feel it throughout my pedals/frame/handlebars and it occurs even when I’m not pedaling. If I peddle out of the saddle I can still feel it in the handlebars and peddles.

I ride 5-6 days a week on the same road and can vouch that the road is not this bumpy. Additionally, the shuddering is getting worse. It happens when I’m going uphill/downhill/even when I’m on flat surfaces. There is no play in the crankset or wheels.

I just took it to my local Trek shop and they acted like I was crazy. It is not a normal road-roughness vibration. This is like riding over rough pack dirt even though I’m on perfectly smooth tarmac.

My tires seem to be set properly and there is no noticeable disturbance in them all the way around. Wheels are true as well.

Does anyone have any thoughts as to what this could be?

grizzly59

13 mph isn't high speed. It should ride like it's on rails from 0 - 40+ at least. Take it back to the dealer, don't accept anything other than a perfect bike. It's not right for you to diag / fix a new bike. Don't volunteer to fix anything yourself, you'll just let the dealer off the hook. It's their job, otherwise- who needs a dealer?

Tmintier

Yea I took it back to a trek store that was different than the one that I had purchased it from because it was closer to my home. I’m thinking that was a mistake now. They currently still have it and are going to “take a look at it.” I’m not about to let them tell me it’s good when it still does this.

zandoval 

When I feel that in a car I suspect that the tires are separating. I had belts separating in one of my cars years ago even though the tires were brand new. (Discount Tire Co.)

But then again... Its a brand new bike... TAKE IT BACK!

Rolla

Check the IsoSpeed decouplers, especially the front one. Ah, technology...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDJ3...ature=youtu.be

Tmintier

Exactly! It feels like a broken belt on a tire. I told him that I thought it might be the tires and he said that they were seated properly so it couldn’t be.

zandoval 

I have noticed recently more than a few posts about poor tire quality even in the more expensive tires. Not just ChiCom outlet tires but many tires brands made in the USA. I am not sure why...

vane171

Do bike shops take bikes out for a test ride? Or are they so sure in their expertise that they consider that superfluous? Like hurting their professional judgement? Or maybe it is a policy that (bigger ones, dealeships etc) shops can't take bikes out for a road test unless maybe they have their own closed road? Like for insurance policy or something of that kind?

In my perhaps blessed ignorance, if I would be told that tires are seated properly and that it will not be them ... I would have asked them why not test it on a ride.

Rolla

Oh, please. Yes, shops test ride the bikes they build. At least mine does. But that doesn't mean that they can catch everything that a customer might experience three weeks after they buy it.

Tmintier

UPDATE: I picked the bike up from trek today. The service tech said he couldn’t replicate what I was describing and was unable to do anything more. I took it home with me and went on a 15 mile ride to see if i could narrow the problem. It was still doing it and was especially bad above 20mph, even when coasting. This led me to believe that it’s not the crank/gears or chain. I got off of it and hooked the seat over my shoulder so that I was facing the rear wheel and gave it a couple cranks of the pedals. Mostly I just wanted to watch the wheel spin and look for abnormalities but I noticed that when I get it to a higher rpm the whole bike oscillates as the wheel spins. It literally shakes me back and forth. I have my old road bike and did the same experience that on it and there is NO oscillation like that. So now I’m convinced that it’s something to do with the way the rear wheel is spinning.

shelbyfv

I suggest you return to the shop and show them what you described.

Crankycrank

+1. Also another thing to check is if the wheels are abnormally out of balance. Raise the wheels with whatever works for you, a stand, upside down, hold one end of the bike off the ground, and spin each wheel until it stops. It's not unusual to have the wheel to be slightly unbalanced but if it turns forward and back dramatically before it stops turning you may have some issue with a heavy spot on the tire or tube. At least you can rule out the tires or wheel this way.

Tmintier

I intend to go back tomorrow and have them put it on their shoulder and spin the crank. Maybe even grab one of the bikes on the showroom floor and do the same thing to show them that it shouldn’t be doing this. They are making me feel like I’m crazy for having this problem. Like I don’t know how a road bike should feel.

vane171

This is different situation. The bike is not custom built in LBS but Domane bike model from Trek, 3 weeks old. And the way I read it, the issue was present from the first day, even if it came to attention of the owner a week or two later. Yes, I can see that out of the factory shipping box assembly likely doesn't warrant test ride by the dealer/LBS, they probably spun the wheels at low rpms on the work stand only to see how it shifts gear.

And it is one thing to test your build vs when someone returns with the purchased bike saying something is wrong with it like here, vibrations at speed.. In such a case, it warrants test riding it at some clip outside. And clearly the shop didn't do that -> And now the owner can replicate it at home by shouldering the bike and spinning the rear wheel... that should be smooth going, he should not feel frame vibrations in his shoulder.

Did you see the movie Mummy? Where Eve says 'take that Bembridge scholars'

Rolla

At my shop, every new bike gets a test ride, not just custom builds. It's usually no more than around the block, but nothing hits the floor until it's been ridden.

You either need a new shop or to return the bike.

squirtdad

I would take it to the shop you bought if from, even if less convenient. Document everything, notes, pic, video in case you have to do the warranty thing. Good luck I suggest original shop because they are the one that took your money, so you have bit more leverage than the local shop doing warranty work, where they didn't make anything from the sale

smashndash

Interesting. Can you upload a video of this? What you're describing sounds like a wheel that is out of balance. Cars need to get their wheels balanced due to high rpms but almost all cyclists ignore this because it's usually imperceptible once you're on the bike.

what you can do is look up how to balance a bike wheel online and tape small weights to the rim as a stopgap and see if that helps.

BTW: the gaslighting is par for the course. You're almost certainly not wrong. A bike is a simple mechanical object. If it doesn't feel right, something is probably wrong.

video:

mrv 

..... i thought you were joking. like.... "check the muffler bearings with a $20 bill test"
...okydohy, I'll head back over to the Classic & Vintage Asylum. I wish they'd quit letting me wander away.....

ciao!

eastsideride

What I think it could be is the spoke tension. Is it just the rear wheel? Have them check that wheel well and show them what you mean when you bring it in-store.

joejack951

Does the rear wheel have a big, goofy reflector attached to the spokes? Those will easily cause an oscillation when spinning the rear wheel at high rpms. I doubt you’d feel that will riding, though (but I could be wrong).

The first thing that comes to my mind as the cause of your problem is loose headset bearings. The typical grab the front brake and rock the bike doesn’t always detect the tiny bit of looseness that can cause shuddering when braking on a disc brake bike. It sounds like your issue is always present, though, so yours might be really loose.

It could also be loose rear wheel bearings or a loose or otherwise improperly installed cassette.

Any shop that wants to blow you off immediately when you suggest there might be a problem is one that I’d avoid.

ClydeClydeson

All the talk of 'out of balance' wheels is a red herring. Bicycle wheels are never well balanced, but speeds are generally slow enough and the total amount of weight that is off balance is miniscule. It's enough to make a bike shake when lifted off the ground and free-spinning the wheels, but not enough to make a difference in how the bike rides at normal speeds. At 13mph it certainly wouldn't be a wheel balance issue.

Iride01 

Dry wheel bearing on one or more sides?

Those are probably sealed cartridge bearings aren't they? Might be fun figuring out if one or more didn't get grease at the factory.

Does the mechanic or some other shop person not ride the bike to duplicate the issue or see if they've really resolved it?

Trakhak

The oscillation of the wheel is all but meaningless, as Clyde Clydeson noted above. Almost all bike wheels will oscillate at higher speeds when the bike is on a bike stand or otherwise off the ground, but the effect is imperceptible while riding the bike. If it bothers you, it's easy to figure out where and how much weight to attach.

That said: before you bring the bike back to the shop where you purchased it, call them to make an appointment for a slow time of day when a mechanic or other employee can accompany you on a test ride with both your bike and a shop bike. The shop employee should be your size, so that you can swap bikes back and forth while diagnosing the problem.

By the way, even though you must be somewhat frustrated at this point, you'll get the best results by continuing to be polite with them (as you probably already know).

RGMN

Does the shuddering go away if you shift your weight on to the handlebars or if you rest your knee on the top tube when it happens?

Sy Reene

Well likely not the same thing, but remembered this thread: https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycl...ble-crash.html