I didn't know which place to put it in, so here's the link to the same post in "Mountain bikes"...
http://www.cyclingforums.com/mountain-bikes/470941-possessed-bike.html
Cycling Equipment · Public discussion
Possessed bike!?!
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- Cycling Equipment
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- 5 October 2009
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- 10 October 2009
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- Dr_hush1417
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The steering head is where I'd look. When the bearings are old the balls make indents in the straight-ahead position on the shells. If you adjust the bearing and get the 'straight-ahead' indents on the top bearing mis-aligned to the bottom bearing, or the top race mis-aligned to the bottom race then you will have two separate 'click-in' points.
A quick check is to suspend the bike in a stand and gently turn the steering left and right. It should rotate smoothly and not favour any particular position. If it is notchy then check those bearings (cleaned and under magnification) and see if there are any indents. An abraded or chipped ball will also cause erratic alignment of your steering. Complete new bearings are cheap...depending on quality.
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welcome to my website...
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hellofriends said:
welcome to my website...
Dude, I googled all I could, there's not much I can type in for something I have NO clue about, I tried everything from possessed bike, to "bike turns its self" I can't google strange explanations of the problem and get the answer... sorry for taking all your time reading that...
Sorry if I'm nippy, just bugs me when people are so sarcastic just to give me the google page... if you don't have an answer, don't post.
Oh, and thanks for the advice Akadat, I'll check that out.🙂
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Akadat said:
The steering head is where I'd look. When the bearings are old the balls make indents in the straight-ahead position on the shells. If you adjust the bearing and get the 'straight-ahead' indents on the top bearing mis-aligned to the bottom bearing, or the top race mis-aligned to the bottom race then you will have two separate 'click-in' points.
A quick check is to suspend the bike in a stand and gently turn the steering left and right. It should rotate smoothly and not favour any particular position. If it is notchy then check those bearings (cleaned and under magnification) and see if there are any indents. An abraded or chipped ball will also cause erratic alignment of your steering. Complete new bearings are cheap...depending on quality.
Okay, well I checked this by the quick method, and the steering seems to be very smooth, no preferred spots... Should I still go ahead and take it apart to look at the bearings?
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If the steering rotates smoothly then the bearings are probably good. Reading your post in the mountain bike forum, you state that you tightened the bearings...this can be a cause. The handlebars should easily flop side to side by gravity when the bike is on a stand. If there is any stiffness in the bearing adjustment then the bike will have a mind of it's own. Better a little too loose than a tittle too tight.
I once assembled a bike and the thin plastic sealing washer in the steering head bearing caused a tiny bit of friction. The bike handled like a mad dog until I removed the washer! The whole act of balancing on a bike depends on the steering being able to naturally 'fall' into the lean. If the bike leans left then the steering should fall into a left turn and restore balance. (That's why people see bike riders as wobbly unpredictable demons that need a wide berth.🙁)
Did the bike ever get new forks? Was it ever a suspension fork changed to a rigid fork? Either of these can change the geometry into something unexpected. If the bike was never modified then it is a mystery because most frames and forks will be designed to behave properly.
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Yes, I said I adjusted it, it was pretty loose and I tightened it as much as possible without friction... so it still turns very freely, and is a bit looser then I would prefer, but I can't get it any tighter without it starting to bind.
Mmm, no, there were no modifications that I can think of... it just happened... very strange. A while ago it just started in one day. It's a suspension fork, and I noticed today that the bridge... the little plastic part that bridges the two fork arms had 2 of it's 4 bolts loose. I had tightened the other two just recently but couldn't get to the other ones, the brakes are in the way. I guess I'll probably take off the brakes today and try tightening those. Maybe the arms are acting separately thus causing my problem.
Anyway thanks for all the input, and I'll keep working at it.😄
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