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#1
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bike feels spongy
Last week during my usual climbing ride the rear of my bike felt
"spongy" in other words I felt as if the rear of my bike sinking a bit when I put force on the pedals. I got off checked my tires and they were properly inflated (I pump up before every ride). Everything is tight and nothing seems cracked or loose. I've lost a total of 53 pounds since I started riding last August so I'm not sure if what I'm feeling is also due to my weight loss. I can't tell if the sponginess is coming from my saddle or rear tire but I only feel it when I'm climbing in the saddle. Javier |
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#2
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bike feels spongy
"Javier" wrote: (clip)I've lost a total of 53 pounds since I started riding last August(clip) I only feel it when I'm climbing in the saddle. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I guess we can assume this bike does not have rear suspension. Since you don't feel it while climbing out of the saddle, that seems to point to the saddle or your butt. With every pedal stroke, as you push down, you unweight the saddle. When you were heavier, this may have been less noticeable. Just a theory. Put 50 lbs of weight in your pockets, and see whether the problem goes away. ;-) |
#3
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bike feels spongy
On 15 Jul 2006 18:11:27 -0700, "Javier" wrote:
Last week during my usual climbing ride the rear of my bike felt "spongy" in other words I felt as if the rear of my bike sinking a bit when I put force on the pedals. I got off checked my tires and they were properly inflated (I pump up before every ride). Everything is tight and nothing seems cracked or loose. I've lost a total of 53 pounds since I started riding last August so I'm not sure if what I'm feeling is also due to my weight loss. I can't tell if the sponginess is coming from my saddle or rear tire but I only feel it when I'm climbing in the saddle. Javier Do you have one of those seat stems with the spring in it? |
#4
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bike feels spongy
"Javier" wrote in news:1153012287.811361.152160
@s13g2000cwa.googlegroups.com: Last week during my usual climbing ride the rear of my bike felt "spongy" in other words I felt as if the rear of my bike sinking a bit when I put force on the pedals. I got off checked my tires and they were properly inflated (I pump up before every ride). Everything is tight and nothing seems cracked or loose. I've lost a total of 53 pounds since I started riding last August so I'm not sure if what I'm feeling is also due to my weight loss. I can't tell if the sponginess is coming from my saddle or rear tire but I only feel it when I'm climbing in the saddle. Javier This is a little spooky, as the same thing happened to me a few days ago. It felt so pronounced that I reached under the seat to see if the main nut was only finger-tight. I went back checked out the seat rails, and where they embed into the seat, to make sure there was no failure there. I also fully inflated the tires again. And then, today, with about 200% humidity and 87F, I went out and viola, no shimmy. That was even after clicking up a gear at the end of the climb. So, there was a lot more perspiration and correctly inflated tires along with newly laundered riding shorts. What kind of saddle do you use? Does it have a leather cover, and what about the shorts? The friction force depends on the normal forces and the coefficient of friction, so you've got the whole set of empirical parameters for the coefficient to consider, in addition to the dynamic factors that could change the normal force. I have noticed a lot more seat flexing since changing from a Terry CrMo to a Zero-Y, but that seemed directly attributable to the seat change. |
#5
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bike feels spongy
"Javier" wrote:
Last week during my usual climbing ride the rear of my bike felt "spongy" in other words I felt as if the rear of my bike sinking a bit when I put force on the pedals. I got off checked my tires and they were properly inflated (I pump up before every ride). Everything is tight and nothing seems cracked or loose. I've lost a total of 53 pounds since I started riding last August so I'm not sure if what I'm feeling is also due to my weight loss. I can't tell if the sponginess is coming from my saddle or rear tire but I only feel it when I'm climbing in the saddle. I think wvantwiller is onto the likely cause. The effect of a slightly loose seatpost clamp will be a "sponginess" (or something that could well be described with that term, at least). Just grab the nose and tail of your saddle (not while you're riding though...) and give it some back/forth and up/down pressure to see if you feel ANY play (other than the normal flex in the rails). If you don't see anything there, you might take a close look at your frame - particularly the chain stays and the seat tube in the bottom bracket region. Look for cracked paint as an indication of a problem. Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles http://www.habcycles.com Home of the $795 ti frame |
#6
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bike feels spongy
Javier ha scritto: Everything is tight and nothing seems cracked or loose. It might be the seat/saddle itself. It might be cracking, ready to leave you in a rather uncomfortable state away from home. Sergio Pisa |
#7
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bike feels spongy
Javier wrote:
Last week during my usual climbing ride the rear of my bike felt "spongy" in other words I felt as if the rear of my bike sinking a bit when I put force on the pedals. I got off checked my tires and they were properly inflated (I pump up before every ride). Everything is tight and nothing seems cracked or loose. Examine the frame for cracks. I've lost a total of 53 pounds since I started riding last August so I'm not sure if what I'm feeling is also due to my weight loss. I can't tell if the sponginess is coming from my saddle or rear tire but I only feel it when I'm climbing in the saddle. Have you changed your tire(s)? A higher-quality tire can give the illusion of sponginess. To confirm that it really is spongy, add water to the rear end and see if the bike absorbs it. *rimshot* -- Phil Lee, Squid |
#8
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bike feels spongy
Per Phil Lee, Squid:
Examine the frame for cracks. I didn't want to say it.... but the one time my bike started feeling what I'd call "spongy", the frame had cracked at the rear dropout. -- PeteCresswell |
#9
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bike feels spongy
"Robert" wrote in message ... Javier wrote: Last week during my usual climbing ride the rear of my bike felt "spongy" in other words I felt as if the rear of my bike sinking a bit when I put force on the pedals. I got off checked my tires and they were properly inflated (I pump up before every ride). Everything is tight and nothing seems cracked or loose. I've lost a total of 53 pounds since I started riding last August so I'm not sure if what I'm feeling is also due to my weight loss. I can't tell if the sponginess is coming from my saddle or rear tire but I only feel it when I'm climbing in the saddle. Javier ++ snip ++ Most importantly though, congratulations on being able to get rid of 53 pounds in just under a year. That's a fine performance. And if your frame is indeed cracked, let's hope it's an old one so that you can feel you're rewarding yourself for your fitness efforts, by buying a nice replacement. Cheers, Robert Ditto on the congrats! Someone else might have thought of this and I missed it, but... If you have a sprung seat post, maybe the "heavier you" bottomed out the spring. Now, with you being 53 pounds lighter, the spring can do its thing and provide some springiness. Jerry |
#10
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bike feels spongy
"Ohio Jerry" wrote in message .. . "Robert" wrote in message ... Javier wrote: Last week during my usual climbing ride the rear of my bike felt "spongy" in other words I felt as if the rear of my bike sinking a bit when I put force on the pedals. I got off checked my tires and they were properly inflated (I pump up before every ride). Everything is tight and nothing seems cracked or loose. I've lost a total of 53 pounds since I started riding last August so I'm not sure if what I'm feeling is also due to my weight loss. I can't tell if the sponginess is coming from my saddle or rear tire but I only feel it when I'm climbing in the saddle. Javier ++ snip ++ Most importantly though, congratulations on being able to get rid of 53 pounds in just under a year. That's a fine performance. And if your frame is indeed cracked, let's hope it's an old one so that you can feel you're rewarding yourself for your fitness efforts, by buying a nice replacement. Cheers, Robert Ditto on the congrats! Someone else might have thought of this and I missed it, but... If you have a sprung seat post, maybe the "heavier you" bottomed out the spring. Now, with you being 53 pounds lighter, the spring can do its thing and provide some springiness. Jerry One other issue that hasn't been touched on is your increased strength. I've stopped riding for various reasons a number of times over the years. I found that several frames felt "soft" after I got back in condition, especially when climbing. When honking out of the saddle, it can be hard to notice a problem unless it's severe. As someone else said, check your spoke tension. Chas. |
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