Steering Damper

[scott43]

Who knew?

ViscoSet - Cane Creek Cycling Components

Oscillation Eliminated ViscoSet offers viscous damping to make bicycles safer by inhibiting the uncontrolled steering oscillation known as speed wobble. Speed wobbles are vibrations that start small and get worse due to harmonics. This frightening shimmy can affect the handling of any bicycle...

canecreek.com

 

[skibob]

I haven't experienced this since I was a teenager. Does this mean that I just don't go fast enough? I pretty much top out at 30 on road bike.

 

[scott43]

I think it can depend on the bike and the setup. Probably you just have better gear now. And you're slower..

 

[doc]

Wonder if the ViscoSet can minimize the speed wobble I suffer when shivering on a very cold ride. Its weird, and scary on a fast downhill, how shivering in your core seems to transmit to the bike frame.

 

[Erik Timmerman]

Look up the Hopey, not to be confused with Hope. Hopey came out at least 20 years ago.

 

[wooglin]

“E-bike ready”. OTOH, I used to tour on noodly steel frames. Definitely something to be aware of under those circumstances.

 

[pchewn]

I've never experienced speed wobbles on a bicycle. On a skateboard, they are very scary and usually result in a crash.

 

[François Pugh]

They've had steering dampers for decades for murder cycles.
At what frequency does a weave become a wobble? Asking for a friend.

 

[cantunamunch]

They've had steering dampers for decades for murder cycles.

Pedal bikes too. Mostly of the spring-loaded type like this.

Wheel Stabilizer

This nifty gizmo makes loading and unloading front racks easier by adding a self-centering action. Great for Porteurs and city bikes. Two downtube sizes.

velo-orange.com

I haven't experienced this since I was a teenager. Does this mean that I just don't go fast enough? I pretty much top out at 30 on road bike.

The bike quality point is well made. I think cheap, stiff bikes with low geometric trail are most susceptible to this. I had an absolute nightmare of a time getting rid of it on that cheap Chinese pseudo-gravel rig - including a headset change, two stem changes, silly-wider handlebars and several tire changes for more pneumatic trail.

When I started, it would do it at anything over 15mph on 4% downhills and up/down vibration would precess into side wobbles. Which sort of ties into Ghost's frequency question - it depends on the rotational speed of the wheel.

Wooden slat bridge decks were a nightmare, even below 40psi. It was an incremental process after that, including several configurations that would do OK at 20-25mph but would get massive front-back bucking under braking.

 

[skibob]

Pedal bikes too. Mostly of the spring-loaded type like this.

Wheel Stabilizer

This nifty gizmo makes loading and unloading front racks easier by adding a self-centering action. Great for Porteurs and city bikes. Two downtube sizes.

velo-orange.com

The bike quality point is well made. I think cheap, stiff bikes with low geometric trail are most susceptible to this. I had an absolute nightmare of a time getting rid of it on that cheap Chinese pseudo-gravel rig - including a headset change, two stem changes, silly-wider handlebars and several tire changes for more pneumatic trail.

When I started, it would do it at anything over 15mph on 4% downhills and up/down vibration would precess into side wobbles. Which sort of ties into Ghost's frequency question - it depends on the rotational speed of the wheel.

Wooden slat bridge decks were a nightmare, even below 40psi. It was an incremental process after that, including several configurations that would do OK at 20-25mph but would get massive front-back bucking under braking.

Wow, I don't ride expensive bikes by modern standards. But this makes me appreciate just how good they are, relatively speaking!

 

[scott43]

I am currently riding a noodle road bike..if i take one hand off the bars there is a good chance some wobble will start... I find it exhilarating though and won't succumb to the allure of the damper... Funny story, Honda was insistent for a long time that only poorly designed motorcycles need steering dampers and they refused to install one from the factory..until their 929 crashed a bunch of times and they saw the light and now have factory dampers on many of their bikes.

 

[cantunamunch]

I am currently riding a noodle road bike..if i take one hand off the bars there is a good chance some wobble will start... I find it exhilarating though and won't succumb to the allure of the damper... Funny story, Honda was insistent for a long time that only poorly designed motorcycles need steering dampers and they refused to install one from the factory..until their 929 crashed a bunch of times and they saw the light and now have factory dampers on many of their bikes.

Remember Jim Papadopoulos?

The Bicycle Problem That Nearly Broke Mathematics

Jim Papadopoulos has spent a lifetime pondering the maths of bikes in motion. Now his work has found fresh momentum

www.scientificamerican.com

I draw your attention to the third from last paragraph, namely:

Papadopoulos, who now has a teaching position at Northeastern University in Boston, is trying to get comfortable with academia once again. He's establishing collaborations, and testing out long-dormant ideas about why some bicycles wobble at high speed. He believes he can eliminate speed wobble with a damper to soak up vibrations in the seat post. With his new colleagues and students, he is branching out into other types of question, not all them bike-related.

So, would you want to try a cobble gobbler or Redshift post in there just for kicks?

A mechanically sprung post was one of the first things I tried for my problem- didn't work to solve but it changed the nature of the beast.

 

[scott43]

For sure..any mass damper-type of mechanism will have an effect right? It's an oscillation..so you could probably change the frequency enough to make it less obvious at normal speeds. I have to say, the electronically controlled steering dampers on motorcycles now are pretty magic. At 8/10ths I'd ride a motorcycle on the track without a damper..but above that I think they become mandatory...

 

[scott43]

I actually made a damper for the seat stay of my mtb to stop brake vibration. Worked decent enough.

 

[Jersey Skier]

Look up the Hopey, not to be confused with Hope. Hopey came out at least 20 years ago.

I used a Hopey on a few bikes. Of course that was when wheels were 26" and 3" was a long travel bike. The damper made blasting through rock gardens a breeze. Once you got use to the feeling, if you turned it off it was like riding with your front quick release open.

I sold it on Ebay a few yeats ago for almost what I paid for it.

 

[Dakine]

Wouldn't think of riding my bike without a steering damper.....

 

[scott43]

Wouldn't think of riding my bike without a steering damper.....
View attachment 107476

I think you meant couch.... Wouldn't ride your couch...

 

[Rod9301]

I actually made a damper for the seat stay of my mtb to stop brake vibration. Worked decent enough.

Are you riding seated??

 

[François Pugh]

I think you meant couch.... Wouldn't ride your couch...

You spelled eye-abuser incorrectly
Kidding, I think it looks good, and it looks more comfy than a GSX-R750. Is it? How fast do you have to be going to have no weight on your wrists?
PSA rake and trail adds stability. Should you find yourself about to land on the front wheel with negative rake and trail after going over an elevated bridge deck at a buck ten, reving the engine might be enough to adjust the bike's attitude (a sucessful landing might not help with the pilot's attitude).

 

[scott43]

Are you riding seated??

Not when I'm doing stand up wheelies...