Felt F3. Please help diagnose!
stevebird
Posts: 2
Hi all.
I recently bought a 2012 Felt F3 road bike. I have been a keen road cyclist for a while now, but this is my first all-carbon road bike.
I had some good initial rides on it and immediately noticed the difference in pace (especially up hills) compared to my previous aluminium bike.
However, over the last few rides, it has developed an issue. Approaching higher speeds, the bike now feels extremely nervous and unstable, to the point where I am reluctant to exceed a certain speed for the fear of being thrown off. This happens around 20mph (so not even that fast really). The best way to describe the feeling is like the front wheel isn't attached tightly (it is). Over 20mph, the front end starts to wobble and it feels like it wants to throw me off at any given moment. It starts to dart around and I feel like a complete passenger. I am aware of 'speed wobble' and how to ride around it, but it feels like an issue with the bike that wasn't there before.
I have tightened every conceivable thing I can on the bike, ensured tyre pressures are right, employed different riding styles and balances, lighter grip pressure, rested my knee on the frame to damp vibration, etc... but it still feels completely unstable. I don't know if there is a chance it could be this: I heard a couple of loud 'cracks' when going over dips in the road previously. I initially thought that these cracks came from the stupid wheel reflectors (when the wheels compressed) that I hadn't bothered to remove. But now I'm thinking could it have been the frame cracking, which is now making the whole thing feel different and affect the stability over 20mph? I am a fairly big bloke (6'5" and 15 stone) so the frame does have to cope with a bit of weight when going over bumps. Is this a possibility?
I would really appreciate some help in diagnosing this before I take it somewhere and pay for it to be checked out. I just have no confidence in it now, and don't even want to take it out this winter in the slippier conditions. I cannot afford to crash such an expensive bike, with clipless pedals at high speed. It would be a disaster! But like I say, I am a fairly experienced road biker, and I have to use all of my experience just to stay on the thing sometimes.
Many thanks in advance,
Steve
I recently bought a 2012 Felt F3 road bike. I have been a keen road cyclist for a while now, but this is my first all-carbon road bike.
I had some good initial rides on it and immediately noticed the difference in pace (especially up hills) compared to my previous aluminium bike.
However, over the last few rides, it has developed an issue. Approaching higher speeds, the bike now feels extremely nervous and unstable, to the point where I am reluctant to exceed a certain speed for the fear of being thrown off. This happens around 20mph (so not even that fast really). The best way to describe the feeling is like the front wheel isn't attached tightly (it is). Over 20mph, the front end starts to wobble and it feels like it wants to throw me off at any given moment. It starts to dart around and I feel like a complete passenger. I am aware of 'speed wobble' and how to ride around it, but it feels like an issue with the bike that wasn't there before.
I have tightened every conceivable thing I can on the bike, ensured tyre pressures are right, employed different riding styles and balances, lighter grip pressure, rested my knee on the frame to damp vibration, etc... but it still feels completely unstable. I don't know if there is a chance it could be this: I heard a couple of loud 'cracks' when going over dips in the road previously. I initially thought that these cracks came from the stupid wheel reflectors (when the wheels compressed) that I hadn't bothered to remove. But now I'm thinking could it have been the frame cracking, which is now making the whole thing feel different and affect the stability over 20mph? I am a fairly big bloke (6'5" and 15 stone) so the frame does have to cope with a bit of weight when going over bumps. Is this a possibility?
I would really appreciate some help in diagnosing this before I take it somewhere and pay for it to be checked out. I just have no confidence in it now, and don't even want to take it out this winter in the slippier conditions. I cannot afford to crash such an expensive bike, with clipless pedals at high speed. It would be a disaster! But like I say, I am a fairly experienced road biker, and I have to use all of my experience just to stay on the thing sometimes.
Many thanks in advance,
Steve
0
Comments
-
I'd get that checked by your lbs first and foremost, ultimately it's going to be very difficult to diagnose anything over the Internet.
You don't mention the wheels, have you checked that the are true and have no loose spokes/nipples?One plays football, tennis or golf, one does not play at cycling0 -
I'd give the frame a good inspection to see if you can see any cracks, and then I'd do as joe suggested,straight off to the bike shop.0
