Dale you are correct to doubt the remarks about shimmy. HAS ANY ONE READ THE
ARTICLE!!! "July Velonews page 50"
Front end shimmy is most likely to develop in big bikes with longish top
tubes 58cm and greater. Lennard Zinn SPECIALIZES in building BIG BIKES WITH
LONG TOP TUBES. He should know! Try this, how about a large frame with a
long top tube and a lot of fork rake , a RECIPE for Shimmy Heven/Hell! Rene
Herse delt with this recipe all the time. How did he build to correct this?
Other possible causes of Shimmy are fore/aft saddle position and front wheel
out of dish.
Sterling Peters
San Diego
> Geez... I have seen this shimmy issue talked about ad nauseum and, in the
> end, I surmise that no one knows what the heck the answer is. Jobst
Brandt's
> typically absolutist pronouncement doesn't wash with my 30 years
experience
> either! (Which is pretty much the same with at least half of what I read
from
> Herr Brandt! Sorry!)
>
> I see seemingly perfect bikes every once in a while develop a shimmy, who
> knows why?
>
> I had that happen on a bike I built for a friend..It was straight arrow
> solid, no shimmy for two years, then out the blue it developed a head
> shake....I tried everything, new wheels, other forks with different
offsets,
> frame & fork alignment, head set replacement, different riders of
different
> sizes, etc., etc... All to no avail. We hung it up in disgrace for about
4
> years. Then, as a what-the-heck, we took it off the hook, built it with
> hang-around-the-shop components, and viola!, the shake was gone! Figure
that
> one out!!
>
> We just had a customer/CR member/ friend Gary Kling have his older
Waterford
> built oversized Paramount do exactly the same thing. It rode great for who
> knows how many years, then start shimmying.. We went through the entire
> rigmarole, finally sent it back to Waterford to be checked & it came out
> clean!
>
> So I don't believe ANY of you! :)
>
>
> Dale Brown
> cycles de ORO, Inc.
> 1410 Mill Street
> Greensboro, NC 27408
> 336-274-5959
> fax 336-274-6360
> http://www.cyclesdeoro.com
> http://www.classicrendezvous.com