Hi,
My fiance’s Soul has developed a weird issue where the bike seems to “flutter” when going round high-g tarmac corners or where the wheel is slipping off obstacles… to the point I can feel what she means, even though its a few sizes too small for me.

At first I thought the backwheel was not tight enough in the dropout; it feels like the back wheel is wobbling under load. But it seems to be perfectly tight. Equally, there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with the frame as far as I can tell. The headset is tight, the front axle is tight. The tyres have decent tread left, spokes seem tight, bearings are maybe could do with a change, but don’t seem horrific.

I have even tried putting a different wheel in, and while that maybe helped a little, didn’t solve it.

It almost feels like a less severe version when I snapped a downtube, but as I say, I have cleaned the frame right up and it seems fine.

Any thoughts? Its (understandably!) making her really nervous riding it.

Thanks!

How old are the forks?

Wot Kelvin said, worn bushings will give you this.

Fluttering soul sounds like true love to me.

@molgrips – I don’t think she is feeling the love ;).

I didn’t realise bushing wear would do that. They aren’t tooo old. It feels like it is coming from the back of the bike, but I could certainly believe that is just what it feels like.

Is there a specific test that can be done to confirm if that is the problem?

Thanks!

I would check contact points inwards – pedal bearings, crank arms, BB wear, BB structure etc…

Could be rear wheel bearings. Can you move the wheel side to side against the axle/frame?

Could be rear wheel bearings. Can you move the wheel side to side against the axle/frame?

Chrisps mentioned that everything appears to be tight. But above is a good hint. Shimano Deore Hubs?

spokes seem tight

Get them checked anyway. Only time i’ve personally had this was on a pair of custom wheels (Mavic 217 sunset on hope, lovely wheels) the entire rear wheel was baggy. Spokes felt tight, but obviously not right. 20 minutes with a spoke key, wheel jig and a tension meter fixed the issue.

Tyre pressure?

I had something similar when I snapped the rear axle. Do the axle ends wiggle independently?

I’m fairly sure that the rear wheel bearings are ok; there is no obvious movement and I took it apart and it seemed fine (if a little stiff).

Interesting on the spokes… maybe I will take it to my LBS and see if they could re-tension the wheels, as I have never mastered that black art.

Going back to the forks; any good way of testing for worn bushings?

Thanks!

Jam your finger between the lowers and the stantion, pull the front brake on and rock it back and forth. seen if you can feel any movement

What’s a high-g tarmac corner ?

Sounds like time to buy a new bike. Each. Just to be safe.

What’s a high-g tarmac corner?

Guessing a berm in a pump track… But have to admit it amused me when read it.

low tyre pressure?

Headset *too* tight?

Wheel(s) out of true?

Tyre not seated properly?