My bike is "leaning" a lot...

When I ride my bike with no hands on the bar it has a tendency to lean to the left. I have to compensate a lot to the right with my body. This feels very wrong and looks stoopid. Why is it like that? Is it crocked of some kind?

Any idea anyone..?

Check wheels are true.
Check rear wheel is centred properly in the track ends.
Check stem is adjusted correctly so that the bars are perpendicular to the forks.

Edit: How much is a lot?

are your forks bent?

You you dress to the left? That might be why.

maybe your 'wanking arm' has some effect on uneven weight.

Check wheels are true.
Check rear wheel is centred properly in the track ends.
Check stem is adjusted correctly so that the bars are perpendicular to the forks.

Edit: How much is a lot?

Wheels are brand new so they are true (I hope).
The rear wheel is pretty much centered.
The stem and fork looks perpendicular to the forks.

But I'n not sure if the fork is 100% straight. How do I check the alignment of the front and rear wheel easiest?

Wel a lot is almost as much as it's impossible to ride it without the hands on the bar. 10 degrees maybe? I dont know?

are your forks bent?

Not sure. maybe it's little bit of. It is 34 years old...

maybe your 'wanking arm' has some effect on uneven weight.

No that's my left...

Not sure. maybe it's little bit of. It is 34 years old...

to make your bike turn off to one side it would be noticeable if they were bent, anything you couldn't notice wouldn't really have an effect.

Hmm, I'm not sure how to check fork alignment but I'm pretty sure I've read it in Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance. I would have a look, but I don't have my copy here at the moment.

1" stem?
Maybe too tight, natch.

Get someone to ride along behind you to check if the back wheel follows the front exactly.

If not, yer frame needs aligning.

Check the alignment of your rear wheel in the vertical plane - one of your dropouts may have been bent in the past and be slighty higher than the other.

if theres something heavy on one side of your handlebars that can pull them to one side.

take your front wheel out, line up both legs so the sides line up in your line of sight. make sure the dropouts are parallel.

Also, if you are running a front quick release wheel, the axles are something like 8mm. Some older road bike forks have full 10mm (3/8ths) drops.

This means its possible to put your front wheel in bent, just by a few mm.

if your headset is too tight then the front wheel wont naturally swing back to stabalise the bike in its "natural" upright position, if that makes sense.

if your headset is too tight then the front wheel wont naturally swing back to stabalise the bike in its "natural" upright position, if that makes sense.

Makes sense! But I think maybe it even was a bit loose...

I think I have to have my friend ride the bike so I can check it from the behind if it's alligning...

i had a mountain bike with a worn out headset,

allways leaned left without hands on it till it got replaced

I found out that the allignment was little bit of. So I tried to bend the fork a little bit. But the fork was a loft "softer" than I thought. So of course I bendt it to much. I was afraid I was to brake it. So then I had a hard time getting it back to where it should be. But I think after some bending/adjusments it now runs better than it did before. But it still leans to the left only not that much.

@ pilky: the headset is brand new so I dont think that's the issue. But I will try to take it apart the next couple of days just to see if there anything there...

sounds like the headset is not sitting right in the frame.

What do you call a woman with one leg?

• Ilene
  

it is spelt Eileen ya dopey bollox

It can be either you monkeyflange. ie. Jon and John.

yeah, but at least i used italics to emphasize it :P

monkeyflange

better, you cunt?

:-P

stoopid mofo:)