Shaky Handlebars

[TC Johnson]

Greetings!

I am doing some work on my son's C40, and wanted to share something that we found on our last ride together to get some idea how to eliminate the problem. When the bike goes over a patch of road(several yards long, usually), if he is resting his hands on the top of the handlebars near the stem, the right side will shake and vibrate vertically at a pretty good rate. The shaking will rattle his right brifter quite noisily, and may have contributed to its demise, RIP. Riding over the same patch did not shake my Ritchey bars to any great extent.

Since I am upgrading him to Ultegra 10 speed, I thought if his bars are somehow compromised, they could be replaced as well. He has a Forgie stem and 3T alloy anatomic bars, currently.

Any thoughts or ideas on what could cause such shaking?

Thanks!

TC

[dannyg1]

Cracked bars or a loose sti bar clamp are all I can think of.

[thwart]

Yeah, I'd guess the bars... the fork or stem should be both sides shimmying.

Either replace it, or buy a "Figure 8" strap now for the broken collarbone coming up...

Hey, just like Lance!

[Satellite]

TC,

It may NOT be the bars at all. My buddy had the same problem turned out to be his brifter. The cable needed to be cleaned/replaced and the brake return adjustment tightened. The brifter wasn't able to apply enough static pressure to keep it from rattling over the short frequency bumps.

If you are afraid of the bars it is always better to error on the side of caution and replace them; cheap insurance.

Satellite

[TC Johnson]

Thanks for the responses. Before the brifter died, it was nice and tight to the bar, so it didn't seem to be how it was mounted. I am going to double check the headset and retorque to be sure that isn't the issue. I just picked up components for the Meivici I got from BN70 (my first Campy group!) and got an FSA 31.8 stem in the deal that I won't be using for the build. I think some new bars for the boy will go along with the 10 speed upgrade.

Too bad I missed the Easton carbon bars in the classifieds that listed today! This group moves fast.

TC