I had my first experience with the dreaded death wobble last weekend when I came in a little hot on a sweeper during a descent. Ride was on my new BMC and though it hasn't been officially fit yet, its dimensions are similar enough that I duplicated the saddle position from my older Pinarello and it has certainly felt comfortable enough for rides of 3 hours or so.
One thing I did change though, was the stem length. I was using a 110cm stem on my older bike (which I recently changed to a 120) and am running a 120 on the BMC. There is also a slight difference in total HT height between the bikes and am currently riding it with zero spacers.
I have been trying to eliminate the variables from the scenario so as not to repeat it. It seems certain I came into the turn too fast (partially due to not being used to the decrease in braking effectiveness with my Easton carbon clinchers vs my normal aluminum wheels) but I can't remember if I caused the wobbles by braking too hard under speed while trying to get the bike under control or if they were happening anyway.
I have read some of the previous topics about this and it happened to fast for me to remember to clamp the TT with my legs or shift my weight or any of the usual recommendations.
So, although I think rider error contributed a lot to this incident, I've done the same descent at similar speeds on my other bike and never had any wobble. I'm wondering if the new longer stem and decreased stack height would contribute at all due to a different weight distribution? All other fit factors being equal I would have less weight on the front wheel with the longer stem, right?
I should also say that so far, at speeds up to 40-45 on straight downhills I haven't experienced any wobble.
One thing I did change though, was the stem length. I was using a 110cm stem on my older bike (which I recently changed to a 120) and am running a 120 on the BMC. There is also a slight difference in total HT height between the bikes and am currently riding it with zero spacers.
I have been trying to eliminate the variables from the scenario so as not to repeat it. It seems certain I came into the turn too fast (partially due to not being used to the decrease in braking effectiveness with my Easton carbon clinchers vs my normal aluminum wheels) but I can't remember if I caused the wobbles by braking too hard under speed while trying to get the bike under control or if they were happening anyway.
I have read some of the previous topics about this and it happened to fast for me to remember to clamp the TT with my legs or shift my weight or any of the usual recommendations.
So, although I think rider error contributed a lot to this incident, I've done the same descent at similar speeds on my other bike and never had any wobble. I'm wondering if the new longer stem and decreased stack height would contribute at all due to a different weight distribution? All other fit factors being equal I would have less weight on the front wheel with the longer stem, right?
I should also say that so far, at speeds up to 40-45 on straight downhills I haven't experienced any wobble.