This past winter, during my bike's layup, I did the usual routine maintenance and also cleaned and replaced the oil in the rear shock's preload adjuster and lightened the damping slightly. I screwed the adjusting screw on the right side of the bike (through the hole in the frame) all the way in and backed it out about 1 1/4 turns.
On my way to the Mansfield RTE (and on the way home) I felt the bike weaving/wobbling when I was cruising at, ahhhhhh, supralegal speeds in the turbulent air behind semi rigs. This only occurred when I was behind, and usually one lane over from the semi, and a few car lengths back. Obviously, this was the most turbulent air from the truck. I did not notice this wobble at all last summer.
Could easing off the dampening have caused this instability?
Today I increased the damping to 1 1/2 turns out from screwed in tight (well, gently tight). I'll see how the bike handles next time I take it out, and continue playing with the adjustment. Unfortunately, a heavy work load may delay biking for a week or two.
On my way to the Mansfield RTE (and on the way home) I felt the bike weaving/wobbling when I was cruising at, ahhhhhh, supralegal speeds in the turbulent air behind semi rigs. This only occurred when I was behind, and usually one lane over from the semi, and a few car lengths back. Obviously, this was the most turbulent air from the truck. I did not notice this wobble at all last summer.
Could easing off the dampening have caused this instability?
Today I increased the damping to 1 1/2 turns out from screwed in tight (well, gently tight). I'll see how the bike handles next time I take it out, and continue playing with the adjustment. Unfortunately, a heavy work load may delay biking for a week or two.