Getting rid of excessive handlebar vibrations
Posted: 07:30 pm Apr 03 2015
What's a low-cost/easy way to fix handlebar vibration? I thought it was my suspension which might have been too stiff to absorb smaller stuff, but now after feeling the handlebars at idle and in different riding conditions, I think they're what's the problem. Riding dried riverbeds with small (slightly bigger than fist-size) rocks is extremely exhausting. My forearms are toast after 15-20 minutes, so I constantly need to take breaks. I mean, riding such areas is always tiring, but my bars seem to be sending off shockwaves through my hands. I can feel my upperarms shaking around like crazy (and I'm not fat). I have .44kg racetech springs. I thought maybe I should put in less preload, or change the fluid level/weight. However, I'm now thinking it's just vibrations. I've ridden the bike gloveless a few times and it definitely numbs the hell out of my hands. I have RC High bars with some risers.
I'm thinking my risers might be amplifying the vibrations? Would putting a small piece of rubber there (like a cutout from a bicycle innertube) work? I figure a thin piece of rubber under the risers, and perhaps a thin piece above, then tightening to hell might reduce the vibrations. I've also been reading on people filling their bars with insulating foam... Most comments seem positive, but a few are negative. Has anyone tried this yet? I'm not too worried about adding weight. I even read about one guy who put beads of silicone on a piece of paper and once it was dried out, wrapped them all together and stuffed them down either side of the bars.
I know I can't have it all. My current setup works great at higher speeds. However, my hands do get tired quickly in bumpy slower speed stuff. Especially the small rocky stuff. Suspension doesn't absorb it as well and the ensuing vibrations reverberate all the way through the ends of the bars.
This is my current setup:
Here's a simple example of what can be extremely tiring... It's dried mud (but which is as hard as a rock) in a small winding track, which forces me to go slow. Tiny clumps, but they're hard and at low speed the vibrations are starting to make riding tedious...
I'm thinking my risers might be amplifying the vibrations? Would putting a small piece of rubber there (like a cutout from a bicycle innertube) work? I figure a thin piece of rubber under the risers, and perhaps a thin piece above, then tightening to hell might reduce the vibrations. I've also been reading on people filling their bars with insulating foam... Most comments seem positive, but a few are negative. Has anyone tried this yet? I'm not too worried about adding weight. I even read about one guy who put beads of silicone on a piece of paper and once it was dried out, wrapped them all together and stuffed them down either side of the bars.
I know I can't have it all. My current setup works great at higher speeds. However, my hands do get tired quickly in bumpy slower speed stuff. Especially the small rocky stuff. Suspension doesn't absorb it as well and the ensuing vibrations reverberate all the way through the ends of the bars.
This is my current setup:
Here's a simple example of what can be extremely tiring... It's dried mud (but which is as hard as a rock) in a small winding track, which forces me to go slow. Tiny clumps, but they're hard and at low speed the vibrations are starting to make riding tedious...