stiff steering solved (a-bike plus)
Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2009 10:13 pmI've had my a-bike plus for a week now, and I am still very much intrigued by it.
What an interesting piece of engineering!
But I haven't been riding it much, because I found the steering too stiff.
In fact so stiff that riding it was as much a workout for my arms as for my legs.
Avoiding obstacles was really hard work, requiring all my attention (and I am a true Dutchman, a cycle every day!)
I read some other posts saying that it would improve after a while, but I thought I'd rather improve it straight away.
So I watched the video's on abikesupport.ning.com and learned how to take the front assembly apart.
Then I carefully inspected the plastic bearings and their seatings:
There were sharp edges everywhere!
In my opinion these sharp edges would dig in the soft plastic bearings, and cause unnecessary friction. So I took a sharp knife and carefully scraped these edges round (just enough to take the sharpness away).
On the lower bearing there was even a casting number protruding against the soft bearing, so I scraped that off as well.
Another suspect was the tie-wrap that holds the rear brake cable to the top bar. It has a really long tail that's stuck back in the hole. It ended up wrapped around the top bearing.
So I bent it so it would stick the other way (in the direction of the saddle).
I didn't use a lubricant yet.
After assembly it was a day-and-night difference:
The steering is now almost as light as a normal bike.
Now I can finally a-bike with one hand, using the other to indicate direction / hold a bag / camera / umbrella /etc.
Even braking with one hand is possible now, although I was almost thrown off by the braking force of the rear brake.
Also avoiding obstacles is now as easy as on my normal bike.
Now I can really enjoy riding my a-bike!
So if you have the stiff steering problem, don't despair.
It is a bit of a hassle, but follow the steps in the video to take the front assembly apart, scrape off the sharp edges of the seats of the bearings, reassemble following the video again, and you'll be rewarded by nice and light steering!
Job
What an interesting piece of engineering!
But I haven't been riding it much, because I found the steering too stiff.
In fact so stiff that riding it was as much a workout for my arms as for my legs.
Avoiding obstacles was really hard work, requiring all my attention (and I am a true Dutchman, a cycle every day!)
I read some other posts saying that it would improve after a while, but I thought I'd rather improve it straight away.
So I watched the video's on abikesupport.ning.com and learned how to take the front assembly apart.
Then I carefully inspected the plastic bearings and their seatings:
There were sharp edges everywhere!
In my opinion these sharp edges would dig in the soft plastic bearings, and cause unnecessary friction. So I took a sharp knife and carefully scraped these edges round (just enough to take the sharpness away).
On the lower bearing there was even a casting number protruding against the soft bearing, so I scraped that off as well.
Another suspect was the tie-wrap that holds the rear brake cable to the top bar. It has a really long tail that's stuck back in the hole. It ended up wrapped around the top bearing.
So I bent it so it would stick the other way (in the direction of the saddle).
I didn't use a lubricant yet.
After assembly it was a day-and-night difference:
The steering is now almost as light as a normal bike.
Now I can finally a-bike with one hand, using the other to indicate direction / hold a bag / camera / umbrella /etc.
Even braking with one hand is possible now, although I was almost thrown off by the braking force of the rear brake.
Also avoiding obstacles is now as easy as on my normal bike.
Now I can really enjoy riding my a-bike!
So if you have the stiff steering problem, don't despair.
It is a bit of a hassle, but follow the steps in the video to take the front assembly apart, scrape off the sharp edges of the seats of the bearings, reassemble following the video again, and you'll be rewarded by nice and light steering!
Job
