Hello all,
Long time listener, first time caller - I’ll post something in the intro thread later. I went to Lauf to source a Grit Gen 3 for an upcoming ti gravel bike build and was somewhat surprised that their reply started with a speed wobble disclaimer that was basically this blurb from the website with the words “titanium frame” bolded (point taken).
Lauf’s solution is a damping bearing and a really slack (70.5 degree) head angle on all sizes. I don’t have any concerns about making the frame stiff enough, but the steering geometry seems pretty compromised to me, especially as this bike will ideally do double duty as a road-ish bike with a rigid fork a good portion of the time.
My main question is if any of y’all have any real-world experience with this “wobble”. There’s some mention of it on the owner’s forums and elsewhere, but those all seem to be on the Seigla, not metal bikes. FWIW this client is coming from a Seigla and does get speed wobble, but only with a seat pack, which could well just be a weight distribution thing.
I suspect this is mostly a CYA move from Lauf, but if the wobble is real I’d like to hedge against it. I can use the FSA damping bearings as a start, but I’d prefer something a little more tuneable like the Viscoset. The trouble there is the 45 degree integrated crown race on the Lauf won’t play nicely with the proprietary crown race for the headset - I don’t know which company to be more annoyed by.
Thanks for sharing any insight you may have.