Handlebar Guard wobble...

[Sal]

A question for anyone who is currently using the handlebar guard, without any other bag or attachment to "stabilize" the control shaft...

Do you notice excessive side to side wobble with the handlebar guard on the shaft as opposed to off it?

Even small bumps seem to make the shaft wobble from side to side more than when it's not on it. The control shaft is tight in the collar as well as in the CSB, it's like the Segway is excessively trying to adjust to bumps.

I only notice this behavior when the handlebar guard is on the shaft... it behaves normally when off.

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This is also like the wobble when a bag is attached to the shaft... how much is too much? Is there a happy weight "medium" anyone has found to decrease the wobble?

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Or... is all of this in my head?

-Sal

[yosgof]

Sal - my Seg seems to behave the same with and without the guard.

[skydiver]

I have tried everything. Tire pressure, redistribute stuff, etc.

Wobble Wobble

[Sal]

Thanks for the responses... I'll see if I can adjust my riding style to compensate for my perception of excessive wobble.

-Sal

[glen_d]

Do you notice excessive side to side wobble with the handlebar guard on the shaft as opposed to off it?

Sal,

I have a bag on my guard, so I'm not in the class you describe, but I may have a suggestion that will help.

I originally contemplated increasing the toe-in of my Segway with some shims behind the gearboxes to reduce the wobble. But after pulling things apart this spring and looking at the footprint of the gearbox, decided that it would be a very difficult job to build such a shim.

I carry different items in my control shaft 12.0 bag nearly every day. I began noticing that certain combinations of items made the Segway more or less susceptible to side-to-side wobble. Some values for weight in the 12.0 bag reduced lateral stability. This is what you've found too . . . adding the weight of the guard has induced more side-to-side wobble.

If I happen upon some combination of items that causes a wobble, I usually move some of the weight out of the bag. Just drinking a big gulp of water out of my water bottle the other day reduced the problem.

The other technique that seems effective is to raise or lower the CS slightly. Like changing the weight, this gives the control system a different moment arm to act against as it keeps the Segway stable. So try raising or lowering your CS slightly to see if that doesn't reduce the problem to an acceptable level.

Glen

p.s. I've also found my Segway is less susceptible to wobble problems on the ETT tires - this makes sense to me, since the squirm factor of the regular and ETT tires are different.

[skydiver]

Hey GLEN!

I did notice that the wobble was less with the ETT's then with the stock tires also!



p.s. Glen going to Segfest? I o u BEER!

[terryp]

Sal - I haven't noticed any difference in wobble between my i180 with guard and my i167 without (and no bags on the CS). I'll pay closer attention and let you know if I do notice anything.

[Desert_Seg]

The wobble is there and, as Glen has stated I too believe it is related to balance (or center of gravity) of the control shaft.

Much like a tire has to be balanced with minute weights, it appears to me that the Control Shaft requires similar adjustments when you add anything to it...such as a 12.0 bag with groceries of sort!

The handlebar guard and the 12.0 bag both caused the wobble but I was able to get rid of it by either moving the bag slightly to one side or the other (adjusting the distribution of weight, as it were) or readjusting the handlebar guard ever so slightly.

Getting the handlebar guard wobble fixed did take some trial and error and I also found out that adding some weight to one side helped, but never fixed it.

Steven

[vertigo1]

I too am getting this wobble on my i180. it has gotten so bad that i almost wipped out a couple of times. The sidewalks aren't THAT bad in Columbia, MD, but everytime I glide from one sidewalk slab to the next i get this unbearable lateral wobble. If I have my sidebag on it all but stops, but with it on it's bad. And suggestions?

[skydiver]

Check for tightness of the bolts, very likely they are loose.

Also, keep bag tight around contents.

I used BLUE loctite thread locker and the bolts stay tight.

I am pretty sure with either 12.0 or the 25.0 you will get a wobble.

I have both and the two things that made the wobble bad were;
1. to much crap in the 12.0 bag, keep it under 10 lbs
2. loose bolts on the side bag

[amturnip]

Don't grip the handlebar so tightly. The handlebar magnifies unevenness in the sidewalk. When the handlebar wrenches to one side, following a dip or rise in one side of the sidewalk relative to the other, your tight grasp of the steering grip may cause a sudden trajectory change. Just let go. Try keeping the hands near the handlebar, rather than fastened to it.

Sidewalk wobble is normal, as the blocks often creep out of true from roots, frost, or seepage. Freshly-poured wet sidewalk concrete is subject to a mild tidal force, so sidewalk is often not perfectly level even when new.

[yosgof]

I found that religiously keeping the pressure at 15PSI significantly reduces the wobble.

I glide on the same uneven pavement as I get out my house and cobe back home. At 15 PSI it feels almost smooth. At 14 PSI there is a significant wobble. In fact, that’s the way I know I need to pump up my wheels. Returning home, if the Seg wobbles it means its time.

[skydiver]

Tire pressure is key!

I keep mine at 15/16. you are "bang on" when you say wobble tells you it is time to check pressure.

Same here, 1psi makes a huge diff in wobble.

[Tennsegway]

Having my i-180 for a little over a week now I have noticed the wobble too. I have a handle bar bag plus a 25.0 bag on the right side. My wobble comes from the right side. Could I have a tire problem? I checked my tire pressure when I got home from my dealer and increased the pressure to 15 PSI. I didn't really notice the wobble until a couple days of gliding. I am thinking about removing my 25.0 bag to see if that helps.

[skydiver]

How much stuff is in the 12.0?

The more weight up front the more wobble.

The side bag adds very little wobble, unless it has liquids or is very heavy.

[Sal]

The 25.0 bag reduces the wobble quite a bit, especially due to the fact that the control shaft is being held in place through the frame attached to the garbox.

-Sal

[skydiver]

25.0 bag is more frame support.

IMHO the handle bar bag and poor tire pressure are most often the cause of the wobbles.

[Stewbonz]

Maybe you have a bent wheel?

Try lowering the handlebar some.
Hold on softly to the grips.
Make sure everything is strapped on tight, check the tires, slow down.

[unclejay]

I have two 25L bags fulla junk, a bar guard with GPSs , two lights with battery packs, and a drink holder (44 ounce usually) and no wobble. That sucker be hard to lift, though.