Hi,

I searched this forum, but i couldn't find any discussions re: "why do bikes wobble sometimes" or anything similar... so please forgive me if this is a no-brainer or well-known issue, it's new to me.

We're doing a little european tour (1200k), and I've built a Niner S.I.R. up as a touring bike. It's pretty sweet, and i like it much much much, but disconcerted about it's stability when i mount rear panniers on it and load them down.

Taking into account that my previous pannier experience is limited to my old, rock-solid, barely-wobbles-with-about-60-pounds-of-groceries-lashed-behind-the-seat Cannondale v500, can anyone help me understand more about why my new bike wobbles unacceptably with half the weight?

extra info:

Niner S.I.R. -> medium-sized steel-framed 29" mountain bike
Front fork -> Reba Race (the bike wobbles less with the fork dampened)
hand built DTSwiss/WTB wheels

thanks in advance for any helpful suggestions,
jenni

Problem #1 The suspension fork (having that fork move up and down starts the dreaded "Shimmy"). Cure-get a BOB trailer or a standard fork.

Problem #2 All the weight in the rear. Cure-get a BOB trailer or mount low-rider panniers on the front standard fork.

Problem #3 Bike not designed to carry a load. Cure-get a BOB trailer or lighten the load as much as you can and balance the load 60% on the rear as low as you can get it and 40% on the front as low as you can get it.

Really your best solution for happy touring with a MTB on the road is to get rid of the suspension AND pull a trailer.

Good luck.

Problem #1 The suspension fork (having that fork move up and down starts the dreaded "Shimmy"). Cure-get a BOB trailer or a standard fork.
Hijack alert!!

MB - I've had the shimmy on my road bike a few times (once at 53 mph, once in lower 40s, and once on Wed. at 31 mph). I can't see to find a definitive reason for this. Any ideas? I'm getting my new IF in 4 weeks (hopefully), so it may be a moot point, unless there's something I'm doing wrong.