Handlebar moves freely when turned right but stiff when turned left

[doyler78]

Ok have a new bike and just one thing I noticed when I was setting it up was that when I turn the handlebars right it moves feely without any resistance however when I turn it left there is a little resistance - nothing so tight that you can't turn them or anywhere near that but nevertheless they definitely feel stiffer when turned this way.

Any ideas about how I would resolve this?

 

[Yorkshireman]

Brake/gear cables?

 

[ufkacbln]

Are the cables being pulled tight?

 

[Yorkshireman]

Are the cables being pulled tight?

Wise Minds? . Though ... When I had this set up

I found that there was slight resistance due to the cable tending to push slightly (I thought that a bit longer cable run from bars to first cable guide would allow a bit of flex). Now I have a shorter cable run (still not tight at the max turn)

and no problem (I think that brake/gear action is a bit 'cleaner' now as well).

 

[bobg]

Slightly bent steerer tube? I had the same trouble recently after bouncing off the back end of a car that cut in front of me. When I removed the forks, the steerer tube had a very slight slight kink in it and was resolved by a spot of filing. Its not easy to see in some circs - only obvious by sticking the forks in a lathe or rolling the tube across a bit of marble or plate glass etc.

 

[doyler78]

Sorry guys didn't mean to sound rude by not replying or thanking you all for your input. Was off on my hols so didn't get a chance to look at any of this. Just back so will take the bike out for another run tomorrow (in the rain by the looks of it) as I am just too tired today to go out on it and will see if I feel any better about it and then look at trying to get to the bottom of this however my technical knowledge is next to zero.

 

[doyler78]

Ok have now checked this out and it's not the cables. When I pull all the cables away from the frame and turn it still is tighter turning to the left and free turning to the right. There is a sound coming from the top of the fork where it turns ie just above where the brakes are and not where the handlebars turn. Its sounds like the sound that brakes make when they are scraping the rim if that makes any sense.

As to bent steerers if you can't tell by looking at that that's what it is then how do you know?

It doesn't seem to affect me on the bike ie I can turn the bike in both directions without noticing any probs. My times between moving from my flat bar to my drop bar are roughly the same though I am 2 kilo heavier from my holiday and it has been very windy since I got back so it has been very hard to judge that objectively.

My seat I think was a bit low as I found my quads got very tired quickly so I have raised it a little so let's see what happens.

As I have small hands I have probs reaching the dura-ace levers on the drops unless I place my hands right into the bend rather than near the bottom of the bar. I can't maintain a comfortable position here for long so is this where most people on the drops place their hands or should I be able to reach the levers from most parts of the drops?