How to ride a bike

Countersteering is not optional.

It's the law.

How do we keep from falling on a bike?

– We cannot turn in the opposite direction from the way we are falling. If we do, we will just fall faster. The bike will move away from the direction in which we are falling but our body will accelerate even faster toward the dreaded face-plant.

– We turn the handlebars in the same direction that we are falling (!).

– The frame accelerates and comes under us, keeping us from getting hurt.

How do we make a turn on a bike?

– We turn the handlebars in the opposite direction from the way we want to go.

– The bicycle heads in the wrong direction.

– Our weight shifts toward the desired direction of the turn we want to make.

– We start to fall in the desired direction.

– We turn the handlebars in the desired direction in order to keep from falling.

The "caster effect of trail" will aid this movement of the handlebars. It may be sufficient simply to stop countersteering in order to allow the handlebars to swing over to the opposite direction to complete the turn.

How do we get out of a turn?

– We turn in the direction that we are turning.

– The bicycle will go deeper into the turn.

– Our weight will shift to the other side of the bicycle, bringing us upright.

– We then have to turn out of the turn to bring the bike back under our center of gravity.

How do we keep from hitting something that is on a collision course with us?

– We turn toward the person or thing we do not want to hit.

– The bicycle heads toward the person or thing we do not want to hit.

– Our weight shifts to the other side of the bicycle.

– This causes us to start falling away from the person or thing we do not want to hit.

– After our weight shifts, we can then turn the handlebars away from the obstacle.

Inertia matters

 

This is tacit knowledge

Any child who has learned how to ride a bike knows these rules, even if they do not know that they know them. There is no other way to make a turn on a bicycle. Because we have tacit knowledge of the principles of how our momentum reacts to the movement of the bicycle frame, the fact that we may have a false theory of how to ride the bicycle does not keep us from obeying the rules while verbally denying that we do so.

Links

"Countersteering — How to save your life on a motorcycle"

Four times the motorcyclist turns the wheel to the right. Each time that mistake redirects him back into the path of the oncoming fire truck!

We have to turn TOWARD the obstacle momentarily in order to avoid hitting it!

In an emergency, we do not have time to think about these things. We have to act promptly and decisively.

In motorcycle safety courses, riders are taught to practice this emergency maneuver until it becomes second nature to them.

Verify these truths for yourself in a safe space.

Practice emergency countersteering in a safe space.

Teach your friends about countersteering.

The life you save may be your own.

No Body Steering (BS) Bike

The experimenters fitted a second fixed handlebar that had working throttle and brake but that could not turn the wheel. When holding on to the fixed handlebar, no amount of moving their weight around would allow the riders to make an effective turn. The necessary weight shift that makes turning possible comes from momentarily steering in the direction opposite to the direction of the desired turn.

The Physics of Countersteering

Illustrates centripetal force, not mentioning that the curve that the motorcycle is following is caused by turning the handlebars and wheel away from neutral.

MotoJitsu, Debunking the Myth: Counter Steering at Low Speeds

Countersteering is what causes our weight to shift into a turn.

Fast or slow makes no difference. We must steer in the opposite direction of the way we want to turn in order to shift our weight in the direction of the turn.

"Countersteering makes the bike de-stabilize." As soon as our weight shifts in the opposite direction of the countersteer, the bike will start to lean in the direction we want to turn. Then the geometry of the frame — which causes "the caster effect of trail" — will cause the front wheel to turn into the direction of the desired turn.

MotoJitsu, Counter Steering Explained -- 3 Levels of Difficulty

Countersteering works at any speed.

Because of the caster effect of trail, the handlebars automatically turn into the direction in which your weight has shifted.

What is Countersteering on a Motorcycle?

Good footage of countersteering at higher speeds, even showing that motorcycle racers use it to shift their weight in the direction of the turn they need to make.

He does do the only demonstration I have ever seen of making a turn without countersteering at a low speed. Don't try that in an emergency! Countersteering quickly and decisively toward an obstacle is the best way not to hit the obstacle. If you are going very slowly, you should probably apply maximum pressure on the brakes, too.

How to Use Counter Steering to Lean and Turn your Motorcycle

Very thorough analysis of countersteering, with good graphics to explain trail and the caster effect that turns the wheel in the direction of a lean. "This self-steering keeps our bike from falling down" (all things being equal).

"The front wheel does a lot of stuff by itself."

"Countersteering changes the lean angle of the motorcycle or bicycle."

"Countersteering makes the bike lean in the opposite direction from the direction of the countersteer."

Countersteering to the left makes the bike lean to the right.

Countersteering to the right makes the bike lean to the left.

After the brief moment of countersteering, the trail of the contact patch and the caster effect turn the wheel in the direction of the turn. From then on, the wheel is turning in the same direction that the bike is leaning.

Interesting exercises to do in a big, empty parking lot to get the feeling of how the frame responds to different lean angles at different speeds.