"Zelda" wrote in message
om...
Since you compare bicycles to motorcycles, I have a different
question:

I used to ride motorcycles, and tried amateur roadracing for a couple
of years. Last year, when I bought my first-ever good quality road
bicycle, I asked the staff at the bike shop if you use countersteering
to go around fast corners on a bicycle, as you do on a motorcycle
(pushing the handlebar away from you). They didn't know what I was
talking about.

So, do you use countersteering on a road bicycle?

Thanks,
Zelda


I think the whole countsteer thing is a little over-done. EVERYONE
countersteers when riding a bicycle or motorcycle, whether they know what
it's called or what it's supposed to be. I don't think you can initiate a
turn on a bike at any kind of speed without countersteering. Riding schools
emphasize and encapsulate the idea for students so they know the mechanism
for initiating and maintaining a turn, but everyone who rides does it
whether they know it or not. It's a lot easier to tip a bicycle in than a
motorcycle at each machine's normal operating speeds (say, 100kmh for a
motorcycle and 20kmh for a bicycle) so the countersteer is more obvious on a
motorcycle. You really have to push those clip-ons around to get the thing
to turn in. Much less force is required on a bike, so it's probably harder
for a bicyclist to recognize what's going on, but the mechanism is the same.
That's my take on it anyways.

Cheers,

Scott..