Re: counter-steering, with numbers

[jmclean@chem.ucsd.edu (James Mclean)]

Leigh Palmer says:
> In the case of riding no hands the turn is initiated by waiting until the
> lean and the wheel direction are fortuitously in the correct directions,
> and then pedaling the bicycle so as to stabilize that condition. If you
> would like an exercise to demonstrate this, just try riding a bicycle
> slowly, no hands and without pedalling, through prescribed turns.

Surely you are not suggesting that (while moving straight forward) the
bicycle is just wobbling about vertical by itself; as you point out, it is
not stable.  Stability is achieved by action of the rider through feedback,
and when riding no hands, I do not see what action the rider can take
except to shift their weight.  And any action the rider can take to
stabilize the bike can also be used to initiate a turn.

Let me say that I certainly agree that balancing a bike no-hands with the
steering column locked would be extremely difficult.  However I think the
reason is that when you shift the weight and the bicycle leans, the front
wheel also responds by turning.  This effect seems to assist in
stabilization.  Note that this is from experience; I don't yet have a
physics line of reasoning for it.

-- 
--James McLean
jmclean@chem.ucsd.edu
post doc
UCSD