Re: bicycle stability, an experiment?

[Leigh Palmer <palmer@sfu.ca>]

> I am nuts joining in here but.... Could one ride a bicycle on a tread mill,
> and maintain balance better than just sitting at rest? Would that isolate
> the gyroscopic assist effect, if it is there,  in balancing a moving
> bicycle? I like it better than riding blindfolded!

According to Einstein that should make no difference. The bicycle is still
moving with respect to the "road", and it is in the steering that balance
is maintained. Riding on rollers is instructive; balance is maintained the
same way there. One could try the eyes shut experiment with a spotter. I
don't own any rollers. Is anyone out there willing to try this experiment?

Ease of balancing is somehow embedded in the engineering of the steering
geometry (head tube angle, trail, and maybe a couple of other parameters).

Leigh

(OK, I was being obtuse. Balancing is certainly easier riding on rollers
than standing still on flat ground. That gives no information about the
importance of gyroscopic moment to balancing, however. That's where the
principle of relativity enters the problem.)