I forget if the following Am. J. of Phys. article has been referenced
in this thread or not.
Daniel Kirshner, "Some nonexplanations of bicycle stability," Am. J.
Phys., 48, 36-38 (1980).
He explores contributions to stability arising from steering design.
Kirshner is responding to Jones's assertion in a 1970 Physic Today
article that nongyroscopic effects are most important. Kirshner
states, "We sought to verify that such nongyroscopic theories could
account for bicycle self-stability. We found they could not."
I think we might have confused the fine points of stability with the
major points, and will still cite and explain to my students that
angular momentum conservation is the major component in keeping a
bicycle balanced with steering techniques and geometric design
playing critical roles in actual bicycling.
Richard Bowman
Prof. of Physics
Bridgewater College