Handling Corners?

[ny biker]

Note items 3-5 in the descending skills clinic.

http://trainright.com/tdf-stage-17-d...iting-finale2/

Also I find it helps alot to point the inward knee away from the bike.

[smilingcat]

Go around a corner at your comfortable speed. As you ride more, your confidence will increase on your new bike and along with it your speed around a corner.

Straight leg on the outside, bear weight on it!
Inside hand bear weight on it! This helps with front wheel traction.

Keep your eye on where you want to go! You will naturally head in that direction.

With approaching fall, be very wary of leaves on the ground. Even if it looks dry! Don't ride over it go around it, if possible. Layer of wet leaves are like sheet of wet ice. NO TRACTION.

[Bethany1]

You know..if your tires are almost flat, you really can't ride a bike or turn corners. Sigh. No wonder nothing has been working right. I need to check the tire pressure more often. I was at a 10 and a 30 when I checked today.

With the tires at the right pressure I was flying around corners and handling hills much better. I still didn't get far today as I was working on technique, but it was SO much easier.

Other than nearly a head on collision with a truck it's been a great day. Probably scared the crap out of him and I feel terrible. I took the corner to wide and ended up in the left side of the road with the truck coming towards me. I was able to steer out of the left lane and out of the way but it was close. How do you apologize on your bike? Any universal hand gesture?

I really hate helmets and the reduced visibility of cycling especially when cornering. Add in that none of the street blocks don't have stop signs and you really are on your own for safety. I honestly feel safer on the highways than on neighborhood roads.

[Cynedra]

Bethany - There is no doubt in my mind that the motorcycle accident probably has a bit to do with it. Mostly though, it is getting used to that bike. I'm still wishing I could average 17 mph on the straight a ways. Go the speed you feel comfortable with, it it will get better.

[ny biker]

Old, worn tires make it harder to corner, too.

I've never felt that a bike helmet affected my ability to see.

[OakLeaf]

+1, if your helmet is restricting your vision there's something not right.

Also, on public roads, please don't tempt fate. It's fun to rail through corners and use the whole "racetrack," but it's not a racetrack. Any close is too close. We like you here...


(And I'm pretty sure that the rule is an uncontrolled intersection is automatically a four-way stop... Just because you don't have a stop sign, if cross traffic doesn't either, you're better off at least slowing until you're 100% sure there's no one coming.)

[zoom-zoom]

Are the wheels different on the two bikes? Wheel stiffness, or rather the lack thereof, can contribute to "mushy" handling.

Ahhh...yes, they do have different wheels (Synapse had some lower-end Shimano wheels and the SS has Mavic Aksiums). Though I've talked to several people who have test-ridden both the Synapse and SuperSix with more comparable specs who have marveled at how relaxed and comfortable the Synapse was vs. the SuperSix and also noticed how differently they handled in fast corners. Mine are hard to compare, since they were spec'd out pretty differently ($1200 difference).

[westtexas]

Ok, I'm officially curious. My wheels are the stock wheels and I'm thinking of gifting myself an upgrade in the coming spring. What did you upgrade to?

Well, I built the bike from scratch. I don't know what the stock wheels are, but most stock bikes come with pretty low end wheels (unless you're in the high end market I guess). I put Mavic Ksyrium Elites on my bike - it was a compromise from the Zipps the shop kept trying to sell me - and they are worth every penny.

[Velocivixen]

@Bethany1, you poor thing. Yes, as you have found improper tire pressure affects ride and performance. Tubes can lose about 3 psi per day! That's typical. I rode today and adjusted the tire pressure prior to the ride. If I ride tomorrow I will check them again! I guarantee that I will need to "top them off" with air. I check my tires prior to every ride.

[pll]

Well, I built the bike from scratch. I don't know what the stock wheels are, but most stock bikes come with pretty low end wheels (unless you're in the high end market I guess). I put Mavic Ksyrium Elites on my bike - it was a compromise from the Zipps the shop kept trying to sell me - and they are worth every penny.

Mine came with DT Swiss R-1700 wheels. Relative to what I had before, almost anything was an upgrade. I have been looking at the Ksyriums -- the folks at my bike shop like them. Hmm. More tempting than ever! I have to set a tough goal for the winter months, so that the wheelset will be my spring reward. <or should I get a pearl necklace instead?>

[Bethany1]

I'm always paranoid about the street intersections and take them carefully. I live in a quiet neighborhood where you only see cars about 5% of the time. It's that 5% that you have to watch out for as you don't know which street you'll see them.

I was taking the corners better than I ever have, but still wanted to be safe and see the cars. I just completely misjudged the cornering on that one. I wasn't going fast, just turned too wide. Left turns scare me because of the added vigilance needed to watch for cars.

My son fell over laughing when I asked him about my tires today and told him I hadn't checked the pressure since I purchased the bike except for the time I had a flat tire outside of town. I had no idea that the tires would lose air over time. That made him laugh even harder.

[malkin]

You know..if your tires are almost flat, you really can't ride a bike or turn corners. Sigh. No wonder nothing has been working right. I need to check the tire pressure more often. I was at a 10 and a 30 when I checked today.

Wow! I'm amazed you made it around the corner at all!

[Owlie]

Given that tire pressure, I'm surprised you made it around the corner at all!

I'm a big chicken when it comes to cornering--granted, I'm a big chicken all around. Outside pedal down, and I lean the bike, not me (though this depends on the corner). And I slow wayy down--like 8-12 mph if it's a tight corner (like the S-curve on a trail back home).

And +1 on the helmet. If it's restricting your vision, something's wrong.

[BC2COCyclist]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTunW-3uW24

I found this intriguing...

[OakLeaf]

Okay, I didn't listen to the audio, but it seemed that the video did a pretty good job explaining the physics of cornering.

However... the rider in the graphic was dangerously close to the center line on both corner entry and corner exit.

That's how you'd do it in a closed course race. Not in the real world where oncoming traffic that you can't see on corner entry is ... at best, hugging the center line just as closely as the video depicts the rider doing ... at worst, well over the center line, as any of us know who've ever ridden or driven in hilly rural areas.

The fastest way around the corner just is not the safest way, not on a public roadway. Please. Be careful.