Balance
Peddle Up!
Posts: 2,040
How important is a sense of balance – as in being able to stand on one leg without wobbling – to riding a bike? I ask because while I’m competent and happy to drink, signal etc., while riding some cyclists amaze me with their bike handling skills. I followed a chap over a stretch of badly potholed road and he was comfortable to sit up, stick his hands behind his head then rummage around for his water bottle and still navigate around the dips and crack in the tarmac. :shock:
I’d always assumed that a sense of balance was important but bicycle stability came from the gyroscopic action of the wheels. Evidently it doesn’t and other factors such as the “trail” of the front wheel and active steering by the rider are more important.
There are a few references in this article if you want to read up on bike stability.
I’d always assumed that a sense of balance was important but bicycle stability came from the gyroscopic action of the wheels. Evidently it doesn’t and other factors such as the “trail” of the front wheel and active steering by the rider are more important.
There are a few references in this article if you want to read up on bike stability.
Purveyor of "up" 
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I'd agree I don't know how some guys do it, I witnessed one guy sit up take his waterproof out of his pocket then put it on all without stopping. (or slowing down)
I think i have a good sense of balance from years of ice skating as a kid but can only take both hands off the bars for a few seconds at a time
maybe its a confidence thing?0 -
It's inertia - the resistance of an object to a change in its state of motion (or rest). If you pushed a cycle away in a straight line in space it'd keep going in a straight line as there's nothing to overcome its inertia - in theory it would carry on going forever in that straight line until it hit a planet, or an asteroid. The question isn't why won't a bike stay upright, more like why does it fall sideways? Without gravity, air pressure or some external force it won't change direction. OT but this why the Star Wars battle scenes are complete nonsense on stilts; there's no air in space to push against the wings of the fighters so the sweeps & dives just couldn't happen.Peddle Up! wrote:I’d always assumed that ...bicycle stability came from the gyroscopic action of the wheels.
Anyway, back on earth. The bike wants to keep going forward; it won't due to gravity, side winds or an unruly rider who can't keep his centre of gravity in place to keep the thing going in the same direction. So it's all down to the rider; you ride no-handed by keeping your body & extremities in such a place that the balance of the bike isn't upset to the point where gravity takes over. It takes practice like anything else, but it's hardly rocket science, just being in the right place at the right time.0 -
Last time out (second time on roads) I was riding with a couple of mates and it took me about 5 mins to put on a gilet whilst riding, not easy, got twisted i the wind and I think i nearly came a cropper once or twice. needed it though cos my moobs were freezing !!!0
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CiB wrote:
It's inertia - the resistance of an object to a change in its state of motion (or rest).Peddle Up! wrote:I’d always assumed that ...bicycle stability came from the gyroscopic action of the wheels.
If you look at the references it's a bit more complicated than that. For example, if the bars are secured the bike falls over quickly, but if allowed to float the bike self-corrects and goes much, much further. Interesting stuff.Purveyor of "up"0 -
Yep it's a lot more complicated than that. Also recent work concludes that the gyroscopic effect is negligible.
http://sites.google.com/site/bikephysics/english-version/introduction-and-synopsis
Interesting things about riding no handed are its easier when you go faster and when you lean back!0 -
Quite. It's the ability of the front wheel to steer that makes a bike rideable. Without steering, it's not a bike, not in any useable sense..Peddle Up! wrote:If you look at the references it's a bit more complicated than that. For example, if the bars are secured the bike falls over quickly, but if allowed to float the bike self-corrects and goes much, much further. Interesting stuff.0 -
I can trackstand all day on my Surly Big Dummy, it's a longtail bike and heavy which has something to do with it.0
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This is something that has been interesting me of late, because I have noticed a marked reduction in my capacity as I have aged. When I was a teenager I used to retrieve a newspaper from my delivery bag and read it whilst riding (though I'm not recommending this in any way: I did once cycle straight into the back of a parked Transit). I moved from the road bike I had when I was sixteen to a mountain bike in my twenties and I wasn't as stable but put this down to different geometry. I returned to the road bike a couple of years ago (mid forties now, and I I still have it) and noticed that my abilities on the road bike were on a par with my mountain bike. I bought a new bike and am still fairly limited in my skill - more so perhaps, I think because the steering is a bit sharper). This makes me think that confidence/recklessness has a lot to do with it but I'd be keen to hear if anyone else has noticed a similar falling away.
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Its probably just confidence. When you ride no-handed its easier to do it at a fast speed and leaning back. Making such a transition takes a bit of faith.0
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For me, it seems to be highly dependent on pedalling. By that, I mean: if I'm coasting,then my ability to ride no hands and unwrap that flapjack will be severely limited. If I'm pedalling in a high enough gear, it's almost as though the opposing and reciprocating force through the pedals is moving the centre of gravity from 'slightly left of centre' to 'slightly right of centre' and back again. Never far enough to chuck me off (yet!)0
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Interesting.
just got first set of rollers delivered today. 15 mins of hilarity tonight and wondering if I should wear my helmet, and then it all clicked, and well, its just like riding a bike really.
Did spend some time wondering how I could keep upright on the rollers and thought it must be the gyroscopic effect of wheels turning, as I am in fact stationary!
I have no bother sitting up putting my jacket on, or taking off, out on the road, and I`m 41 this week, so age not affecting balance yet...
Not tried sitting up on rollers yet. Still early days...........Boardman Team Carbon SRAM Red 2010
Bianchi Via Nirone 7 Alu Veloce 20110
