leaning into corners

kevin69

When leaning into a corner, should you lean more than the bike, or less?
Why?
Is the answer different on a motorbike if the bike weighs more than the rider?

k

kettrinboy

The only time i.d lean more than the bike is when cornering in the wet and i,m not sure of the grip levels, like on a wet roundabout where diesel might have been spilt ,your using your body weight to corner more than the lean angle, i do the same on my motorbike in similar conditions, in the dry theres no need if your sure of your tyres and the road surface

thortweezul

kettrinboy wrote:

The only time i.d lean more than the bike is when cornering in the wet and i,m not sure of the grip levels, like on a wet roundabout where diesel might have been spilt ,your using your body weight to corner more than the lean angle, i do the same on my motorbike in similar conditions, in the dry theres no need if your sure of your tyres and the road surface

seems like sensible advice, my personal feeling is that whenever I get to the stage where i'm pushing my bike's capabilities in terms of grip I slow down a bit. I might not make the strava leaderboards but I cycle for fun and I don't enjoy feeling like I'm risking a nasty crash. I totally get why you might try to push it in a race situation, but if you're just cycling for your own enjoyment then slow down a bit at risky areas and push it harder when you know you're safe.

P.S. kettrinboy I have a 1981 raleigh record ace that I'm in the process of doing up as a winter/commuter bike, have you modernised yours at all? I'd love to know more about it.

Herbsman

http://forum.errl.org.uk//entry.php?349-Cornering

kevin69

Herbsman wrote:

http://forum.errl.org.uk//entry.php?349-Cornering

thanks for that.
i realise now that i tend to put my weight on my outside arm rather than my inside arm.
Switching my weight over onto my inside arm also brings my head up and reduces the
amount i lean my body.
I'll go off and practise now

kevin

kettrinboy

thortweezul wrote:

P.S. kettrinboy I have a 1981 raleigh record ace that I'm in the process of doing up as a winter/commuter bike, have you modernised yours at all? I'd love to know more about it.

Mine is mostly standard bar fitting some Shimano R650 brakes as the original Weinmanns are rubbish even in the dry, and in the wet forget it, also fitted a Shimano 6 speed freewheel which improved the shifting on the stock Suntour Cyclone chainset,oh and 700c wheels to replace the outdated originals.

secretsam

kettrinboy wrote:

thortweezul wrote:

P.S. kettrinboy I have a 1981 raleigh record ace that I'm in the process of doing up as a winter/commuter bike, have you modernised yours at all? I'd love to know more about it.

Mine is mostly standard bar fitting some Shimano R650 brakes as the original Weinmanns are rubbish even in the dry, and in the wet forget it, also fitted a Shimano 6 speed freewheel which improved the shifting on the stock Suntour Cyclone chainset,oh and 700c wheels to replace the outdated originals.

FWIW I have a slightly newer 531 frame/bike that I'm slowly renovating - progress so far is:
- 700c wheels (second hand)
- Cheap new dual pivot brakes that work
- New chainset (special offer)
- D/T indexed 9 speed shifters (have a new rear mech anyway as old Shimano 600 died...)
- New (wider) bars and (longer) stem, using a stem converter from Edinburgh cycles

When I've done it all I might post some photos...!

Dan_Giant

kevin69 wrote:

When leaning into a corner, should you lean more than the bike, or less?
Why?
Is the answer different on a motorbike if the bike weighs more than the rider?

k

The idea behind leaning off of a motorbike (so id assume a road bike works on the same principle) is that by putting your body weight lower than the bike you allow the bike to "stand" up more leaving more rubber in contact with the road surface, and then use your weight to corner and turn the bars more.

On a motorbike the easiest way to corner is to counter steer, by pushing on left bar (effectively turning right) and the bike will drop to the left. All to do with gyroscopic effect. How this would work on lighter rims of road bikes and slower speeds i don't know as i've not tried it.

t4tomo

If the bike is leaning more than you, you're in the process of falling off.

Wheelspinner

Dunno. Ask this guy...

sherer

bikes aer able to lean a lot more than I realised and still grip it just takes a bit of getting used to. As that pic of cadel shows you really can lean on the shoulder of the tire and still make the corner.

I'ev been told to press down on the outside pedal to move some weight over to that side. Practice helps but you need good clear roads for that. As said above we only do this for fun if you feel you are pushing too far then ease off and just enjoy it

Herbsman

If you're not leaning on the shoulder of the tyre then you're doing something wrong. Cornering is what tyre shoulders are for!