My fear of cornering



dm69

New Member
Jan 24, 2006
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has been shattered. All it took was a different position. Previously when descending at 70km/h I would feel extremely uncomfortable when cornering. I always felt that the bike was going to slip underneath me. I realised what the problem was. If I was cornering to the left I would lean the bike into my left leg in effect creating a sharp angle between the tyres and the road, Now if I corner to the left I move my body weight back on the bike throw the saddle onto my RIGHT thigh and stick out my body to the left in effect lowering my center of gravity.

Most of all my fear of the bike sliding out underneath me is gone because the frame is almost upright when im cornering.

My position looks very ugly as "I" am leaning into the corner not the bike.

In the picture below you can see a motorbike rider in a similar postion.

On the weekend I rode 280km's. I was hills both days and I was decending with a new found speed and confidence. I was looking forward to the hills so I could go down them again...eventually the feeling of elation I get when I see a hill will wear off but until then bring it on.
 
Hey dm69

I adopt a similar riding style with the bicycle that I do with the motorbike in that I get off the seat, pull the outside leg upto the frame and the inside knee pops out to the corner. Its natural for me to that and my friends definitely give me a bit of kajooling about it. You don't see many cyclists doing it..

I tackle corners on my motorbike at lean angles and speeds that will make most people sick when compared to cycling speeds.

The major problem for me when cornering is to remember that a bicycle tyre doesn't have the lean angle of the grip capabilities of the motorbike...


... motorbikes have a significantly different tyre design and composition than a bicycle. On a motorbike there is significantly more tread contact patch with the road I'd say probably about 10 times the contact patch for about 3 times the combined rider/bike weight of that of a bicycle in my case
290kgs vs 103kgs.

That and the fact I wear 1/2 a cow, body armour on all extremities and a top spec helmet when riding the motorbike compared to.... synthetic lycra/nylon and a helmet that is best described as styro foam and icecream container when compared to a motorcycle helmet ;)



I do wonder why cyclists haven't readily adopted a riding style that has seen a significant improvment in motorcycle rider technique.....

Cheers
Ant
 
WrxAnt said:
Hey dm69

I adopt a similar riding style with the bicycle that I do with the motorbike in that I get off the seat, pull the outside leg upto the frame and the inside knee pops out to the corner. Its natural for me to that and my friends definitely give me a bit of kajooling about it. You don't see many cyclists doing it..

I tackle corners on my motorbike at lean angles and speeds that will make most people sick when compared to cycling speeds.

The major problem for me when cornering is to remember that a bicycle tyre doesn't have the lean angle of the grip capabilities of the motorbike...


... motorbikes have a significantly different tyre design and composition than a bicycle. On a motorbike there is significantly more tread contact patch with the road I'd say probably about 10 times the contact patch for about 3 times the combined rider/bike weight of that of a bicycle in my case
290kgs vs 103kgs.

That and the fact I wear 1/2 a cow, body armour on all extremities and a top spec helmet when riding the motorbike compared to.... synthetic lycra/nylon and a helmet that is best described as styro foam and icecream container when compared to a motorcycle helmet ;)



I do wonder why cyclists haven't readily adopted a riding style that has seen a significant improvment in motorcycle rider technique.....

Cheers
Ant
Obviously anyone trying to corner at the angles a motorcyclist can get on a road bike is in a lot of trouble ;) . In my opinion this technique allows me to corner much sharper for the angle of the bike. Before I would struggle to make turns when the bike was 55 degrees to the ground now I can make that same corner comfortably at 75 degrees.

It also keeps the pedals off the ground so you can pedal off the corner quicker.

It is very comforting to know that I can make a very speedy corner and know that I still have a 20 degree "buffer zone" before my wheels slide out. By the way I crash a lot and I now put it down to bad cornering on all occasions (except for the times when people have chopped me in races).
 
I'm an ex motorcyclist. On a motorbike punching out of the corner is integral to the technique, many bikers continue to brake as the turn into the corner (Alex Barros style), square off the corner and punch out (Troy Baliss stye). On a bicycle, its about conserving energy, by taking a smooth clean line to ensure the minimum loss of speed between what you were doing before the corner and what speed you exit the corner - AKA 125 style.