Safety & Maneuverability

I don't know about the instant turn on a bike. This concept on a
motorcycle works and it has to do with the wheels being a gyroscope. On
a motorcycle, after you hit a certain speed you actually do opposite
steer to turn. Turning the opposite direction causes the bike to lean
which is the only way you can actually turn a motorcycle when you are
cruising at highway speeds. Most people do not even realize it when
they are riding.

The concept should work on a bike, and it should not matter what type
of bike you are riding. Of course trikes are out of the question since
the concept of leaning does not exist. The idea is to get your bike
into a lean faster. At higher speeds the idea might work, but in my
experience the gyro effect is not as powerful on a bicycle.

"E R" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

**Site
http://bicyclesafe.com/ is a site I came across which gives advice about
how to ride safely. Do you like his advice?

**Two years
Thom Lieb in his book published by Rodale claimed that it took two years
to get riding safely in traffic down. Do you think that he was right?

**Instant Turn
In his book he mentioned something he called an "instant turn" done by
turning the front wheel away from where one wants to go and then quickly
turning it back the other way when the bicycle starts to fall. He said
that let one turn quickly in an emergency. Does that work with a
recumbent?

This is called counter-steering. Works, or so I'm told, with motorcycles. On
a lowracer an attempt to do this will result in you being hurled to the
ground in an instant.

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oldslowbenter said:

"E R" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

**Site
http://bicyclesafe.com/ is a site I came across which gives advice about
how to ride safely. Do you like his advice?

**Two years
Thom Lieb in his book published by Rodale claimed that it took two years
to get riding safely in traffic down. Do you think that he was right?

**Instant Turn
In his book he mentioned something he called an "instant turn" done by
turning the front wheel away from where one wants to go and then quickly
turning it back the other way when the bicycle starts to fall. He said
that let one turn quickly in an emergency. Does that work with a
recumbent?

This is called counter-steering. Works, or so I'm told, with motorcycles. On
a lowracer an attempt to do this will result in you being hurled to the
ground in an instant.

Counter-steering worked on the Honda CB400 I used to ride and it also
works on my Sunsets. However, the Sunsets require about 1/50 of the
force needed on the Honda which had about 15 times the mass (and
significant front wheel gyroscopic force).

--
Tom Sherman - Fox River Valley

OldSlowBenter wrote:

'This is called counter-steering. Works, or so I'm told, with
motorcycles. On a lowracer an attempt to do this will result in you
being hurled to the ground in an instant."

I figure that the bicycle leans because the turned wheel resists the
forward motion a little and causes the lean. On a more upright bike I
figure one has more time to react to the lean.

Has anyone figured out how much time one has before one must turn the
front wheel back to avoid crashing?

Is it within human reaction time?

Does one need to turn, turn without waiting to sense the lean?

How does one practice it without getting mangled?

It would be a useful move in one's repertoire if an SUV was about to
rear-end one.