tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post113535519704563002..comments2023-10-07T07:28:55.729-04:00Comments on Dave Moulton's Bike Blog: The Mechanics of Steering.Dave Moultonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07556183205157714280noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-32683801243357007062006-12-24T08:31:00.000-05:002006-12-24T08:31:00.000-05:00Hi, Dave -- just intro'd to your blog by The Howar...Hi, Dave -- just intro'd to your blog by The Howard...<br /><br />Interesting point about balance -- the broomstick experiment is a good one. As a recumbent rider (Stratus XP), people always ask me if it's harder to balance on a 'bent. I didn't have significant issues myself when I started, but the typical center of gravity is definitely lower, which would contribute. In addition, you can't "adjust" with your legs as much due to the different body position. So I suppose this would be mirrored by a "long broom vs. short broom" comparison. (no jokes about long bus vs. short bus, please :^) )<br />However, I somewhat agree with the previous poster about steering in a turn. I don't feel that I steer right during a left turn -- it's almost a feeling of steering FURTHER left to create an outward force (centrifugal? centripetal? centri-pedal?)that rights my balance against the perceived fall to the left...<br />Best healing wishes, as well as legal ones.<br /><br />Paul (FlyingLaZBoy) / Dallas TxAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-1147729656994621952006-05-15T17:47:00.000-04:002006-05-15T17:47:00.000-04:00Thank you Steve; you are right in the case of ridi...Thank you Steve; you are right in the case of riding slowly, however a true track stand is done on a fixed wheel bike. The front wheel is turned almost 90 degrees but not quite. By applying pressure to the pedals forward and backward the bike swings sideways back and forth (Because the front wheel is turned.) thus moving the bike under the rider. It is possible to find the exact point of balance and stand completely motionless. Most people who are able to stand still on a bike with a freewheel (Road bike.) are not doing a true track stand as I have just described, but are balancing as you suggest by shifting their weight rather than moving the bike under them.Dave Moultonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07556183205157714280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18899086.post-1147635926541987772006-05-14T15:45:00.000-04:002006-05-14T15:45:00.000-04:00Nice analysis, but I think there is an error in th...Nice analysis, but I think there is an error in the last paragraph. Just as with the balanced broom, as the rider starts to fall to the left, he or she must steer the bicycle to the left, not the right, in order to stay upright. With the broom, the object is to move the balance point back under the center of gravity. The same is true of the slow moving bike rider. The rider needs to move the bike back underneath the center of gravity. The rider is relocating the contact point rather than the center of gravity. <BR/><BR/>The truly stationary rider, doing a track stand, is like the tightrope walker, moving the center of gravity itself, since the contact point doesn't change. (Those of us who are not all that good at this technique use a combination of rocking the bike and adjusting the center of gravity, usually to some comic effect for those observing.) On the other hand, a rider on a set of rollers moves the contact point to one side or the other, in the same way a moving rider would, in spite of the fact that the rider is not moving forward in reference to the surroundings.Steve Barnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05141738452735566462noreply@blogger.com