Commuting - Cornering at high speed & Tires...

So to bring some "fun" into the daily commute, i tend to always mimic my driving style but on my bike.

Obviously it'll be near impossible to make the tires squeal like you can on a car or motorcycle during cornering.... except when you break really hard to avoid collision. :D

But none the less it's still fun to feel the G force in action doing those right hand runs at almost a 90 degree angle.

doing a hard turn at 30km/h entering the corner at your regular biking distance from the curb, aprox 2 to 3 feet, i always get sling shot out to about 1 meter after i exit the corner.
Most time there is not enough space to wheel out to leverage the cornering due all the cars/trucks in the way.

keeping the bike as tilted as possible to the ground without losing contact with the tire, it's quite challenging, any wrong move you end up flipping over to the other side of the road. :eek:

Using the racing tires (Kojacks or Sportcontacts), i wouldn't be able to make the same close turn. It slides and both times almost lost control. (Sharp turns are the best way to test tires performance for cornering :thumb: ) However using Racing Ralphs, it was magnificent and easy as a pie.

Best thing is it can do it the same way on both dirt roads and pavements.

When i was using the Kojacks or Sportcontacts, the tires will just jam in into the dirt (grass) if i missed the pavement when the turn is too wide or too fast.

Personally, i prefer road-off road type of tires, they are usually wide and comfy and rides into the places i like to ride.

My list of favourite tires:

Moe Joes
Racing Ralphs
Marathon Extreme
Ice Spiker Pro
Marathon Winter

:thumb:

I lost to a patch of pea gravel on asphalt yesterday, damn construction not cleaning up after their mess. :lol:

I was only going 20~22km/h or so.

I used to corner much faster on tubular tires. Their profile was always perfectly circular. When I switched to clinchers it became unsafe, especially at the transition from the tread to the sidewall.

Sounds like it will be fun till the road says "Gotcha!". You might want to find a nearby velodrome or closed course where you can know what is ahead of you.

So to bring some "fun" into the daily commute, i tend to always mimic my driving style but on my bike.
:thumb:

Gee, and I thought I was the only one. :innocent: Forgot to stop pedling the other day and did the right pedal in.

4.2 kms to work,
in my truck = 10-15 mins
on my bike = 9-13 mins. :D 9 mins being personal best so far.

haha i accually broke my wrist doing exactly that... pushed it too far and the bike slid out from underneath me. it was all fun till i did that now im skidish goin around corners too aggressive. i did it on ****ty cont ultra sports.. but now i run vittoria corsa 320 tpi. so yea its just a matter of time till the road says GOTTCHA!!

I wouldn't do the same crazy thing on a moist/wet road, definitely not in winter time.
I agree about the construction sites, they always leave a big mess around, those areas are also not quite safe to do those kinds of turns.

it's a bad bad mixture of very loose sand/dirt over a solid asphalt road, the tires gets no grip on those situations.

thing is, I only did a 20~25 degree turn when the front slid out.
not even close to those 30~35km/h 90 deg. turns you can do at intersections.

But none the less it's still fun to feel the G force in action doing those right hand runs at almost a 90 degree angle.

doing a hard turn at 30km/h entering the corner at your regular biking distance from the curb, aprox 2 to 3 feet, i always get sling shot out to about 1 meter after i exit the corner.
Most time there is not enough space to wheel out to leverage the cornering due all the cars/trucks in the way.


There's a small rotary I'll pass through while commuting home. I can take the turn between 20-25 mph, same speed as the cars, and for extra thrills I can pedal hard through the turn. My 'bent can't hit the ground with the cranks :p

Cornering on my raptobike is fun. The picture below is only 35kph (22mph). I take an S turn every day at 52kph (32mph), no need to stop pedaling in my case either.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3562/3666313091_fff4d4e774.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/watson_house/3666313091/)

you must want to see the bone under your knee flesh, huh?

you must want to see the bone under your knee flesh, huh?

Been there, done that. In a bike accident, when I was 12 or so. There are worse things :p

I like the Continental GP 4000. Great cornering, relatively hard wearing, not outrageously expensive. The 25mm versions are nice and round and feel really grippy in a hard turn.