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My commute today

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My commute today

Old 10-06-16, 08:37 PM
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Originally Posted by Darth Lefty
a tendency to wheelie starting out uphill
This happened with my son, only once. I was out for a family ride and I therefore didn't have my front panniers on.

We started heading up this semi-steep slope and all of a sudden I felt it start to lift the front. Luckily my son was able to help me and be responsive when I said lean forward. I have to say it took me by surprise.


The inverted pendulum isn't something I had thought of, it makes sense though.

Ahh the things we will carry to not use a car.

I have been using the kid trailer and then using a huge carabiner to hook up a granny cart of groceries to the trailer frame and then hooking the handles of the cheap umbrella stroller to the top cross member. I will try to remember a photo one of these days.
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Old 10-06-16, 09:16 PM
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Would splitting the weight on both sides be better? I have one DIY pannier. It was ok I need to move it back a little more for more heel clearance.
Originally Posted by noglider
I never thought of it that way, either. Why do we try to attach our panniers as low as possible? Is that misguided?

I do see how having the weight high makes the teetering slower and therefore could make the bike more stable in theory. The trouble is, if it teeters out of control, it's harder to correct if the weight is large and the center of gravity is high. I'm just thinking here.
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Old 10-06-16, 09:19 PM
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Im fairly out of shape and my ride isnt long but when you're new a short uphill ride looks like Everest. Enjoyed it and kept reminding myself to take it slow- I get nervous and try to go faster-which makes it worse...
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Old 10-06-16, 09:23 PM
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Originally Posted by noglider
Somewhere I have a picture of a gas station attendant filling up a portable can for gasoline strapped to my bike. It was the day after Hurricane Sandy.

Check the latest research. I think the gyroscopic action is in question, and it's actually a combination of the fork offset and the human's ability to balance that keeps the bike up.
Yes, you are correct. It is a combination of all of that. The gyroscopic effect, or rather the amount of it, is going to vary based on the mass of the wheel/tire combination. It is a real effect though, or a bicycle wheel would not be able to roll on its own if it is rolled when not attached to the bike. The amount of effect it has on the stability of the bike of course is but a small part of the equation, and as the bike gets heavier in relation to the gyroscopic force generated by the wheels, geometry becomes more important.
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Old 10-06-16, 09:27 PM
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Interesting. I guess that's why some people find racing bikes to be squirrely. The wheels are not heavy enough to provide much of a gyroscope. Those of us with experience with them don't even notice, since our sense of balance is probably better.
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Old 10-07-16, 07:16 AM
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Originally Posted by noglider
Interesting. I guess that's why some people find racing bikes to be squirrely. The wheels are not heavy enough to provide much of a gyroscope. Those of us with experience with them don't even notice, since our sense of balance is probably better.
The gyroscope effect is mostly negligible and is not in any way what makes a bicycle stable. They have built bikes with counterrotating flywheels that zero out the gyroscope effect and they're still perfectly rideable.

What makes racing bikes squirrelly is the short wheelbase and the low caster angle on the front wheel. This also makes them extremely responsive for steering, but that also means twitchy.
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Old 10-07-16, 09:14 AM
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Originally Posted by ItsJustMe

What makes racing bikes squirrelly is the short wheelbase and the low caster angle on the front wheel. This also makes them extremely responsive for steering, but that also means twitchy.
Yes, the twitchy is a result of geometry. Now on a motorcycle, you can feel a huge difference in the "flickability" of a bike with lighter wheels. Less force to act against.

If you want to go all geeky on this subject, here is a good page. Bicycle Physics Enjoy that.

Last edited by phughes; 10-07-16 at 09:18 AM.
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