stonecrd

So we have talked about riding with no hands and looking over your shoulder, how about cornering. How fast do you take corners? I think the fastest I've done is about 23mph and like other bike skills it takes practice and is a bit scary at first. I am getting the hang of the skill which includes:

1. No braking in the corner
2. Looking ahead through the corner
3. Body weight on outside foot and inside bar for countersteering


Only really do this solo or with 1-2 other rides, most group rides I'm on don't take corners hard. Only had one occasion on a wet road where the bike slid out from under me, not very pleasant so I don't practice this when it has been raining.

SlowSpinner

Sounds like you know how to corner. Just watch out for loose materials on road surfaces in the corners.

Beverly

About the only thing I would add is.....relax. The bike handles much better when you're relaxed going through those corners.

maddmaxx 

+1 on know the corner. Going fast in a new corner and suddenly finding loose sand all over the apex can ruin your day.

knotty

Make certain the inner pedal is up or horizontal and be sure to accurately judge the curve (don't overshoot)

knotty

SaiKaiTai

Why, just last night I took a corner at ~22mph.
I know the corner pretty well since I take it 2,3, or 4 times a week.
I don't often get to "hit it" due to oncoming traffic heading for the freeway entrance. I don't challenge cars; if I think they're too close, they are. But when I *do* have the gap, I love to take that turn. It really gooses up the ol' adrenaline.

stonecrd

Where I live they like to put cobblestone in for the crosswalks. I guess they think it looks fancy or something. Those are a real beast if they are wet.

The time I went down I was in the traffic circle in my subdivision, my street is the last one on the circle and I usually take it pretty fast. That day it was wet so I dropped my speed to about 15 and as I leaned into the corner the wheels just slid out and I went skidding. There was a car behind me but they saw me go down and stopped rather than run me over. Ended up with a bunch of road rash and scratched pedal and brake lever. Knowing the conditions is pretty critical along with not being stupid.

maddmaxx 

I really love these sort of corners. They are the payback or e-ticket ride that rewards for the pain of climbing up to the top of the roller coaster.

I climb like a sack of potatoes (not a censorable word) but I love to go back down. I have 2 favorites when I take the road bike out. One is a left/down right/bottom out and return to climb that peaks at about 35 mph and takes you from full left lean to full right!

The other is a longish 1/2 mile left right downhill that peaks at about 38 mph but involves careful placement in the roadway to avoid manhole covers and gas line caps.

Both are in 30mph zones and involve taking up the middle of the lane and becoming a car in terms of right of way so both are best done in the absence of traffic.

These sorts of corners require a certain commitment to the "line" as its going to be pretty difficult to uncommit and failure to complete the corner is sure to bring bad results.

NotAsFat

For countersteering, the weight goes on the inside bar. This turns the wheel away from the turn, which increases your lean, which is how countersteering works.

cyclinfool

In the mid 20's is where I have topped out in a turn. How do I do it, where is my weight - I don't know, I do what feels natural. I do make an effort to raise the inside pedal and move the inside knee into the turn, this seems to help get a little more weight inside the turn. My favorite turn is right in front of my house. I live on a corner so I come down the side street which is a gentle down hill and bank the turn and make a full 180 ending up in my drive which is uphill. If I get the speed just right I am about at a stop right in front of my garage. I real rush at the end of the ride.

stapfam

In 2004 we were chasing a Tandem down the last hill before the finish and were doing about 40mph and the left hand bend came up. The pilot braked and the brakes made a terrible noise- So he stopped breaking and just took the corner. Put us a bit offline for the straight to the finish but the Tandem is built to take the rough stuff so the bit of lumpy ground off the trail did not bother us.

Corners are up to you- But if you really want to learnt to corner- Do it offroad on Damp grass. You definitely get to feel the edge you can take the bike to and if you go too far- the landings softer.

stonecrd

Correct, I made an error and have corrected it.

Artkansas 

I'm sure you know it, but you also want to straighten the corner out as much as possible. Be tightest to the inside of the corner at the apex. Be farther out at the beginning and end of the corner.

maddmaxx 

Excellent diagram. Cutting a good apex is much more important to two wheel vehicles that for 4 wheel automobiles. Cars can always increase the slip angle and scrub off a little speed in the middle of the corner if necessary. They can get away with this because they do not have to lean into the corner. Motorcycles and bikes however cannot get away with more than a little slide before trouble strikes. Trouble on a bike often takes the form of that knowledge that you are going to run out of road edge near the end of the corner before you run out of corner.

stapfam

The only time I take corners at speed are downhill. Only curves really but at 40 mph they are corners. What I have found on the road bikes is that quality of wheels makes a lot of difference. Stock wheels on the Giant and I could see the wheel distorting off centre and the bike was being pushed to the outside of the curve- New training wheeels on the same bike and wheel stayed true and more cornering confidence. The Boreas has Ultegra wheels and they are stiff. More confidence and higher speed. Purely phsycological maybe but High speed does require good equipment.

stonecrd

Most of my corners are on flat terrain and at 90 degrees i.e. street corners. So in addition to what has been discussed I work on being able to pedal through or at least toward the end of the corner to keep my speed up. Doing this you need to be concerned about your lean angle and scraping the pedal as you corner.

Big Paulie

You went to UCSB, right?

San Rensho 

Thats what I do. The only thing I would add is to be as light and loose on the bars as possible. Don't hold them in a death grip. If you feel the bike slip, don't try to use the bars at all. Bike steering is almost magical in that it is self correcting as long as you let it by not cranking on the bars. About the only thing you can do if you feel it slide, is try to get your weight up, but don't use the bars.

John E

Given my coordination problems, I lack the confidence and control required for fast cornering, and on group rides I caution others to give me lots of room on corners and descents. What helps me immensely is tip #3, loading the outside pedal in its bottom dead center position. I also brake on the approach to the turn, to minimize the amount of braking I need to do while turning.

BluesDawg

After all the crazy stuff I did on street motorcycles back in my immortal years, hard cornering on a bicycle seems downright sane in comparison. I have always had a knack for cornering, on and off road.

BluesDawg

One thing to remember when taking a left hand corner. Be aware of where you are. You could be leaning into oncoming traffic.

Artkansas 

Go Gauchos!

cranky old dude

There's a 90 degree curve at the bottom of a steep hill just outside
the parking lot at work. I usually take it at 25+ mph. I just lean into
it and let gravity and the bike do the rest. I'm sure there's more to
what I'm doing, but to be honest...I don't think about it. I'm too
busy looking ahead for any debris that may be in the road and just
having fun.

mandovoodoo

tailofthedragon.com

Where we practice.

The Weak Link

I was going to start a seperate post on this, but perhaps one of you would explain this to me. If you brake while in a curve, it forces to the bike to assume a more upright position, hence braking makes it harder to corner.

Why?

It's OK with me if you talk about angular momentum and such, but my BS meter will be set to stun.