Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Road Cycling
Reload this Page >

How to turn (without slipping)

Notices
Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

How to turn (without slipping)

Old 10-26-08, 02:58 AM
  #1  
Junior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 9
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
How to turn (without slipping)

This is a newbie question, so please no harsh words:

I did a left turn going down hill at around 15-25MPH on dry bumpy paved road, but my rear wheel slipped to the right a few inches in the middle of the turn. The bike and I were both leaning left before the slide. The tires are Maxxis Fuse with a few hundred miles on them.

What should I have done? I found a few threads about counter-steering, but it doesn't seem like it has anything to do with a sliding rear wheel? Do I just need to get new / better tires?

Cheers.
kooker is offline  
Old 10-26-08, 06:13 AM
  #2  
Roadie
 
brian416's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,461
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7 Post(s)
Liked 11 Times in 8 Posts
you tire is going to hop easier on bumpy corners, so you'll probably want to take them a bit easier. If you had your inside pedal down, its possible it hit the pavement causing you rear tire to jump. When cornering you want your inside pedal up and outside down, weight the outside pedal also.
brian416 is offline  
Old 10-26-08, 06:18 AM
  #3  
All-Around Newbie
 
dennis_said's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Cerritos, CALIFORNIA (SOCAL)
Posts: 296

Bikes: 2006 Felt F80

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Agreed, outside pedal down, think of it like two forces acting against each other, lean into the corner but push down on the outside pedal so that you have a "balance". Works for me
dennis_said is offline  
Old 10-26-08, 06:57 AM
  #4  
I'm that guy that I am.
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Maryland
Posts: 1,153
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
If you have enough room:



More info: Racing line

Apexing is generally more about maintaining speed through a corner but is also has an effect on traction.

Last edited by rizz; 10-26-08 at 07:02 AM.
rizz is offline  
Old 10-26-08, 07:13 AM
  #5  
AEO
Senior Member
 
AEO's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: A Coffin Called Earth. or Toronto, ON
Posts: 12,258

Bikes: Bianchi, Miyata, Dahon, Rossin

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 5 Times in 5 Posts
you can also try to put the correct amount of air pressure in your tyres.
__________________
Food for thought: if you aren't dead by 2050, you and your entire family will be within a few years from starvation. Now that is a cruel gift to leave for your offspring. ;)
https://sanfrancisco.ibtimes.com/arti...ger-photos.htm
AEO is offline  
Old 10-26-08, 08:11 AM
  #6  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Beverly Hills, MI
Posts: 590

Bikes: '72 Fuji Finest, '80 Austro-Daimler Inter 10, '06 Fuji Team Issue, '06 Salsa Las Cruces, Nashbar Frame single speed

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5 Post(s)
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Also, do your braking BEFORE you enter your turn.
dperreno is offline  
Old 10-26-08, 08:25 AM
  #7  
Senior Member
 
Retro Grouch's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: St Peters, Missouri
Posts: 30,225

Bikes: Catrike 559 I own some others but they don't get ridden very much.

Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1572 Post(s)
Liked 642 Times in 363 Posts
Originally Posted by AEO
you can also try to put the correct amount of air pressure in your tyres.
That's a good one. Rock hard tires dance around too much. The energy that's required to lift the tire ultimately has to come from you and it's not moving you down the road faster.
Retro Grouch is offline  
Old 10-26-08, 08:44 AM
  #8  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Northern California
Posts: 10,879
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 104 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 5 Times in 5 Posts
Originally Posted by aeo
you can also try to put the correct amount of air pressure in your tyres.
+1.
johnny99 is offline  
Old 10-26-08, 08:55 AM
  #9  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 5,820
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 383 Post(s)
Liked 133 Times in 91 Posts
Originally Posted by kooker
This is a newbie question, so please no harsh words:

I did a left turn going down hill at around 15-25MPH on dry bumpy paved road, but my rear wheel slipped to the right a few inches in the middle of the turn. The bike and I were both leaning left before the slide. The tires are Maxxis Fuse with a few hundred miles on them.

What should I have done? I found a few threads about counter-steering, but it doesn't seem like it has anything to do with a sliding rear wheel? Do I just need to get new / better tires?

Cheers.
For a noob, you are doing something very right. You went around a corner and when you lost traction, it was at the REAR wheel, which is always the way you want it. This is the limit that all racers look for in going around a corner, and you found it!

If you lose traction on the front tire, its almost always an instant crash. The rear, however, you can slide quite a bit, a foot or more, ans still recover as long as you just relax and don't put ANY input into the bars.

If you weren't braking in the corner or doing any major input into the bars when the back slid, I would leave everything as it is and keep doing exactly what you did.
__________________
Il faut de l'audace, encore de l'audace, toujours de l'audace

1980 3Rensho-- 1975 Raleigh Sprite 3spd
1990s Raleigh M20 MTB--2007 Windsor Hour (track)
1988 Ducati 750 F1
San Rensho is offline  
Old 10-26-08, 09:24 AM
  #10  
ride lots be safe
 
Creakyknees's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Texas
Posts: 5,224
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 13 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
I respectfully disagree with San Rensho. I suspect what happened was a simple bounce, not a slip.

Kooker - you already know about the "weight on your outside pedal" rule. At the same time you're pushing down on that outside pedal, bring your weight slightly off the saddle. If it's really bumpy/sketchy pavement you might even lift and hover completely off the saddle, but just barely.

What happens is, if your weight is fully on the saddle, you hit a bump with the front, no prob your elbows absorb it. Then the rear hits, catapulting your butt up in the air and un-weighting the rear tire, which then jumps off the lip of the bump and goes sideways.

If you instead float above the saddle, your outside leg acts as a shock absorber, allowing the rear tire to maintain contact.
Creakyknees is offline  
Old 10-26-08, 01:17 PM
  #11  
Senior Member
 
sharkey00's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 560
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
The tires are not great but unless you go to quick wearing and relatively expensive tires you will not see a big performance advantage.
sharkey00 is offline  
Old 10-26-08, 01:44 PM
  #12  
Junior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 9
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Thanks for the advice!

I didn't brake before the turn, and I may have moved my weight away form the seat right before (or during) the slide. I'll change my habit of keeping my pedals horizontal (right foot front, left foot back) for turns.
kooker is offline  
Old 10-27-08, 08:36 PM
  #13  
All-Around Newbie
 
dennis_said's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Cerritos, CALIFORNIA (SOCAL)
Posts: 296

Bikes: 2006 Felt F80

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
I believe that corner becomes very intuitive after enough turns. I've wiped out before myself and I've also been super scared and scarred for a few days since

But after a while, you will learn to "feel" when it lean, how to lean, and how to position your body into the turn.
dennis_said is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.