Originally Posted by
rickyhmltn
Thanks for the replies. It was in a parking lot of the bike shop going back and forth turning to test it out. Still I've never been a fairly serious ride up until the last 8 weeks or so and this had never happened to me on any other bike I rode casually and since I was trying it on a M frame, I thought that may have been the issue.
Quick question though, help me understand the physics of it. If it can happen at slow speeds, why can't it happen if I'm pedaling in to a deep curve at say 13mph? It is because during better speeds you don't turn the wheel as much to actually turn?
Yes, at 13 mph, the back side of the wheel might move just an inch sideways. It's surprising how little the wheel moves. The bike and rider are leaning into the turn, not steering like a car does. On sharp turns, I'm thinking about if I need to stop pedaling so I don't hit the pedal on the ground, never about the wheel and shoe overlapping.
The only time I have to be careful is something like a U turn on a two lane road at low walking speeds. The few times my foot has actually hit the wheel is when I'm clipped in and stopped with one foot down and the clipped in foot ready to start riding, and I try to roll the bike forward a foot or two at a sharp angle.
Somewhat off topic, bikes are actually turned by "counter steering" away from the turn to cause the bike to lean over, then the front wheel is moved back toward the straight ahead position. The counter steering can be an unconscious tiny movement on normal turns, or a planned larger counter steer to handle a fast, sharp turn. I think I can steer in the direction of the turn when I'm making minor adjustments while riding in a straight line. (And it's possible to shift the rider's weight on the bike to make minor steering changes without moving the wheel.) Other than that, if I didn't lean into the turn, and was riding straight up and down into a turn, I'd fall off toward the outside of the turn.
Here's a high speed sharp turn. The wheel is barely turned.
