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.