How did my Grandad get round corners without the aid of forums?

You didn't read the bit where all bikes made before the internet/videos had to be ridden in a completely different way to modern ones!

I'm hoping that's next weeks lesson, as I'm too scared to take any of the 1920s bikes out this weekend, I must have been lucky so far

If you mean pushing on the inside handlebar makes the bike want to fall to the floor then yes it works. Keep pushing on the inside handlebar and eventually you'll take all the skin off that side of your body. I don't bother doing it for corners as I don't see the point. Whenever I have I just find it unsettles the bike.

Perhaps a better way in my very humble opinion is to stop thinking you know better than the bike. I believe a lot of crashes would be avoided if at the precise moment of make or break the rider took his hands off the handlebars altogether and let the bike take the corner. It is my opinion that the rider is far more of an inconvenience to the bike than a help.


I side with the people who say steer the corner with your knees, because its a far more profitable thing to do than trying to slide them along the ground in a manly sparkfest, and pretty much remove hands from the handlebars. There are even some riders where I would advocate them closing their eyes, cos at least that way they would stop telling the bike what to do, and start listening to the bike.

Luckily no one listens to me.

Siging off 'Bike whisperer' .

Shifting your weight to the side (eg. left) appears to move the headstock to the left which causes the forks/front wheel to pivot in the opposite direction.

Giving the bar a push increases the speed of the headset pivoting and the headstock/weight moving, and the bike leans over more quickly.

I find that as I shift my weight around I 'counter-steer'. I did it to a certain degree naturally initially, but did train myself to do it more actively. I now look-to-go, shift weight and push the bar in one smooth movement without having to think about it.

ps. You shouldn't be gripping the bars tightly, just enough to stop you falling off backwards and enough to guide the front wheel. You guide the bike in the direction you desire, but want the front wheel to take its own path along bumps and undulations.

:
Well said.

I thought thats what I said?

To your last point, I agree with this post

As I was talking about weighting pegs. It's the same as riding no-handed as a kid on a pushbike. You tilt the bike, the bike 'bends' around the steering stem causing countersteer & it then turns. As you say when counter steering correctly the steering causes the lean.

What you said wrong was that old bikes don't corner the same. They do, it's just a very different riding experience.

From your name, do we assume that you are a Nobel prize winning physicist?

I've just told you.

Look where you want to go, the rest will come naturally


When do the L plates come off?

Read the thread again ya grumpy sod. Look at the amount of people who don't know what should be happening according to what they do. Knowing the theory can only help with the practical.
Yes it's mostly about going out & doing it, but if your too crap at it then that'll hurt & it's a lot less painful to read something & change your technique before the crash.