Bike handling tip for newbies
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Anton posted 46 weeks ago.
Look around on the web and you'lll find some good articles about the physics of bicycling. It's astounding to some that you don't steer your bike with your hands, but with your hips. This is really obvious if you ride often sitting up with no hands. On a flat course or on the rollers I can ride for quite awhile without hands, keeping the bike where I want it or where I want it to go by using my hips. The more you understand bike physics the better rider you'll be.
Check out www.sheldonbrown.com you'll find all kinds of bike related stuff there including how bikes turn and...well, you'll find everything about bikes there.
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scottbland247 posted 46 weeks ago.
sheldonbrown was the man
it's a shame he passed away
It is better to hurt from doing something than from doing nothing...
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TriSooner posted 46 weeks ago.
groovyjen wrote:
You can do that thing with your knee too, but the hips really help.
What thing with your knee? Sticking it out in the turn like they do in motorcycle races? No, you don't. In tight turns (ie, 90-degree where you aren't pedaling), the turn-side leg/foot (ie, left turn, left leg/foot) is up and in, but you aren't sticking your knee out. The oppostite turn leg is extended all the way down and weight is applied to the stationary downstroke to counter-balance the turn.
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mtbke15 posted 46 weeks ago.
You also want to lean the bike more than your body into the turn. The idea is to keep your body center of gravity relatively straight while the bike does the leaning.
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Warrior posted 42 weeks ago.
ooops I turn with my inner leg stretched out, pressing down on the pedal to help me around the turn, otherwise I wobble.....
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fpugsley posted 42 weeks ago.
Warrior wrote:
ooops I turn with my inner leg stretched out, pressing down on the pedal to help me around the turn, otherwise I wobble.....
If your pedal ever hits the ground in a turn, you will then know why that is a bad idea. Try to learn to push with your outside foot/leg.
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ragingbull123 posted 41 weeks ago.
It's a good post! Thanks for the tips. See, I am a newbie in biking but I am loving it. At first I thought that if you know how to drive and ride a bike is all you need to be called a biker. But an event change all these. I saw those who are in the competition and saw what it takes to be like them.
This is road biking 101 stuff, but I just learned this today - so surely somebody else out there didn't know this either.
When you are going into a turn, turn your hips in the direction you want to go. You can do that thing with your knee too, but the hips really help.
I did that today and I felt like smacking my forehead. Previously I was always a bit wigged out about taking corners at any amount of speed and was relying solely on my handlebars for steering - feathering the brakes, etc.
Anyhow - helped me a lot.
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