Techniques for Descending and Cornering

Going down to a bicycle requires a combination of skills that are most commonly used in the motorcycle. When descending, a bicycle has some of the power and speed that is more common with motorcycles, and that requires some of the same skills. This does not mean that the criterion racing also not contest these skills that require a combination of elevation angle and braking while choosing the appropriate line through curves. Unlike the motorcycle tires, bicycle tires have little room for slippage, so that even a small slip on the pavement usually unrecoverable. Understanding the forces involved and how to control them is more natural to some riders than others.

Drifting on a road bike Pavement

Some pilots claim that you can slide on dry pavement to achieve greater speed in a curve to drift through a turn. Drift to the media both wheels slide, which is even more difficult. I think this is pure illusion and can come from the observation of motorcycles that can be applied when the power of the Bank along its maximum angle of inclination in part to break traction. Moreover, the direct questioning, no one has this ability to himself, but "I have seen done."

A bicycle pedals can be only tilt angles much less than the maximum of land without a pedal, making it difficult to cabotage curves always done, so there is no power in the curve. In addition, bicycle tires have no margin for recovering a slip in the critical angle, which has been measured by tests in lean slip roads and testing machines. In these tests, the slipout (a little less than 45 degrees from the road surface) for tires in good pavement was considered hasty and unrecoverable. Although knobby tires do not have slipout sudden and can be moved around curves, they begin to walk at the side much more vertical angle, and can not focus on the angle of inclination soft tyres, so there is no advantage in its use for this end.

How Corner

The curves is the ability to anticipate the proper angle of inclination from the ground before reaching the apex of the curve. The angle to the road surface is the critical parameter and is limited by traction. This requires the rider to have a good eye for speed and traction. For most of this pavement is about 45 degrees by the lack of oil, water, or other smooth and slick spots. Therefore, if the curve is positive on banks of 10 degrees, an inclination of up to 55 degrees from vertical is possible. By contrast, crowned by a road without banking, where the surface falls around 10 degrees, allowing only 35 degrees (the limit).

The estimate of the tilt angle required for a curve is derived from the apparent traction and what speed will be at the apex of the lap at the current rate of braking. Anticipating the angle of inclination is something that humans, animals and birds are regularly drive propulsion. When running, forecast how fast and suddenly can be converted into a sidewalk, lane, or grass is easily done by most people. This requires an estimate of lean to the right conditions and control speed to avoid exceeding that angle. While on a bicycle the consequences of error are more serious, the method is the same.

These are reflexes that are developed by most people in youth, but some have not exercised in so long that they do not trust their abilities. A single drop strongly reinforces this doubt. For this reason, it is better to improve and regenerate these capabilities gradually through practice.

Countersteer

Countersteer is a popular topic for cyclists and motorcyclists who belatedly discover, or rediscover how to balance, it is a contrived issue. A two-wheeled vehicle can only be balanced or converted using countersteer, there is no other way to do it. It is the means by which a broomstick is balanced in the hand or a bicycle on the road. The point of support moves below the mass to align with the combined force of gravity and the force curves. That this requires leadership skills should be obvious. It is so obvious that runners never mention it, but you can see football and basketball players for his use of countersteer. Just watch a quarterback in a broken field run. I am sure that nothing is done him well in the NHL.

Braking

Once the basics of getting around a corner are in place, the big difference between being fast and be faster is another problem entirely. How the brakes are used before and curves that makes the difference between the average and fast runner. When traction is good, the front brake can be used almost exclusively because, with it, the bicycle can stop abruptly so that the rear wheel does not carry weight. When braking to a point on the rear wheel on takeoff, the rear brake is obviously useless. Once in the curve, increasingly traction is used by the angle of inclination, although it still slowed to cut speed. This is done with two brakes, because now neither wheel traction has much to lose. To develop an idea of the rear wheel on takeoff, practice hard braking in front of a low speed and safe.

Braking in Corners

Why in the brake to turn? If all braking is done before in turn, speed will be slower than necessary at an early stage of turn. Because it is impossible to predict accurately the maximum speed for the apex of the turn, and because the road is not a circular arc, speed must be cut all the way to the apex of the turn. Fear braking on curves are generally stems from an incident caused by injudicious braking. The use of front and rear brake must be adapted to the conditions.

When walking straight with good traction, substantial weight transfer of the rear of the front wheel is permissible, with strong use of front brake. When traction is poor, and slowing the transfer of weight is small, so the stop lamp with two wheels is appropriate. If traction is miserable, only the rear brake should be used, because while a rear slider is recoverable, one in the front is usually not.

Take for example, a rider for good traction on curves, inclined at 45 degrees equivalent to 1 G of centrifugal acceleration. The addition of 1 / 10 G barely slowed the increase in cargo traction tires, which is given by the square root of the sum of the two accelerations square SQRT (1 ^ 2 +0.1 ^ 2) = 1005 or an increase of 1 / 2%. In other words, there is room to slow substantially over the maximum curves. Because the angle of inclination changes as the square of the speed, braking can quickly reduce the angle of tilt and allow more braking. Therefore, there should be no doubt why brokers are almost always applying both brakes at the apex of high-speed speed turns.

Suspension

Beyond purity of lines and braking, suspension contributes substantially to descend. For bicycles without built-in suspension, that is furnished by the legs. Standing is not required on roads with thin air, simply taking the weight off the pelvic bones is adequate. On rough roads, there must be sufficient for the liquidation of chair does not carry weight. The reason for this is twofold. Blurred vision will become the chair if not unloaded, and traction will be compromised if the tyres are not kept in contact with the road while skimming more blows. The ideal is to keep the tire on the floor laden uniform.

Lean the bike, the rider, or two

Some pilots believe that hitting out knee or inclination of the body off the bike, improving curves. Sticking out a knee is the same thing without cleats that drivers do when they stick out a foot ramp motorcycle fashion. It is a futile gesture reassuring, but uneven roads, even degrades control. All that body weight is not centered on the bike (bicycle or inclination stuck out a knee) are putting our side on the bike, and lateral loads because management proposals if the road is not smooth. Getting the weight of the chair is also more difficult for such maneuvers.

To do this, coast down a straight, but rough road in a foot pedal with the bike leaning, and see how the bicycle is still a line irregular. On the contrary, if the tour focused on the bike can ride without hands perfectly straight on the same road. When lean off the bike you can not ride a line over the right track irregularities, especially in curves. Centered on the bike offers the best control.

Outside pedal Down

It is often said that putting off the pedal in a curve to improve cornering. Most experienced riders do, but not because I have something to do with traction. The reason is that it allows the rider to download the saddle, while standing with little effort in a locked knee, and this can only be done abroad because the pedal a pedal hit the road. However, standing on one leg extended does not work if the road is full of potholes, since a rigid leg can not absorb the blows or raise the road rider high enough of the chair to avoid being returned. Rough require an increase in high enough surfaces of the chair to avoid hard contact with the legs, while supply shock absorption knee action, pedals horizontally.

Vision

Where direct vision is critical to the fast curves. Central vision involves most of the cones in the retina of the eye. The color cones are receptive and interpretation of their images takes longer than the information received by the rods in the peripheral vision. That is why the central vision should focus on the sidewalk when the tyre track, while looking for potential obstacles and traffic with peripheral vision that is fast, black and white, and good for motion detection.

If the central vision is directed to where a vehicle or vehicles that may seem obstacle, its appearance will bring image processing to the suspension for a while. Because the color or model of car is irrelevant, this work can be left to the high-speed peripheral vision in white and black, while the concentration on the surface and the curvature of the sidewalk.

Many riders prefer to keep his head upright in cornering, but tilted his head with the bike and the body is more natural to the motion. Pilots who roll their planes do not try to keep his head during the maneuver, or curves, for that matter.

The Line

Picking the broadest curve through a corner may be obvious by the time the previous skills are dominating, but not always the best line, either for reasons of safety or the road surface. Sometimes it is better to stick a coup or a "Bott point" for changing the line, especially at high speed. Tires should be large enough to absorb the entire height of a lane marker without pinching the tube. This means that at least 25 mm cross section of the tyre is advisable. Sometimes, the crown of the road is enough to make the enlargement of the curve, taking the broad curve, counterproductive because the crown restricts the angle of inclination.

Speed mental

Mental speed that is required of them all. However, being fast does not guarantee success, because the judgement is even more important. Above all, it is important not to be daring, but rather to ride with a margin that leaves a feeling of comfort that no high risk. And the same thing, not to be blinded by age-old presumption that anyone who rides faster than I was crazy. "The drops like crazy!" is one of the most common descriptions of descenders fast. The commentary generally means that he is slower.