Cornering Techniques

AstraMonti

Hello all and wishes for a happy new year

I was watching yesterday various youtube videos about how to take a corner correctly and i didn't get a clear answer.

Some were saying that you have to stop pedalling, lift the feet that is inside the corner so the knee will be horizontally to the ground and take a sharp corner. Others were saying keep pedalling but dont bend so much so you can get in and out of the corner faster.

Is there a correct way or is it depending on the actual moment and corner? How can you know how much you can bend before you lose the grip and fell down like a potato?

Thanks!

Mr. Skeffington

Hello there,

It depends on the situation,

If you are racing and the corner is not too sharp you can continue to pedal around it but you need to be careful that the pedal does not hit the ground. I would only do this in a race situation, if you are inexperienced you can watch other riders in the peleton, see if they are pedaling through the corner and follow suit. If you do not pedal through the corners in some of these situations you will loose wheels and have to sprint out of the corner to catch up and that can really sting the legs.

Correct way to approach a corner is to do your braking before you start to turn, do not brake as your turning. If the surface is bad and you brake whilst taking the corner you could fall. If your on a race bike your hands should be in the dropped position, with fingers tips on the brake levers just in case. The pedal on the side you are turning towards should be in the highest position, this is to prevent the pedal hitting the ground.

Anyway hope this is of some help, im sure the other Boardsies will help out and point out some bits that I may have missed. Happy cycling!

Turbulent Bill

I asked the same question a while back and didn't get a proper answer, so I did a bit of good 'ole engineering analysis (cue snores at the back...). The basic idea (I think) is to keep as much of your weight vertically over the contact area of the tyre as possible - this increases the lateral frictional force provided by the tyre and stops it slipping out. For example, in a sharp left turn keep your weight on the right pedal and have the frame at a more acute angle to the road than your body.

However, for balance you'll always need to lean the bike and yourself into the turn, so there's a trade-off between grip and general trajectory.

My cornering is still rubbish, though, so I'm open to correction by someone who knows what they're doing on a bike!

studiorat

According to Richards Bicycle book. (Richard Balentine). You should lean more than the bike does. Keeping the bike more upright keeps more tyre on the road and lowers the centre of gravity apparently. That said it would make peddling through the corner more difficult. Though I doubt he was talking about race situations.

On a motor-bike you point your knee in the direction of the corner. You do lean more than the bike that way.

SetOverSet

Found a little bit on cptips.com about cornering OP...

"Cornering

There are two challenges in cornering technique. The first is avoiding a loss of momentum when you are in a competitive situation and the other is just the opposite with too mush speed going into the corner and the edge of the road rapidly approaching. Slowing too much
The secret here is to keep your momentum during turns. Novice riders will waste their momentum when cornering, while the more experienced will sweep through the curve and open a gap that costs others precious energy to close. Corner after corner, this efficiency really adds up.
A few tips:

• Shift down before the turn. If the corner is tight (which will naturally make you slow), shift into a lower gear before you enter the corner, stop pedaling, and start leaning the bike. If you are in too large a gear, it will take more time to get back your momentum.
• Practice standing versus sitting when exiting the curve. Cornering soaks up your speed, so you may choose to stand and sprint to regain momentum. However, standing uses more energy so in wide, sweeping corners you may opt to stay seated, and work a little harder to keep contact with the group (especially in a downhill turn). There are additional benefits of standing out of corners.
  • You use body weight to power the pedals and the tendency to shift to a lower gear.
  • Standing avoids the temptation to use more forceful pedal strokes in the saddle and increase knee strain.
  • Standing relieves saddle pressure - and even a few seconds will add up to decrease discomfort over the ride.
  • Standing will stretch your legs - and back. This will combat the stiffness that occurs with long rides.
  If you get in the habit of standing for a few strokes after most turns, even if it isn't necessary to stay with the group, you'll ride more comfortably.
• Be prepared to sprint. Be ready to invest a sudden burst of energy after each turn. But if you can stay seated, and still stay with the bunch, it will save you energy to use on that final sprint at the end of the day or in the hillier sections.

Going too fast

• Lean into the curve. It's better to increase your cornering angle even though you may lose traction and fall to the inside. Consider the alternative - slide down or ride off the outside of the road and hit things like guardrails or trees with more than just road rash to deal with.
• Stand. Give your tires more grip by standing and putting most of your weight on your outside pedal. Virtually all of your weight should be on it. Push your bike into the turn. The bike should always be angled more than your body.
• Brake early, then not. Take off as much speed as you can before the turn, then release the levers. This goes against instinct, but braking in a turn makes a bike want to straighten, the opposite of what you need it to do. You can also feather the rear brake, but be ready to let up if the wheel grabs and threatens your control. Don't even think about using the front brake while turning. It is a sure way to send the bike where you're aren't aiming or cause the front wheel to slide out abruptly.

Eye On Your Line
Use your eyes to corner better. The next time you take a corner at speed, concentrate on eying your line. Don't stare directly in front of your wheel, watching for debris, cracks or potholes. You won't notice even more dangerous obstacles farther ahead. Instead, "sweep" the whole corner with your eyes before you enter.

• Check your entry This is the section of pavement where you enter the turn and begin to lean the bike. Look for gravel, oil, potholes, slippery leaves, anything that could loosen your tires' grip.
• Check the apex of your arc. Cracked pavement where the concrete curb meets the blacktop is a common danger. So is water -- from sprinklers or puddles on the roadside. In winter, this might be ice.
• Check the exit. Sweep your eyes ahead, through the turn and up the road on the line you're riding. Don't let yourself spy the trouble as you are coming out of a successful corner.

Then, just before you begin the turn, look through it to visualize the correct line. The trick is to visualize your line just before you begin to lean the bike. Then you can spot hazards and make adjustments without risking control. Remember, the bike goes where you look. Focus on the best line all the way through the turn and that's the path your wheels will take. It always helps to have another point of view. Here are a few tips sent to me by a coach in Maylasia, Nick Flyger. (Thanks Nick)
"For fast, accurate and safe cornering I teach people the following (most to least important)..."

• Look where you want to go and ALSO shift your pelvis on the seat so it faces into the corner.
• Keep you chest close to your top tube and handle bars, lowers the centre of gravity and prevents the unstable feeling. On highspeed descents I am practically kissing my handlebars.
• Point your inside knee into the turn by sticking it inwards towards the apex of the corner. Some people (Lance among them) say keep it tucked on the tube. I feel this makes it harder to lower your centre of gravity, also GP motorbike riders practically put that inside knee on the ground and they are going much faster!
• Keep pressure off the inside pedal but keep pressure on the outside pedal. However, that force must be directed vertical towards the ground not directed down the vertical line of the bike which is leaning inwards. Doing this correctly adds additional force in the direction of gravity helping to increase the friction on the tire and prevent it sliding out on you.
• As you make the turn keep pressure on the outside hand. Sounds a little weird... "Turn the opposite way of the turn" but the front tire acts like a gyroscope, so pushing away from the turn causes the bike to lean into the turn! It's one of the reasons kids find it hard to learn to ride a bike. However once they gain confidence they go faster, the angular momentum of the wheel then helps them to stay upright because it is harder to turn the handle bars to lean or corner the bike, where as at slow speeds it is easy to over adjust and hit the pavement."

concussion

If you haven't slowed down enough before the turn and you're drifting toward the turn don't touch the brakes! Its better to put some power down and speed up - this extra speed gives the bike extra stability (due to the gyroscopic action of the wheels) and allows you to tighten the turn, thus avoiding the kerb. Not reccommended where the road is slippy as you may lose your grip altogether but worth trying if you're definately going off the road.

Raam

I've been practicing cornering fast over the last few weeks. I still have a lot of technique to learn and I sure ain't there yet. I've had a couple of scary moments as the back wheel kicked out a bit on some greasy surfaces. It gives the heart a scare, but it's a nice feeling afterwards

DirkVoodoo

Definitely agree with all the advice about not braking in the turn, let the tyres grip the road.

Also, the quality of the rubber will have some bearing on your cornering. Some tyres handle the wet better than others so if you don't have a decent set of tyres don't be trying anything too extreme.