I usually stay upright on my bike unless I fall :)

[Geoff Lock[_2_]]

I have no idea how I come across articles like these but there you go.

BTW, I am off for a 3-week break as I figured you all needed some
quality time to yourselves without me :)

http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2011/04/moving-bikes-stay-uprightbut-not-for-the-reasons-we-thought.ars

[John Tserkezis]

Geoff Lock wrote:

> I have no idea how I come across articles like these but there you go.
> BTW, I am off for a 3-week break as I figured you all needed some
> quality time to yourselves without me :)
> http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2011/04/moving-bikes-stay-uprightbut-not-for-the-reasons-we-thought.ars

There was a good article some time back (that I've since lost of
course), relating to motorcycles that explained how steering works.
It explained the nature of countersteering, and the curvature of they
tyres (as opposed to "flat" tyres on cars) and how that factors into the
physics.
--
I haven't lost my mind, I know exactly where I left it.

[John[_24_]]

On 2011-04-23, Geoff Lock <glock@home> wrote:
>
> I have no idea how I come across articles like these but there you go.
>
> BTW, I am off for a 3-week break as I figured you all needed some
> quality time to yourselves without me :)
>
> http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2011/04/moving-bikes-stay-uprightbut-not-for-the-reasons-we-thought.ars

This article's wrong in a couple of details - it's not a computer model,
the researchers at TU Delft actually built a physical model with zero
gyroscopic effects and a small _negative_ trail.

Article (with videos) from the original source here:
http://bicycle.tudelft.nl/stablebicycle/

Basically gyro effect and trail contribute to stability, but they're not
the whole story.
--
John
"Let me check my notes." - Riff, "Sluggy Freelance"

[Rob]

On 24/04/2011 9:24 AM, Geoff Lock wrote:
>

>
> BTW, I am off for a 3-week break as I figured you all needed some
> quality time to yourselves without me :)

Phew :)

[TimC[_2_]]

On 2011-04-24, John Tserkezis (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
> Geoff Lock wrote:
>
>> I have no idea how I come across articles like these but there you go.
>> BTW, I am off for a 3-week break as I figured you all needed some
>> quality time to yourselves without me :)
>> http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2011/04/moving-bikes-stay-uprightbut-not-for-the-reasons-we-thought.ars
>
> There was a good article some time back (that I've since lost of
> course), relating to motorcycles that explained how steering works.
> It explained the nature of countersteering, and the curvature of they
> tyres (as opposed to "flat" tyres on cars) and how that factors into the
> physics.

Except that you can steer on on a motorbike with flat tires in just
the same way as normal. They don't handle brilliantly, but they do
handle. As usual, there is a fashion including this stupid behaviour
(fitting flat tires to motorbikes) somewhere in the US.

--
TimC
"COGITO, EGGO SUM." I think, therefore I am a waffle.
Mr. Ska on Slashdot.org

[BT Humble[_3_]]

TimC wrote:
> Except that you can steer on on a motorbike with flat tires in just
> the same way as normal. They don't handle brilliantly, but they do
> handle. As usual, there is a fashion including this stupid behaviour
> (fitting flat tires to motorbikes) somewhere in the US.

You see that on trikes and sidecars, I can't say that I've seen it on a
2-wheeler though.


BTH

--
Posted at www.usenet.com.au

[TimC[_2_]]

On 2011-05-02, BT Humble (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
> TimC wrote:
>> Except that you can steer on on a motorbike with flat tires in just
>> the same way as normal. They don't handle brilliantly, but they do
>> handle. As usual, there is a fashion including this stupid behaviour
>> (fitting flat tires to motorbikes) somewhere in the US.
>
> You see that on trikes and sidecars, I can't say that I've seen it on a
> 2-wheeler though.

There's a Youtube video floating around somewhere.

--
TimC
Always carry a short length of fibre-optic cable. If you get lost, then
you can drop it on the ground, wait ten minutes, and ask the backhoe
operator how to get back to civilization. -- Mike Andrews in NANAE