# Turning-- Lean or Counter Steer?



## x3u93n3x (Apr 1, 2007)

Whenever I take on a curve, I lean towards the turn and (if needed) bring my inside knee down a little bit. I try to keep my upper body directly over the top tube, rather than leaning my upper body, because that's what Sheldon Brown said. XD

Anyhow, I was on a club ride and saw a different kind of steering method. He told me that it's called "Counter steering" where you push down the handlebar (or put weight on) towards the side that you want to turn to. It's apparently a safe and more effective turn. 

Is it really more effective than leaning? I got destroyed on the downhill, so it must be true?

Oh, and if please, how do you exactly do it?


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## Cory (Jan 29, 2004)

*I think countersteering is an urban legend....*

I've read at least a dozen explanations of it, and tried to put them into practice about a hundred times. Don't get it, can't do it, I'm lucky I didn't bust my ass.


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## Bocephus Jones II (Oct 7, 2004)

Cory said:


> I've read at least a dozen explanations of it, and tried to put them into practice about a hundred times. Don't get it, can't do it, I'm lucky I didn't bust my ass.


actually there is no way to turn a bike at speed other than countersteering. You can't do it any other way. Pay attention when you turn...you turn the opposite way for just a split second before correcting and leaning into the turn. This isn't a technique to be learned--you just do it naturally.


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## vitaminc (Jun 11, 2007)

x3u93n3x said:


> Is it really more effective than leaning? I got destroyed on the downhill, so it must be true?


It's not just effective, it's pretty much how everyone gets around a corner, whether they know it or not. You can go around just by leaning alone (this has been shown on motorcycles with fixed bars), but it's not very effective and you won't have much control or responsiveness. 

At very slow speeds, then yes, you turn the wheel in the direction you want to go. 

However, as speeds increase, then you use counter steering- perhaps it should be renamed counter-intuitive steering?  

Just repeat this mantra, and you'll be fine: "push left, go left, push right, go right"

Oh, and counter steering and leaning are complimentary, not either/or. Just watch how folks on other bicycles or motorcycles get around a corner at speed...


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## Mark McM (Jun 18, 2005)

*Leaning, countersteering, and "counterleaning"*



x3u93n3x said:


> Whenever I take on a curve, I lean towards the turn and (if needed) bring my inside knee down a little bit. I try to keep my upper body directly over the top tube, rather than leaning my upper body, because that's what Sheldon Brown said. XD
> 
> Anyhow, I was on a club ride and saw a different kind of steering method. He told me that it's called "Counter steering" where you push down the handlebar (or put weight on) towards the side that you want to turn to. It's apparently a safe and more effective turn.
> 
> ...


Here's a case where there's a mis-use of terminology that causes confusion. I'd like to introduce a new term which will (hopefully) help unravel some of the confusion.

First, to clear up the correct meaning of the counter-steering. It means exactly what it sounds like - to steer away from (counter) the direction (or intended direction) of travel. Countersteering is the only way to turn a bicycle (or motorcycle, or any other single track vehicle). Here's why: A bicycle has a very narrow base - only the width of the tire - and would fall over if not actively balanced by the rider. To prevent the bicycle from falling over, the rider continuously steers the bicycle into the direction that it is starting to fall. This is similar to trying balance a baseball bat in the palm of the hand - the balancer continuously moves the hand under the bat to keep the bat's center of gravity over the hand. This action is very subtle in the hands of a skilled rider, and the rider may not be consciously aware that he/she is doing it. However, this required steering action becomes more obvious when going slower - if you've ever seen a rider try to ride at a very, very slow speed, you'll probably notice that rider tends to saw the front wheel back and forth, trying to keep the center of gravity over the wheels (and not fall over).

Bare with me a moment while I briefly discuss the affect of the front end geometry on this balancing act. A bicycle's steering geometry has a feature called _trail_. This is the distance between the front wheel's ground contact point, and the intersection of the steering axis with the ground - specifically, the wheel contacts the ground behind the steering axis. The affect of this offset is that a bicycle will naturally steer into the direction of lean. This helps stabilize the bicycle, because if the bicycle starts to fall to one side or the other, the steering geometry will naturally want to steer into the direction of lean (i.e the direction it is falling) to help balance the bicycle. A bicycle doesn't absolutely require the steering geometry to have trail, but it definitely helps the rider to balance the bike.

Now, what happens in a turn? Turning generates an additional force that must be balanced by the rider, that force being the centrifical force. The centrifical force acts laterally on the bicycle/rider, outward from the center of the turn. If the rider did not act to try to balance out this force, he would fall over sideways (in the direction away from the turn). To balance the centrifical force, the rider leans into the direction of the turn, at an angle in which the pull of the vertical gravity force is cancelled by the lateral centrifical force. There is no way to turn a bicycle without leaning the center of gravity of the bicycle/rider into the direction of the turn.

So, when traveling in a straight line, we balance our mass directly over the wheels, and when turning we need lean our mass into the direction of the turn. But how do we get our mass leaned over at the start of the turn? There is no wall or other object we can push laterally against to lean ourselves over. So instead, of pushing our mass into the direction of the turn to get the proper lean, we instead steer our bikes _away_ from the direction of the turn to get the proper lean. This action is called (you guessed it) _countersteering_. Once the lean is established we must then steer into the direction of the lean and establish the arc of the turn in order to generate the centrifical force that will balance our lean against gravity. If we continue to countersteer and fail to start steering into the direction of lean, we'll simply fall over.

So, countersteering only occurs momentarily at the start of the turn. So what is this action that many people (incorrectly) call "countersteering" during a turn? The term I'd like to start using to describe this action is "counterleaning". It is sometimes described as pushing the bike into the direction of the turn, so it leans more than the body does. (or to put it another way, by leaning the bike more into the turn, the body leans a little less into the turn, or "counterleans").

What is the affect of counterleaning? There are several things that happens when a rider counter leans - some are good, and some are not so good. Firstly, some riders feel uncomfortable with the bodies leaning into a curve, so they try to keep their bodies more upright. But because a turn of a given speed and radius requires a specific lean angle of the center of mass, the only way for the body to lean less is if the bike leans more. A second affect of counterleaning is to increasing the steering force from the front end geometry trail. As mentioned above, trail makes the bike want to steer in the direction of lean. When the bike is leaned further than the rider, the trail adds even more of this steering force, causing the bike to want to turn even tighter. Now, the reality is that a bicycle is so light that very little steering force is required to turn a bike, so a bike can be steered quite easily without trail. Although the steering force from trail is not large, it has the affect of making the bike _feel_ like it wants to turn. This too often makes riders more comfortable in a turn.

So what are the downsides of counterleaning? Primarily, the downside is that the bike is less stable when the bicycle and rider are not in the same plane. When the rider leans off the side of the bike (or pushes the bike out to the side, which is affectively the same thing), disturbance (such as hitting a bump) can cause unintended steering forces. Try this experiment - ride down a section of rode with some bumps or dips. Try it first by keeping your body in plane with the bike, and then try it again with your body and bike leaned in opposite directions. You should notice that when you lean the bike out from under you, it tends to get more wobbly when hitting bumps and dips. Wobbly behaviour is bad enough when riding in a straight line, but the harder we are turning, and the more our center of mass is leaned, the more disastrous wobbly handling becomes.

So, does counterleaning have any place when turning? Well, it is often the fastest way to make quick, snappy turns, so counterleaning can come in useful for quick manuevering. But because it is not as stable as the rider in-plane position, for really fast, sweeping corners it is best to keep the body in-plane with the bike.


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## chiefinspector (Jul 4, 2007)

Mark McM said:


> Here's a case where there's a mis-use of terminology that causes confusion. I'd like to introduce a new term which will (hopefully) help unravel some of the confusion.
> 
> First, to clear up the correct meaning of the counter-steering. It means exactly what it sounds like - to steer away from (counter) the direction (or intended direction) of travel. Countersteering is the only way to turn a bicycle (or motorcycle, or any other single track vehicle). Here's why: A bicycle has a very narrow base - only the width of the tire - and would fall over if not actively balanced by the rider. To prevent the bicycle from falling over, the rider continuously steers the bicycle into the direction that it is starting to fall. This is similar to trying balance a baseball bat in the palm of the hand - the balancer continuously moves the hand under the bat to keep the bat's center of gravity over the hand. This action is very subtle in the hands of a skilled rider, and the rider may not be consciously aware that he/she is doing it. However, this required steering action becomes more obvious when going slower - if you've ever seen a rider try to ride at a very, very slow speed, you'll probably notice that rider tends to saw the front wheel back and forth, trying to keep the center of gravity over the wheels (and not fall over).
> 
> ...


kudos :thumbsup: 

i just steer with my rear wheel.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

*one small addition to Mark's treatise*

"So, countersteering only occurs momentarily at the start of the turn." 

Countersteering is indeed used to initiate a turn at speed, and in a relatively brief turn of constant radius that's the only place it occurs. However, in a long curve, where the rider may be constantly adjusting his line by varying the sharpness of the turn, countersteering is used (unconsciously, mostly) to make those adjustments. If you need to make the turn sharper, you steer away from the direction of the turn, increasing the lean and the sharpness of the turn. If you need to ease the turn, you steer momentarily in the direction of the turn, which decreases lean and makes you go straighter. You do the same thing at the end of the turn to eliminate the lean and get back to straight travel.


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## serious (May 2, 2006)

This is a good thread to put an end to the count-steering BS that everyone keeps mentioning. Counter-steering is basically a quick and efficient way to overcome the turning forces of the wheel, which in fact tend to keep the bike upright (and therefore going straight). Go slowly and you won't need any counter-steering to start a turn. In fact, if you are slow enough you will fall to one side or another and you will in fact have to steer in the direction you fall just to stay upright. 

Counter-leaning is a much better term. But I don't necessarily agree that counter-leaning makes the bike more unstable. The countered position of the rider may arguably result in less control (due to the trail which makes the bike very responsive to steering), but the gravitational component of the force that keeps the tires on the ground is greater. When you lean with the bike the gravitational component is smaller, so you need to increase the centrifugal force (by going faster) to achieve the same bike angle relative to the ground.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

*Opposite of "counterlean"?*

Mark, I like your suggested term for leaning the bike further than the body. What would you call the thing that fixie riders do to avoid a pedal strike in a tight turn, in which the bike stays more upright, but the body leans inward? "hyperlean"? "underlean"? Whatever you call it, it makes for some odd mechanics in a fast turn.


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## Mark McM (Jun 18, 2005)

serious said:


> Counter-leaning is a much better term. But I don't necessarily agree that counter-leaning makes the bike more unstable. The countered position of the rider may arguably result in less control (due to the trail which makes the bike very responsive to steering), but the gravitational component of the force that keeps the tires on the ground is greater. When you lean with the bike the gravitational component is smaller, so you need to increase the centrifugal force (by going faster) to achieve the same bike angle relative to the ground.


When you are cornering very hard, the lateral force component can be very large, almost equal in magnitude to the gravity component. Bicycle tires can have a traction coefficient of up to about 1.0, so they can corner at up to 1g lateral force (this requires a lean angle of 45 degrees). Here's an example of a rider cornering at close to the traction limit of his tires:










I think that if you take a look people cornering hard, the harder a rider corners (more lateral g's), the more they keep their bodies in-line with their bikes. For example, the rider above has his c.g. very much in plane with his bike. As you can see from this video of the Red Bull Road Rage (a downhill road bike race), some riders are counterleaning, but most are keeping their bodies in-plane with the bike:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93gGn2OZDrc


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## Mark McM (Jun 18, 2005)

JCavilia said:


> Mark, I like your suggested term for leaning the bike further than the body. What would you call the thing that fixie riders do to avoid a pedal strike in a tight turn, in which the bike stays more upright, but the body leans inward? "hyperlean"? "underlean"? Whatever you call it, it makes for some odd mechanics in a fast turn.


Hmmm... Good question as to what to call that technique. In motorcycle racing, a technique called "hanging off" is used, in which the rider hangs off the motorcycle toward the inside of the turn, attempting to keep the motorcycle more upright, for a similar clearance reason as when fixie cornering. A motorcycle has a lower slung and wider "undercarriage" than a bicycle, and if the motorcycle is leaned over to far the undercarriage can hit the ground, causing the tires to skip out (like when a bicycle strikes a pedal with the ground). So, the rider "hangs off" to the inside to keep the bike upright. This is not unlike riding a fixie, where a rider has to "hang off" to the inside to keep from hitting a pedal in a hard corner.


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## jcolley (Jul 11, 2007)

The purpose of "hanging off" in the realm of motorcycle racing really only serves two purposes:

- First off, and agreed upon by most people I think, it allows the chassis to maintain a more upright position. This allows for a greater surface area of "reliable" contact patch. Most race compound tires have a fairly predictable feel for when they begin to lose traction. The will definately lose traction as the rolling contact patch approaches the sidewall, but do so in a manner that you start to feel it before they "let go." (Street compound tires on the other hand are designed for increased wear and are not as nice to you, trust me.) By hanging off, I can maintain the same center of gravity with a more upright chassis and increase the margin to the sidewall. For an outstanding, some might even say exaggerated example, look at pictures of Noriyuka Haga...











- Secondly, and this is highly debateable, but something I was taught at Ed Bargy's Race School, is that it allows you to use your knee in contact with the pavement as a sort of "lean angle indicator." If your knee is way out, not so severe, probably plenty of room to the sidewall. If your knee is nearly back against the fairing and still in contact with the pavement, well, your tires may not be.

I think given the proportion of a riders weight to a bicycle as opposed to a motorcycle, you don't make up a large enough percentage of the combined weight on a motorcycle fot this to be a problem. On a bicycle though, imagine the effect of putting 10 times the weight of the bike that far away from the center of gravity of the chassis. Probably not the desired effect...

I gave up sportbikes and racing when my kids came along and couldn't feel better about the decision. As a newbie cyclist, I find it frustrating that I just can't get a knee down in the turns.


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## paredown (Oct 18, 2006)

*Awesome shot, awesome video*

wow the guy in the video that bites it really needs to think about his cornering skills... 

The motorbikes in the TdF are unable to keep up with the cyclists on the fast descents through corners--knees in or out--because they can't generate the same g force in the corners. The bicycle has to be way over to break free--which usually happens because something disturbs it, like sand, gravel, water on a centerline, etc. 

I'd try not to think about how to corner--use instinct and practice. Knees in and over the bike. As the great Kenny Roberts (who's credited with the knees out style in motorcycle racing) said, "you don't know how far you can lean over until you fall off..." 

Which on a bicycle is almost impossible to do, road hazards, clipped pedals aside...


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## burntbizzkit (Jul 12, 2007)

Mark McM said:


>


That man needs a helmet.


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## ARP (Mar 7, 2002)

*My method*



paredown said:


> wow the guy in the video that bites it really needs to think about his cornering skills...
> 
> The motorbikes in the TdF are unable to keep up with the cyclists on the fast descents through corners--knees in or out--because they can't generate the same g force in the corners. The bicycle has to be way over to break free--which usually happens because something disturbs it, like sand, gravel, water on a centerline, etc.
> 
> ...


Came to me after I nearly did a head on with a vehicle and a pine tree over an embankment on an unfamiliar road @45mph. I was determined to never have that happen again as I THOUGHT I was a good, experienced rider.

1)size up the turn and choose a line to take
2)weight on outside pedal, knee into the top tube on the inside pedal, and I do a slight twist away from the turn with the upper body. This sort of drops the inside shoulder which changes the CG and gets extra weight on the inside handlebar.
3) stick to your line and carve the turn w/o excessively leaning the bike over

By doing that I have alot of room to correct for any errors or suprises on the road


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## Mark McM (Jun 18, 2005)

burntbizzkit said:


> That man needs a helmet.


Helmets as we know them today did not exist when that photo was taken (some time in the '70s). Notice the rest of his equipment - toe clips and straps, non-aero routed single pull brakes, wool jersey and shorts. The only commonly available helmets at the time were the leather "hairnet" helmets (like these, which were really only good for preventing abrasions and road rash.

Despite there being no hard-shell helmets until the 1980s or so, people somehow were able to ride many, many miles, without instantly dying just by being on a bike without a helmet.


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## Mark McM (Jun 18, 2005)

*Motorcycle following bicycles on descents*



paredown said:


> The motorbikes in the TdF are unable to keep up with the cyclists on the fast descents through corners--knees in or out--because they can't generate the same g force in the corners.


That's a myth. A bicycle can corner at close to 1 g lateral force, and most motorcycles can corner at even higher g-forces. Racing motorcycles can approach 1.3 g. If the motorcycles in the TdF decide not to follow the cyclists on descents, it is due to the personal choice of the rider, not the limitations of the machine.


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## paredown (Oct 18, 2006)

Mark,

I'm catching up on G force estimates, motorcycle cornering, etc. Wow, have things improved for motorcycles (and also cars)--someone claimed as high as 1.5 for a racing Mbike--at least some of which is from tire technology. One site suggested that "knees out" on a motorcycle my in fact be redundant now, given the improvements in tires, although I liked the explanation by jcolley above why you might want to still do it...

What I haven't found (although I found lots of other cool things) is an estimate of the 'g-force' of 1.0 for bikes--can you point me at something?

Re helmets and crashing--some of it is just luck--one of our pals seemed destined to hit his head whenever he crashed with the old hair-net style helmets & had several serious concussions--others of us endo'ed at least a couple of times a season, & tucked and rolled (or were just blind lucky) and didn't. 

Now that I'm old I'm wearing a helmet every ride (yes I drank the Koolaid), but I've always assumed that it provides a placebo effect at best (and quiets she who must be obeyed...)
Cheers


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## tube_ee (Aug 25, 2003)

*Where does the Davis Phinney technique come into this?*

Davis - a monster descender back in the day, advocates pushing your inside hand *down*, toward the ground. The tighter the turn, and the higher the speed, the harder you push. You let the bike pivot into the lean, the seat "rotating" under your butt. Obviously, this works best with hands in the hooks, which is where I like to have them on descents anyway.

I've tried it. It works really, really well. And it feels really, really weird the first time you try it.

Trying it in my chair, and imagining a handlebar in my hands, it seems like this is just another way to countersteer, as the handlebar will tend to rotate away from the push, and thus toward the outside of the turn. The other effect of this is that the bike leans more than the rider does. This is the opposite of what happens on a motorcycle. But then, the rider/bike weight ratio is also opposite on a motorcycle, so this makes sense to me.

Ever since Davis' (very controversial) article in Bicycling (back when it was a real magazine, with writers and articles and stuff), I've used this method. I like it. Other people, who descend as well or better than I do, can't stand it, so you'd have to try it yourself and find out.

--Shanon


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## Mark McM (Jun 18, 2005)

tube_ee said:


> Davis - a monster descender back in the day, advocates pushing your inside hand *down*, toward the ground. The tighter the turn, and the higher the speed, the harder you push. You let the bike pivot into the lean, the seat "rotating" under your butt. Obviously, this works best with hands in the hooks, which is where I like to have them on descents anyway.


This is just another description of "counterleaning" - leaning the bike more into the turn than the body. The main affect of this is to exagerate the bike's natural tendency to steer into the direction of lean (i.e., they more you lean the bike toward the direction of the turn, the more it wants to steer into the direction of the turn). However, counterleaning doesn't actually increase the maximum g-forces or tire traction of the turn - the main affect is that it makes the bike "feel" like it wants to turn. It also helps the rider feel more comfortable while cornering because the body is a more upright position.



tube_ee said:


> Trying it in my chair, and imagining a handlebar in my hands, it seems like this is just another way to countersteer, as the handlebar will tend to rotate away from the push, and thus toward the outside of the turn. The other effect of this is that the bike leans more than the rider does.


The appearance of the handlebar turning away from the turn (countersteerer) is probably just an optical illusion - I assure you that the physics of turning to do not allow the front wheel to be turned in any direction other than into the turn. If the front wheel was not steered into the direction of lean, you'd simply fall on the ground.



tube_ee said:


> This is the opposite of what happens on a motorcycle. But then, the rider/bike weight ratio is also opposite on a motorcycle, so this makes sense to me.


This may be the opposite of common motorcycle technique, but it is not the opposite of what "happens" on a motorcycle - the physics are the same for both. It is altogether possible to "hang off" a bicycle toward the inside similar to a motorcycle, and for a very similar reason - leaning the body toward the inside of the turn increases pedal clearance.



tube_ee said:


> Ever since Davis' (very controversial) article in Bicycling (back when it was a real magazine, with writers and articles and stuff), I've used this method. I like it. Other people, who descend as well or better than I do, can't stand it, so you'd have to try it yourself and find out.


It sounds like those other people people who descend as well or better than you but can't stand counterleaning have figured out that counterleaning can often be counter productive. It is not necessary to corner a bicycle, can be less stable, and decreases pedaling clearance. In many cases, counterleaning can be a bit of a "crutch" for people who are not comfortable leaning their bodies into the corner as much as their bikes.


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## benInMA (Jan 22, 2004)

1) I don't believe bicycles can achieve 45 degrees lean angle. The guy in that picture is on a positive camber corner which will make it look like his lean angle is greater then it is. (can't really prove this, it's recollection)

2) Race motorcycles can achieve around 60 degrees. Most street motorcycle tires will not go anywhere near this, but many go to 45 degrees or slightly beyond.

3) The Tour guys with rider + passenger + camera gear + heavy motorcycle are probably near 1000lbs gross weight. They are also not wearing proper motorcycle safety gear 99% of the time. That is why they sometimes will not keep up with a cyclist. Most of the tour descents look to me like a guy on a sportbike will easily outrun the Tour riders... A single fit rider on a sportbike will weigh less then 600lbs, that's a big difference. A MotoGP rider on his bike might weigh as little as 450lbs. A guy on a "SuperMoto" might be close to that weight on the street.

4) While a motorcycle will go around a corner faster then a bicycle they are sure as hell harder to transition from one direction to another due to weight & far far greater gyroscopic forces on the front wheel. For this reason a road bike will feel more nimble down a very twisty steep descent, where the motorcycles weight hurts it the most.

5) Motorcycles have greater effective ground clearance then bicycles because a bicycle cannot apply power while at maximum lean angle. "Hanging off" is just to maximize this even more, and also to allow the suspension to work better.

6) It has been demonstrated that you *cannot* make a motorcycle go around a corner when you can't influence the bars, not the other way around. (Keith Code's "No BS Bike") You can make them lean a little.. but not much. A bicycle is different because you weigh more then the bike.

7) Motorcyclists shift weight both to the inside of the turn (high speed) and the outside of the turn (extreme low speed). Shifting to the outside of the turn can be useful on a bicycle.. mostly mountain biking when you're extremely tight switchbacks.


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## denmikseb (Aug 7, 2005)

*In this years TdF*

There was a case on a sharp downhill turn where the motorcycles could not go fast enough in the turn and slowed the cyclists behind them. I saw it and the commentaters made mention of it when it happened.


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## danl1 (Jul 23, 2005)

Also not mentioned, 'counter-leaning' increases lateral stress on wheels. In a properly-aligned turn, nearly all the forces on a wheel remain in plane, despite the lean. Counter-lean can put significant side loads on a wheel.

Hyper-leaning can have an advantage in less-than ideal conditions: If the bike gets loose from sand, gravel, wetness, etc., the bike can move underneath the rider, allowing the same basic physics of the turn (the balance between lean angle, centripetal forces, and speed) to continue without causing the road to rise up to meet the rider. On the other hand, it's not all that great for pedaling through, ergonomically speaking.

While it matters for nothing at all, motorcycles (but not bicycles) can exhibit extended counter-steering while within a turn. This is because of the availability of power to the rear wheel can allow it to scrub out, necessitating counter-steer to keep the wheels from swapping ends. Essentially, a motorcycle in a big hairy turn is doing it's own version of drift racing. Mere mortals on the street don't see it, but the crazies out on the track do.


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## Mark McM (Jun 18, 2005)

danl1 said:


> Also not mentioned, 'counter-leaning' increases lateral stress on wheels. In a properly-aligned turn, nearly all the forces on a wheel remain in plane, despite the lean. Counter-lean can put significant side loads on a wheel.
> 
> 
> danl1 said:
> ...


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## ktm882 (Aug 14, 2007)

_"So, does counterleaning have any place when turning? Well, it is often the fastest way to make quick, snappy turns, so counterleaning can come in useful for quick manuevering. But because it is not as stable as the rider in-plane position, for really fast, sweeping corners it is best to keep the body in-plane with the bike."_

I experienced this today on a really fast downhill where I live. I was making a left hand 45 degree turn and as I leaned in the bike leaned in the bike carved a way tighter trun that I anticipated, nearly hit my knee on a car waiting at the light. i have a lot to learn abut road riding, having rode dirt for so long.


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## t. swartz (Mar 15, 2007)

x3u93n3x said:


> Whenever I take on a curve, I lean towards the turn and (if needed) bring my inside knee down a little bit. I try to keep my upper body directly over the top tube, rather than leaning my upper body, because that's what Sheldon Brown said. XD
> 
> Anyhow, I was on a club ride and saw a different kind of steering method. He told me that it's called "Counter steering" where you push down the handlebar (or put weight on) towards the side that you want to turn to. It's apparently a safe and more effective turn.
> 
> ...


Check out the legendary Davis Phinney book...


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