I’ve noticed and have been told that my turns on the bike are horrible and slow. During group rides I have a hard time keeping up into and after turns. I’m currently turning my wheel into turns, but have been told that I should lean into turns (like you see in motorcycle races). But that just freaks me out. I also cant seem to get the right line, I usually end up wide and into the opposing traffic lane (dangerous I’m sure).
Anyway, any of our resident rodies have any hints on doing better turns? I wouldn’t be surprised if I shaved off a minute on a bike split for an Olympic on a technical course with faster turns.
You don’t steer, you lean. Also you have to learn how to radius the turns to maximum advantage. By this enter wide, cut the corner close and exit wide, just like they do in motor racing.
The only way to learn is to practice, practice, practice. Ask one of the roadies to take you out for a ride and show you. To get more familiar with your bike and how it handles you could also go to a parking lot and practice making small circles or set up a pylon course to ride thru.
The biggest mistake newbie road riders make regarding turns is where they look as opposed to where they should be looking.
Look through the turn, to where you want to end up, and you will naturally get there. Keep your eyes and head up. Your body will lean to accomodate.
DO NOT LOOK AT THE WHEEL IN FRONT OF YOU. Keep your eyes ahead and level with the riders heads in front. Assuming they are better riders, you’ll follow their lines.
Always slow BEFORE entering the turn (do not brake in the turn).
As mentioned already, look through the turn to where you are going. I you look just in front of the bike, you will twitch around the turn.
Best rule: “Press right, go right, press left, go left”. It’s the nature of two wheeled vehicles. By applying a small amount of pressure on the handlebar, on the side that is the direction you want to go, the bike will lean and turn in that direction. Most people don’t actually lean first, they do the press thing instinctually.
Begin accelerating again at the apex of the turn so you actually pick up speed through the turn. Never slow down/brake in the turn (traction on a bike either goes to grip the road, or brake, in a turn you need maximum traction, so as you brake also, something gives, namely traction and stability), espicially at higher speeds. If you into the turn too hot, press and lean more.
Thanks for the tips everyone. I’ll have to practice in a parking lot. Hopefully the other guys and girls in the roadie group ride won’t be scared to ride behind me once I get my turns down.
Weight the opposite leg fully extended, get off the saddle and into your drops, stick your knee out into the corner and get your center of gravity as low as possible - squat
Definitely lean. You can bank down a lot further than you think you can (assuming no loose gravel and relatively dry surface). A couple other points that might be obvious, might not. Keep the inside foot/pedal up and put weight on the outside foot/pedal. Fastest way to go through a turn is to keep pedaling but save that for when you are more comfortable.
The next point doesn’t apply to tribikes so well, but whatever. When going through turns aggressively put your hands down in the drops, you will be much more stable than on the hoods. With base and aero bars, get out of the aero bars (to start with, once you get good and comfortable you can take turns fairly aggressively in the bars, just so long as you aren’t too close to anyone).
Other than that the best way to learn is hop on your road bike (making an assumption here) and do a crit. I used to be really uncomfortable going through corners, then I had to do my first crit. The competitive spirit kicked in and I wasn’t about to let that little punk ride away from me so I learned pretty quick. If you aren’t game for that go do a twisty turny ride with someone who is good at/comfortable with turns. Ask them to start out pretty easy and slowly get more aggressive. Your only job at that point is to stay on their wheel and follow their line (as an earlier post stated don’t stare at it, just stay on it, but no half wheeling). This person whose wheel you are on knows how fast you can take corners and even though you think you are going to crash they know better.
I am certainly not the best cornerer that the world has ever seen, not by a longshot. I was much worse though and just following a better riders line eventually gives you a real feel for what you can actually do.
Definitely lean. You can bank down a lot further than you think you can (assuming no loose gravel and relatively dry surface).
Just to get an idea how far you can lean the bike, try this. Take your bike (when you’re not on it!), put the pedal nearest you all the way down then lean the bike over until the pedal hits. Note how far you have to lean the bike. Good riders routinely take corners at angles which require them to have the inside pedal UP so it doesn’t hit the pavement. They are leaning the bike over farther than you are holding your bike when you do this drill.
uuhhh, yeah. both while you’re in the turn and approaching it.
In order to properly lean your bike, you need to keep your front wheel straight. Don’t turn into the corner. In order to do this, you have to slightly turn the opposite direction as the corner. Since you’re shifting your weight into the corner, your natural tendency is to turn the handlebars into the corner as well. Slightly pulling the handlebars the opposite way in the corner effectively keeps your bike straight so you can lean with more control.
Also, check out the two photos of downhill cornering. Rasmussen, former mtb’r and brochard, road racer. Notice the feet positions. Don’t do it like rasmussen!
There is a lot of good information here. I myself come from a motorcycle racing instructional background. The only information that I would add would be to keep your weight off the front end on descents, scrub speed off using the rear brake to avoid locking the front wheel while reducing the weight over the front.
I would also advise riding the road and not the rider infront of you. There is a big tendency for people to fixate on an object or rider. So if the rider infront of you goes down or rides off the road you will be less likely to focus on him/her or follow them off the road.
also, lots of roadies think they need to stick their knee out, which does nothing. comes from motorcycle racing where the rider needs to know where the ground is through the corner (who was the guy that started it?? eddie lawson - guy on a yamaha, right?).
the sticking one’s knee out for bicycles I’m not 100% sure about. As for motorcycle racing a lot of it is not just figuring out ground clearance. Motorcycle racers shift there wait to the side of the bike nearest to the apex, one of the big reasons for this is to change the CG of the bike/rider inside and lower and allow them to corner in a tighter arc.
Kenny Roberts was the first racer to do the knee down thing for a reason, using it to control his lean angle. At least that’s what was in his book ‘the art and science of motorcycle road racing’.
Freddie Spencer was the one who actually used it to throw the bike back upright again after sliding both the back and front wheels through a corner (the full Freddie)
