countersteering
craziest thing, countersteering. if you’ve never heard of it, next time you get on a bicycle or motorcycle, while going at moderate speed give one of the handlebars a definite push. most people assume (as did i when i first heard about it) that it’ll steer the bike in the direction you’re moving the front wheel. i mean, there’s no way the bike would veer toward the same handlebar you pushed!
first tried it last summer, and was flipping out — even after watching countless demonstrations on YouTube (most of them shitty, but there were a few good ones). turned out i’d long been countersteering subtly, without knowing it. i can veer suddenly using my old technique — sort of a combination of swinging with my body while giving the bars an almost imperceptible countersteer flick — nearly as sharply as a quick, decisive push on the handlebar.
my understanding is that with motorcycles it’s impossible to steer quickly at cruising speed without countersteering. having experimented for a while on my bicycle, i can see the potential for disaster if a motorcycle guy tries to make the switch to conscious application of countersteering force for emergency obstacle avoidance; not exactly an intuitive move shoving the wheel hard in the direction opposite of where you want to go. probably only comes through well ingrained muscle memory.
if i had tons of cash, i’d hire some geek to build me a bicycle accessory that recorded wheel angle for playback as a graphic in sync with video. that might be the only way i could really study my technique objectively. hard to check it out when you’re observing while doing; influences the action.
February 1st, 2008 at 06:16
I first learned about countersteering, though not that term, when I was riding my bicycle with a paper bag full of stuff gripped over the right handlebar. The wheel was held from turning to the right, and the bike fell on its right side, with me aboard. Then I thought about what I’d learned of torque in Physics class, and exclaimed, “Aha!”
And it’s much more powerful on a motorcycle.
So, yes, you can make a bike lean to the right by pushing the right handgrip away from you. Then you let go and the wheel will naturally swing into the turn.