Quote:
Originally Posted by godscountry
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That is an excellent experiment with the string. Maybe the best position for the side CoP will be on the vertical line which runs through the center of the head set to best activte the countersteering of the trail. But still as low as possible below the roll CG.
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With the string tied at the head tube, Max pulled sideways (gently at first!) and I found that it was very easy to make a slight steering correction to return the bike to roll-and-yaw equilibrium and to keep the path essentially straight. With a little practice, I was steering and rolling the bike slightly and could resist as much side force as he could pull. Sharply varying side forces (gusty winds) were tried next with the same ease of control.
Next, we moved the string back to the seat post simulating a CP aft of the CG. We kept the height above ground the same. Here the control required was much more difficult. With practice, I could steer and roll the bike to counter this side force but there always were several big swerves and the heading always changed. A varying "gusty" side force was very difficult to
control -- most of the effort went into roll stability (keeping balanced) and the heading went all over the road!
Finally, we moved the string back to the head tube and reversed the front forks to increase the trail. Now the side force also produced a large steering torque. This torque steered the bike "down-wind" which resulted very quickly in a roll angle "up-wind", just what is required to "lean into the wind". With a loose grip on the handlebars, the bars wiggled around as the string was jerked but the bike kept going nearly straight.
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