Riding in to work to day got me thinking about turning and counter steering. My question isn't about counter steering per say but about the way to do it. I know in the MSF classes and everything you read they always say push left to go left, push right to go right. My question is this, is there a physical reason to push on the side you want to turn to as opposed to pulling on the opposite side, or is it that it is simpler to teach a new rider since everything is being done on the same side.
I wasn't really able to wrap my head around the counter steering concept. Then on Sunday I attended a track school and the instructor said: when entering a corner, lead with your lower shoulder. This basically means that if you push your right shoulder forward while you are turning right, you will automatically push that handlebar forward. It is really easy to remember and it works, I am now able to countersteer every time I go around a corner.
What I really like about this technique, compared to just pushing and pulling on the handlebar, is that your brain isn't screaming at you: YOU BLOODY IDIOT, YOU ARE TURNING THE WRONG WAY!!!!!!!
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Riding in to work to day got me thinking about turning and counter steering. My question isn't about counter steering per say but about the way to do it. I know in the MSF classes and everything you read they always say push left to go left, push right to go right. My question is this, is there a physical reason to push on the side you want to turn to as opposed to pulling on the opposite side, or is it that it is simpler to teach a new rider since everything is being done on the same side.
The only logical reason is that if you're thinking 'Pull right to go left', that doesn't make sense to the human mind.
The people that train the courses and the most experienced riders tell you this because they want to make it as simple as possible.
But hey...if you want to try pulling right to go left, go for it.
I only asked this because I noticed that if I paid attention to what I was doing I noticed that I tended to pull as opposed to push. I've been riding for over 30 years and it's not like I even think about the fact that I'm pushing or pulling for the counter steering. I did notice that it seems easier physically to pull the handle bars than to push them when I've tried to compare the two methods. Guess I'm just looking to see if there is a good reason to try and retrain myself to use the push method.
Pushing is much easier! You shouldn't really be holding onto the bars with any amount of pressure. Just enough to operate the controls. That being said you can push the bars easier because you have your body weight securely behind you. Think of trying to open a door. When you are pushing a self closing door you are able to plant your heals and apply pressure slowly to push or hold the door open. When pulling on the same door you have to lean back and pull to get your weight to work for you and, if you have to stop pulling, you can be caught off balance. It's a question of finesse. Also, there is the possibility of pulling on the throttle and getting unwanted power.
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I'm not an experienced rider but, I honestly don't think there's a right or wrong way to do it.
I guess if somebody tells you one thing and you feel more comfortable doing it, and remembering to do it another way, then that's best for YOU.
Get used to doing it the way that you feel most comfortable and stick with it, that way in an emergency situation, you don't have too many different things to debate.
You don't want a truck slamming on the brakes in front of you an you begin thinking...'Errrm, was it push or pull left to go left...or right or?'...SLAMMMM
Keith Code explains the technology of Counter steering, Counter Weight and leaning 3 mins in....If you haven't watched, it's pretty interesting. If you have already seen , my apologies....
As I get more miles under my belt I am finding that I push firmly and pull lightly. Doing both at once is what I naturally do now without thinking about it, so I figure I'll go with it. Having both hands active might make for a faster transition if you have to go in the opposite direction quickly maybe. Don't really know.
It's complex physics, which is why it's hard to explain / think about / visualize. We've been doing this on our bicycles since we were kids, we just never thought about it or had a name for it. We had one guy in our MSF class that counter-steering did not apply to - he rode a trike..
Turning question
