Leaning to the left

"BW" <[email hidden]> wrote in news:XnLwb.98295$1N3.92238 @twister.nyroc.rr.com:

Quoted message said:

I seem to be a left-leaner. I find that leaning into curves to the left is easier than leaning
right for right hand curves.

On a 2 lane road, right curves are generally sharper than left curves. You also get a better sight
line to the left. That is true on 2 (or more) lane roads in countries where you use the right lane.
Try riding in a left lane country and see if your problem goes away.

BW said:

I seem to be a left-leaner.

Good!

Quoted message said:

Anyone else out there a left-leaner?

Only politically.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | Deserves death! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve _`\(,_ | death. And some that die
deserve life. Can you give it to (_)/ (_) | them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in
judgement. -- J. R. R. Tolkien

BW said:

I seem to be a left-leaner. I find that leaning into curves Anyone else out there a left-leaner?

Never noticed, but it brings to mind the lyrics: " I'm raising my kids in a righteous way So don't
be sending your kids over to my house to play Yours'll grow up stoned, left-leaning, and gay; I know
Jesus told me on the phone today" (Note: This is a comedy song, not a religious song)

See austinlizards.comjesus.htmlOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

BW

--
Rick Onanian

It is not all that uncommon for people to have legs or arms of different lengths. Perhaps one side
of you is slightly longer than the other.

"BW" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I seem to be a left-leaner. I find that leaning into curves to the left is easier than leaning
right for right hand curves. And in general, I find that correcting to the left on the bike is
easier than correcting right.

Could this be due to the fact that I am right-handed, and the right side of my body is stronger
than the left? Or is it because the roads I ride have crowns, and I am always leaning left to stay
straight?

Anyone else out there a left-leaner?

BW

BW' from Road Runner said:

Anyone else out there a left-leaner?

I am.

Well, you didn't think I'd pass _this_ thread up, did you?

Viva socialisme!

--
real e-mail addy: kevansmith23 at yahoo dot com Hmmm ... a PINHEAD, during an EARTHQUAKE, encounters
an ALL-MIDGET FIDDLE ORCHESTRA ... ha ... ha ...

BW said:

I seem to be a left-leaner. I find that leaning into curves to the left is easier than leaning
right for right hand curves. And in general, I find that correcting to the left on the bike is
easier than correcting right.

Could this be due to the fact that I am right-handed, and the right side of my body is stronger
than the left? Or is it because the roads I ride have crowns, and I am always leaning left to stay
straight?

Anyone else out there a left-leaner?

Regarding bicycle balancing (as opposed to politics) - I don't remember which way I lean. All I know
for sure is that I do lean, and it's in the opposite direction from my wife. When we ride the
tandem, she notices the difference.

--
Frank Krygowski

In article said:

I seem to be a left-leaner. I find that leaning into curves to the left is easier than leaning
right for right hand curves. And in general, I find that correcting to the left on the bike is
easier than correcting right.

I'm not suggesting any answers. I'm just asking a couple of questions, myself.

Could this effect be because the wheels aren't tracking properly -- say, if a rim is off-centre in
relation to its axle? And if so, would some difficulty in riding a straight line no-hands also be
a symptom?

cheers, Tom

--
-- Powered by FreeBSD Above address is just a spam midden. I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn
[point] bc [point] ca

BW said:

I seem to be a left-leaner. I find that leaning into curves to the left is easier than leaning
right for right hand curves. And in general, I find that correcting to the left on the bike is
easier than correcting right.

I find that I am much more comfortable doing sharp turns (such as U-turns) to the left than to
the right.

Tom Sherman - Planet Earth

Quoted message said:

Tom Sherman [email hidden]

Quoted message said:

I find that I am much more comfortable doing sharp turns (such as U-turns) to the left than to
the right.

I'll leave the obvious- but in my case inapplicable- political puns to others and just say "me too".
Q-factor aside, I wonder if this may have something to do with right side drive. It only takes one
chain ring scar to make one a bit more cautious.

Regards, Bob Hunt

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Tom Keats
I'm not suggesting any answers. I'm just asking a couple of questions, myself.

Could this effect be because the wheels aren't tracking properly -- say, if a rim is off-centre in
relation to its axle? And if so, would some difficulty in riding a straight line no-hands also be
a symptom?

cheers, Tom

yeah, i'm curious about this too. i've just built up a bike using older parts, and it seems to lean left, in a stiff way. possibly the wheels are off-track.
however, i'd thought i'd shortened the brake cable housing a little too much, maybe this is the reason?

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Tom Keats
I'm not suggesting any answers. I'm just asking a couple of questions, myself.

Could this effect be because the wheels aren't tracking properly -- say, if a rim is off-centre in
relation to its axle? And if so, would some difficulty in riding a straight line no-hands also be
a symptom?

cheers, Tom

yeah, i'm curious about this too. i've just built up a bike using older parts, and it seems to lean left, in a stiff way. possibly the wheels are off-track.
however, i'd thought i'd shortened the brake cable housing a little too much, maybe this is the reason?

georgehoward said:

Originally posted by Tom Keats I'm not suggesting any answers. I'm just asking a couple of
questions, myself.

Could this effect be because the wheels aren't tracking properly -- say, if a rim is off-centre in
relation to its axle? And if so, would some difficulty in riding a straight line no-hands also be
a symptom?

It certainly could be caused by various misalignments, but I believe it can happen with a
perfectly straight bike. Recall what I said about our tandem; I lean one way, my wife leans the
other. I've known people who always wear out one particular side of their saddles, no matter what
bike they ride.

There are ways to check the alignment of a bike. One way is to take a long straightedge and hold it
alongside the wheels, about six inches off the floor. Assuming the wheels and tires are identical,
the straightedge should touch in four places.

Another way is to carefully walk the bike down a tiled hallway (or other flat surface with accurate
lines). Hold the handlebars one-handed at their center and walk at least ten feet, being careful to
keep the bike balanced and the front wheel exactly on a line. Then stop and see if the rear wheel is
exactly on that line.

Much quicker, but not nearly as accurate, is to ride though a puddle and beyond, riding straight.
Then see if you leave one track or two side-by-side ones. And yes, the bike will probably pull to
one side when ridden no-hands.

If you suspect your wheels are not symmetrical, measure the distance from the front fork blade to
one side of your wheel. Take the wheel out and reverse. You should get the same measurement.

You can get a good idea of rear triangle alignment with a string run from a rear dropout, around the
front of the head tube, back to the other dropout. It should clear each side of the seat tube by the
same distance.

Fork alignment is tougher. AFAIK, the only way to get good measurements is to take the fork off the
bike and lay it on a flat work surface, then measure carefully.

--
Frank Krygowski

Hunrobe said:

Quoted message said:

Tom Sherman [email hidden] wrote:

Quoted message said:

I find that I am much more comfortable doing sharp turns (such as U-turns) to the left than to
the right.

I'll leave the obvious- but in my case inapplicable- political puns to others and just say "me
too". Q-factor aside, I wonder if this may have something to do with right side drive. It only
takes one chain ring scar to make one a bit more cautious.

I'm right-handed, and leaning to the left is way easier and more precise on both bicycles and
motorcycles. OTOH, I do much better right turns on skis. I've finally localized that to a weirdness
in my left hip joint, so I suspect that people's bicycle turning preferences are also dictated by
some physical consideration.

Any left-handers who like to turn right?

--
Cheers, Bev
------------------------------------------------------------
VISE GRIPS (VYS'-gripz) [n] A tool used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of the welder's
hand. -- DS

(Hunrobe) said:

Quoted message said:

Tom Sherman [email hidden]

Quoted message said:

I find that I am much more comfortable doing sharp turns (such as U-turns) to the left than to
the right.

I'll leave the obvious- but in my case inapplicable- political puns to others and just say "me
too". Q-factor aside, I wonder if this may have something to do with right side drive. It only
takes one chain ring scar to make one a bit more cautious.

I'll bet that this has something to do with the crown of the road (and I suspect it's opposite where
they drive on the wrong (ahem...) side of the road). Turning "uphill" is much easier than turning
"downhill", even if the "hill" is a percent of grade.

Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles habcycles.comhabcycles.comOpen ↗ Home of the $695 ti frame

Mark Hickey said:

(Hunrobe) said:

Quoted message said:

Tom Sherman [email hidden]

Quoted message said:

I find that I am much more comfortable doing sharp turns (such as U-turns) to the left than to
the right.

I'll leave the obvious- but in my case inapplicable- political puns to others and just say "me
too". Q-factor aside, I wonder if this may have something to do with right side drive. It only
takes one chain ring scar to make one a bit more cautious.

I'll bet that this has something to do with the crown of the road (and I suspect it's opposite
where they drive on the wrong (ahem...) side of the road). Turning "uphill" is much easier than
turning "downhill", even if the "hill" is a percent of grade.

Is that why I always seem to head south 😉

--
Perre

You have to be smarter than a robot to reply.

Mark Hickey said:

(Hunrobe) said:

Quoted message said:

Tom Sherman [email hidden]

Quoted message said:

I find that I am much more comfortable doing sharp turns (such as U-turns) to the left than to
the right.

I'll leave the obvious- but in my case inapplicable- political puns to others and just say "me
too". Q-factor aside, I wonder if this may have something to do with right side drive. It only
takes one chain ring scar to make one a bit more cautious.

I'll bet that this has something to do with the crown of the road (and I suspect it's opposite
where they drive on the wrong (ahem...) side of the road). Turning "uphill" is much easier than
turning "downhill", even if the "hill" is a percent of grade.

I find this to be true even when riding around a flat parking lot (e.g. killing time waiting for
others to arrive at a show-and-go ride) doing figure-8 turns and similar maneuvers. I suspect that
it is psychological and not mechanical.

Tom Sherman - Planet Earth

In article said:

It certainly could be caused by various misalignments, but I believe it can happen with a
perfectly straight bike. Recall what I said about our tandem; I lean one way, my wife leans the
other. I've known people who always wear out one particular side of their saddles, no matter what
bike they ride.

[etc, good hint's 'n tips]

Thanks, Frank. That's a most comprehensive answer. I imagine there are plenty of
physiologically-induced causes for this effect, too. My old mixte, when I first got it, had this
left-leaning thing too, although it steered normally. The original front wheel's rim was somewhat
offset from its hub. The effect seemed to disappear after I replaced both wheels, which involved
just a hair of spreading both the fork and the rear triangle.

cheers, Tom

--
-- Powered by FreeBSD Above address is just a spam midden. I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn
[point] bc [point] ca

BW said:

I seem to be a left-leaner. I find that leaning into curves to the left is easier than leaning
right for right hand curves. And in general, I find that correcting to the left on the bike is
easier than correcting right.

Could this be due to the fact that I am right-handed, and the right side of my body is stronger
than the left? Or is it because the roads I ride have crowns, and I am always leaning left to stay
straight?

Anyone else out there a left-leaner?

I finally had the pleasure of reading The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien. In it, a character
asserts that all people always mount a bicycle from the left side. I was chagrinned to find, upon
searching my own mind, that this is true of myself.

If this message finds anyone who in fact mounts their bicycle from the right side, please do reply
here without further delay.

Steven

--
Steven O'Neill [email hidden] www.bridgetolls.org

Quoted message said:

I finally had the pleasure of reading The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien. In it, a character
asserts that all people always mount a bicycle from the left side. I was chagrinned to find, upon
searching my own mind, that this is true of myself.

Seems logical to me. After all, the drive mechanism is almost always on the right, and when one
walks a bike one walks it from the non-drive side, nearly always.

This tends to keep the pants cleaner.

When I mount I do so from the side I walk, the left.

--

_______________________ALL AMIGA IN MY MIND_______________________ ------------------"Buddy Holly,
the Texas Elvis"------------------
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