How To Corner Like A Pro

6. Stand on the outside crank.

7. When the corner is sharper than expected, lean the bike over, commit to a line, and trust the tires

8. I still like the old rule about keeping your eyes parallel to the road.

[IMG]cyclingforums.com700Open ↗[/IMG]

Throw that knee in, level the eyes, lay it over and just let it roll.

Then there's that whole slippery/off camber discussion of leaning the rider and the bike not so much...

X. Consider entering the corner late to give yourself more room on exit to carry more speed.

11.- the obvious, ride the road in a training ride before

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by vspa [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

11.- the obvious, ride the road in a training ride before

Hmmmm, I'd say one mark of cornering like a pro is being able to read corners that you've never seen before. Sure as a way to build skills and confidence it can help to ride roads you know at faster speeds but you're not cornering like a pro until you can do so a vue.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by steve [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

1) Get a pro contract. (No need to take a risk unless you are being paid.)

Quote:
Originally Posted by daveryanwyoming [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Hmmmm, I'd say one mark of cornering like a pro is being able to read corners that you've never seen before. Sure as a way to build skills and confidence it can help to ride roads you know at faster speeds but you're not cornering like a pro until you can do so a vue.

Great way to kill yourself or others. Pros have other pros to follow or at least a guy in a car with a route book and a motorcycle to follow.

---

Years ago a kid was descending a hill during a state championship. Missed a turn. Killed himself. Lots of pros run off the road - usually with less damage.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by An old Guy [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Great way to kill yourself or others. Pros have other pros to follow or at least a guy in a car with a route book and a motorcycle to follow....

Yes, we know you won't actually race until someone pays you to do so, but if you ever do get into your first Cat 5 race you'll learn quickly that races happen all the time on courses with no previews as do Gran Fondos and century rides. Learn to read the road and corner within your abilities on unknown roads or you're a much greater danger to yourself or others. It's part of being an accomplished rider and no you don't get to preview every corner nor follow a lead vehicle through every turn but again you'd know that if you actually raced.

-Dave

daveryanwyoming said:

Yes, we know you won't actually race until someone pays you to do so, but if you ever do get into your first Cat 5 race you'll learn quickly that races happen all the time on courses with no previews as do Gran Fondos and century rides. Learn to read the road and corner within your abilities on unknown roads or you're a much greater danger to yourself or others. It's part of being an accomplished rider and no you don't get to preview every corner nor follow a lead vehicle through every turn but again you'd know that if you actually raced. -Dave

+Yup. The techniques pros use to corner are just as useful to the non-racing public. They can keep someone from getting into trouble in a corner and can help someone corner more safely.

Do racers actually lift their butts off the saddle in a fast corner? I do put what seems like a large percentage of my weight on the outside pedal but my butt is still in contact with the saddle. If they do lift their butts off the saddle, is it just a small fraction of an inch?

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by Yorlik [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Do racers actually lift their butts off the saddle in a fast corner? I do put what seems like a large percentage of my weight on the outside pedal but my butt is still in contact with the saddle. If they do lift their butts off the saddle, is it just a small fraction of an inch?

Personally I keep some weight planted on the tail end of the saddle. I've had my rear end skip around when exiting curves and hitting a pavement ripple enough times that I prefer not to completely unweight the saddle.This is extra important in crits or other situations where you whip the gears up as you exit a corner as even riding up on the nose of the saddle in those situations can be enough to unweight your rear wheel and have it come around on you. I would say if you do completely unweight the saddle while coasting and carving down a mountain descent, then yes make it very subtle and keep your butt very close to the saddle. Regardless of what else you do, it pays to keep you center of gravity low and you won't do that by rising high out of the saddle.

Advanced tricks as mentioned above include some steady pressure on the inside hand, not just down but down and forward driving that hand through the turn, some upper body separation and angulation much like a skier (which goes hand in hand with the suggestion above to keep eyes level), and when really railing a corner it can pay to actually pull up on the inside pedal as well as pressuring down on the outside pedal. That last part can help you get the upper body angulation that keeps your head and shoulders and upper body more upright as the bike leans more steeply beneath you. Again that's for dry, clean pavement where traction isn't the big concern, the less you trust the surface traction the less you commit to steep lean angles with the bike and tires which was also mentioned above.

A good wet weather descending and cornering trick is to soft pedal through all corners. It doesn't help you go faster, it's just a way to subconsciously regulate lean angle, if you descend though turns at a speed you're willing to pedal you shouldn't be tempted to throw the bike over steeply into the turns. That's a good trick for our rainy winter rides and rainy spring races in the Pacific NW.

-Dave

Even pros get it all FUBAR.

The next-to-last lap of any crit the cornering rules get tossed out.

On the last two corners you can make up any new rule you want.

12. No hard breaks on wet road.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by daveryanwyoming [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Yes, we know you won't actually race until someone pays you to do so, but if you ever do get into your first Cat 5 race you'll learn quickly that races happen all the time on courses with no previews as do Gran Fondos and century rides. Learn to read the road and corner within your abilities on unknown roads or you're a much greater danger to yourself or others. It's part of being an accomplished rider and no you don't get to preview every corner nor follow a lead vehicle through every turn but again you'd know that if you actually raced.

-Dave

I said it was a great way to kill yourself and look what is in the news:

Story of the week. There was a decent bicyclist, Dale Stetina, going down Lefthand Canyon road. Took a slight turn with a modest sized group. Oh my! A pickup coming up the road was on the wrong side. Fell off his bicycle. Critical condition.

The bicyclist were violating the basic speed law. But they were riding like pros. You keep on telling people how safe bicycling like the pros is. Someday someone may make you eat your advice.

---

They did not have Cat5 when I was racing. Cat4 was the demolition derby class of the time. I raced with the pros back then. Even got paid.

An old Guy said:

I said it was a great way to kill yourself and look what is in the news: Story of the week. There was a decent bicyclist, Dale Stetina, going down Lefthand Canyon road. Took a slight turn with a modest sized group. Oh my! A pickup coming up the road was on the wrong side. Fell off his bicycle. Critical condition. The bicyclist were violating the basic speed law. But they were riding like pros. You keep on telling people how safe bicycling like the pros is. Someday someone may make you eat your advice. --- They did not have Cat5 when I was racing. Cat4 was the demolition derby class of the time. I raced with the pros back then. Even got paid.

Uhm, the problem was the driver on the wrong side of the road. That's what is known. You have no special knowledge of the incident that justify you claim. In fact, only a scumbag would make claims as you just have. It's tells a lot about you to use the incident to coat the turds you throw about.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by alienator [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Uhm, the problem was the driver on the wrong side of the road. That's what is known.....

Exactly, a car coming around a corner on the wrong side of the road does not say anything about the rider's speed or cornering skills, regardless of the cyclist's speed that's a very dangerous situation.

That's a very unfortunate accident and I hope he comes out all right.

-Dave

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by alienator [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Uhm, the problem was the driver on the wrong side of the road. That's what is known. You have no special knowledge of the incident that justify you claim. In fact, only a scumbag would make claims as you just have.

It's tells a lot about you to use the incident to coat the turds you throw about.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by daveryanwyoming [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Exactly, a car coming around a corner on the wrong side of the road does not say anything about the rider's speed or cornering skills, regardless of the cyclist's speed that's a very dangerous situation.

That's a very unfortunate accident and I hope he comes out all right.

-Dave

You guys have short memories.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by daveryanwyoming [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Learn to read the road and corner within your abilities on unknown roads or you're a much greater danger to yourself or others

known road. mild corner. So you are saying that descending differently more people would have been hurt.

Most people try to avoid cars, potholes, llittle kids, cows. They were going too fast for the conditions. We know that because one is in the hospital because he could not stop in time. (The car did not hit him. He did not brake properly.)

He screwed up. He was cornering like a pro.

Stop giving people your deadly advice.

Uhm, the car was in the wrong lane. What do not understand about that? There's very little anyone can do in the situation those riders faced. Since you apparently didn't read the article with comprehension, here are the salient bits: According to the Daily Camera report, troopers who responded to the scene said that a 1999 Jeep SUV was headed westbound on Lefthand Canyon when the driver, identified as an adult male, pulled across the centerline and onto a shoulder on the opposite side of the road. The driver then attempted to pull back into the westbound lane just as a group of cyclists headed eastbound on the roadway came around a slight bend. All of the cyclists were able to avoid the vehicle, but one rider lost control in the process of maneuvering, causing him to fall from his bike, a Colorado State Patrol spokesperson told Daily Camera. Nowhere is it suggested that the riders were doing anything wrong at all. It is only you who has suggested that. You've got nothing of value to say on the topic, but you do seem to revel in the serious injury of others. That sure does say a lot about you. To your other "point", no one has suggested anything dangerous in terms of how to corner better.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by An old Guy [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

You guys have short memories.

known road. mild corner. So you are saying that descending differently more people would have been hurt.....

No we're saying how he cornered was less significant than an oncoming car in the wrong lane. Head on collisions because a vehicle is on the wrong side of the road is not generally the fault of those in the correct lane. It happens between cars far too often and same thing, the drivers staying on their side of the road are not generally at fault.

You're reading a lot into this accident based on scant details but what we do know from the reports is that the vehicle that struck him was on the wrong side of the road. I have seen nothing to suggest he was descending in a hazardous way. Perhaps those details will follow but you seem to be assuming that because he rode a bicycle professionally he was therefore taking irresponsible risks, I have seen nothing that implies that was the case.

All I've been saying and will continue to say is that a rider should learn to read the road and descend safely at reasonable speeds. I stand by that as it's just as essential on a bicycle as in a car or any other vehicle. Nowhere have I stated or will state that riders should take all blind corners as fast as humanly possible, just that reading the road without the benefit of having previewed every corner is an essential riding skill. Perhaps you need to review my posts on this subject and show me where I said riders should maximize speed with no regard for safety.

As for quality of advice on these or other forums I'll leave that to the other forum members to decide who's advice is consistently more valuable, mine or yours.

-Dave