[miss_sexy]

Kk, this is embarrassing, as a kid I shy'd away from technical things such as riding a bike and couldn't be bothered with it..I'm now 19 and during the my Easter holiday at home with family, I learnt how to in my second one hour practice with my little brother (lol), but i stopped then and only went back to it yesterday. I can balance whilst riding by increasing my speed but I have not successfully been able to turn in a corner, please give some tips.

Thanks

[fuzznbass]

Turn the handlebars ?

[Andy_J]

Assuming this is a pedal bike... I can sympathise with you a bit, I didn't learn to ride a bike until year 9, which is much younger than you but still later than most people.

Just turn the handles in the direction you want to go, unless you are experienced and have good balance, leaning in one direction will just make you topple over.

I suggest doing it on grass first, concrete hurts

[notnek]

Practice balancing in a straight line to start off with and the turning will come once you become more confident.

[kiss_me_now9]

Remember to turn the handlebars and keep them parallel to the ground rather than trying to push down on one side to turn. That's the biggest reason I fall off...

[TheSownRose]

Admittedly it was advice for a motorbike, but I can see no reason why it wouldn't apply: make sure you look where you want to go.

[Runninground]

Brake before you turn the corner, then turn the handle bars, lean into the corner a tad, but not so much that you fall off...


You could always try stabilizers...

[zohaib029]

Well like I've always said. The faster you travel the easier it is to balance(Don't travel fast at sharp turns... You will crash)

Samsung > Apple

[Origami Bullets]

Look where you want to go

Make sure you're going at a steady pace that is fast enough to be stable but slow enough to be manageable. Then turn the handlebars a little bit, but not much, still looking where you want to go

[Converse Rocker]

Is this a pedal bike or a motorbike? I would assume pedal but you described it as 'technical', which makes me a little confused.

I'll assume you mean pedal, and say that you need to slow down. Just turn the handlebars, and make sure you don't try and go round it too fast because you'll just come off. Practice will be your best friend!

[Clare~Bear]

Like others say, turn the handlebars without pushing it downwards.

Can I suggest that at first you only turn slightly, and the do sharper turns once you successfully manage the first? then built it up to a proper corner?

[Kage]

You'll soon get it
It just comes with practise. I learned to ride a bike when I was very young, and you never forget how to once you can.

To turn, it depends; You can simply turn the handlebars when going slow, but when going pretty fast, you tend to lean slightly to the side your turning, but this comes with experience.

My bike has a feature (well I call it a feature) on its back breaks. If I use them at all like I have to using the fronts sometimes, the back wheel actually locks up, enabling me to do slides around corners, but I don't advise that, and most bikes probably don't do this.

[Converse Rocker]

(Original post by Kage)
My bike has a feature (well I call it a feature) on its back breaks. If I use them at all like I have to using the fronts sometimes, the back wheel actually locks up, enabling me to do slides around corners, but I don't advise that, and most bikes probably don't do this.

Is it an actual feature, or are you just pulling the back-brake hard, stopping the wheel, and skidding?

I just wanted to ask because I'm into my bikes (pedal) and I haven't heard of a mechanism that is there to intentionally lock the back wheel

[unprinted]

The faster you are going, the more of the turning forces are generated by shifting your weight over to the side you want to turn towards, usually by leaning. The bike becomes less stable and so you need to turn the handlebars too.

If you can get someone to take the pedals off, you may well find it easier to practice this because you can put your feet down when going 'Argh, I am going to fall off!!' without losing an ankle or two. (Hence the popularity of pedal-less bikes for small children.) Once you get better at it, you can put the pedals back on.

[Kage]

(Original post by Converse Rocker)
Is it an actual feature, or are you just pulling the back-brake hard, stopping the wheel, and skidding?

I just wanted to ask because I'm into my bikes (pedal) and I haven't heard of a mechanism that is there to intentionally lock the back wheel

It's certainly not intentional. Its just something that started happening. I also dont sit on the seat so the back doesnt have much grip so if I press the back breaks as I would to slow on the front, they just lock. The fronts never do.

I've ruined the tread now though and have wrecked the tube once in its life but its a cheap repair and the bike is 8 years old or so now

[unprinted]

I was explaining riding 'no hands' to someone and..

Try walking in a straight line, normal speed. No problem.

Now do it again, but in the middle, lean over to one side from your hips. You should find that you're naturally now curving off to that side.

It's the same on a bike.