How to Steer and Corner on a Bike

Video Transcript

KEVIN LIVINGSTON: Hi. I'm Kevin Livingston. Now I'm going to talk about steering. What most people think about steering, they think about turning the handlebars. This is the most--this technique is used mostly for slow speeds. If you're navigating, let's say, a parking lot or pulling out of a turn at low speed, this is the only time that you'd actually turn your handlebars to make a turn. So this technique is not really used that much in steering your bike. When pros or advanced riders think about steering a bike, they're going to think more about the counter-steering method. And this is when you're cornering or descending at a higher speed, you couldn't steer through a turn. The wheel would then skip and the bike wouldn't be allowed to lean over. You're going to use the method of counter-steering. What this means is as you approach a turn, if we're going to take a right turn, I'm going to adjust and have my outside foot down. I'm going to think about my core, my weight on my saddle, driving straight through the bike down here through the bottom bracket to the ground to help keep my weight centered properly on the bike. And as I approach the right turn, I'm going to look where I want to go. I'm going to pick my line, which is gently outside, inside, outside. But if you're on a road where there's traffic, you have to adjust your speed. You can't--you're not allowed to take the whole road up and take the big line through the corner. But so as I approach a turn, I'm going to look where I want to go and then I'm going to gently push forward on my inside hand. You see as I push forward, it allows the bike to naturally fall over and get that lean to make the turn. All the while, while I'm pushing gently forward, I'm pushing on my outside foot down driving my weight down through the bottom bracket through to the ground to keep me centered on the bike. Now actually on a downhill, you're going to be--you want to be pitch forward. That's why you have to concentrate on keeping your weight back and centered. Also if you have to brake, this would also pitch your forward. Because when you brake, you brake evenly and braking with the front wheel will cause a little shift in your weight forward. So look where you want to go, gently push forward, push down on the outside foot. Remember, don't push down. This could cause slippage of the front tire. Gently push forward. Also I want to show you and talk about hand position when cornering or when steering. Here when we talk about steering, we're talking about actually turning the handlebars at low speeds. This you could do from the tops--oh, I'm sorry, from the hoods or from the drops. This way you can reach your brakes and your gears. I would not recommend steering from your tops because you don't have as much control. You're better off being out a little bit wider in your hoods or in your drops. The same goes with cornering. When I'm cornering at higher speeds or just cornering in general, the drops are great because it lowers my center of gravity to help with traction. The hoods can also be a good place if I'm right--I would say for slower speeds, I would recommend cornering in the hoods. High speeds, I like to be in the drops; or if I'm a little bit tentative with a turn, I'll get in my drops, keep my center of gravity low. So these are some tips for hand position when steering and cornering.