4 ms·
The biggest problem for bikes when it comes to grip, in my experience, is that there is no redundancy. You brake hard, rear grip goes to zero, and you fishtail
by Swizec 3y ago
The biggest problem for bikes when it comes to grip, in my experience, is that there is no redundancy.
You brake hard, rear grip goes to zero, and you fishtail. Then you have to reduce braking force or you crash. This doesn’t happen in a car because unloading 2 independent tires is very hard.
You touch loose gravel going through a corner, front loses grip, you crash. Hitting the same gravel patch with 2+ car tires is unlikely.
- the_sleaze9 3y agoI learned in training to trust your motorcycle to keep it's footing when you encounter quick losses of traction. They had a bike that was equipped with a roll-cage, like an exoskeleton that prevented it from actually flipping but did allow it to lay over enough such that it would. Then they sent the bike through excessive lean angles across slippery surfaces. The riders who adjusted for the slippage wrecked, the ones who just allowed the bike to fish a little didn't. Of course that's assuming you aren't too close to the threshold, etc. But it was eye opening to learn to just kind of hang on and trust the machine a bit.
- Swizec 3y agoYep this works great until it doesn’t. When I crashed after hitting a gravel patch it literally felt like a video game that skips a frame. My thoughts were “Gravel!” “Wait am I on the ground?” And a few moments later I stopped tumbling. There was zero time for a reaction of any kind. Happened so fast I didn’t even get an adrenaline rush out of it. Luckily insurance paid for bike damage and new gear. I only got a bruise where my elbow missed the elbow pads. Bike stopped maybe 50ft down the road.