How to know what speed is the right speed for a bend?

[sweetpea]

Those that rode with me at the 2007 National Meet will know that bends are not my favourite part of riding as I panic that I am going too fast and so drop the throttle and grab a handful of front brake.... basically all the things you shouldn't do.

You will be pleased to know that I realise this could not continue and I am booked with Paivi and others to do the CSS on the 20th April.

However as I have not ridden for months I wanted to do something to boost my confidence before the CSS so Saturday morning I attended my local bike school for a two hour one to one lesson, unfortunately it meant I missed the box hill meet but it was so worth it.

Right at the end of the lesson during the debrief (over a very warming cup of coffee) the instructor talked me through bends. He explained that to know if you are taking the bend at the right speed you should use the "vanishing points". I hadn't even heard of this before

Wikipedia: Vanishing points can also refer to the point in the distance where the two verges of a road appear to converge. This is often used to help assess the upcoming curves in the road; to judge the radius and therefore the entry speed and optimum line.

Basically if the vanishing points are appearing faster than you are travelling (i.e) they are rushing towards you then you are going too fast, if they appear at to move around with you then you have it spot on.


Sorry if this is obvious to you all but this was a real light bulb moment for me and you should have seen me on the ride home.

Roll on next weekend!

[Timk]

congratulations,i love those bulb moments in biking when things click or slot into place

You'll be out hunting corners now.

[Ghost]

Well done SP. yes the vanishing point is well discussed where the left and right hand kerbs meet.

At a constant speed if that meeting point is getting closer to you the bend is tightening.

If its moving away from you the bend is straightening out and you can start to roll on the power.

Pleased you have got the principle.

[diamondbrit73]

not trying to tell anyone how to suck eggs so to speak but a few other tips are:

• Road positioning - to be able to look a bit further through the bends such as being slighty left towards the edge of the road when going through a right hander and vice versa, just be careful of traffic coming the other way as cars like to cut corners.
• Watch the tree line or hedges, they normally show the lie of the bend
• Watch out for heavy mud! normally a farmer giles about somewhere or entrances to fields etc
• lights and road signs in the middle of nowwhere! they normally mean theres been an incident on the piece of road!

just a couple but practice, practice, practice!! Good luck

[Ghost]

Originally Posted by diamondbrit73

not trying to tell anyone how to suck eggs so to speak but a few other tips are:

• Road positioning - to be able to look a bit further through the bends such as being slighty left towards the edge of the road when going through a right hander and vice versa, just be careful of traffic coming the other way as cars like to cut corners.
• Watch the tree line or hedges, they normally show the lie of the bend
• Watch out for heavy mud! normally a farmer giles about somewhere or entrances to fields etc
• lights and road signs in the middle of nowwhere! they normally mean theres been an incident on the piece of road!

just a couple but practice, practice, practice!! Good luck

Absolutely, also wheelie bins out on pavements etc get ready for a big F*ck off dust cart around the next bend.

[Lucazade 749s]

Vanishing Point (1971)

Should say it all

[mrs 848]

i think BIKE mag covered this and it helped me alot with it all. although it didnt prepare me for the big men at work sign on a lorry sitting on my side just after/on a tight left hand bend with hedges on a tiny back road to work the other day! luckly no one was coming the other way! would have thought they would have sat on the straight bit before the bend! then some one coming the other way that i couldnt see coz they were behind a big white van turned right almost infront of me! that day i had a little sit down when i got to work.
i also find practicing the same route with some nice turns helps. as you can slowly take them abit faster each time .

[drazz]

Originally Posted by sweetpea

You will be pleased to know that I realise this could not continue and I am booked with Paivi and others to do the CSS on the 20th April.

I predict another when they put out the big 'X' marks on the track for you in the afternoon...

You just wait and see...

[harriebird]

it's easy to get carried away with "what speed can i go round a bend at" but don't forget that if you can't see round it then be really careful as there could literally be anything in the middle of the road!

[Duke of Pendle]

On our wonderful public roads, by far the best motto is;
SLOW IN - FAST OUT.
i.e. approach and enter the corner with a healthy safety margin, then when you can see all the way through the bend, gun it as much as you like.
Even if you you know the road like the back of your hand, there could be a pile of horsesh1t just out of sight!
That's my 2p

Phil

[sweetpea]

Thanks for the comments these are very welcome

Looking forward to the nice weather this year so I can get out on the bike more....

Suze

[Multimental]

I usually use my sphincter to tell me whether I've taken a bend too quick.

[Kenoir]

Originally Posted by Duke of Pendle

by far the best motto is;
SLOW IN - FAST OUT.
i.e. approach and enter the corner with a healthy safety margin, then when you can see all the way through the bend, gun it as much as you like.
Phil

YES!
Phil has it spot on.
Go in slow, maintain your corner speed and then learn how to improve your exit speed. Once you have sussed the exit, you can build your confidence going in to corners. But as Harrie said, if you can't see what's round the corner, have a plan 'B' ready just in case (i.e. make sure you're going slow enough to avoid whatever might be there).

If you go in too quickly and your natural reaction is to grab the front brake, the bike will sit up straight away making you run wide (possibly into the other side of the road). If you can't yet override your brains desire to brake, just go a bit slower. If you can switch to manual over ride, counter-steer even more and you'll be able to make it round the bend with more speed and on a tighter line if necessary.

I'm still learning not to go for the brake grab myself, so I just take it easy and improve gradually.

[ray998]

try your favorite road useing the throttle only no brakes,you may find you are abit slower going in but quicker on the gas on exit and much smoother,once you have built your confidence you can add in your bakes.slowly slowy catchy monkey

[Cess pit]

Originally Posted by Lucazade 749s

Vanishing Point (1971)

Should say it all

In winter my point is constantly vanishing