Mick Walker Posted December 14, 2020 Share Posted December 14, 2020 Hello, I would be interested in any tips which could help me reduce my turning circle. I can ride, and am confident, however when I try to make a tight 180 degree turn (as in as small a turn as possible) I can not maintain balance. Does anyone have any drills to help me improve, or is it merely a case of keep repeating it until I get it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_bike_kite Posted December 14, 2020 Share Posted December 14, 2020 I remember finding this video helpful: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lylesgold Posted December 14, 2020 Share Posted December 14, 2020 For me, it's anticipation. At the commencement of the turn I look in the direction I want to end up facing. This causes a windup, pre-rotation of the upper body that gets transferred as momentum through the hips down to the feet, rotating the wheel. Then lots of practice... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Walker Posted December 14, 2020 Author Share Posted December 14, 2020 4 minutes ago, mike_bike_kite said: I remember finding this video helpful: Thanks Mike, I had seen that before myself from when I was learning to ride. Might be useful to go back to my training area and master it, now I have practical experience of the theory behind riding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houseofjob Posted December 14, 2020 Share Posted December 14, 2020 (edited) 41 minutes ago, Mick Walker said: Hello, I would be interested in any tips which could help me reduce my turning circle. I can ride, and am confident, however when I try to make a tight 180 degree turn (as in as small a turn as possible) I can not maintain balance. Does anyone have any drills to help me improve, or is it merely a case of keep repeating it until I get it? For the tightest of turns, esp without sacrificing speed, you need to be comfortable tilting/pivoting/dipping the wheel independent of your body potentially tilting/pivoting/dipping (which it really doesn't have to do much of really, ie. dip the wheel, not you). Most riders I see want to turn their wheel while their feet stay constantly flat and planted on the pedals, legs close to or hugging the wheel body, everything parallel and in the same facing direction to the wheel's forward vector. This is the absolute worst way to turn, as legs up against the wheel will restrict the wheel from angling independent of your body, and planted feet in combination means the wheel can only turn and angle only so much a degree before the wheel slips out from under you due to the out-of-whack center of gravity. So the keys IMHO are to be able to alternate lifting one heel at a time (corresponding to the turn direction), as that allows the wheel to dip independent of you (quicker turns), and allowing the other planted leverage foot to land where the planted heel is farther away from the wheel body being on the pedal, to, again, allow for the leg to clear the shell and allow the wheel body to dip farther and independent of your body angle. If you did an exercise like this you would be able to (while propping yourself against a wall perhaps) hinge the EUC from one pedal scrape touch to the ground, to the other pedal scrape touch to the ground, all while your body above the wheel is relatively upright, little angling, still comparatively. If you get the hang of that, then combining this with a countersteer preparation, where you heel dip the wheel the opposite direction of the turn, so you can initiate a carve into the turn direction both deeper & sharper, you will be able to get super sharp turns without having to let up on speed or losing balance. Edited December 14, 2020 by houseofjob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darrell Wesh Posted December 14, 2020 Share Posted December 14, 2020 1 hour ago, Mick Walker said: Hello, I would be interested in any tips which could help me reduce my turning circle. I can ride, and am confident, however when I try to make a tight 180 degree turn (as in as small a turn as possible) I can not maintain balance. Does anyone have any drills to help me improve, or is it merely a case of keep repeating it until I get it? If you’re talking about trying to make a U turn on a narrow path or sidewalk, do you know that you can turn the EUC by force and not give a damn about it’s pedal height/turning radius? This comes in handy when you have a wheel like the Monster or something with super low pedals. 90 degree turns in sequence of if you’re strong enough/have enough momentum you can control just do a 180 degree twist. I will find a video in a minute after I’m free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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