[NSRCA-discussion] Weather Vane or Crab

[george w. kennie]

Eddie,
You're not cracking up !   I'm an avid bicyclist and I've had the same 
experience on gusty days. I've never gotten really used to it, as it scares 
me every time it happens.
I thought it was caused by the apparent (to the wind) disc of the spoked 
wheels presenting a greater area to the cross wind combined with the lighter 
mass as compared to the mass of my body, but I don't think this reasoning 
applies to a Goldie.
I'd bow to Jim A. on this one.
G.




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Doug Cronkhite" <seefo at san.rr.com>
To: "NSRCA Mailing List" <nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org>
Sent: Saturday, October 13, 2007 11:27 AM
Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] Weather Vane or Crab


> Believe it or not, if the bike is leaning INTO the gust, then you're
> doing it. You're more than likely doing it without even thinking about
> it. I've raced quite a bit in fairly high winds at Willow Springs here
> in CA, and what you're describing happens so quickly that you might
> think it's caused by the wind, especially if you've been riding for 
> awhile.
>
> -Doug
>
>
>
> Eddie Batchelor wrote:
>> Ok
>> Let me ask a question that may be related to this thread   or is it ?
>> I have NO aerodynamic training and my limited knowledge is only what I've
>> been able to absorb from discussions with Nat   - so I have no idea how 
>> to
>> explain what's happening.
>>
>> I used to ride motorcycles. I have owned two, a Yamaha XS1100 tourer and 
>> a
>> Honda GoldWing 1500 SE.  BOTH bikes when hit by a gust of crosswind on 
>> the
>> highway would lean into the gust, a lot! It was not me and it was strong
>> enough to scare me silly the first time it happened. After some riding
>> experience I learned to expect it and just relax because resulted in a 
>> self
>> correcting motion.
>>
>> Is there any correlation to what is being discussed in this thread or am 
>> I
>> talking about a totally different phenomon. My first thought is that the
>> bike could be compared to the airplane  EXCEPT the bike isn't airborne it 
>> is
>> still in contact with the ground.
>>
>> Until reading thios thread and rethinking all I've read I had believed 
>> the
>> airplane reacted the same as my bike but I wasn't considering the fact 
>> the
>> airplane is no longer in contact with the ground like the bike is.
>>
>>
>
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