Posted in how-to on Dec 21st, 2010
Cold weather and cold tires are good reasons to think about body position. The only way to really turn a bike is by (counter) steering it…But your body position makes a BIG impact on lean angle. You can almost get around city blocks with the bike straight up using just a little shift of body [...]
Posted in how-to on Dec 10th, 2010
As you cross a patch of a low traction surface like ice or snow, sometimes you just have to ride with your feet down… Now I do my best to avoid ice and snow, but when there’s no way around it: I slow down, find a short straight line across it and either coast [...]
Posted in how-to on Nov 23rd, 2010
[Video of a newer rider documenting his improvement with photos and video - not bad! And it's the winning mindset for improving one's riding skill]
There’s a partial-myth that the more seat time you get on a bike, or the more miles you’ve ridden, the better rider you will be. I say it’s a partial [...]
Posted in how-to on Sep 21st, 2010
One interesting thing you see here – because it’s such an extreme move – is how you actually need to countersteer to pick the bike up from a lean. Most of us are holding onto the bars too tight to tell, but there are really three parts to a turn… One, you countersteer [...]
Posted in how-to on Sep 13th, 2010
You’ve seen the ads, “two year old bike, always garaged, never seen rain…” Is rain really so bad for a bike? What should you look for in a buying a bike parked outside? What can you do to weather-proof your investment? The good news is bikes are pretty much made to sit outdoors. While it’s [...]
There’s probably no better way to get around Manhattan on a warm day than on a scooter. A motorcycle is fine, but more work, and most don’t have the storage (and small traffic squeezing size) of scoot. And if you need extra storage you can strap a backpack onto the front and still [...]
Posted in how-to on Jul 27th, 2010
It’s a good time of year to put some serious miles on your tires (when the weather is under a 100), and if you’re a corner speed junky, you may be getting some serious tire wear. It’s probably a good things to be able to scrub off some serious rubber because it exposes the fresher [...]
Posted in how-to on Jul 23rd, 2010
This is probably the easiest way to ruin your expensive helmet: put it down for a second on the seat or a ledge. Even if it’s perfectly stable, a breeze could come knock it over. Well.. you can file this video under “useful ideas”, only I saw this on Motoblog, so I don’t know if [...]
Posted in how-to on Jul 21st, 2010
Lean angle…it’s one of those things people get mental blocks over. You want to be able to lean it over, but fear takes over, and it bothers you. Now if you don’t care about lean angle, that’s fine! Better to keep the bike as upright as possible. But if you want the option of being [...]
Posted in how-to on Jun 22nd, 2010
The easiest way for most people to install new tires is to take the bike to the shop and leave it there for a couple of days. But in three hours you can install your tires yourself in the comfort of your own living room (took me about 2 hours for one wheel on my [...]
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