Fast Rider Question

[lbsaxman]

Hey Super Fast Guys !!! how can you tell that on any given day you are taking a corner about as fast as possible . where is the limit ? is it when the tires start to slide or max lean angle ? or both .. I have watched some crash videos where it seemed that the rider just ran out of lean angle ... a good one from jennings where body position was a key but it seemed as if he just needed more lean to match the speed and had none ... or is it when you feel the bike starting to push ? what is usually first ? I have slid the front on turn 2 at Barber way leaned over and what i perceived as max speed for that corner . was that the limit or could i have made some changes and pushed more ? My elbow is pretty close to touching in turn 2 Barber , should I be trying to get that amount of angle/speed in every corner . is that the end goal ? Hope this makes sense ?

[dpullen]

For me, it's a combination of speed and lean angle. Once my toe sliders touch, that's it for the lean angle. When I'm at pace, my toe sliders are down in pretty much every corner. I go through a lot of toe sliders (more than knee sliders, for sure).

After that, it's corner speed that generally pushes me wide. Once that starts happening, I know I'm at the limit of speed for that corner.

Tucking the front generally happens on brakes (or chopping the throttle). If you're on Dunlop 211s, you'd be hard pressed to push the front at max lean angle/max speed. However, on brakes going into the turn, you can feel them move a little.

Hope this helps...

[gkotlin]

What he said. Tires sliding or parts dragging. It changes based on many many factors.

[bmart]

I lose toe sliders at an alarming rate..."just like Dave does!"

Ok, nothing like how Dave does. Mine just disappear in the pits, or the car, or someplace other than the track. I actually just take them off now nad leave them at home.

Toe-draggin' showoffs...

[lbsaxman]

ok cool thanks , so it sounds like your saying that lean angle and keeping your lines are the limits . so when i work on going faster on a specific turn i should be concerned with lean angle and holding my line instead of worrying about sliding the tires as much . im always thinking **it i hope these things will hold !!!! especially in fast turns like heading to the hogpen down the hill or heading down and up to 5 at rd atl but i have plenty of lean left and my lines are fine .

[jimgl3]

get you some sparky toe sliders!

[gkotlin]

Don't worry about how much lean angle your using. Worry about using as little lean angle as possible. Use body position to keep the bike upright. It's harder to crash with the bike straight up and down. As your pace starts to get quicker, you'll learn what areas of your riding needs attention next. Baby steps.

[bmart]

A perfect "non track" crash from not getting rider weight off the seat and over the proper side of the bike. Keep htting "next" to see it in action!

http://www.photoreflect.com/store/Or...000&po=0&pc=55

[Matt H]

Originally Posted by gkotlin

Worry about using as little lean angle as possible. Use body position to keep the bike upright. It's harder to crash with the bike straight up and down.

Very true. And while form can be subjective, and plenty of fast people have varying form, using body position to minimize lean angle is a good thing to do. Wish I could find the photo - it is Dane Westby and Josh Herrin going through a turn together. Even just the upper body being more upright on Dane shows how his bike has more lean angle than Josh's in the same turn.

[lbsaxman]

yeah it seems westby like to use lots of lean angle , he seems pretty crossed up in this pic !!

http://www.cyclenews.com/files/news_...0/Westby_1.jpg