- If you're new to cycling, or even if
you've been cycling for quite a long time,
you'll be forgiven for getting a bit nervous about corners.
- [Emma] Yep, I mean, when you look at a road bike,
it doesn't exactly look terribly stable, does it?
- No: 25-millimeter tyres; a frame light enough
to get blown away in a stiff breeze;
and narrow, twitchy handlebars.
- Yep, but with these five simple tips,
you'll soon be cornering not just safely,
but with speed and style.
(upbeat rock music)
It sounds so simple, and yet can be
strangely difficult in practise,
particularly on sharper corners where you might not be able
to see where the road straightens up again.
- [Matt] Yeah, that's right, in corners like that
you'll find yourself turning your head quite a bit,
which can be quite disconcerting,
and certainly a sensation that doesn't come naturally.
But persist, because it is important.
- [Emma] The alternative could well be the reason
that you've finding corners make you nervous.
It's called target fixation, and it goes
something like this.
- [Matt] Enter corner; feeling nervous.
Look at tree, signpost, wall; feel more nervous.
Find yourself getting drawn towards
the tree, signpost, wall; panic!
- [Emma] For some reason, we are drawn towards
objects we are looking at, and that
most definitely applies when cornering.
So, resist the temptation wherever possible,
and instead look towards where you want to go.
(upbeat dance music)
- Another urge we'd like you to resist is braking.
Not entirely of course, because that
would be a recipe for disaster;
more backing off, especially when
you're actually in the corner itself.
- Yeah, the problem with hitting the brakes in the corner
is that your tyres are already under a lot of lateral load,
so if you add deceleration into the mix
it actually increases the chance of skidding out,
which is what we definitely want to avoid.
- [Matt] If that's the wrong thing to do
then what's the right thing to do?
Well, brake before the turn, slow down ahead of time,
then release the brakes as you enter the curve.
- The tighter the corner the slower you should go.
And you'll have a good idea of
how tight the corner is (bike wheels whizzing)
because you'll be looking ahead.
But ultimately it's about what you feel comfortable with,
so start off slow and build up the speed
as you gain confidence and you've practised your cornering.
(slow dubstep music)
- We're looking where we're going,
we've started to slow down, and the next thing we need to do
before we actually start turning
is to make sure that that leg
that's on the outside of the corner
is in the six o'clock position
and that you push your weight through it.
So if you go around a left-hand bend,
it's the right leg, and vice-versa.
- This has two effects.
Firstly as you lean into the corner,
it keeps the inside pedal well clear of the ground,
and it also helps to keep your weight over the tyres.
Both these factors only matter when you're going quickly,
but the principles are really important
and they will also help you to increase your confidence.
(moderate dubstep music)
Let's talk a little bit more about leaning your bike.
Lean is the fundamental way in which
you get a bike around a corner.
Your centre of balance has to be further over to the inside
than the contact point of your tyres with the road.
Otherwise, you would just topple over.
Now we do sympathise if that lean
makes you feel a bit nervous.
This is exactly the time when you really need
to trust your tyres.
All I can says is they're probably grippier than you think,
and you can build up confidence in your tyres
by practising cornering.
You do always need to be aware
of the road conditions, though,
because wet roads or gravel or sand or even drain covers
will reduce your grip.
So look ahead to where you're going,
and adjust your speed and your lean
according to the amount of grip you've got.
(moderate dubstep music)
- Finally, relax.
You'll descend far more safely and better if you relax.
Now if you tense up, you risk making mistakes
like grabbing the brakes too harshly
or getting distracted at things on the side of the road,
like trees, signs, or rocks for example.
- But we'll admit that this can be
incredibly frustrating advice because if you're nervous,
no matter how much someone tells you to relax,
you can't do it.
So, how do you relax?
- [Matt] Practise.
Not just going around corners when you're out riding,
you'll be doing that anyway we imagine,
but actually practise putting these skills into practise.
It could be on a suburban circuit,
it could be on a twisty descent that you're familiar with,
or it could be in an empty car park;
it doesn't really matter.
- What does matter is that you get used to the sensations of
looking where you're going, braking early,
weighting your outside pedal, and leaning the bike.
The more you do these things consciously,
the quicker you'll be able to do them subconsciously.
I hope this helps if you're a little bit nervous on turns.
This is though very much cornering simplified.
There's a lot more that we could take about,
for example the line you should take, but on open roads,
just stick with those five tips to start with.
- Yeah, or, if you want to take things up a notch or two,
how about checking out this video
that we made a couple of years ago
called "Cornering Perfected."
- Don't forget to give us a thumbs up.