Well, that's a relief... I thought when you said "a little extra friction is beneficial when cornering," you meant that extra bike weight helped (was beneficial) for cornering, but now your saying that a heavier bike doesn't corner better (necessarily).
Chuck "must be me" Schmidt South Pasadena, Southern California, USA
Jerome & Elizabeth Moos wrote:
>
> Cornering traction is due to friction between the tire tread and the road, so to that extent the extra weight is beneficial in increasing friction. Of course the extra weight also increases the inertia tending to resist the change of direction, so I'm not saying a heavier bike necessarily corners better. The primary point was that the energy required to ride at a steady pace consists overwhelmingly of that required to overcome wind resistance, and that is totally unaffected by the weight of the frame.
>
> Regards,
>
> Jerry Moos
> Houston, TX
>
> Chuck Schmidt <chuckschmidt@earthlink.net> wrote:
> Jerome & Elizabeth Moos wrote:
> >
> > (cut) When riding at constant speed on flat terrain, the only
> > contribution of the frame's weight to the energy required is that the
> > total bike mass does increase the friction between the tire and the
> > road. But rolling fricition is trivial, as nearly all the energy of sustaining
> > a steady pace goes to overcome wind resistance, which is not affected by
> > frame weight in any way. In fact, a little extra friction is beneficial
> > when cornering.
>
> Never heard this before Jerry. Please explain the reason why "a little
> extra friction is beneficial when cornering."
>
> Chuck Schmidt
> South Pasadena, Southern California
>
> .