Hi all, we are having a discussion on an online forum about whether hanging off in a bend actually benefits the rider in terms of grip from the tyres. There have been various theorys put forward both for and against hanging off so I'm interested in your comments please. Would you please explain the reasoning / physics behind your answers too if possible. Please find to follow the original question.
Many thanks - MikeSG7
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Hanging off in a bend - does it help grip?
We've got a "hanging off" thread going and the usual candidates for getting your knee out have come out of the closet... but how many of them are correct or work as we expect?
Hanging off shifts the bike upright by moving your own body mass to the inside of the turn. To maintain equilibrium, the bike's centre of mass moves outward and for the same speed and radius of turn the bike moves more upright.
This improves ground clearance certainly but does it affect tyre grip?
It's been said it does, because it moves the tyre to the flatter part of the profile.
Hmmm - has anyone taken a look at sports tyres? They are triangular in profile and probably have a bigger footprint when at full lean! Even touring tyres are round in profile - we don't drive on car tyres!
