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1. inopin+(OP)[view] [source] 2020-04-27 07:22:06
That is indeed one of the authoritative explanations, and in a few seconds of ad-hoc search we may find at least two refutations from authoritative sources.

For example, gyroscopic-forces-as-stabiliser don't need the Schwab paper's "ton of math" to be undermined. A simple counter-rotating wheel was used empirically at Cambridge to show as much, alongside notes that gyroscopic forces are relevant to the dynamics of a loaded bicycle, but misconstrued; far from assisting to hold it upright whilst ridden, they induce instability at the beginning of a change in direction, and more so at speed, a phenomenon (counter-steering) familiar to cyclists and relied upon by motorcyclists.

Then there's a simpler observation that can be made: people have to learn to ride a bicycle. The fact it stays upright when rolling unloaded, but not when loaded, is indicative of how small the gyroscopic effect is, not how significant it is. Ergo, that argument would suggest, it is tiny shifts body position that contribute all of the stability.

And then others, proposing further explanations, etc etc ad nauseum.

I have come around to the view that in fact they don't stay upright, and they are almost always falling over, but in a many-branched configuration of the universe our observer effect sends us preferentially down the vanishingly unlikely path where they didn't, and there are an uncountably many alternatives of Me that have nothing but knee scars to show for it.

replies(1): >>Camper+Fa
2. Camper+Fa[view] [source] 2020-04-27 09:38:11
>>inopin+(OP)
Sorry, I don't buy anything beyond what I stated. Those papers are exercises in violating Occam's Razor. Your quantum model makes more sense. :)

When you learn to ride a bike, you're simply training the feedback mechanism. Much like a PID controller, your brain has to keep track of the amount of error and null it out with proportional and integral terms (at least). Once those constants are dialed in, it's "just like riding a bike" -- they're yours for life.

Then there's the matter of learning which way to lean so that the gyroscopic instability inherent in turning doesn't send you into the nearest ditch...

replies(1): >>inopin+Wo
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3. inopin+Wo[view] [source] [discussion] 2020-04-27 12:36:04
>>Camper+Fa
Occam’s razor is for hypotheticals. You’re rejecting an actual physical demonstration, by a reader of engineering dynamics and vibration at Cambridge.

The feedback mechanism you’ve described is likely correct, and also a complete furphy, since the central nervous system is not part of the bicycle.

All of which is par for the course and rather confirms the point, viz. that people will happily hold forth on any explanation they care to latch on to, secure in the knowledge that the total absence of consensus makes it impossible to say, definitively, “that is wrong”

replies(1): >>itcrow+tO1
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4. itcrow+tO1[view] [source] [discussion] 2020-04-27 22:03:22
>>inopin+Wo
Great discussion, I agree with inopinatus who, if I am not mistaken, supports my position that the science is not quite out on this topic yet. Many explanations exist, none seem to be all-encompassing.

That being said, it doesn't answer the question posed in this forum: "What scientific phenomenon do you wish someone would explain better?"

Instead, it answers the question: "What scientific phenomenon do you wish someone could explain?"

replies(1): >>Camper+HP1
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5. Camper+HP1[view] [source] [discussion] 2020-04-27 22:12:15
>>itcrow+tO1
I guess my question on this specific topic would be, "What aspects of bicycle operation are not adequately explained by gyroscopic action under the control of a human rider?" That would give us a good basis for inquiry into other possible principles.

Sure, a bike could work some other way, but my point is, it doesn't need to. Anyone who has ever picked up a hard drive should understand how a bicycle remains upright. What else is there to know? It's not like an airplane wing, where the "obvious" conventional wisdom is inadequate, misleading, or incomplete.

replies(1): >>inopin+9P2
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6. inopin+9P2[view] [source] [discussion] 2020-04-28 07:39:03
>>Camper+HP1
Well, apparently it is.
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