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3 answers

They do not stay up by gyroscopic principles.

If the wheels were heavy enough to behave like gyroscopes you would not be able to turn corners.

Think about it, if the angular momentum of the wheels was enough to stop them tilting under the weight of you and the bike, then they would also be enough to stop you turning the front wheel.

Now ask the question properly :-)

2006-06-14 03:17:53 · answer #1 · answered by Epidavros 4 · 0 0

The gyroscopic effect is primarily involved in no-hands steering and less with normal travel (see ref.). No-hands stabilization is aided by "wheel trail", the front-wheel geometry that allows gravity to steer the front wheel in the direction the bike is tilted. In forward motion, gyroscopic effect also responds to a tilt of the bike by turning the front wheel in the direction of the tilt. This steering repositions the contact patches of the front and rear wheels such that the downforce vector (force due to gravity and centripetal reaction in a turn), projected through the center of mass, intersects the line joining them and thus produces no additional rolling torque on the bike.

2006-06-14 04:22:15 · answer #2 · answered by kirchwey 7 · 0 0

the tires spinning, become gyroscopes .... if you hold a bicycle tire and rim in your hand and spin it, it has the same effect

2006-06-14 03:08:20 · answer #3 · answered by webjnke1 7 · 0 0

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