Why does one fall off a cycle when still, but not when in motion?

Question

You don't fall off a cycle as far as you are rinding it, but the moment you stop you tend to lose your balance. In fact the slower you go the more difficult it is to mauntain balance and it is easier the faster you go. There are people who can balance on a still cycle, but that is with a lot of practice and difficulty, and always with the front tyre set perpendicular to the plane of the cycle.

Answer 1

the cycle will even fall while moving fast... if you jam-stop the handle that steers the front wheel...

the balancing is achieved by proper steering the front wheel and keeping your body upright...

just try it...

Answer 2

Reason according to me is:-
When u're riding a bicycle, if u tend to bend leftwards, then a centripetal force acts in opposite drxn which tries to balance the gravitational (or vice versa). This centripetal force is created by the motion of cycle, when its bent, it follows the tangent of a circle( or any other closed shape), due to this rotation this force is created and hence balance.
Remember, this force is not present when cycle is at rest!!

Answer 3

Heres what i think:

When you are riding a bike, and say you tilt your bike to the left, ur weight is going to produce a torque that'd pull u down on the left. To avoid falling, u turn ur wheel slightly to the left. As you instantaneously turn left, a centrifugal force acts on you outwards (to the right) that produces a torque in the opp direction and prevents u from falling. This way, you can turn your wheel just sufficiently to the left to produce sufficient torque due to centrifugal force to balance the tilt, giving fine control over balance.

But when your bike isn't moving, your only recourse is to tilt your whole body to the right to prevent from falling left...but you overshoot as the bike's base is narrow and so fall soon one way or the other.

looks like i need not invoke the fact that the wheels are rotating. :0

Answer 4

When a bicycle is in motion, the wheels are rotating. The rotational moment of inertia of the wheels resists any change in the axis of their revolution. That is the reason why one does not fall off the bicycle when it is in motion. When the bicycle is stationary, the rotational moment of inertia is zero and the bicycle can easily lose its balance.

The bigger and heavier the wheels, and the faster they turn, the easier it is to maintain the balance, because in these cases, the rotational moment of inertia is more.

Answer 5

It's due to inertia. When the bike is moving, inertia tends to keep it moving in the same direction, i.e. forward, and tends to stop it moving sideways or fall over. You also help this by keeping the balance right and keeping your center of gravity vertically above the center of the bike. When the bike is not moving there is no forward inertia. In this state the bike has a high center of gravity (you) and nothing to stop it falling if the center of gravity moves off center.

Answer 6

the actions of the bike depend on the forces acting on it at that particular time. when the bike is in motion, the force that moves the bike is greater than the rest, it is therefore able to overcome the other forces that would have made it fall if it were motionless.

Answer 7

motion creates balance

Answer 8

Now, what do u want to know more.
This is general theory of PHYSICS.

Answer 9

you know the answer- why ask it again?!