Riding a bike, maybe not?

[Mundo]

Ever hear that phrase "It's just like riding a bike?" It turns out riding a bike isn't actually all that easy. Take this bike, for example. It looks like an ordinary bicycle but with one tiny difference. You may think you can ride it, but I guarantee you're wrong.

http://viewpure.com/MFzDaBzBlL0?ref=bkmk

 

[Ykick]

Very cool demonstration and study. Riding a bike (counter-steering) is certainly a unique and complex neural connection. Un-learning and re-learning is probably much easier said than done.

I would be curious how this study would be influenced using an eBike? No significant pedaling might allow the mind to adapt more readily/quickly? At slower speeds I firmly believe eBikes track straighter than bicycles requiring significant pedal input to get rolling.

For some reason this also reminded me of an uncle who'd built a nice 16' wooden runabout powerboat. He was cocky and 1st launch gunned it full throttle from the dock. Unfortunately, he had the steering cables reversed resulting in severe steering mixup! That left a pretty good mark on the boat and a helluva face on Uncle Dave.

 

[MadRhino]

This kind of mod does make a bike require a lot of training to ride, and can also make good fun to see someone trying to steal it.

 

[cal3thousand]

I agree with the ebike being easier to ride in that particular state due to pedaling and the requirement of counter steering on push off with a pedal bike. Maybe it would have been easier to get if starting on a roll with someone helping the same way a child learns to ride a bike.

 

[Mundo]

This is an interesting study, being ceatures of habit, I'll bet that bike is very difficult to ride.

 

[Hillhater]

You often see street performers and clowns etc riding these reverse steer bikes,...and I was going to say it can't be a big deal if they can do it...just a matter of practice !....( somewhat true, but 8 months !)
...BUT ,.. That vid made me understand the complex change in skills and mental function needed to do it.
Now I have a whole new respect for circus clowns !

 

[Drunkskunk]

That thing looks like fun!

 

[cal3thousand]

Do you think a person might have an easier time learning to ride that bike backwards? Like ass on the bars and feet on pedals facing backwards. Since it is not trained muscle memory and most likely a new learning experience, would that make it easier than 're-learning' to ride this crazy bike in the forward direction?

Discuss.

 

[Simonism]

Do you think a person might have an easier time learning to ride that bike backwards? Like ass on the bars and feet on pedals facing backwards. Since it is not trained muscle memory and most likely a new learning experience, would that make it easier than 're-learning' to ride this crazy bike in the forward direction?

Discuss.

Without trying it, I can't be sure, but I don't think so. Why? Because (years ago, after watching "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid") I learned to ride a bike backwards in about 10 minutes. I have to believe that if I can go from a normal bike and back again so easily, it would be surprising if just sitting backwards is enough to short-cut weeks or months of the reversed-steering retraining requirment.

I'm very prepared to be surprised though.

Simonism

 

[dogman dan]

Reminds me of learning to ski backwards. Everything wrong, for your muscle memory of skiing forward. Of course, I couldn't do it immediately. But doesn't mean it can't be done. Soon enough, I could ski backwards all day talking a timid student down the slope. Some would need that, others best left alone and watched from behind.

Same thing hammering a nail left handed. First impression, I'll never be able to do this. Later on, do it without thinking at all. Never as good as right hand, but able to drive a nail easily when I needed to.

Not the same as he says, the demonstration is just how strong muscle memory is. The saying is it takes 100 repetitions of doing it right, to unlearn how you've been doing it wrong. I only saw a few repetitions, none doing it right for the funny bike. He just needs to work at it.

I've no doubt it would be very hard to start riding that bike, but once you did it once, you'd be on your way.

 

[Punx0r]

This may be of interest: The Stability of the Bicycle:

http://www.phys.lsu.edu/faculty/gonzalez/Teaching/Phys7221/vol59no9p51_56.pdf

 

[wasp]

would make a great anti theft device
i would just sit back and watch(record) as thieves tried to make a getaway
when i went from riding offroad ice bikes to street i learned to countersteer into corners at speed
and accelerate to help upright out of corners
it was a scary thing to attempt and learn but elavated my riding
some people never get it others get it quickly
great video
wasp

 

[dogman dan]

There are some interesting vids, and web pages on un ride-able bikes. But this one was not messing with basic bike stability in any way.

It's totally ride-able. But not easy! Not easy at all. It would be funny to put one out as a bait bike, and video the thief trying to ride off on it. Even funnier if they just grab it, throw it in a van, and you are sitting there going f----, there went my trek.

 

[cal3thousand]

There are some interesting vids, and web pages on un ride-able bikes. But this one was not messing with basic bike stability in any way.

It's totally ride-able. But not easy! Not easy at all. It would be funny to put one out as a bait bike, and video the thief trying to ride off on it. Even funnier if they just grab it, throw it in a van, and you are sitting there going f----, there went my trek.

Oh that could make for some fun times!

EDIT:

I bet this robot could do it with a simple configuration switch in some code to change it's corrective actions.:

[youtube]mT3vfSQePcs[/youtube]

 

[LockH]

https://youtu.be/MFzDaBzBlL0

 

[Nobuo]

this video is now officially the most posted video in ES ever (taking into account ES facebook)

Very nice by the way!

 

[LockH]

this video is now officially the most posted video in ES ever (taking into account ES facebook)

Very nice by the way!

ACK! (Forgot -again - to check ES Bible. Sorry!)

 

[TheBeastie]

I hadn't seen it before. Very interesting, looks like that guy has a lot of good videos cos hes got almost 3 million subscribers and almost 3 million views of that video.

 

[AustinP]

Reminds me of a study I once heard about (at work so can't look up the link).

Apparently some researchers wanted to learn about how the brain can wire/unwire itself, similar to this backwards-steering bicycle. They ended up fitting a few dedicated subjects with goggles that made everything upside-down and mirrored left to right. At first, everything seemed upside-down and mirrored to the subjects, but eventually (from five days to six weeks depending on which study), the upside-down and mirrored vision turned normal. After the goggles were removed, everything was predictably upside-down and mirrored for another length of time.

I may have got some details wrong, but that's how I recall the experiment. It seems like it would be very difficult to ride a bike with reverse steering!

 

[docnjoj]

Reminds me of a study I once heard about (at work so can't look up the link).

Apparently some researchers wanted to learn about how the brain can wire/unwire itself, similar to this backwards-steering bicycle. They ended up fitting a few dedicated subjects with goggles that made everything upside-down and mirrored left to right. At first, everything seemed upside-down and mirrored to the subjects, but eventually (from five days to six weeks depending on which study), the upside-down and mirrored vision turned normal. After the goggles were removed, everything was predictably upside-down and mirrored for another length of time.

I may have got some details wrong, but that's how I recall the experiment. It seems like it would be very difficult to ride a bike with reverse steering!

Yes Austin this is a very famous study actually conducted by the Army, I believe. Brains are really flexible critters.
otherDoc