Riding an E bike like a motorcycle?

[speedyebikenoob]

This is probably a stupid question, but it's been bugging me so I'm going to ask anyways. There's a lot of twisty roads near where I live, and my bike will do motorcycle level speeds down them. I like riding actual motorcycles but I like having fun on my e bike too, is it a bad idea to try and go around the corners on a bicycle like a motorcycle? I can't imagine the much skinnier than a motorbike tires on my bicycle being able to grip as well, even though the bicycle is much lighter. Thoughts? I've been fearful to lean into turns and corner too hard because I'm afraid the tires will just lose grip and I'll slide off the road...

 

[dogman dan]

Sounds fun, I know because I raced e bikes on a go kart track at 40-50 mph. Badass cornering on a kart track, and you better believe it was a good thing to be wearing a lot of armor when I did lay er down.

Everything essentially the same, 45 degree lean angles routine, but zero warning between a hard corner that works, and the lay down. Its just instant, bam yer down. Not a hit of that mushy feeling you get when pushing a street bike to its max lean angle. This is because of tires, the lack of that shoulder on the corner of the tire. On bike tires its just round, and it grips fine, till it don't, with no warning. You just learn where that line is by laying down a few times, then back off a half a hair.

The e bike racing was a decade ago, and those motorize bike races ended. I took up riding scooters and motorcycles again for that kind of thrills. Faster by far, yet more reliable when at max lean angles. I get really into that lean on a good tight corner on a mountain road. Currently I do this riding on a BMW 1100, full bagger. Just did a lot of riding in the rain in the mts last week, and it keeps me bone dry. But that rain slick road is sure FUN.

 

[speedyebikenoob]

Sounds fun, I know because I raced e bikes on a go kart track at 40-50 mph. Badass cornering on a kart track, and you better believe it was a good thing to be wearing a lot of armor when I did lay er down.

Everything essentially the same, 45 degree lean angles routine, but zero warning between a hard corner that works, and the lay down. Its just instant, bam yer down. Not a hit of that mushy feeling you get when pushing a street bike to its max lean angle. This is because of tires, the lack of that shoulder on the corner of the tire. On bike tires its just round, and it grips fine, till it don't, with no warning. You just learn where that line is by laying down a few times, then back off a half a hair.

The e bike racing was a decade ago, and those motorize bike races ended. I took up riding scooters and motorcycles again for that kind of thrills. Faster by far, yet more reliable when at max lean angles. I get really into that lean on a good tight corner on a mountain road. Currently I do this riding on a BMW 1100, full bagger. Just did a lot of riding in the rain in the mts last week, and it keeps me bone dry. But that rain slick road is sure FUN.

Ah I see. That sound's fun, wish I had some tracks around here to push my bike to the limits. So it's not a good idea to push it too hard around the corners then, so I should be just riding more casually right? But it's not like I have to go ridiculously slow?

 

[MadRhino]

Many bicycle tires have better grip than most motorcycle tires. But, they wear much faster.

Few motorcycle tires are soft gum. Those are racing specific tires that are not available in all sizes. Also, for the same gum, motorcycle tires have less grip than bicycle tires on your ebike. That is because the ebike is too light for stiff tires that are made for much heavier bikes.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Some bicycle tires have tread running down the sides. I can think of one, offhand: Schwalbe Big Ben tires. There are plenty more.Those would be what you'd want.

 

[MadRhino]

Worth watching

[youtube]KqBy1R7IMGE[/youtube]

 

[dogman dan]

Hmm, sometimes I just explain shitty. I did not mean put a motorcycle tire on the bike to get better grip in the corner.

Bike tires have plenty of tread on the sides, and 45 degree lean on sand free pavement should not put you down. Go for it, with a set of elbow pads, thick pants, and maybe a leather coat on. Of course a helmet, preferably not a casual riders bike helmet. At least a DH bike helmet.

Less dressed, you can still lean 35 or 40 degrees into a good clean corner. I used to go to a nice, fairly new pavement school parking lot to practice 35 mph corners. In a street commute, 25 mph around a 90 degree corner is plenty, and great fun, even on skinny road bike tires. Just watch out for that sandy patch, and learn which corners to tip toe around.

The main difference I found is that when the laydown comes on bicycles, Its very sudden. I just never feel that warning in my ass before the laydown that is common on a street motorcycle when you get it way past 45 degrees of lean. The street bike tires has this sort of triangular protrusion of the tread sticking out of the sidewall. Looking at a street bike tire, you almost never see any wear there on that last half inch of tread. When you get er way over, it starts to feel real mushy, but that bit of tread help you not lay it down.

So the bike tire does not have this ledge on the corner, no mushy feeling to warn, and somewhere around 50 or 55 degrees of lean, you just go down with a whack. Only one way to find this point on your bike, with your tires. Dress up and go lay it down, and now you know what lean angle you can do.

To lean farther, and corner faster safely, its the same as on motorcycles. You brake before the corner, then in the corner grab throttle to increase your grip on the powered wheel, front motor or back. Exit the corner 10 mph faster than you entered it.

Pick a good tire to really push it, like the schwalbe big apple. Look for good tread, and something a bit wider than 1.75 inch.

 

[speedyebikenoob]

Thanks for the responses, I guess I'll wear some gear and push her a bit

 

[Returnformer]

i took a corner a little too fast or something yesterday, the rear tire was skipping or bouncing. luckily i didnt go down. i did have a trailer on it, though, thinking about it now, i wonder if i took it a little too sharp and the tire was hitting the arm of the trailer...

 

[MadRhino]

i took a corner a little too fast or something yesterday, the rear tire was skipping or bouncing. luckily i didnt go down. i did have a trailer on it, though, thinking about it now, i wonder if i took it a little too sharp and the tire was hitting the arm of the trailer...

The trailer might track your tail out, depending on its design. That is slowing down considerably, the safe cornering speed of a bike

 

[E-HP]

Just practice until you know the limits of your equipment and skill, and just back off from there for your safety margin. Same principle for any vehicle. Just because you lose traction doesn't mean you'll crash; that's dependent on the rider. Some of the greatest GP motorcycle racers started out on dirt track or motocross, since they can push the limits and even break traction and know how to deal with it. But if you panic, it's all over.