A few changes to your cornering skills will make you ride faster and safer. Therefore, this time we will introduce an easy way to acquire cornering skills.

1. Understand the cornering situation

When approaching a corner, you need to know how fast you can pass through it. How tight is it? Can you see around it? What's the road surface like? Are there drain covers? How wide is the road? Is there traffic? You can pedal normally on shallow curves, but you need to adjust your speed and technique for tighter corners, especially if the road surface or conditions are poor.

2. Ride on the drops

This is the most stable riding position, and your center of gravity is lowered, putting some weight on the front of the bike, so put your hands on the drops in tight corners. Hold the handlebars firmly.

3. Brake early

You've probably heard that you need to do all your braking before cornering and avoid braking while actually in the corner. However, you may need to continue braking on downhill corners (especially hairpins) otherwise you'll gain too much speed and won't be able to avoid it. Also, unknown corners may get tighter as you proceed, or you may simply misjudge the corner and realize you're going too fast midway through. We all make mistakes. Braking while cornering needs to be as smooth and light as possible because the bike is more prone to sliding than when it's straight and upright.

4. Gear change

If you need to stop pedaling in a tight corner, shift to the gear you need.

5. Find the exit

Look where you want to go. If you look at the point where you want to exit the corner, your body will naturally lean, and you'll adjust your steering and line to make sure you get there. It can be difficult, but if you're worried about ending up in a ditch instead of making the curve, try not to focus on that ditch.

6. Wide, Apex, Wide

The typical line is to go wide before the corner, cut the apex, and then go wide again at the exit. This lengthens the corner, so you don't have to ride at such a tight angle, and you can travel faster on the other side. Obviously, you need to be very careful when changing your position relative to the boundary; we are not recommending going to the other side of the road.

Figure 1 (below) shows a rider making a left turn without straying onto the other side of the road.

Figure 2 (below) shows a rider making a right turn without straying onto the other side of the road.

Sometimes, this wide-apex-wide line isn't necessary. On sweeping, slow corners, it's often faster to take the shortest line on the inside of the curve.

7. Lean into it

You naturally lean when turning a corner. The tighter and faster the corner, the more you need to lean. You might be surprised how much you can lean with good tires in dry conditions, but remember that on wet, oily, or gravelly surfaces, you'll lose grip much faster, and these factors can sometimes be difficult to identify beforehand.

8. Adjust crank position

When you stop pedaling in a corner, place your inside pedal at the 12 o'clock position and your outside pedal at the 6 o'clock position to ensure maximum clearance when leaning. Accelerate only when you have sufficient clearance and are confident that the rear wheel will not slip when you apply power.

9. Don't overlap wheels

Overlapping with another rider's rear wheel can cause problems if they take a different line than you when cornering. You're better off hanging back to avoid a collision.

10. Relax!

Relaxing is easier said than done, but if you can stay calm, move smoothly, and think clearly, your cornering will definitely improve. If cornering fast fills you with fear, slow down a bit and gradually build up your skills. The more confident you become, the more relaxed you'll be.

11. The more you practice, the more skilled you become

If you want to improve your skills, find a winding section of road with little traffic and ride it several times, gradually improving your performance. Get your approach speed right, improve your braking, adjust the amount you lean the bike and your line, and try corners with different angles and uphill and downhill curves. The more you practice, the more skilled you'll become!

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