Why is it easier to balance a bicycle while it’s in motion?

Question

I never quite understood why it is so much easier to keep a bike balanced while riding at a certain speed, compared to riding it really slow, or while standing…

In: 540

Answer 1

Angular momentum of the wheels.

Take a bicycle wheel off the bike and place a handle on the bearing (the point around which it spins), hold it pointing “up”….like a dinner plate. Then start it spinning.

What you will feel is that the faster you spin the wheel, the harder it is to move the wheel in any direction not pointing “up”. The wheel wants to maintain its orientation. The effect is not there when the wheel is not spinning, and the faster the wheel is spinning, the stronger the effect.

Same happens when you’re riding. The faster the wheels are spinning, the more they want to maintain their current orientation.