Riding an inverted bike

[zapta]

Reverse steering is actually common in small sailboats and hang gliders. To turn right you push the handle in the other direction and once you get the hang of it it feels just as 'natural'.

It's also common in the RC world, if the plane/boat/heli/car/quad is flying/crashing towards me, the left/right flips as well. I always imagine myself sitting in the thing and I don't look at the radio. Somehow it mapped over.

Yes, good example, and you need to switch constantly between orientations, including upside down.

[Zero999]

I suspect the reverse steering isn't the difficult part.

On a bicycle, some of the steering is done by leaning from side to side, not just moving the handlebars and when one does move the handlebars their centre of balance changes. When the steering on a bicycle is reversed, everything else changes so it's much more complicated than looking at the world upside down or controlling an RC car.

[Alex Eisenhut]

Reverse steering is actually common in small sailboats and hang gliders. To turn right you push the handle in the other direction and once you get the hang of it it feels just as 'natural'.

It's also common in the RC world, if the plane/boat/heli/car/quad is flying/crashing towards me, the left/right flips as well. I always imagine myself sitting in the thing and I don't look at the radio. Somehow it mapped over.

Yes, good example, and you need to switch constantly between orientations, including upside down.

Heh heh, when I use my boat, upside down usually means I gotta put on my rock shoes and climb into the canal...

[mtdoc]

When the steering on a bicycle is reversed, everything else changes so it's much more complicated than looking at the world upside down or controlling an RC car.

Exactly. It's much more than feedback from the visual system. It's primarily going to be feedback/control loops using information for proprioceptors in muscles and joints and the vestibular system utilizing feedback from receptors (hair cells) in the inner ear - analogous to a gyroscope. This all happens at a much lower level than the visual system.

[miguelvp]

Then teens might be the perfect age to learn riding an inverted bike, since they are relearning how to keep their balance every day until they are done growing, and the reason why teens are so clumsy and run into things.

[Galenbo]

The only way to do it is ignore the handlebars entirely and ride hands-free. ...

Or cross your arms. Hold the left bar with your right hand.

[Alex Eisenhut]

The only way to do it is ignore the handlebars entirely and ride hands-free. ...

Or cross your arms. Hold the left bar with your right hand.

That's the first thing I tried. Nope.

[Zero999]

The only way to do it is ignore the handlebars entirely and ride hands-free. ...

Or cross your arms. Hold the left bar with your right hand.

That's the first thing I tried. Nope.

That's no surprise. Your balance will be messed up, since you'll be leaning on the opposite side.

[miguelvp]

I think just changing from pushing the handle bar to pulling with the same hand would do the trick. I guess you could have a contraption that attaches to the bike that would pull when you push counteracting the inverted steering.

As others have mentioned at speed you are controlling inclination of the bike to turn, but it's light enough that you body can do the steering, on a heavy motorcycle you have to counter steer to adjust the lean before been able to turn so at that point the handles just act as a tilt mechanism.

[Smokey]

Then teens might be the perfect age to learn riding an inverted bike, since they are relearning how to keep their balance every day until they are done growing, and the reason why teens are so clumsy and run into things.

I thought it was because they were all high on dope!  Damn kids and their inverted bicycles always on my lawn!

[Galenbo]

The only way to do it is ignore the handlebars entirely and ride hands-free. ...

Or cross your arms. Hold the left bar with your right hand.

That's the first thing I tried. Nope.

Double inversion doesn't work? Strange.

another way: Sit backwards on the steering bar.
I tried it with a normal bike, it's very difficult.

[Rerouter]

I have to say on that specific bike, i would have no chance of making the 10 meters without many hundreds of attempts, but in something more similar to my current mountain bike, i could maybe chance it in my first 10 attempts,

the swept back handle bars and set forward front wheel makes the balance more heavily influenced by the front wheel, meaning you have to steer, it would not be easy to rely on no-handed balancing, and i strongly suspect that design was picked for that fact, essentially an op amp circuit with too much gain,

as the steering axis gets closer to vertical the lean influences a larger turn, so a conventional mountain bike design would allow the rider after the initial push off to rely on standard balance with some difficulty,

not saying its an easy task, just the bike was probably chosen deliberately to remove the option of relying on body lean balance,

[atferrari]

Interesting proposal 

Good example of nonsense and/or futility in action.