BrajeshwarMar 2023Strongly recommends
You will love the interesting video, "Most People Don't Know How Bikes Work" by Veritasium - ▶ this video
in “Bicycle” · View on HN
Most People Don't Know How Bikes Work
Most People Don't Know How Bikes Work on HackerTube: recommended by 7 Hacker News commenters across 4 separate months, 2021–2025.
Veritasium
Open on YouTubeexplainer · evergreen
Veritasium explains why bicycles are stable, arguing that gyroscopic effects are not the answer. The video shows countersteering and an experiment where riders blocked from steering the opposite way cannot turn.
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN links it in threads on bikes, countersteering and control systems as the clearest demonstration of how bikes actually steer and balance.
- people recommended it
- 7
- separate months
- 4
- strong recommendations
- 1
- discussed on HN
- 2021–2025
“It shows what happens if you prevent the rider from performing the countersteer before leaning into a turn [1].”
What HN commenters said
17 Hacker News comments link this video. Each one links back to its thread.
nitwit005Nov 2025Recommends
> You only think you understand how a bicycle works, until you learn to ride one. I realize this is just for motivation in a subtitle, but people generally don't grasp how bicycles work, even after having ridden one. Veritasium has a quite good video on the subject: ▶ this video
in “You should write an agent” · View on HN
jasonpeacockApr 2024Recommends
Here's a good video showing how a bike actually works, and the relation between steering and leaning: ▶ this video
in “How does this full-track, 3-wheel snow bike even turn?” · View on HN
BrianHenryIEMar 2023Recommends
Beautiful article. There's a similar neat video, "Most People Don't Know How Bikes Work", where they fix the steering so the handlebars can only be turned left, and people then aren't able to turn left. ▶ this video
in “Bicycle” · View on HN
ubjMar 2023Recommends
Beautifully illustrated and brilliantly explained. Derek Muller (Veritasium) on YouTube has a related video diving into the mechanics of bicycle riding. It shows what happens if you prevent the rider from performing the countersteer before leaning into a turn [1]. [1]: ▶ this video
in “Bicycle” · View on HN
flavius29663Mar 2023Recommends
Veritasium did a video where they stopped him from counter-steering and couldn't steer anymore. ▶ this video He might be wrong, and just didn't know enough, but he is usually researching his videos very well and I would be surprised for him to be wrong about this.
in “Bicycle” · View on HN
Show 11 more comments
whycombinetorJun 2022Recommends
Indeed. I like this clip where they show bike steering to the left, without its front wheel ever going to the right side of its original path, by only leaning and no countersteering. ▶ this video
in “You need to know what right-half-plane zeros are” · View on HN
nayukiJan 2025Cites it
More on the physics of how bikes work, Derek Muller from Veritasium demonstrated what happens if you lock the steering of a bike: ▶ this video
in “Take the pedals off the bike” · View on HN
LevitatingJan 2025Cites it
No that's not true. A bike just naturally steers into its fall. Veritasium made a video about it: ▶ this video
in “Take the pedals off the bike” · View on HN
david-gpuMar 2024Cites it
The gyroscopic effect is not necessary, and it has been demonstrated both in reality and in simulation [0]. The central principle behind why a bicycle is self balancing while in motion is the fact that it self-steers in the same direction that it is leaning, which counteracts the fall [0][1]. [0] [link] [1] ▶ this video
in “Why did we wait so long for the bicycle? (2019)” · View on HN
AbimelexMar 2023Cites it
related content: Would it even be possible to turn left if steering right would be blocked? "Most People Don't Know How Bikes Work" ▶ this video
in “The Counterintuitive Physics of Turning a Bike” · View on HN
ehntoSep 2022Cites it
You can't turn a bicycle or motorbike without counter-steering, so these people are just not turning their bikes? It's not possible to not countersteer as the bike would lean to the wrong direction and you'd turn the wrong way (since you'd have been initiating a countersteer, afterall). Are you seeing people just manhandle the bars the wrong way in emergencies? I could believe that. ▶ this video
in “Countersteering” · View on HN
Sohcahtoa82Jun 2022Cites it
> The bike counter-steering example clicked instantly with me, but I guess not many people have an intuition about that. I rode for decades before learning this and I think most other cyclists are not aware as well. Veritasium did a video on this: ▶ this video
in “You need to know what right-half-plane zeros are” · View on HN
ben_wMar 2022Cites it
Most people would be surprised, but I’m happy to assert most of the things we do with an expectation of causal effect are superstitions. While people don’t generally understand bikes [0], in this case superstition would be more about people building them like in any of the [0] illustrations (or e.g. saying “I need suspension/carbon fibre frame” without knowing what those are for) rather than not being aware of how the laws of motion stop it falling over — except for bikes with trick steering, average people aren’t even going to bother asserting a causal mechanism for motion: ▶ this video [0] [link]
in “Everyday Magic in the Middle Ages (2021)” · View on HN
martyvisFeb 2022Cites it
Balancing is hardly anything to do with the gyroscopic effect of wheels. You balance by steering the bike under the centre of gravity. Veritasium : ▶ this video
in “Self Balancing Arduino Robot” · View on HN
kevmo314Dec 2021Cites it
As someone who can ride aggressively without handlebars, you counter steer even without touching the bars. ▶ this video
in “Learning how to ride a bike” · View on HN
mr_sturdDec 2021Cites it
I watched a YouTube video[0] demonstrating this recently. It was definitely surprising to me and is just something that is done without thought. [0] ▶ this video
in “Learning how to ride a bike” · View on HN
Topics & tags
Everyday physics & science demosFundamental physicsMechanical & precision engineeringcountersteeringbalancegyroscopic effectphysicsveritasium