• ZagorathOP
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    1 year ago

    The big difference is in stability. Scooters are insanely unstable compared to bikes, for complicated reasons I don’t fully understand, but I think have something to do with where the centre of gravity is, and how the geometry of the forks help force them into self-righting.

    The danger scooters provide to their own riders is much higher than bikes. And because of this, I suspect riders are forced to spend a lot more attention on that, which means they have less attention to spare and are more likely to endanger others.

    • Pons_Aelius@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      or complicated reasons I don’t fully understand

      There are two main reason scooters are unstable compared to bicycles.

      Wheel size. Bigger wheels means more stability over bumps.

      Steering angle.

      Scooters have a zero degree steering angle (the forks are vertical) which means the smallest turn of the bars leads to a big change in direction and makes them very unstable.

      Bikes have forks that are angled away from the vertical. This is much more stable and means that a larger movement is needed to change direction.

      • ZagorathOP
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        1 year ago

        Yeah that much, I understand. What I don’t really understand is how that physics actually plays out. Why exactly is a bike’s steering angle able to have that effect?

        I guess it’s the difference between knowing and understanding. I know bikes are more stable because of the angle of the forks. But I don’t understand how that works.