How do we know?
↻ One of the pages with a moving picture
Researchers built a bike that cancelled out the gyroscope.
- A bike standing still tips over. But a bike rolling fast enough resists tipping, even with no rider.
- As early as 1910, scientists said the spinning front wheel acts like a gyroscope to keep it up.
- When a moving bike leans, its front wheel steers into the lean, bringing the wheels back under it.
- Scientists think more is going on. A 2011 test bike with no gyroscope effect still balanced!
Researchers from the Netherlands and the U.S. built a strange bike. Extra disks spun backward to cancel the gyro effect. Knocked sideways, it straightened itself up.
The riderless test bike had to roll at about 5 mph to balance on its own.
The very first bikes had no pedals. In 1817, Karl Drais rode his wooden running machine from Mannheim toward Schwetzingen and back in about an hour.
Wow number
5 mph About how fast the riderless test bike had to roll to balance on its own.
Myth or fact?
The first bikes had no pedals. Fact. Drais’s riders sat between the wheels and pushed off the ground with their feet.
A bike can’t balance at all without a rider. Myth. Many bikes resist tipping over on their own if they roll fast enough.
Think about it
Scientists think several things work together to balance a bike. What would you change to make a bike steadier?
Where in the world?
Mannheim, Germany where, on 12 June 1817, Karl Drais rode his wooden running machine toward Schwetzingen and back in about an hour — 49.4875° N, 8.466° E.
Where these facts come from
Every number on page 97, and who measured it
This page tells us about the test bike that balanced with no gyroscope effect.
Researchers explain why bicycles balance themselves — The Cornell Chronicle, Cornell University's news site
news.cornell.edu/stories/2011/04/researchers-explain-why-bicycles-balance-themselves
We checked it on 31 October 2026
This page tells us about Karl Drais's 1817 running machine ride (part of it is in German).
The City of Mannheim in Germany, where Karl Drais rode his running machine
mannheim.de/sites/default/files/page/220/drais_flyer_web.pdf
We checked it on 31 October 2026
This page tells us how a riderless bike steers itself back up.
How bicycles keep the rubber on the road — Science News, a science news magazine
sciencenews.org/article/how-bicycles-keep-rubber-road
We checked it on 31 October 2026
Has this changed?
Yes, this one changed. Scientists once thought the gyroscope effect was the whole story, and a 2011 test bike showed there is more to it.
Scientists still think several things work together to keep a bike up.
Words from this page
- gyroscope
- A spinning wheel that resists being tipped.
- running machine
- The first bike, which had no pedals. The rider pushed off the ground with their feet.
Try it!
Test a rolling lid, like a bike wheel.
1. Stand a plastic lid on its edge on the floor and let go. 2. Now roll it gently across the floor. 3. Roll it faster. Watch what it does when it starts to lean.
What happens: standing still, it falls. Rolling fast, it stays up longer and curves the way it leans, a bit like a bike.
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