[adouglas]

I like to explain it away from the bike to build a basic understanding without the added confusion of having to actually operate the bike. It might just be the way my brain works, but I have a much easier time learning something if I know what's going on. I don't take "arbitrary" direction well.

Now, we know that if you lean a wheel over, it will want to roll in a circle, right? this is obvious, or should be, and is easy to demonstrate. Go roll any hoop or disc down the street and watch what happens once it starts to lean.

So the object is to get the wheel leaned over. The question, is, how does counter steering do that?

Take a quarter, or a Pringles lid, or a hula hoop, or any stand-in for a wheel. heck, you can even use a bicycle wheel if you like. Set it up on edge and roll slowly, with your hands on the rim. This is normal, straight-ahead motion. When I say "slowly" I mean dead slow.. you're not rolling it across the room or anything like that. This is a table-top demonstration.

Now, without leaning the wheel over, turn it 90 degrees to one side but keep moving it in the original direction. This simulates momentum, which is a key concept here... turning the wheel, say, to the left does not instantaneously cause the bike to go left... the mass of the bike will want to keep going straight.

What happens? The wheel "trips" and falls in the direction opposite the way it was turned. Turn it to the left, and it falls to its right. Duh. Obvious, right?

90 degrees is extreme. So do it again but only turn it 45 degrees away from the direction of travel. Same thing, right? Turn left, fall right.

Now do it with an even smaller angle, more like what you'd actually do on a bike. Same thing happens again.

Since it's now leaned over to the right, it will want to roll in a circle in the direction of the lean. Hey presto... you're turning the bike to the right by turning the wheel to the left.

This is precisely how counter steering works.