Does "Center of Pressure" of a bicycle mean anything or have any use?

[moorepants]

Description

I read this:

[1] S. M. Cain, J. A. Ashton-Miller, and N. C. Perkins, “On the Skill of Balancing While Riding a Bicycle,” PLOS ONE, vol. 11, no. 2, p. e0149340, Feb. 2016, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0149340.

They calculate the "center of pressure" of a bicycle riding on roller on a force plate. The then estimate the lateral displacement of the bicycle+rider mass center. They define a balance performance metric: cross correlation of the lateral center of pressure and lateral mass center location. They say that highly correlated = better performance.

I am skeptical of this performance metric.

The "center of pressure" lies on the line connecting the contact patches of the two wheels. The center of pressure is the location at which the resultant of the normal forces on the tires from the ground can be located to create a zero moment couple.

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