Cattle grids.

Pyromancer said:

I tend to do this for any large bumps or areas of very rough surface,
partly for comfort but also to reduce load on the bike, I'm assuming
that bent legs on pedals and weight going through the BB is less of a
strain overall than full upper body weight on saddle and thus straight
through seat-stays.

Yes and your knees act as a suspension system.

~PB

"Pete Biggs" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Peter Clinch said:

Clive George said:

As with all bumps, weight off saddle and freewheeling is most
comfortable. But I wouldn't slow down before freewheeling on any
grids I've met.

Indeed. Why replace "brrrrr" with "kjnk-kjnk-kjnk-kjnk-kjnk-kjnk"
with more up and down and more energy loss over a longer time?

I wouldn't mind if it was just a "brrrrr". Maybe it's my high pressure
tyres, but going over at 20odd mph feels like being pummeled by a pnematic
drill and must be bad for the bike. I'd rather have a gentle kjnk-kjnk
any day :-) If you slow to DEAD SLOW it works a treat. Took me years
before I thought of trying it so slowly.

Slowing down? But that's hard work (ok, it's hard work after you slow down).
I'd go for letting the bike bounce around underneath me as much as possible.
If the bike dies as a result, then it was too weak (see eg the pounding a
racing bike can take on cobbles).

cheers,
clive

Pete Biggs said:

I know everyone always says you should ride as fast as possible over them,
but freewheeling slowly with [censored] off saddle works best for me -- at least
for the nasty ones in Woodford.

Since the combination of "freewheeling" and "[censored] off saddle" doesn't
work on either recumbents or unicycles, that doesn't work at all for me ;-P

I've never had a problem with cattle grids on a unicycle anyway. On the
recumbent I'm just very glad it's full sus.

--
Danny Colyer (the UK company has been laughed out of my reply address)
<URL:http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/danny/>
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine

Simon Mason said:

Rode over one last night at 20 mph - yikes! Didn't see it as I had a bee on
my upper arm stinging me and so was more concerned with getting the little
blighter off :-)

Real Men bunnyhop them ;-)

Zog The Undeniable <[email hidden]> wrote in news:4108090e.0@entanet:

Quoted message said:

Real Men bunnyhop them ;-)

I've tried that a few times, but only managed once or twice. You (or rather
I) have to be going at one hell of a speed as my bunny hopping skills
aren't too hot.

By the way, why are they *all* called cattle grids. I would guess that
about 90% of them (in Scotland at least) are for sheep. There's the story
(urban legend?) that one flock of sheep in NZ managed to work out how to
cross them. Apparently they run up to them and then roll across them. This
might be total b*ll*cks though.

Graeme

On Wed, 28 Jul 2004 15:41:28 +0100, Pyromancer
<[email hidden]> wrote (more or less):

Quoted message said:

Upon the miasma of midnight, a darkling spirit identified as Clive
George <[email hidden]> breathed:

Quoted message said:

"Pete Biggs" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I know everyone always says you should ride as fast as possible over them,
but freewheeling slowly with [censored] off saddle works best for me -- at least
for the nasty ones in Woodford.

Quoted message said:

As with all bumps, weight off saddle and freewheeling is most comfortable.
But I wouldn't slow down before freewheeling on any grids I've met.

I tend to do this for any large bumps or areas of very rough surface,
partly for comfort but also to reduce load on the bike, I'm assuming
that bent legs on pedals and weight going through the BB is less of a
strain overall than full upper body weight on saddle and thus straight
through seat-stays.

It allows the system to do a lot of fast weight transfer from wheel to
wheel, thus minimising transient shocks.

If you sit on the saddle, less weight transfer is possible, and it
takes longer.

Quoted message said:

This is just based on "common sense" though, so could well be wrong -
opinions?

--
Cheers,
Euan
Gawnsoft: http://www.gawnsoft.co.sr
Symbian/Epoc wiki: http://html.dnsalias.net:1122
Smalltalk links (harvested from comp.lang.smalltalk) http://html.dnsalias.net/gawnsoft/smalltalk

There was a piece on local radio in Yorkshire yesterday about a herd of sheep that managed to jump grids and 5' fences

Graeme said:

Quoted message said:

Real Men bunnyhop them ;-)

I've tried that a few times, but only managed once or twice. You (or
rather I) have to be going at one hell of a speed as my bunny hopping
skills aren't too hot.

By the way, why are they *all* called cattle grids. I would guess that
about 90% of them (in Scotland at least) are for sheep.

Do cattle/sheep grids vary much? I think they must do, and it's one
explaination for why some people think they're no big deal. The one I
referred to* is far too long for anyone to even think of joking about
bunny hopping and has great big gaps between the bars.

* On the Woodford New Road just north of the A406 in NW London -- keeps
the Epping Forest cows out of London.
... There's a joke there somewhere.

Quoted message said:

There's the
story (urban legend?) that one flock of sheep in NZ managed to work
out how to cross them. Apparently they run up to them and then roll
across them. This might be total b*ll*cks though.

But it's funny b*ll*cks!

~PB

quote='Zog The Undeniable'Simon Mason said:

Rode over one last night at 20 mph - yikes! Didn't see it as I had a bee on
my upper arm stinging me and so was more concerned with getting the little
blighter off :-)

Real Men bunnyhop them ;-)[/QUOTE]

Great feeling if you get it right, not so good if you don't.

Tried to bunny hop a speed bump on Sunday on my road bike at 23 mph. [censored] off saddle, knees bent. Transfered weight to handlebars to get front end down and back wheel hit the upslope and kicked up. My wife tells me you can just about see Selle Italia tattoed in amongst the bruising. Not being a contortionist I've been unable to witness it. Still walking like John Wayne and looking forward to losing the tennis ball that feels as though its residing in my shorts, just behind the more useful of its two cousins, if you see what I mean. :eek:

"Pete Biggs" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

There's the
story (urban legend?) that one flock of sheep in NZ managed to work
out how to cross them. Apparently they run up to them and then roll
across them. This might be total b*ll*cks though.

But it's funny b*ll*cks!

True. Maybe they developed the skill trying to run away from the shepherds,
mind you, it's fairly easy for a sheep to outrun someone with their
trousers round their ankles [1].

Graeme

[1] One of the conditions of my Australian residency visa is that I must
take the [censored] out of Kiwis whenever the opportunity arises 🙂

On Thu, 29 Jul 2004 03:31:52 GMT someone who may be Graeme
<[email hidden]> wrote this:-

Quoted message said:

There's the story
(urban legend?) that one flock of sheep in NZ managed to work out how to
cross them. Apparently they run up to them and then roll across them. This
might be total b*ll*cks though.

They say the same about Welsh sheep. I have never seen them do this,
but that does not mean it is a legend.

--
David Hansen, Edinburgh | PGP email preferred-key number F566DA0E
I will always explain revoked keys, unless the UK government
prevents me using the RIP Act 2000.

"Pete Biggs" <[email hidden]>typed

Quoted message said:

* On the Woodford New Road just north of the A406 in NW London -- keeps
the Epping Forest cows out of London.
... There's a joke there somewhere.

Umm... isn't that North EAST London?

I did the Grid Iron 100km on a Brompton without hassle.

Getting off the saddle wasn't a good idea cos the frame had a tendency
to fold. I got off the saddle over bumps on any other bike. If nothing
else, I think this prevents saddle-soreness.

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email hidden]
Edgware.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Graeme said:

By the way, why are they *all* called cattle grids. I would guess that
about 90% of them (in Scotland at least) are for sheep. There's the story
(urban legend?) that one flock of sheep in NZ managed to work out how to
cross them. Apparently they run up to them and then roll across them. This
might be total b*ll*cks though.

I don't know about that one. But I've seen sheep walking (carefully)
on them, and graxing on the plants poking up through them. That's
our local Dartmoor sheep.

--
Nick Kew

Nick Kew said:

I don't know about that one. But I've seen sheep walking (carefully)
on them, and graxing on the plants poking up through them. That's
our local Dartmoor sheep.

Those aren't sheep.. they're the SAS on an escape and evasion exercise.

And now I'll have to kill you.

baaaa!

...d

Simon Mason said:

"Pete Biggs" <[email hidden]> wrote in message >

Quoted message said:

I wouldn't mind if it was just a "brrrrr". Maybe it's my high pressure
tyres, but going over at 20odd mph feels like being pummeled by a pnematic
drill and must be bad for the bike. I'd rather have a gentle kjnk-kjnk
any day :-) If you slow to DEAD SLOW it works a treat. Took me years
before I thought of trying it so slowly.

My 23 mm tyres were pumped up rock hard and it was like being on a bucking
bronco. Next time I'll get off and wheel it over.
--
Simon M.

Several years ago I crashed badly on an Audax ride. You do not fully
understand the full horror of cattle grids until you have ridden over them with
a broken wrist above one hand and a finger with a hairline fracture on the
other.

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

a herd of
sheep

don't sheep come in flocks anymore? cows and the like used to come in
herds when I was last in gods wone country.
--
..paul

If at first you don't succeed...
Skydiving is probably not the sport for you.

David Hansen said:

On Thu, 29 Jul 2004 03:31:52 GMT someone who may be Graeme
<[email hidden]> wrote this:-

Quoted message said:

There's the story
(urban legend?) that one flock of sheep in NZ managed to work out how to
cross them. Apparently they run up to them and then roll across them.
This
might be total b*ll*cks though.

They say the same about Welsh sheep. I have never seen them do this,
but that does not mean it is a legend.

Wales? New Zealand? Our Yorkshire sheep do this...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3938591.stm

"Hungry sheep on the Yorkshire moors have taught themselves to roll 8ft
(3m) across hoof-proof metal cattle grids - and raid villagers' valley
gardens."

"The crafty animals have also perfected the skill of hurdling 5ft (1.5m)
fences and squeezing through 8in (20cm) gaps. [...]"

Colin

Colin Blackburn said:

David Hansen said:

On Thu, 29 Jul 2004 03:31:52 GMT someone who may be Graeme
<[email hidden]> wrote this:-

Quoted message said:

There's the story
(urban legend?) that one flock of sheep in NZ managed to work out how to
cross them. Apparently they run up to them and then roll across them.
This
might be total b*ll*cks though.

They say the same about Welsh sheep. I have never seen them do this,
but that does not mean it is a legend.

Wales? New Zealand? Our Yorkshire sheep do this...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3938591.stm

"Hungry sheep on the Yorkshire moors have taught themselves to roll 8ft
(3m) across hoof-proof metal cattle grids - and raid villagers' valley
gardens."

"The crafty animals have also perfected the skill of hurdling 5ft (1.5m)
fences

Legend has it that one local yorkshire breed of sheep was selected to have
shorter legs so that it couldn't do just that.

I've never been sure whether or not someone was pulling _my_ leg...

AC

Colin Blackburn said:

Wales? New Zealand? Our Yorkshire sheep do this...

*Our Yorkshire sheep*?

When did Yorkshire annexe Weardale?
To arms, citizens, and push the invaders back south of the A66!

Mike

On Fri, 30 Jul 2004 11:46:06 +0100, Mike K Smith <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Colin Blackburn said:

Wales? New Zealand? Our Yorkshire sheep do this...

*Our Yorkshire sheep*?

When did Yorkshire annexe Weardale?

I'm a Yorkshireman.

Colin