Railway crossings

[dan_the_man]

Ouch! man it kills my bottom! and shakes the hell outta me

[sogood]

Rule #2 in cycling: Unweigh yourself when going over rough surfaces.

As for Rule #1, well... Don't stop!

[dan_the_man]

hahaha yeah i sit up on the pedals now... still shakes the hell outta me though

[sogood]

Rule #3: Unweigh your hands and bend your elbows too!

[dan_the_man]

handsfree? i'd fall off

[matagi]

Absorb the shock with your knees ie. bend them slightly and use them sort of like a "spring"

[tinstaafl]

I used to think that Australia had dreadfully rough bike tracks until I bought a soft tail MTB and now everywhere is like riding on foam.

Robert

[dan_the_man]

lol i had a mtb but changed to a road bike to commute to work everyday

[Bernard]

basically what everyone above is saying is to let your body go limp as you ride over it, unlock your knees and elbows so there is no jarring.

...Just make sure that you still have a decent grip on the handlebars tho, nothing like realising a second too late that the handlebars were in your hands.

[dan_the_man]

ahhh ok

thanks

[tuco]

If you have clipless you can jump the tracks. I don't have clipless so I can't do it but I've seen it done.

[matagi]

If you have clipless you can jump the tracks. I don't have clipless so I can't do it but I've seen it done.

You can still "unweight" though without actually doing a jump - I've done it and I'm no skilled bike rider.

Can't really describe the process though.

[europa]

Stop making it complicated for the poor lad. Just stand up, pedals at 3 and 9 o'clock, knees and arms bent, let the whole lot move underneath you. You won't even notice it ... much (but it won't hurt).

Cattle grids are fun

Rrrriiiiiiichchchchchchaaaaaarrrrrrddddddddd

[tuco]

Stop making it complicated for the poor lad. Just stand up, pedals at 3 and 9 o'clock, knees and arms bent, let the whole lot move underneath you. You won't even notice it ... much (but it won't hurt).

Cattle grids are fun

Rrrriiiiiiichchchchchchaaaaaarrrrrrddddddddd

I know a guy who was driving across the Nullabour and saw a sign, "Cattle Grid".

Being naive and not slowing down, he said, "What's a cattle grgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgriidididididididididdddddddddddd."

Well it was funny the way he told the story.

[Bnej]

When dropping off a curb or going over big rocks etc, I stand on the pedals and lean back as the front wheel goes over (weight shifted to back wheel) then shift forwards for the back wheel. You end up with most of your weight on the wheel that's on the flat, while it's just the bike's weight on the wheel hitting the bump. Good for wheels, good for bike, good for you.

Of course, you can't do it if there's a cattle grid!

[Mulger bill]

Stop making it complicated for the poor lad. Just stand up, pedals at 3 and 9 o'clock, knees and arms bent, let the whole lot move underneath you. You won't even notice it ... much (but it won't hurt).

Cattle grids are fun

Rrrriiiiiiichchchchchchaaaaaarrrrrrddddddddd

We'll make a mountain biker outta you yet

[europa]

We'll make a mountain biker outta you yet

Well, next time you're out on the trail and a green, fixed gear road bike blasts past ... listen for the hysterical scream for help

Richard

(the sad part is, an mtb is next on the list of projects ... watch for the link asking for advice )

[Mulger bill]

All good Richard, I'm still shiscared of the fixie concept anywhere but the track, more power to you.

What sorta MTB are you thinking of? Ask anything you like, I just might find a sensible answer in the scone.




But I somehow doubt it


Shaun

[dan_the_man]

fixed gear? does that mean only 1 gear? :s

how do u manage the hills?

[Mulger bill]

One gear, and the cranks are fixed to the back wheel. (Via the chain of course.)

NO coasting

EDIT...Richard has posted a thread on his Europas new career as a fixie

[Mr888]

If you have clipless you can jump the tracks. I don't have clipless so I can't do it but I've seen it done.

What! you've never managed a "bunny hop" before??? BMX riding for kids 101 (no clipless pedals required)....have been doing these cheap stunts for years. I can still do one on my road bike...but wouldn't make it a habbit

[dan_the_man]

One gear, and the cranks are fixed to the back wheel. (Via the chain of course.)

NO coasting

EDIT...Richard has posted a thread on his Europas new career as a fixie

with out being rude and ignorant... why would u choose a bike like that?

[europa]

One gear, and the cranks are fixed to the back wheel. (Via the chain of course.)

NO coasting

EDIT...Richard has posted a thread on his Europas new career as a fixie

with out being rude and ignorant... why would u choose a bike like that?

Okay, we're right off topic here but ...

A fixed gear bike means your legs MUST pedal with the wheels. You are actually forced to spin circles with your legs and this can lead to benefits in your geared riding (in that you learn to pedal properly). There is no rest and no slacking, you are working all the time (which improves fitness and strength). Benefits from a training perspective include strength, working at slow cadences (up hills) and very fast cadences (down hills - I've hit 50 km/hr which on my bike equates to a cadence of around 150), endurance. You can not coast and you'd be amazed at how much of your riding life is spent doing nothing. From a training point of view, riding a fixie pushes everything you have to do on your geared bike. Mate, it's exhausting, it's the most intense ride I've ever had.

Riding a fixie gives you a far better and more subtle feel for what the bike is doing and how it is doing it. This is rather subtle but it comes back to the fact that what the rear wheel is doing, your legs are doing. With time and practice, you develop a whole new feel for riding and a more subtle understanding of what the bike is doing under you - this appeals to the inner nerd in me.

There are the arguments about simplicity and cost - a straight chain line means your chain and cogs lasts longer. A fixed gear will last better than a freewheel. It's cheaper in the long run - this is not such an issue for me.

There's the knowledge that whatever you meet on the road, YOU have to deal with it. You can't drop into a lower gear to get over that hill, you have to do it yourself. Similarly going down hill, where you can control the bike with your legs (back pressure), not just brakes. You do actually have more control over the bike with a fixed gear and you learn more about yourself because you can't woose out in any way.

There's a lot going for a fixie. Some people never go back to geared bikes. Some find they choose to ride the fixie sometimes because of the joys of riding one. It's just another way of enjoying being on two wheels with yourself as the engine (and a rather more personal way I might add).

It also means my beloved Europa has a second life now that I have a new bike with gears (the Trek520 also known as the 'Black Beast').

Richard

[Bnej]

There are the arguments about simplicity and cost - a straight chain line means your chain and cogs lasts longer. A fixed gear will last better than a freewheel. It's cheaper in the long run - this is not such an issue for me.

Actually they won't, usually. Using gears the wear is distributed between 6-10 gears at the back and 2 or 3 chain rings. Each individual gear won't last as long but you'll wear through the set quicker on fixie. Plus, on a deraileur bike, you reduce the amount of torque applied when climbing hills. The whole drivetrain on a fixie generally is under higher loads.

That's why Surly also offers steel chainrings and chain for their 1x1 frames.

[dan_the_man]

thank you for your detailed reply! I now know what a "fixie" is and why you'd choose one

One gear, and the cranks are fixed to the back wheel. (Via the chain of course.)

NO coasting

EDIT...Richard has posted a thread on his Europas new career as a fixie

with out being rude and ignorant... why would u choose a bike like that?

Okay, we're right off topic here but ...

A fixed gear bike means your legs MUST pedal with the wheels. You are actually forced to spin circles with your legs and this can lead to benefits in your geared riding (in that you learn to pedal properly). There is no rest and no slacking, you are working all the time (which improves fitness and strength). Benefits from a training perspective include strength, working at slow cadences (up hills) and very fast cadences (down hills - I've hit 50 km/hr which on my bike equates to a cadence of around 150), endurance. You can not coast and you'd be amazed at how much of your riding life is spent doing nothing. From a training point of view, riding a fixie pushes everything you have to do on your geared bike. Mate, it's exhausting, it's the most intense ride I've ever had.

Riding a fixie gives you a far better and more subtle feel for what the bike is doing and how it is doing it. This is rather subtle but it comes back to the fact that what the rear wheel is doing, your legs are doing. With time and practice, you develop a whole new feel for riding and a more subtle understanding of what the bike is doing under you - this appeals to the inner nerd in me.

There are the arguments about simplicity and cost - a straight chain line means your chain and cogs lasts longer. A fixed gear will last better than a freewheel. It's cheaper in the long run - this is not such an issue for me.

There's the knowledge that whatever you meet on the road, YOU have to deal with it. You can't drop into a lower gear to get over that hill, you have to do it yourself. Similarly going down hill, where you can control the bike with your legs (back pressure), not just brakes. You do actually have more control over the bike with a fixed gear and you learn more about yourself because you can't woose out in any way.

There's a lot going for a fixie. Some people never go back to geared bikes. Some find they choose to ride the fixie sometimes because of the joys of riding one. It's just another way of enjoying being on two wheels with yourself as the engine (and a rather more personal way I might add).

It also means my beloved Europa has a second life now that I have a new bike with gears (the Trek520 also known as the 'Black Beast').

Richard