Cattle Grids

[ASC1951]

The cardinal sin though is to corner or lean the bike on a cattle grid, especially in the wet; you are just asking for a crash. You must cross it at nearly 90 degrees.

The Wensleydale Railway crosses the A 684 between Bedale and Leeming Bar. With all the road traffic the rails are nice and shiny, it's just bare rails and tarmac not a raised crossing, and it is at about a 45 degree angle. It gives me the heebies every time I clatter over it in the wet, especially on my fixed wheel.

 

[Arch]

After an accident some years back*, I can't ride over one on two wheels (the trike of course, is fine). It's the nearest thing I have to a phobia.

*I was out with my Mum, and had crossed several grids on the track round Rutland Water, fine. But just after one of them I slipped over on some gravel. Mum saw me go, and paniced and braked. Front wheel went down the grid, and I turned in time to see her fly over the bars. One cut forehead, one broken wrist, one ride to hospital in a nee-naw. I still get flashbacks. Worse of all, I had nothing worse than some grazing from the gravel I went over on. Talk about guilt!

 

[Davidc]

I've been downhill this year on those on Burrington Coombe on my 700 x 32 tyres once - about 25mph and no problem. I find them much worse going up at about 3 or 4 mph, done that twice this year and hated them, feel every bar. I've also been across a couple of others on the Mendips this year - same design and same experience.

 

[Headgardener]

My technique is to ride them as fast a possible using the narrow strip if metal which supports the rails roughly in the middle of each lane.

P.S. The tyres on my Dawes Horizion are 700c x32 and cause me no problems.

 

[Monsieur Remings]

Thanks for all the replies, food for thought. It is a gutter TBH coming down Burrington Coombe for those who know it, you pick up serious speed, and I mean potentially 35-40mph+ and to have to stop is a bummer of the first class.

But, I'm not so worried about coming off, or causing damage to myself, as I am bollocking up an expensive set of wheels. That's really the issue for me here. So, if what you're saying is the wheels will manage without being damaged then I'll give it a go.

 

[Cheddar George]

I've been downhill this year on those on Burrington Coombe on my 700 x 32 tyres once - about 25mph and no problem. I find them much worse going up at about 3 or 4 mph, done that twice this year and hated them, feel every bar. I've also been across a couple of others on the Mendips this year - same design and same experience.

+ 1

I normally go up Burrington and then down Cheddar gorge. On the odd occasion coming down Burrington i have had no problem on 700c x 25.

 

[HLaB]

But, I'm not so worried about coming off, or causing damage to myself, as I am bollocking up an expensive set of wheels. That's really the issue for me here. So, if what you're saying is the wheels will manage without being damaged then I'll give it a go.

They are not expensive wheels, but touch wood my low spoked campy kamsin's don't seem to have been affected the numerous times I've went over grids, when I last checked though I was 9st8lb and that probably helps

 

[david1701]

mtfu, stand, relax your arms and don't turn

 

[Mr Phoebus]

I once made the mistake of going over a cattle grid too slowly, it nearly shook my fillings out.

Won't make that mistake again.

 

[Glow worm]

A cattle grid came to my rescue a week or so back at a nature reserve called Wicken Fen near here. Sustrans route 11 goes through it and I was pootling along, when a massive ugly slobbery dog started chasing me. It was just about to take a lump out of my leg when I buzzed over a cattle grid- the wretched thing fell straight into it yelping with pain and/or surprise. I had to laugh- shouldn't really but it was pretty funny.

 

[growingvegetables]

So, if what you're saying is the wheels will manage without being damaged then I'll give it a go.

Don't know - but my gut tells me there's two options that are least likely to damage the wheel?

• dead slow, into each dip and up over each bar;
• or fast, where you're kinda flying across the tops?

It's the middle speeds - tooth-jarring, bone-rattling, bits-falling-off-and-things-in-the-panniers-getting-shaken-or-broken - that are more likely to do more damage?

Bit of a fwiw really - learned from driving a landrover along unmade-up "roads" in Yemen. Only two speeds possible. 5mph or under, going down into every single undulation (roughly 2 dips every 3 metres), and climbing the next - bit of a ****** if you've got 100 miles to go. OR 50mph and above, with your wheels in only brief and fleeting contact with the tops of the undulations - not good if your passengers don't have confidence in your driving, and definitely bad news if you've to do an emergency stop.

 

[mr Mag00]

bunny hop ala tommy voeckler and clear the lot no risk of sliding!

 

[Ian H]

Some grids have narrow metal supports running along the road. They're good if you can hit them.

Some grids on wider roads are made in two or more sections across the road. Occasionally there's a gap between the sections. That's to be avoided (I've seen a wheel go down one).

Especially in the wet: don't brake, don't put the power down (can be difficult uphill - put the effort in before, then coast over), take them straight and square, and not too slow.

There's a (possibly apocryphal) story about an off-roader hammering down a Scottish military road towards a grid and realising too late that the bars ran parallel to the road.

 

[totallyfixed]

Thanks for all the replies, food for thought. It is a gutter TBH coming down Burrington Coombe for those who know it, you pick up serious speed, and I mean potentially 35-40mph+ and to have to stop is a bummer of the first class.

But, I'm not so worried about coming off, or causing damage to myself, as I am bollocking up an expensive set of wheels. That's really the issue for me here. So, if what you're saying is the wheels will manage without being damaged then I'll give it a go.

Learning to bunny hop is not as difficult as you might think, if I can do it just about anyone can. If you are reaching speeds of 35mph+ it requires very little lift to clear a cattle grid and IMO it is safer, incidentally adscrim, I once cleared a 5 metre long speed bump at about 40mph and I'm only average at it.

 

[fossyant]

Learning to bunny hop is not as difficult as you might think, if I can do it just about anyone can. If you are reaching speeds of 35mph+ it requires very little lift to clear a cattle grid and IMO it is safer, incidentally adscrim, I once cleared a 5 metre long speed bump at about 40mph and I'm only average at it.

Aye, but miss judge the jump and land awkwardly on the cattle grid, it might be messy. Don't practice bunny hops over cattle grids until you can bunny hop.

I can get quite a bit of 'air'. Far more fun on the MTB as it has better tyres for the landing - bounce bounce.

I've bunny hopped a fair number in my time - Winnat's Pass at the bottom as you are descending.