going over bumps

[inspiration_is_cultivated]

A silly rant of mine...

How do you guys ride over bumps? Do you have a dominant leg on which you shift your body weight, or do you put your legs level?

I usually use my right leg, and Maltese roads being what they are (i.e. bumpy being an understatement) made my right thigh slightly bigger than the left one lol.. might start using my left leg more for compensation.

 

[swee'pea99]

Bizarre! To answer your question - no. I rise out of the saddle slightly, but as to which is the 'dominant' leg, it's 50/50 - just depends where my legs happen to be at the time. You remind me, tho', of when I studied history at school - Factory Acts from the Victorian era - and how in certain towns, the nature of the machinery of the town industry - textiles, typically - meant that almost everyone in town had a left shoulder 4" lower than their right, or whatever. 'The machine of flesh chained to the machine of iron'. Karl Marx said that. (He used to be big in the early 20th Century, for younger readers.)

 

[Maz]

[quote name='swee'pea99']Karl Marx said that. (He used to be big in the early 20th Century, for younger readers.)[/QUOTE]
Which one is he in this pic?

 

[Night Train]

I have my legs at the 3 and 9o'clock positions and rise out of the saddle a bit for a small bump and almost stand upright for big bumps. It evens out the shock loading on my legs. If I had a dominant leg to stand on then it would take the brunt of the shock each and every time.

 

[Cab]

Accelerate and try to use the hump for lift off.

Or, failing that, exactly as night train does.

 

[ianrauk]

out of the saddle, using which ever leg was at the lowest point in relation to the bump

 

[ianrauk]

And I bleeden hate road bumps, or sleeping policemen or whatever they are called... cursed things, no good for man or beast or machine or cyclist.

 

[Night Train]

There are a lot of pot holes and bumps here so I am out of the saddle a lot. The uneven cobbles on my road are hard work, fortunately the road is short.

The lumps on the road I don't like are the massive dog deposits left in the cycle lane.

 

[ianrauk]

Among other things in the cycle lanes.

Broken Glass
Cans
Twigs & Branches
Dead Pidgeons
Dead Foxes
Dead Cats
Dead Rats
Bits of cars
Bits of bikes
clothing...

Ad infinitum

 

[domtyler]

If on the fixie then there is no choice where to position your feet.

 

[swee'pea99]

If on the fixie then there is no choice where to position your feet.

Hmmm - that never occurred to me (as one considering having a go at this fixie lark). Is that something that causes problems, or do you just get used to it, or what?

 

[inspiration_is_cultivated]

And I bleeden hate road bumps, or sleeping policemen or whatever they are called... cursed things, no good for man or beast or machine or cyclist.

here's another one: speed bumps. Blimmin' things..

 

[PrettyboyTim]

I normally just keep pedalling.

 

[Moonlight]

Maz, I believe hes the 3rd from left. Karl Marx has to be one of my favourite thinkers. Although I didn't know you could apply his hypotheses to cycling!

 

[Joe24]

I just go over them. I go around the ones i can go around. The ones i cant i slow down if its a bad bump, stand up with my pedals on the 3 and 9 postition and go over. The less harsh ones i go over them pedaling, sometimes sitting down or i time it so when i push down i lift off the seat.