Speed Bumps ?

[Wester]

Can they do damage to your bike if hit them at speed ? i guess they can

 

[screenman]

Why would you want to? I would say enough speed, enough weight and a few others facts and the answer could be yes you may.

I know my old 308 GT4 exhaust used to make a noise going over some slowly.

 

[Cyclopathic]

Anything can do damage to your bike if you hit it fast enough.

 

[TonyEnjoyD]

If I have to hit them I lift out of the saddle and transfer my weight over the pedals.
Allows the bike to pivot over the BB so minimises the torsion/impact on the wheels and forks etc.
Means I can take them at about 20 no issues

 

[DaveReading]

Can somebody explain to a novice why putting one's weight on the pedals rather than the saddle when going over bumps puts less stress on the bike ?

I can understand the benefit to the rider, your legs absorb more of the shock, but not from the bike's point of view.

 

[HLaB]

Can somebody explain to a novice why putting one's weight on the pedals rather than the saddle when going over bumps puts less stress on the bike ?

I can understand the benefit to the rider, your legs absorb more of the shock, but not from the bike's point of view.

My thinking is that standing up its an active load and therefore some of the weight impact/ reaction is absorbed by your body rather than a dead load.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Yes, they can damage them from what I understand - mostly on the broken spokes on front wheel issues, but guess that can also lead to a buckled wheel. more of an issue on a loaded tourer from what I gather, but hate them and I have 8 nasty ones each way to get out of my lane which is a dead end and I live at the far end of it.
Started to use the sections in between as sprint intervals to liven up the 1 mile of speed bumps each way! just have to test the brakes hard at each and every one. Personally I stand up, becuase it hurts less!

 

[gaz]

I badly broke my mountain bike going over a speed hump.
Admittedly I was going over 30mph, I did use the hump as a ramp and I did land badly.
Derailure in the spokes, front wheel buckled and I think I busted the front brake.

 

[HLaB]

I badly broke my mountain bike going over a speed hump.
Admittedly I was going over 30mph, I did use the hump as a ramp and I did land badly.
Derailure in the spokes, front wheel buckled and I think I busted the front brake.

Sorry I know I shouldn't but LOL

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

My thinking is that standing up its an active load and therefore some of the weight impact/ reaction is absorbed by your body rather than a dead load.

Yes, that's how I see it. When the bike goes upwards and you're standing without braced legs, the bike doesn't have to lift all your dead weight in one sudden jolt.

(As to designing bumps to slow vehicles with suspension, and to hell with the vehicles without - what were they thinking of?)

 

[RedRider]

I did use the hump as a ramp

@gaz There's a couple of doozies in Hyde Park, on the slope down towards the Serpentine from the park police building, where you can get some nice air without really trying.

 

[RedRider]

Yes, that's how I see it. When the bike goes upwards and you're standing without braced legs, the bike doesn't have to lift all your dead weight in one sudden jolt.

Thinking about it, I like going over a lot of speed bumps. Standing up like that at speed (and with elbows loose aswell) I regularly imagine myself a jockey taking Bechers Brook. I'm not even joking, it's like your arms make the same motion you see horseriders' make on the gallop
There's a couple of stretches on my commute where I use them to pull away from traffic behind

 

[MrJamie]

I dont mind the sloped bricked kind we have here, or those blobs of tarmac in the middle of the lane that seem fine to take in the legs at 20mph+ on a hardtail hybrid, but those big plastic/rubber looking ones they use to stop teens drag racing in car parks at night really are bad, like running over a brick.

 

[sidevalve]

Looks like they're doing they're job then, ie slowing ALL traffic down a bit. Seems the desire to go as fast as you want, where you want, when you want, isn't confined to car drivers.

 

[Andrew_Culture]

Depends on the type of speed bump - those gradual middle of the road jobbies slow down nothing, the abrupt foot wide numbers are nasty and recently I've found out that the cable trunking used by temporary traffic lights can be a nasty surprise.

On my 'nice' bike I'd slow right down, on my single speed I'd to a very low Le Tour style bunny-hop. That being said I've noticed that a lot of the time the bumps don't go all the way to the edge of the road so with a bit of careful steering you can find the gap between the bum and the kerbstone, sadly this is the favoured dwelling place of the nasty mini-goblins that bite holes in ones pneumatics.