# Riding a road bike over cattle grids ...



## rugby bloke (22 Feb 2016)

Could you ?
Should you ?

I ask because there is a really ride near me which has a couple of cattle grids in short distance. When I used to do the ride on my MTB I happily rode over them. However since I've started on the road bike I view them with deep suspicion and dismount. I think I'm being over cautious, does anyone else come across cattle grids on their rides ?


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## martint235 (22 Feb 2016)

Same as any metal on the road. Take it easy, don't do anything other than aim in a straight line and you'll be fine. You really don't want to hit it at speed, particularly not the flat profile (as opposed to tubular) ones and you don't want to start turning the front wheel.


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## classic33 (22 Feb 2016)

Ride straight across them and there should be no problems.
Problems arise if you try to alter your speed and/or direction whilst on one.


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## Milkfloat (22 Feb 2016)

If you get enough speed you can bunny hop them. I speak from experience, but it was not planned.


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## Globalti (22 Feb 2016)

Yes, bunny hop is best. Obviously you need to be moving fast and the exit area needs to be clear and straight.


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## iandg (22 Feb 2016)

There's a nasty one a few mile out of Stornoway that is on a bend and a few that I know have come off when it's wetecause they're leaning the bike when they reach it. As others have said above keep upright and ride across in a straight line.


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## GrumpyGregry (22 Feb 2016)

Cross them, with care, at an angle perpendicular to the bars, and don't change speed or direction. Especially in the wet or if the bars are 'soiled' in any way.

Take care that the frame of the grid doesn't have a sharply angled lip that may give you a snakebite.

Alternatively take 'em flat out, whilst trying to bunny hop, and screaming "Sheeeeeeeeeeeeet!" It works for me.


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## Sea of vapours (22 Feb 2016)

Apart from crossing them perpendicularly, and to support 'not changing speed or direction', it's a good idea to stop peddling and take some weight off the saddle (not standing, just take some weight off). Pedaling is more likely to make the wheels spin, especially if they're damp or cold.

Here's one not to be treated casually. It's a 10%+ upward gradient. Perfectly traversable in dry conditions with a bit of last minute pedaling effort to get the speed up but probably 'inadvisable' when damp.
https://www.google.fr/maps/@54.3766...1JbYQrkHFZzgijl-iX7A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en


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## stephec (22 Feb 2016)

Milkfloat said:


> If you get enough speed you can bunny hop them. I speak from experience, but it was not planned.


This.

35mph downhill on a mountain bike and a sudden realisation of, 'oh shoot, where did that come from?'

Luckily it was one those with a slight lip so I was able to use it to clear the grid, proper skidmarks moment, and I don't mean the landing.

On a road bike - not too fast, and square on.


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## kiriyama (22 Feb 2016)

Downhill... bunny hop. Uphill. Gain a little speed before hand, keep a steady low power and keep straight.

loads round here, never had a problem.


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## mcshroom (22 Feb 2016)

I cross at least one every day on my commute. As has been said above, just line it up and don't lean/turn the bars. Getting out of the saddle makes them more comfortable too.


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## Katherine (22 Feb 2016)

The first time I had to cross a cattle grid on my bike, was on a group ride. So I just copied everyone else which was as described above. It would slow the ride down too much if anyone / everyone got off and walked. They are all round the entrances to Tatton Park, so you would be holding up other groups as well. It's fine, even in the wet as long as you keep straight and don't brake.


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## fossyant (22 Feb 2016)

The one at the bottom of Winnats is interesting. Straight over, no braking.


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## nickyboy (22 Feb 2016)

fossyant said:


> The one at the bottom of Winnats is interesting. Straight over, no braking.



Not over-fond of that one as it's a bit narrow and relies on no tourist numpty coming the other way

But as others have said, take them at normal pace (whatever that is), as perpendicular as possible and try to lift out of the saddle a bit so the legs and arms act as shock absorbers


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## Scoosh (22 Feb 2016)

I've come across some where the road surface just before the grate has a big gouge out of it, so it's like a 2-3 inch deep and long pothole with a sharp metal 'wall' at the end. Not nice and to be treated with greatest 'respect'.

My scariest moment was descending the north side of Redstone Rig at whooping-and-hollering speed  - only to see the cattle grid down near the bottom !!!!  Must have been doing 45-50kph when I went over it - had time to go "UH, OH - sheeeeeet !!!!" - and got away with it.  I still have thoughts of how much of me would have been scraped off the road




- and subsequent descents have slowed right down on approach ...


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## GlasgowFinn (22 Feb 2016)

Sea of vapours said:


> Apart from crossing them perpendicularly, and to support 'not changing speed or direction', it's a good idea to stop peddling and take some weight off the saddle (not standing, just take some weight off). Pedaling is more likely to make the wheels spin, especially if they're damp or cold.
> 
> Here's one not to be treated casually. It's a 10%+ upward gradient. Perfectly traversable in dry conditions with a bit of last minute pedaling effort to get the speed up but probably 'inadvisable' when damp.
> https://www.google.fr/maps/@54.3766...1JbYQrkHFZzgijl-iX7A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en



I think I'd get off for that one!


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## biggs682 (22 Feb 2016)

rugby bloke said:


> Could you ?
> Should you ?
> 
> I ask because there is a really ride near me which has a couple of cattle grids in short distance. When I used to do the ride on my MTB I happily rode over them. However since I've started on the road bike I view them with deep suspicion and dismount. I think I'm being over cautious, does anyone else come across cattle grids on their rides ?



just treat with respect and caution , its not the pair near Castle Ashby house is it ?


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## Paul.G. (22 Feb 2016)

rugby bloke said:


> Could you ?
> Should you ?
> 
> I ask because there is a really ride near me which has a couple of cattle grids in short distance. When I used to do the ride on my MTB I happily rode over them. However since I've started on the road bike I view them with deep suspicion and dismount. I think I'm being over cautious, does anyone else come across cattle grids on their rides ?


Fast and straight, faster the better and the Bike will skip over rather than clatter over each bar.


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## Crackle (22 Feb 2016)

Any speed is fine, I had to regularly ride over one going up a hill and that was a deer grid, they're even wider. Centre your weight on the bike, keep your grip firm but flexible and let your legs and arms take the vibration, don't lock them, hit the grid perpendicular, not at an angle, don't go over in the same track a car might take as often the road is worn just before the grid and it makes a hollow there, look at the other side, not at the grid and either roll over it or if you need to pedal, pedal evenly with some pressure, don't sway the bike from side to side.


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## Banjo (23 Feb 2016)

When scrap metal prices were high a few years back someone stole one on a quiet road I sometimes ride.
You could get past on a bike .I discovered it in daylight fortunately.

If the road is muddy or it looks in poor condition i get off and walk otherwise approach it straight on and no braking or too much power on the pedals.


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## Dogtrousers (23 Feb 2016)

At night they can be a bit alarming, and you find yourself wondering why your saddle has suddenly turned into a pneumatic drill.


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## rugby bloke (23 Feb 2016)

biggs682 said:


> just treat with respect and caution , its not the pair near Castle Ashby house is it ?


Those are the ones. The road is part of a good ride home for me to Cogenhoe, including the 2 climbs to test how much is left in the legs.


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## rugby bloke (23 Feb 2016)

Thanks for all the advice, looks like its time to man up and give it a go.


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## ianrauk (23 Feb 2016)

Give it some welly and go for it.........................................................


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## biggs682 (23 Feb 2016)

rugby bloke said:


> Those are the ones. The road is part of a good ride home for me to Cogenhoe, including the 2 climbs to test how much is left in the legs.


part of one of my regular loops as well , will keep an eye out for you


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## rugby bloke (23 Feb 2016)

I'm easy enough to spot - just look out for a white road bike that appears to be riding through treacle !


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## tincaman (23 Feb 2016)

Beware of going across in the middle, that's where there could be a gap between the bars, I know I did it


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## liambauckham (23 Feb 2016)

cattle grids i treat like mud. straight line, hammer through.

for potholes i add a little lift (not jump)


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## Ian H (23 Feb 2016)

I must have been over about 4 today. No-one died.


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## dave r (23 Feb 2016)

Banjo said:


> When scrap metal prices were high a few years back someone stole one on a quiet road I sometimes ride.
> You could get past on a bike .I discovered it in daylight fortunately.
> 
> If the road is muddy or it looks in poor condition i get off and walk otherwise approach it straight on and no braking or too much power on the pedals.



There was one I came across on a ride a long time ago where two of the rails were missing and had been replaced with fence posts held in with twine. Today I have been over four of them with no problem, including the one that nearly had me a few years ago, my pace wasn't excessive I hit it at the right angle, but for some reason I came off it on opposite lock with the arse of the bike hanging out looking for a soft spot in the hedge, fortunately once off the cattle grid the bike straightened up and I could just carry on.


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## HLaB (23 Feb 2016)

Banjo said:


> When scrap metal prices were high a few years back someone stole one on a quiet road I sometimes ride.
> You could get past on a bike .I discovered it in daylight fortunately.
> 
> If the road is muddy or it looks in poor condition i get off and walk otherwise approach it straight on and no braking or too much power on the pedals.


Quite a bit of the OP's topic but that 
reminds me of a road where the scum nicked every manhole cover  Fortunately I discovered that in daylight too!


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## Elybazza61 (24 Feb 2016)

ianrauk said:


> Give it some welly and go for it.........................................................



This^

Just imagine for a second you're on the Arenberg trench on Paris Roubaix


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## CaadX (24 Feb 2016)

Cattle grids hmm... been off on'em... punctured on 'em... broke spokes on 'em... bunny hopped 'em ?.. You're having a giraffe ! On a road bike ?... Videos supplied?... right ..............


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## mcshroom (24 Feb 2016)

Sometimes the cattle grid is the least of your worries. This was NCN 72 near my work on the way home yesterday! 






Nte the baby cattle grid at the back of that picture. I got an email apology from the site owner this afternoon, and they have instructed the contractor that has caused it to clean it all up by the end of the week.


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## rugby bloke (15 Jun 2016)

Quick update - Sunday's Sportive had 11 cattle girds ... So I'm now well and truly cured of my irrational fear and flying over them like a pro !


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## Ajax Bay (15 Jun 2016)

rugby bloke said:


> since I've started on the road bike I view them with deep suspicion and dismount.





rugby bloke said:


> I'm now well and truly cured of my irrational fear and flying over them like a pro !


All part of the journey. Aim to keep the scrum straight.


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## Globalti (15 Jun 2016)

Late to this thread as always but the way to deal with cattle grids is to go as fast as possible and do a well-timed bunny hop.

Decent tyres and sensible tyre pressures will help if you have to take the hit.


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## Dogtrousers (15 Jun 2016)

This thread reminds me of a dog my mum had. One year I went home after an absence of a couple of years abroad and was amazed to find that in the time I'd been away the dog had learned to walk over cattle grids. Very slowly, very carefully, moving one foot, having a think, moving another foot... What was odder was that the dog still had an extreme fear of walking over bridges that you could see through (grids or gaps in planks) and had to be carried. But cattle grids had become party trick time.


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## Ajax Bay (15 Jun 2016)

@Globalti you are not late at all: you posted your advice on the day the thread was started (in February!) but at least both messages are consistent, so your sense of humour is undiminished.


Globalti said:


> Yes, bunny hop is best.





Globalti said:


> Late to this thread as always but the way to deal with cattle grids is to go as fast as possible and do a well-timed bunny hop.


@rugby bloke - as you probably haven't tried to discover, @Globalti 's advice is/was designed to put you in hospital (for reasons I know not) and I'll wager you did not and do not take such 'giraffe' advice.


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## rugby bloke (15 Jun 2016)

Wouldn't know how to do a bunny hop ... and even if I did I'm not that brave / stupid so unlikely to try one !! It was peer pressure really, now one else was stopping so I did not want to look like an idiot. Started off with a slightly wobbly "O Sheeeeeet" moment and progressed from there. Quite impressed that the organizers had manged to find 11 cattle grids in the first 20 miles of the course though, proper rural it was.


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## Globalti (15 Jun 2016)

Ajax Bay said:


> @Globalti you are not late at all: you posted your advice on the day the thread was started (in February!) but at least both messages are consistent, so your sense of humour is undiminished.
> 
> 
> @rugby bloke - as you probably haven't tried to discover, @Globalti 's advice is/was designed to put you in hospital (for reasons I know not) and I'll wager you did not and do not take such 'giraffe' advice.



Well thanks for putting me straight on that, as you write, at least I'm consistent!

My advice to bunny-hop is entirely sincere; a well-timed small hop can carry you smoothly over a pothole or even a grid with enough speed, as long as you don't mis-time it and slam down on the sharp edge of the hole or the far side of the grid and burst a tyre. The small impact should be no worse than riding off a kerb, which I'd rather do than suffer the horrible vibrations of some cattle grids. With cattle grids the other caveat is to make sure you take off in the direction that the road continues after the grid; if there's a bend you don't want to be carrying that speed and running out of space in which to initiate a turn.

Edit: if you can't bunny-hop or don't fancy it, at least try to unweight the bike by hefting it upwards as your front wheel reaches the beginning of the grid. This will lessen the shock.


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## Dogtrousers (15 Jun 2016)

Unlike a wheelie, which I understand but can't do, I don't actually understand what a "bunny hop" _is_. I don't think they had them when I was a youth and doing (or being unable to do) tricks was of interest. 

My rule for cattle grids is (if you see them coming) lift your bum off the saddle to reduce the discomfort and ...


User13710 said:


> Just ride over the blasted thing


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## Ajax Bay (15 Jun 2016)

Globalti said:


> My advice to bunny-hop is entirely sincere; a well-timed small hop can carry you smoothly over a pothole or even a grid with enough speed, as long as you don't mis-time it and slam down on the sharp edge of the hole or the far side of the grid and burst a tyre.





User13710 said:


> a bit risky


 I believe your advice is sincere (which I find 'a bit' scary), but I think TMN is being restrained in his judgement. Perhaps bunny hopping over a small log for practice, first.


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## raleighnut (15 Jun 2016)

Dogtrousers said:


> Unlike a wheelie, which I understand but can't do, I don't actually understand what a "bunny hop" _is_. I don't think they had them when I was a youth and doing (or being unable to do) tricks was of interest.
> 
> My rule for cattle grids is (if you see them coming) lift your bum off the saddle to reduce the discomfort and ...



View: https://youtu.be/FBTK0UwwQ4I


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## Dogtrousers (15 Jun 2016)

It's OK, @raleighnut I'm an old dog. I'm not about to try learning any new tricks. Although I do have a yen to learn to ride a unicycle ...


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## Globalti (15 Jun 2016)

Bunny hopping is common in mountain biking and can get you over quite high obstacles. The only time I've ever come to grief was when I hopped a ditch not straight and landed a bit sideways, causing me to slide on gravel. A road bike can tolerate far bigger jumps than people think, just look at those online videos of Sagan and others doing stunts on road bikes.


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## taximan (15 Jun 2016)

Last time I bunny hopped I dropped my back wheel into a drain gully across the track and completely redesigned my wheel so that it looked interesting but not too good for riding on.


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## nickyboy (15 Jun 2016)

User said:


> That is all true but is there any need to hop a cattle grid when you can just ride over it?



No

Bunny hopping is not as safe as riding over it. Maybe my hopping tekker is a bit off but I always worry about not landing the wheels in exactly the same direction as travel with the inevitable consequences.

Just ride over them. I slow down enough to be able to stop if I see a big problem like a missing "grid" but otherwise I just keep going and lift out of the saddle to avoid having my fillings rattled out


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## Globalti (15 Jun 2016)

User said:


> That is all true but is there any need to hop a cattle grid when you can just ride over it?



Because the vibration coming up the seatpost turns the contents of my poor testicles to chantilly cream? Anyway bunny hopping cattle grids is life-affirming and exuberant, which is what bike riding is all about. So there.


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## Tim Hall (15 Jun 2016)

Globalti said:


> Because the vibration coming up the seatpost turns the contents of my poor testicles to chantilly cream? Anyway bunny hopping cattle grids is life-affirming and exuberant, which is what bike riding is all about. So there.


But if the cattle grid is the sort with a connecting bar running in the direction of travel, at right angles to the other "grids", an equally life affirming experience can be had by hitting that dead on and crossing to the far side without the tell tale vibration that indicates you've slipped off it. Fear mi l33t skillz.


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## si_c (15 Jun 2016)

Globalti said:


> Because the vibration coming up the seatpost turns the contents of my poor testicles to chantilly cream? Anyway bunny hopping cattle grids is life-affirming and exuberant, which is what bike riding is all about. So there.



Also life affirming is when you cock it up, land skew and lose your front teeth.


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## Racing roadkill (15 Jun 2016)

I live near the New Forest, we have loads of cattle grids. I always take my Carbon road bike, or spongy Hybrids, if I know I'm going over cattle grids. If you ride over a big one, on a metal bike, at any sort of speed, you feel like you've been right hooked by a gorilla.


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## Milkfloat (15 Jun 2016)

I would rather hop a cattle grid at 30 mph than try and ride over it. Generally I will slow down to about 10-12 mph for them, but if I don't see them until it is late I will always go for the hop.


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## fossyant (15 Jun 2016)

Racing roadkill said:


> I live near the New Forest, we have loads of cattle grids. I always take my Carbon road bike, or spongy Hybrids, if I know I'm going over cattle grids. If you ride over a big one, on a metal bike, at any sort of speed, you feel like you've been right hooked by a gorilla.



Nope, you just go faster !


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## Globalti (15 Jun 2016)

Looks like the hoppers outnumber the vibrators by a small margin in this discussion. Ride on!


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## Fnaar (15 Jun 2016)

When I first started cycling round here, I used to stop and walk over them. Then out riding with a friend, he was in front, and went straight over. I just followed... got a pinch flat 
Then I discovered the art of pumping my tyres up properly (i.e. got a track pump) and now I just whizz acroos them, keeping a straight line. There are one or two locally to be careful about (bent bars and so = a hazard), but ...


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## Racing roadkill (15 Jun 2016)

Globalti said:


> Looks like the hoppers outnumber the vibrators by a small margin in this discussion. Ride on!


I hopped a big one last month, I didn't spot the pot hole, right in the 'landing zone'. That was very close


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## Racing roadkill (15 Jun 2016)

fossyant said:


> Nope, you just go faster !


Yes, on cobbles, sod trying that on a cattle grid


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## swansonj (15 Jun 2016)

I hear your road bike and cattle grids and I raise you a Brompton. I'm sure I'm not the only one here to vouch for the fact that small wheels do indeed make some things harder.


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## dave r (15 Jun 2016)

Globalti said:


> Because the vibration coming up the seatpost turns the contents of my poor testicles to chantilly cream? Anyway bunny hopping cattle grids is life-affirming and exuberant, which is what bike riding is all about. So there.



Sounds like a case of too much speed.


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## Ajax Bay (15 Jun 2016)

Racing roadkill said:


> If you ride over a big [cattle grid], on a metal bike, at any sort of speed, you feel like you've been right hooked by a gorilla.


Surely a gorilla would not stoop so low as to hit below the belt.


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## kiriyama (15 Jun 2016)

Did 2 today, very slippy in the pouring rain!


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## speccy1 (15 Jun 2016)

rugby bloke said:


> Could you ?
> Should you ?
> 
> I ask because there is a really ride near me which has a couple of cattle grids in short distance. When I used to do the ride on my MTB I happily rode over them. However since I've started on the road bike I view them with deep suspicion and dismount. I think I'm being over cautious, does anyone else come across cattle grids on their rides ?


It`s riddled with the bloody things here in Devon, and I cringe every time I have to go over one, as my beloved bike shudders in pain, I hate them with a passion, so much so that I want to throttle the bastards who fitted them


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