Riding a road bike over cattle grids ...

[Globalti]

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.

 

[taximan]

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.

 

[nickyboy]

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

 

[Globalti]

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.

 

[Tim Hall]

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.

 

[si_c]

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.

 

[Racing roadkill]

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.

 

[Milkfloat]

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.

 

[fossyant]

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 !

 

[Globalti]

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

 

[Fnaar]

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 ...

 

[Racing roadkill]

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

 

[Racing roadkill]

Nope, you just go faster !

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

 

[swansonj]

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.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

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.