This is great advice which I can confirm by contraries because -- largely as a result of riding fixed, or perhaps I'm just a bad bike handler -- I know the results of doing the opposite. So Jim's Axioms: Keep light; look at your goal; counter steer -- and the Key Principles to Good Bike Handling.
I will add that fat tires on sand (not your skinny, hard 50s -- I mean fat and soft) make a huge difference in sand; as, IME, do larger wheels. Last weekend I was behind my brother as he fishtailed through sand, staying upright only by powering through (he has very good bike handling skills, I know this again per contraria). I floated over his deep tracks with far less wobble. He on 700X50s or so at 35, I on 700cX60s at sub 20. On Sat, Oct 6, 2012 at 10:55 AM, Cyclofiend Jim <[email protected]>wrote: > The only thing I'll add is that it's often times the reaction to the > condition which causes the accident. Whether you overlap wheels with the > rider ahead of you or drop a tire into an expansion crack, it's the > reaction that causes the accident. > > Here are a few of the things which have worked for me: > > Relax. You have a significant amount of momentum, and if you can keep > light on the front end (see "Sand Riding" below), the crack shouldn't stop > you (especially if you have real world tires (30mm or above) on the bike. > Hitting the brakes (remember, 80% of your braking is on the front wheel) > makes bad things happen very fast. > > Sand Riding. When you ride in soft sand, the only way to stay upright is > to get all the weight off of your front wheel and essentially surf through > the drift on the back wheel. (steering with your hips, unicycle style). If > you dump the front wheel into a rut get your weight back, back, back, back, > back. The dangerous tendency is to shift forward (if the rut is nasty > enough to cause a reduction in speed, this is already happening) and muscle > the front wheel out. I've found that if you can get waaaaaay back, you can > essentially wheelie out, rather than steering out. > > Countersteering. Not Just a Good Idea - It's the Law. There are two times > when almost every rider forgets that a bike steers by countersteering - (a) > when you are on the edge of the roadway or (b) when you drop into a rut. > Let's take the roadway edge first. You are on the right side of the road > and there's a ditch to your right. The shoulder suddenly disappears and > you find yourself within a couple inches of a steep drop. First reaction > is to turn the bars left. This, of course, makes the bicycle go right - > towards the ditch, so you lean for all it is worth to your left. This > counteracts the steering action and all that happens is you keep plowing > along straight, inches away from the drop. You get more and more tense and > keep turning the bars left, while leaning left. Frivolity ensues. > With a rut, it can be a bit trickier, but let's assuming you stay relaxed > and unweight the front wheel. If you turn the bars left, the bicycle will > want to go right, so what can happen - in unfortunately short order - is > that the front wheel pops free on the left side of the rut, then the > bicycle/rider combine goes right, dropping the wheel back into the rut, > causing a panicked reaction and some manner of tumbling to the unforgiving > roadway. (This works the other way as well - even though the bicycle at > first gets free, the great surprise is when the front wheel heads back for > the rut as if drawn by a magnet.) You have to be ready to hop the wheel > over or stay front-end-unweighted until all the bits are are the same side > of the rut. > > Relax and Ride it Out. Unless you are in a group and someone is drafting > very, very close to you, sometimes the best strategy is just of stop > pedaling, lean back and let momentum take over. In off road conditions in > my area, some trails are affected by seasonal rains, and you can find > yourself in a significantly deep drainage rut. I have been stopped by > wedging my pedals against the side of the rut. Not purposefully doing that, > by the way... But, on the roadway, if you don't overreact to the > situation, momentum covers a lot of ills. You may find yourself expelled > from the rut, or just stopping. > > Now - disclaimer time - most of these things were learned by trial and > failure*. It takes a lot of practice to override your immediate > reactions. The ground is hard. > > But, the first key to staying upright is being able to relax on the bike > - grass drills (where you tussle and prod the rider next to you while > riding on a soft, forgiving surface) and just playing on the bike - seeing > where your balance issues are, doing the wrong thing and seeing if you can > recover, super slow speed navigation - will serve you well. > > hope that helps, > > - Jim / cyclofiend.com / [email protected] > > * and I will say this is one place where racing experience can help. CX > maneuvers in hellish weather, MTB racing, and of course the dreaded high > speed crit pack all do help your handling skills. Though the price for > failure in those areas is a bit steeper. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/g-cvNG4tb64J. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. > -- "Believe nothing until it has been officially denied." -- Claude Cockburn ------------------------- Patrick Moore, Albuquerque, NM, USA For professional resumes, contact Patrick Moore, ACRW http://resumespecialties.com/index.html ------------------------- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
