Cattle Grids...........

davelakers

Cattle grids, what are the best way to approach them? I have started to encounter quite a few of them on certain routes and I never know how to ride over them. Do you slow down and lose all your speed, or are is it usually ok to just fly over them? Im on a road bike btw.

Has anyone got any stories of woe or any advice?

sbullett

As long as you take them absolutley straight on and try to avoid any turning at all while crossing, you shouldn't need to slow down at all. In fact, slowing down makes you vibrate more and wobble more!

McBain_v1

Approach to a cattle grid should always be made at right angles to the grid bars, you need to go across those things as straight as possible, carrying enough speed to get you over. Having to try and put your foot down whilst mid-way across a grid is terrible and could result in a nasty fall.

I draw the line at blasting over them at 30mph though, but I have seen it done. One guy even managed to "hop" his bike completely over it, but he must have been doing at least 37mph and knew the route like the back of his hand. I'd never try that, it would onyl end in disaster for me

Jeff Jones

What McBain_v1 said. They're better when taken at speed, wet or dry.

My max speed (60mph) was recorded on a hill with a cattle grid at the bottom. There was a small group of us chasing to get back on in a race. We didn't even think about bunny hopping it.

Monty Dog

Square-on and vertical - rise out the saddle very slightly and tense your arms and legs - it's the same technique as riding cobbles/pave hard - relax too much and the bike will bounce around all over the place.

towpath hacker

sbullett wrote:

As long as you take them absolutley straight on and try to avoid any turning at all while crossing, you shouldn't need to slow down at all. In fact, slowing down makes you vibrate more and wobble more!

There is a nasty one a little way up the Cow and Calf from the Ilkley side - so because you're climbing quite steeply you can't help but do it slowly, and it always feels bad. I worry my tyres will blow. (I wonder if they've covered it for todays ToB)

McBain_v1

My max speed (60mph) was recorded on a hill with a cattle grid at the bottom.

Ruddy heck Jeff! :shock:

I'm very much afraid that if I was on my best bike and found myself doing 60mph a cattle grid would be the least of my problems, finding a toilet would be my first priority because I'd be pooping myself! :oops:

Not a speed demon me, highest ever speed was 47mph in the French Alps and I was not happy about it. I like scooting along on the flats and uphill though, but the downhills always have me reaching for the brakes. There must be a knack (or lots of them probably) to going downhill fast, but I'm too chicken to learn.[/quote]

Jeff Jones

McBain_v1 wrote:

My max speed (60mph) was recorded on a hill with a cattle grid at the bottom.

Ruddy heck Jeff! :shock:

I'm very much afraid that if I was on my best bike and found myself doing 60mph a cattle grid would be the least of my problems, finding a toilet would be my first priority because I'd be pooping myself! :oops:

Not a speed demon me, highest ever speed was 47mph in the French Alps and I was not happy about it. I like scooting along on the flats and uphill though, but the downhills always have me reaching for the brakes. There must be a knack (or lots of them probably) to going downhill fast, but I'm too chicken to learn.

You need the right type of hill to do that speed - straight(ish) and steep. It doesn't have to be that long though.

The reason why I was chasing was because we had to go up the bloody thing, down the other side, then turn around and go back the way we came. All in the space of about 10 minutes. It was an absolute pig to get up.

I became concerned on the descent when the guy next to me started skipping sideways in the gravel on the side of the road, heading towards the safety barrier. Somehow he managed to hold it up and helped drag us back to the bunch.

heavymental

One word of warning. I've seen some older grids where the bars and frame aren't perfectly flat, with some bits of metal that stick up a cm or two. Not a problem in a car but can be an issues on a bike. If its a grid on a regular route take time to stop and check it out then you can be confident of flying over it at 40mph next time.