riding over verges in the road

rogsmer

hey guys i wonder if you can help.
when i ride over a verge (i.e. hop onto a smally raised pavement or raised bump in the road) i can't take them at an angle without either falling off or having to slow down at approach them staright on. has anyone got a technique that would help me?

markos1963

yes, don't do it

System_1

I'm not sure I understand the question. You shouldn't be riding on the pavement so hopping kerbs really shouldn't be a skill you need to improve. And if when you say raised bumps in the road I'm assuming you mean speed bumps? Why would you be taking these at an angle?

Sorry, I don't mean to sound condecsending. Maybe a few more details on the problem would help come up with some techniques.

rogsmer

yeah really sorry about explaining this i confused myself as well.
basically near where i live theres a left hand turning where the road you go onto is slightly raised compared to the original road. so theres a like small curb about 5 centimetres high which is cobbled. because you hit it at an angle the front wheel hits it and gets knocked to the right meaning that every time i nearly fall off.

Anonymous

Bunny hop.

rogsmer

any tips on how to do one?

Anonymous

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=how+to+do+a+bunny+hop

Bhima

Move out into the centre of the lane so that you can have a wider turning circle. If done right, you'll be able to hit it head on. You'll have to slow down a bit though.

System_1

rogsmer wrote:

yeah really sorry about explaining this i confused myself as well.
basically near where i live theres a left hand turning where the road you go onto is slightly raised compared to the original road. so theres a like small curb about 5 centimetres high which is cobbled. because you hit it at an angle the front wheel hits it and gets knocked to the right meaning that every time i nearly fall off.

I know exactly what you mean now. I live on a street just like that.

Nothing beats taking it at a straight on angle, but either way it's best to try and "go light" on the bike, and take it slow too. It's a hard technique to try and describe, and it's similar to a bunny hop, though without the wheels actually leaving the ground. What you need to do is try and find that point when you're not fully seated in the saddle but not fully stood on the pedals either, and just let the bike roll over the obstruction. This might take a bit of practice but it's a handy skill to have for getting over potholes/cattle grids/kerbs etc.