on 6/29/09 2:56 AM, GeorgeS at [email protected] wrote: > > Last week I posted a question about tires for gravel. Thanks for the > response. I've gone with the consensus and ordered a pair of Pasela's > w/o TG. > Since then, I've had two kind of scary falls, both in exactly the same > situation - fast descent on dirt/gravel road with sweeping right turn > at the bottom. In both cases there was loose stuff in the turn and my > rear wheel just slid out and I was down. Got some road burn but no > real damage other than to my dignity. Is it possible this is the > result of having the wrong tires, or (what seems more likely) I just > don't know how to handle this situation. I don't like the idea of > just riding the brake every time I start going down - takes some of > the fun out of it.
Gravel can be pretty tricky. Here are a few thoughts which may (or may not) help. (Disclaimer - I've logged a few hours on mtb's and trails, spent more than a few hours cleaning up wounds and spent a goodly amount of time pondering what I did wrong while lying in a dusty, sweaty heap on the trailside.) My elbow/trail interface sessions usually happen when I've been riding a lot of good, grippy pavement and then get onto a dry, loose trail. I brake too hard, at the wrong time and expect more adhesion out of my tires. Relaxation will cure a lot of evils. Your bike basically wants to stay upright and your mass is moving forward, so if you can keep loose and get the bike back under you, chances are you'll come out of it OK. There are countless times when I've seen riders just barely start to break the rear wheel loose when they either go rigid or just figure it's all over. End result is a cloud of dust and dermal abrasion. If you find some of the classic Repack footage, you can see good examples of bikes getting way sideways under riders. Granted, there may have been "relaxation assistance" but the riding skills are significant. http://sonic.net/~ckelly/Seekay/mtbwelcome.htm http://www.klunkerz.com/ You'll need some technique. It's important to know when you'll lose adhesion. I'll stab the rear brake a bit when I'm under control to see what I can get away with on a given trail. Remember, as soon as you start skidding, you're accellerating. You are better off scrubbing speed before you need to. I'd probably play a little with both front and rear skidding conditions so that you get used to it and don't think that the game's over just because your tire isn't locked onto the road surface. Look where you want to go. As soon as you look at the ground, you'll go down. If you opt for the "tripod" approach, get your foot ahead of you, punch the ground hard and get it back on the pedal quickly. If you went down without touching the brakes, then you went in with too much speed for your conditions and abilities. If you tapped the brakes and found yourself looking at the sky, you braked too hard and didn't keep the bike under you. There should be little, if any weight on your saddle whilst engaging in loose condition descending. hope that helps! - Jim -- Jim Edgar [email protected] Cyclofiend Bicycle Photo Galleries - http://www.cyclofiend.com Current Classics - Cross Bikes Singlespeed - Working Bikes Send In Your Photos! - Here's how: http://www.cyclofiend.com/guidelines "That which is overdesigned, too highly specific, anticipates outcome; the anticipation of outcome guarantees, if not failure, the absence of grace." William Gibson - "All Tomorrow's Parties" --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
