Well. The consensus seems to be that it's my fault. This is not exactly what I was looking for. Doesn't anyone want to suggest special gravel wheels or, even better, a new frame of the "country" variety? I mean I fell twice. Should be some equipment here that I could explain to my wife is critical to my safety. Thanks though for the input. GeorgeS
On Jun 29, 12:19 pm, CycloFiend <[email protected]> wrote: > 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.htmhttp://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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
