Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - leaned too far

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View Full Version : leaned too far


cosmo starr
09-02-05, 01:40 PM
an interesting experience....thats something im always cautious of....so today as i was making a turn when my left pedal scraped and shifted the rear wheel over a few inches....i didnt even break stride, but once i was going strait and sat up i realized how i got away easy that time......


bostontrevor
09-02-05, 01:48 PM
Hehe...

Yeah, it usually is. But then there's the day you're making a switchback turn following a fast descent and spill yourself through the middle of an intersection. Not that I've done that or anything.

With enough experience, you'll learn exactly where that is and be able to just brush the pedal on a fast corner by design.

Fugazi Dave
09-02-05, 03:45 PM
How far are people actually leaning over to get the dreaded pedal-strike? When I tilt my bike over to where the pedal hits, it's in a position that I would only be in on the bike if I were already wiping out - ie with my shoulder about two feet off the ground.


curlybro
09-02-05, 04:23 PM
I've got 170mm cranks so I can't lean as far as I'd like.

helmets save
09-02-05, 04:48 PM
I was on my friends mountain bike. Since i am really used to riding road bikes only. I was taking a turn pretty fast say like 20mph. So that means i am leaning over far then midway thru the turn the front tire starts to slip out. I catch my self wiht my hands to prevent ****ing up his bike. My hands are cut and bloody.

I guess i learned my lesson, i know mountain bike so different from road. Mountain bikes suck :p

jk610
09-02-05, 04:50 PM
Ive got some pretty long cranks as well and taking a sharp turn scares me sometimes because I know Im deathly close to the ground. I almost ate curb making a turn because I refused to lean into any further then I was. Thank god I didnt that wouldve been embarassing as hell midday on a college campus.

skelly
09-02-05, 05:00 PM
I have 175s and rarely strike during a turn. If I do it's minor. But what really messes me up is pedalling next to a curb. It looks really low and it's easy to underestimate how close to the ground your pedals go. I've never once fallen during a turn from pedal strike, but striking a curb that I'm riding next to nearly throws me off the bike every time.

frameteam2003
09-02-05, 06:54 PM
My BB is 9&1/2" from the ground--using 6&1/2" arms that gives me right at 3" pedal clearance--does that sound about right---what's average?---sam

endform
09-02-05, 07:24 PM
The main thing is off camber corners or just other odd surfaces for the few times that I've hit my pedals. I've lifted the rear wheel as well, it's quite an interesting experience to ride away from.

RedMenace
09-02-05, 07:30 PM
i use 165mm cranks and i've wiped out from pedal strike exactly once: during the CMWC 2005 qualifiers. i've managed to ride away from knocking my pedal some number of times totaling not fewer than fifteen.

bostontrevor
09-02-05, 08:33 PM
170mm cranks. On my road conversion it's downright terrible. My Fuji is a lot better but even so, taking a normal 90 degree corner tops out a little south of 25 mph...maybe 22...before I strike a pedal. Add in a slope or sharper than 90, and yeah, it's an issue.

There's a small traffic calming rotary on my way to work that's set on a slight angle (the one at the intersection of Parker Street & Heath Street coming down Mission Hill for those of you from around here). I love to dump into that thing at 25 and I'm pretty much guaranteed to graze the pedal on the way through, even using the full width of the the rotary.

mearly
09-04-05, 08:43 PM
when really wanting to go tight i just get off my seat and lean, when the pedal gets to bottom dead centeri lean the bike up verticle. I find this works because when im taking that tight of a turn im in and out in 3 pedal strokes.

The other thing i have been doing when riding seated around a corner and leaning, is to drop my heal. You don't need to drop it to far and it will be the first thing to hit, with no stoping force by dragging a heal theres no chance of getting bucked off.

I have only gone to far once and my experiance was similar to the first. the back tire jump 4 or so inches and i was riding fine 2 second later. Later that day my cheap pedal completely fell apart.

eyefloater
09-04-05, 09:11 PM
I hit (I think) with my toe clip for the first time the other day. It wasn't much more than a scrape, but it sure woke me up.

dustinlikewhat
09-04-05, 09:29 PM
sounds like you need a d-bab.