i've had my blinky light fly off and shatter 3 or 4 times; i've dropped a chain; and i've flatted. these things would not have happened if not for those bumps. you don't have to crash to damage your bike...

i've also broken a blinky light. i'm sure that you could damage a rim if you hit it too fast as well. and my keys fly out of my pocket all the time when i bunny hop them. not really damage, but still...

awww.. you browke your bwinkie light...

(kidding.. don't hurt me)

hehe... i know i know. it sounds like a kid dropping his ice cream in the sand doesn't it?

my friend ben had a pretty gnarly fall while on his skateboard. it was nighttime and one of the bumps was hidden by a shadow cast by the bridge beams and it caused him to fall and slide for some odd feet. did someone say pics? pics!

http://www.ephemeroi.com/stuff/2004/...mages/1881.jpg
http://www.ephemeroi.com/stuff/2004/...mages/1885.jpg

There's actually a piece in today's Daily News(brooklyn edition) about the williamsburg bridge bumps and TA's fight to get rid of them.

Yo, B-Tel

I firmly believe you can do whatever you set your mind to
except, come down a steep bridge with lots of blind turns into pedestrians and traffic without a brake. At least not safely, all of the time.

try slowing down

-peace

I've started telling people that track bikes DO have a brake because the "no brakes" thing always implies a runaway train type of situation to people who don't get it. I know tons of track riders who are more safe riding in the nastiest traffic without a traditional brake than joe beach cruiser is riding in an open area with two brakes and crash helmet.

It's a skill. Just because I tried to fly an airplane and crashed it doesn't mean airplanes can't be flown - it only means I'm not a pilot.

I feel like CCing this to all the other OMG-NO-BRAKES-WTF?!!?! threads..

Jeez, enough already with this East River bridges thread! You guys are making me nostalgic for my hometown. :)

I've come over all those east river bridges on brakeless trackbikes hundreds of times, and have never had any problems slowing down when I needed to. As B-Tel said, it's about skills.

yeah, but the original post is about the last 'exit ramp' off the north side of the manhattan, not going down the bridge itself, this bit has only been open since the summer... the last bit of sidewalk is like a 20-25% (maybe more) grade and it *is* tough to keep your speed down. There is more to it than skill. If I weighted 120lbs and rode 38/17 it would be pretty easy, but I'm 240 and I ride 48/15, so it is not particularly easy.

it also sucks going up that thing from a standstill!

Yeah sure it is, and that bridge is my daily commute, so I've ridden over it plenty. But that part is under my control, unlike the blind corner under the covered bit. Sure, it involves some work, getting up and down the sidewalk there. But it's SO short, maybe twenty five feet?!? I weigh around 220 and am riding a 47/17 currently, pretty light for some things, but great for traffic and I have no problems up or down that. If you can't stop your current gear, I really hope you have a brake.

good discussion..

as for the manhattan bridge, i hate that skinny little corridor with all the blind spots at the manhattan end of things... i've had a number of close calls there.

i find my biggest problem is slowing down enough to make that tight right turn from the bridge to the canal st descent.

i was behind a fixed rider this morning who handled it well. he did a quick little fishtail skid and made the turn tight without slowing down much.

as for stopping at the bottom, skid, skid, skid.

i've also seen more than one fixie crash on the the big curvy ramp on the brooklyn side. people underestimate the curve and just don't slow down enough. lucky for the grass there.

i agree that the manhattan ramp onto the williamsburg bridge is just horrific.

i've seen so many crashes there. one of my friends crashed on one of those bumps and smashed up her wrist. it took months of healing, physical therapy and wearing an arm brace to regain something close to full range of motion.

i just try to keep up a moderate speed, pick my wheel up for each bump and stop on the big landing pad at the bottom, or if the light is red or no cars are coming (or even if some are.. heh), segue right into the street.

no problems. yet.

the manhattan approach to the wb bridge is horrible. i know the "proper" way is to travel along the right side of the bklyn-bound lane and cross at the light, but i and everyone else just rides in traffic and ends up trying to merge over four lanes of fast bridge-bound traffic to get onto the walkway.

yeah - i don't really know what the engineers were thinking when they hatched the plan for that. i always thought it'd be genius if they just continued a bike lane (of that width) all the way down delancey. guess that ain't gonna happen...

waaaah.

ok. time to hurt you.

ouch! that r'rash looks nasty! :eek:

Do you get off on the bike side (right) or go straight (left)?
You go down chambers to the west side path right? Try pacing a car so you know when you have a spot to get into, signal with your right arm all the way out, then hopping off the first ramp on the curb sideways so you get some air and clear the other ramp so you don't fall over in front of a car coming off the bridge.

the bb intersection is all about vehicular cycling. this is a great place to modulate speed.