How to tackle restrictive gates / barriers

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ftm420
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Joined: 31 Mar 2021, 9:10pm

How to tackle restrictive gates / barriers

Post by ftm420 »

As a not very confident cyclist I can't negotiate these barriers, so am currently holding up my friends when on a group cycle, as I have to stop and stumble through. :( As I'm actually much fitter than they are [I'm a regular runner] I can catch up, but it's embarrassing watching them wiggle through and then look behind to see me shuffling round.

Any tips for techniques to practise that don't necessarily involve repeated wiggling through barriers, risking scratching my new bike to pieces?

Thanks! :)
thirdcrank
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Re: How to tackle restrictive gates / barriers

Post by thirdcrank »

Which style of barrier are you talking about?
alexnharvey
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Re: How to tackle restrictive gates / barriers

Post by alexnharvey »

If you get to the barrier first the others would have to wait until you've navigated it :)

I think the secret is to keep moving and not brake so much that you start to wobble, start wide to straighten your path through as much as possible. Practice weaving through some cones if you can find some, or by trying to keep close to a single post at low speed without clipping it.

I must admit it's not a strength of mine either and it's particularly hard on the tandem. Where's my battery powered angle grinder :twisted:
simonhill
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Re: How to tackle restrictive gates / barriers

Post by simonhill »

Also, what pedals and clips? Being locked in may be adding to your hesitancy. I use old fashion toe clips and always remove a foot when approaching any hazard.

Apart from that, go find some barriers on your own and practice. It may help to approach the barrier from more side on than the front, but best to play around with it.
VinceLedge
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Re: How to tackle restrictive gates / barriers

Post by VinceLedge »

Go out yourself and practice ?
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mjr
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Re: How to tackle restrictive gates / barriers

Post by mjr »

Take a picture, showing lack of clearance, report to local county-level council as ableist and illegal under the Equality Act, remind them that LTN 1/20 says to remove barriers when possible and use simple posts if they really must put something there. If they come back with nonsense about stopping motorbikes, remind them it's impossible to do that with a barrier without stopping some bikes too and it doesn't overrule their Equality Act duty.

Meanwhile, to pass through, you need to move fast enough you don't wobble but slow enough you can hold the bike up if it hits. This may mean shuffling through astride the top tube or it may even be physically impossible with your bike. No one should have to risk these injuries, though. Barriers across cycleways are illegal.
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backnotes
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Re: How to tackle restrictive gates / barriers

Post by backnotes »

As above, report them. You could then get them removed - like this.....

Screenshot 2021-04-01 at 13.40.46.png
Phil Fouracre
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Re: How to tackle restrictive gates / barriers

Post by Phil Fouracre »

alexnharvey wrote:If you get to the barrier first the others would have to wait until you've navigated it :)

I think the secret is to keep moving and not brake so much that you start to wobble, start wide to straighten your path through as much as possible. Practice weaving through some cones if you can find some, or by trying to keep close to a single post at low speed without clipping it.

I must admit it's not a strength of mine either and it's particularly hard on the tandem. Where's my battery powered angle grinder :twisted:


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thirdcrank
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Re: How to tackle restrictive gates / barriers

Post by thirdcrank »

If the OP comes back, it would be interesting to know where these barriers are installed. As it stands, they might be on a public footpath.
Jdsk
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Re: How to tackle restrictive gates / barriers

Post by Jdsk »

Is the difference that others seem able to keep their feet on the pedals where you don't?

Good advice above about practising somewhere safe on your own.

Where are you looking when you manoeuvre at low speed? There's a common tendency to look at the front wheel. It's much easier to balance when you keep your head up and look at where you're trying to get to. (I initially found it difficult to ride my Vespa smoothly on eg tight U-turns and figures of 8 and this change helped enormously.)

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Stevek76
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Re: How to tackle restrictive gates / barriers

Post by Stevek76 »

Practice mostly. Particularly if you're an adult cyclist (including a big break between stopping in childhood). It took me some years to get decent at them. I found taking up mountain biking was a big aid to my bike handling skills though you could do similar on any old bike, just try some basic trials stuff, track stands, wheelies etc.

Also as mjr says, there are ways to get them removed, such barriers are ultimately discriminatory and illegal whilst also being entirely ineffective at actually stopping the motorbikes they're usually put in for.

Some resources here:

https://www.beyondthebicycle.org.uk/RESOURCES/

It becomes particularly easy if you have a willing friend who is a disabled cyclist or wheelchair user and willing to go and get 'stuck' for you.
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mikeymo
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Re: How to tackle restrictive gates / barriers

Post by mikeymo »

Stevek76 wrote:Practice mostly. Particularly if you're an adult cyclist (including a big break between stopping in childhood). It took me some years to get decent at them. I found taking up mountain biking was a big aid to my bike handling skills though you could do similar on any old bike, just try some basic trials stuff, track stands, wheelies etc.

Also as mjr says, there are ways to get them removed, such barriers are ultimately discriminatory and illegal whilst also being entirely ineffective at actually stopping the motorbikes they're usually put in for.

Some resources here:

https://www.beyondthebicycle.org.uk/RESOURCES/

It becomes particularly easy if you have a willing friend who is a disabled cyclist or wheelchair user and willing to go and get 'stuck' for you.


There's one of those inverted V type things on a regular run of mine. I always come off the saddle and put my feet down and "walk" through. It's wide enough for my shoulders to fit, but I know if I tried to take it riding I'd smash a shoulder into it, and even at a slow speed I think I could do serious damage. Any sort of injury to my hands, arms or shoulders would be serious for me, work wise.

It's bonkers where it is, at one entrance to a playground (an NCN cycle path runs through it), as only a few yards away, round a corner, the whole thing is wide open. Though, thinking about it, it's at the bottom of a long straight downhill run, so maybe cyclists were taking it too fast, careering into the playground and into kids and parents.
richardfm
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Re: How to tackle restrictive gates / barriers

Post by richardfm »

There are lots of these on the Taff Trail, many that are two narrow to ride through
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foxyrider
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Re: How to tackle restrictive gates / barriers

Post by foxyrider »

richardfm wrote:There are lots of these on the Taff Trail, many that are two narrow to ride through
Image


Pah - wrong sort of bike obs! Proper road iron with drop bars would be straight through tha knows.

But seriously - what the hell were they thinking? :?
Convention? what's that then?
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Audax67
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Re: How to tackle restrictive gates / barriers

Post by Audax67 »

ftm420 wrote:As a not very confident cyclist I can't negotiate these barriers, so am currently holding up my friends when on a group cycle, as I have to stop and stumble through. :( As I'm actually much fitter than they are [I'm a regular runner] I can catch up, but it's embarrassing watching them wiggle through and then look behind to see me shuffling round.

Any tips for techniques to practise that don't necessarily involve repeated wiggling through barriers, risking scratching my new bike to pieces?

Thanks! :)


One of the basic rules of riding fast downhill curves safely is to keep your eye on the line you want to follow because that's where the bike will go.

The same applies to barriers: keep your eye on where you want the bike to go. If you stare fixedly at the dreaded barrier you'll probably hit it. Don't ignore it, though: just pick a path before you reach it and follow it round.
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