How to tackle restrictive gates / barriers

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pwa
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Re: How to tackle restrictive gates / barriers

Post by pwa »

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

My wife and I rode the Taff Trail last year on drop bar tourers with panniers and had no problems with barriers. I think my bars are nominally 44cm. On a section of the trail with no barriers we did meet a group of motorcyclists who were intimidating for any family groups using the trail for walking or cycling, so I can see why there is sensitivity to that issue there. There are no easy answers, but if the bike in the pic were mine I would look at narrowing the bars just enough to remove the problem, either with a hack saw or with new bars. Controversial, I know, but that's what I would do if I had bars too wide and high to pass comfortably. I always trim bars to suit me anyway. I don't have any that have not seen a hack saw.

On a brighter note, I was on another, similar trail and few days ago and the barriers / inhibitors that had been there previously were now gone, presumably as the local motorcycle pressure has receded to a point where the barriers seemed OTT. Hopefully the Taff Trail will get to that position eventually. There is a legacy issue here, with rail beds that were once the playground of off-road motorcyclists repurposed as shared use cycle / pedestrian routes and the scramblers turfed off. Perhaps it takes time for the new reality to be accepted.
pwa
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Re: How to tackle restrictive gates / barriers

Post by pwa »

mikeymo wrote:
........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.

I bet that is on a long list of things to fix for your local council. A gentle chicane / bend would slow bikes down better, if that is needed. We had a lot of A frame barriers on new shared use routes in my region from the 1990s, but many have since been replaced with alternative things to slow folk down where that is needed. Things have evolved, and many barriers have gone in the process.
ftm420
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Re: How to tackle restrictive gates / barriers

Post by ftm420 »

Lots of great feedback here! I have now started reporting restrictive gates where I come across them using an app called 'fixmystreet', which sends requests straight to the relevant local authority. Would be great to just get rid of them!

My hubby got me pedals that have a sort of sandpaper finish, so I can use any shoes and I'm not clipped in so can get off quick if I need to. I do try to look where I'm going but as soon as I start to turn tighter I lose it. Hopefully just a bit more practise required?
Jdsk
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Re: How to tackle restrictive gates / barriers

Post by Jdsk »

ftm420 wrote:I do try to look where I'm going but as soon as I start to turn tighter I lose it. Hopefully just a bit more practise required?

That's what I'd do.

I'm trying remember the sarcastic phrase an instructor once used when I kept looking down at the front wheel...

: - )

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iandusud
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Re: How to tackle restrictive gates / barriers

Post by iandusud »

I regularly ride through one of these barriers each way on my commute. On my road bike I can get through without unclipping, on the tandem we can get through without stopping but I unclip and put a foot down until the missus is through. But both these bikes have drop bars. Anything with reasonably wide bars such as a MTB won't go through and requires a dismount and having to lift over an adjacent low barrier. This is on a designated shared cycle path. I don't think it is acceptable.

But going back to the original question. Keeping your feet on the pedals with keep the bike more stable. And as others have said, look at where you want to go and the bike will follow. This generally means looking well in front of the front wheel. However when going through a narrow passage like this I suggest that you focus on the exact of ground directly in between the two sides of the barrier. If you do this then this is where your front wheel will go and as long as you keep moving the back wheel will follow it.
pwa
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Re: How to tackle restrictive gates / barriers

Post by pwa »

For anyone who encounters a barrier that seems unusually tight to get through, it is worth being aware that some are tighter than they are intended to be due to incorrect installation. "A" frames in particular are very unwieldy and fiddly to get exactly right, having two unconnected halves, each of which is a bit a heavy and unstable object to that needs to be correctly set up for height, angle in relation to vertical, angle in relation to the direction of the path, and the correct distance from its counterpart on the other side. It is easy to get it wrong. So it could be worth noting the brand of the barrier and looking up how it is meant to be spaced. A common one is made by Centrewire and they publish the standard installation spec.


If you can establish that what you have is badly set up, remedial action should be forthcoming.
Cyril Haearn
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Re: How to tackle restrictive gates / barriers

Post by Cyril Haearn »

Best to slow right down and be very **** careful, for fear of hitting something and being knocked out. Perhaps suitable instruction signs could be put before the barriers, 'cyclists dismount please', not to forget signs after, 'cyclists remount please' :wink:
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Re: How to tackle restrictive gates / barriers

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xerxes
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Re: How to tackle restrictive gates / barriers

Post by xerxes »

foxyrider wrote: 1 Apr 2021, 10:09pm
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? :?
In this case it's done deliberately, you are not supposed to ride through them. It looks like there is a track of some kind coming in from the right, which could present a collision risk. There are many similar barriers on the Trans Pennine route around Lymm/Warrington area, where on a MTB you have to stop and turn the bars sideways in order to get the bike through. Some are there to protect road crossings, others where the track narrows and there is a risk of collision with pedestrians.
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Re: How to tackle restrictive gates / barriers

Post by mjr »

Cyril Haearn wrote: 3 Apr 2021, 5:36pm Best to slow right down and be very **** careful, for fear of hitting something and being knocked out. Perhaps suitable instruction signs could be put before the barriers, 'cyclists dismount please', not to forget signs after, 'cyclists remount please' :wink:
Dismounting and becoming wider makes it even more difficult to pass through!
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Re: How to tackle restrictive gates / barriers

Post by mjr »

xerxes wrote: 4 Apr 2021, 8:28pm In this case it's done deliberately, you are not supposed to ride through them. It looks like there is a track of some kind coming in from the right, which could present a collision risk. [...]
I hope they had no money from cycling budgets for that route, then!

I don't remember barriers requiring motorists to get out and push up to junctions which could present a collision risk, or indeed any crash hazard, so that seems like an excuse for a bit of bike-bashing.
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mattsccm
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Re: How to tackle restrictive gates / barriers

Post by mattsccm »

Funny answers here. If the OP is struggling to ride through barriers that others can then it's a skill thing and the answer is to develop that skill. Not knocking them. I am the same in some places. Simple .
Barrier design is a different topic. Bear in mind that any barrier that has to prevent motorcycles passing through will be awkward for pedal cycles. A little irritating for some but some inconvenience is inevitable and badly worth a complaint. Equally if there is an intent to slow cyclists down then some awkwardness may be preplanned. Of course such difficulties may add problems for a small minority. That may be the price of the other features. Not nice the the minority but the greater good may be more important.
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Re: How to tackle restrictive gates / barriers

Post by mjr »

mattsccm wrote: 5 Apr 2021, 8:02am Funny answers here. If the OP is struggling to ride through barriers that others can then it's a skill thing and the answer is to develop that skill.
Only if the others are riding similar bikes. Some barriers simply do not admit some bikes and no amount of skills will change that.
Bear in mind that any barrier that has to prevent motorcycles passing through will be awkward for pedal cycles.
Not awkward, but impossible for some.
Of course such difficulties may add problems for a small minority. That may be the price of the other features. Not nice the the minority but the greater good may be more important.
"<i>[rude word removed]</i> minorities" is generally an illegal approach nowadays, thankfully.
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Re: How to tackle restrictive gates / barriers

Post by Postboxer »

I've yet to see a barrier across a road to stop uninsured, unlicensed drivers.
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Re: How to tackle restrictive gates / barriers

Post by markjohnobrien »

richardfm wrote: 1 Apr 2021, 10:00pm There are lots of these on the Taff Trail, many that are two narrow to ride through
Image
Ridiculous barriers - there is one similar between Watford and St Albans - I can get through but requires good balancing.
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