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Hoping you lot are waaay more practical than me! I'm planning a bike race for next year, and the course has to go over a couple of slightly raised curbs (about 1.5"). Anyone got any idea how I could 'ramp' it so the bikes smoothly sail over it? Was suggested coal tar, but the estates people said the curb is too small so they wouldn't be able to make a nice ramp on it, so it would just break up. Any kind of small rubber ramp or something?
Have you seen pave?
Tell the riders to MTFU...
Piece of thick carpet?
Fatbike race I assume?
Use a fillet of premixed tarmac repair compound, should only take a couple of buckets for that length, and then dig it up straight afterwards.
650B?
What dannybgoode said, thats tiny.
Have you seen pave?Tell the riders to MTFU...
Hear hear.
Cheers,
Danny B
(FTFY)
Restrict entry to only riders of 29ers. Everyone knows that 29 inch wheels have the ability to smooth out the biggest bumps. But you can only go in straight lines.
Sign with "kerb" written on it?
You could sort it quite nicely with a wee shaped plank but then if the right sort of tosser falls off on the plank you're maybe opening yourself up to trouble...
Cheers fellas. Normally I would just tell them to MTFU, but we've got youth races as well, plus it's a crit and not sure I'd want people hitting it at 30mph, especially as they are turning into it (it's at a junction).
ply. Put a thin sheet over a thick sheet.
What the construction companies do over here is lay asphalt on a sheet of plastic over the curb which makes it easier to pull it up afterwards.
Someone's left 20p in the road on one of the pics, I'd have that if I were you before someone else see's it
I still vote for the MTFU option, if they cant ride over that then they shouldnt be racing.
Chewing gum? In the pic I mean, not to level the curb.
where's the kerb?
...but the estates people said the curb is too small so they wouldn't be able to make a nice ramp on it, so it would just break up. Any kind of small rubber ramp or something?
Couldn't they tarmac over the whole thing in a nice swoopy bump, rather than just sticking tarmac wedges at each end? Assuming the tarmac could be removed easily enough afterwards? Or some kind of thick mat/carpet with a length of garden hose running under it along the edge of the kerb to soften the edge?
Few more leaves ought to do it!!
bit of wood to step it down, a little lower than the kerb butted up to it, then carpet or similar over that.
I suspect anything temporary you put on there will be more dangerous than the small bump. I'd not fancy turning onto two bits of unsecured ply, and wonder if you'd be opening yourself for more liability issues than if you just said "watch out for the small curb at the t-junction" in the briefing.
I'm amazed nobody's yet suggested a ramp with a kicker to make a nice gap jump.
*kerb
What about putting an obstacle there (Tree trunk, railway sleepers),... that way everyone has to get off and step, jump over it?
Also adds to the spectacle, skill, makes it more spectator friendly.
...not sure I'd want people hitting it at 30mph
In that case keep it as it is. As above add a sign.
...not sure I'd want people hitting it at 30mph
Some hay bales or a few bollards and a bit of tape and you've got a nice chicane - adds feature to the race. Stone birds two with, simples
I swear there are bigger pot holes on the Ingliston crit circuit than that ramp. I'm sure it wouldnt cause any issues.
a mat/carpet over the whole thing. taped down at the edges.
Sand asphalt. You won't need much.
Try your local quarry. It will be a hell of a lot cheaper if you collect it with a pickup and tarp.
If you have no tarp it will be solid when you get to where you're going.
Or ask for cutback tar (used for raising around manholes during resurfacing)
[url= http://www.ultracrete.co.uk/product.jsp?productID=78 ]Ultra crete [/url] laid on plastic or a bit of sand so it comes up easily after.
SHOTGUN the 20p!
leave it, but chuck in a chicken line (which is 10m longer) ?
in reality, if i HAD to soften it off, i would just get a sheet of ply. you could lie some 10mm ply in front of it, and it would make 1 step into two half sized steps. it would also then not move about!
paint something rad on it
Carpet over the whole thing is the best idea. Ply strikes me as a terrible idea. Imagine if it gets wet...
Like the bridge at the Malverns in '97 😯
Bunnyhop signs
It's all good and well saying MTFU etc but riders would definitely, and rightly kick up a fuss about having to bunny hop a kerb every lap in a bunch, definitely not safe, especially if there is youth and chipper races as mentioned above.
Awaits abuse from all the mtb'ers that ride their boardman road bikes every Saturday with mtb pedals and camelbaks, you try hopping that, on a corner, at 28mph, in a bunch, chewing the stem, when you have been for the last 55 mins.
Ok I am far from a rad cyclist, but is this real or a wind up? Would anyone really have a problem with that - heaven help them is there is a tree root anywhere.
Seriously, would you notice that at any speed? Bunnyhop? Tyres would just roll over that wouldn't they?
I'm a road rider and have raced crits and would have no issue riding over that at 30mph. You wouldnt even need to bunny hop it, unless it really is an awful lot bigger than it looks. Road bikers are essentially 29'ers after all 😉
Exactly, I wish Surrey roads were that flat!!!!
To be fair roads in Belgium have one of those every 5 meters, with a trough, but whether or not people do think they could ride it, and yes I would go as far as saying EVERYONE here could ride over that, if the op was to organise a crit for all abilities, then no doubt about it, in one race, there WOULD be a crash, and it's not worth the dramas!
Thanks guys for the advice.. it's on a turn so definitely needs to be ramped for H&S (and to pass the risk assessment!). Two options most commonly suggested by people are:
1.Large sheet of wood going right over the kerb and over the other side (creating a 'curve' up and down), painted with grippy paint (not sure what exactly though..is there a product, or do I just mix sand and paint?), then nailgunned into the tarmac. Removal via crowbar
2.QUick dry cement made on lining paper, made into a small ramp a few hours before.
Both have their positives/negatives. Just need to test both I guess! At least I could re-use the wood the following year, and prepare it in advance.









