How to Ride Over Obstacles on a Gravel Bike?

Question

I don’t know exactly how to approach barriers on my gravel bike. Can I just roll on most of it and how do I go about training?

Answer 1

It is not impossible to ride a gravel bike over a number of barriers given one paramount condition: practice. The first step is to find a small log or any such object that can be used to practice the lifting of a front wheel and then the back wheel alternately over it. Once you feel more confident, go for broader objects. This entails doing a tiny wheelie and raising your feet to elevate the back wheel over the object. With time, you will get used to riding over most obstacles on the bike rather than getting off it to cross the obstruction.

Comments

Any advice for bunny hops or raising the rear of the bike without clipless pedals?

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A proper bunny hop would be better technique than lifting the front & pulling the rear wheels up. Even with the lower height needed for gravel riding, it puts less strain on the body.

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Small tips for going over stuff :

When practicing scary shits like jumping over things, you can try by going over imaginary obstacles at first ! Then go over stuff bigger and bigger

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Make sure you have clearance to ride other obstacles though.

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Practicing jumping with a Dollar store pool noodle… gets confidence going and doesn’t catch the back tire as much so you can get your foot down.

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A roadie error on getting over obstacles is trying to just lift the whole bike up - both wheels - and jump it. Tends to lead to disaster if you miss-time it and the front wheel hits the lump. As shown in the content get that front wheel up and over. As long as the front goes over your log / rock then in theory the back should too, even if you are just starting out on the knack of lifting the back as you go over. You might bang the back wheel a bit to start but at least it's not an OTB situation. Whatever you do don't hit the obstacle with the front wheel.

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That lifting the back wheel to hop obstacles is terrible advice