Bunny Hopping Road Bikes?

[MartianDestiny]

O, ack, the misconceptions.

Carbon fiber can be made to be just as strong if not stronger than steel/aluminum/or whatever other material. Steel and aluminum can be made to be weak little "beer cans" as well.

It is all in the engineering and the priorities of the frame makers.

A popular boutique mtn. bike brand has been making full carbon 5 inch All mountain bikes designed to drop, catch moderate air, crash, etc. for years. I have YET to hear of one failing under ANY circumstances, and don't suspect I will any time soon either (and people are pushing these bikes beyond their design specifications, and have been for years).

If I can not bunny hop, pop on or off a curb, or preform a similar maneuver in an emergency I don't want the bike, frame, wheelset, component, whatever, PERIOD. I sure as heck wouldn't buy a roadbike that I couldn't hit a pothole on!!!!!!

That's not to say I do so regularly (intentionally) on my roadbikes, but I have done it. The carbon wonderbike has been on gravel, popped off a curb, and even popped onto a curb to get the heck out of dodge (avoiding a collision in progress). I expected it to take it flawlessly and it did. (Of course I realize you can land wrong and bend a rim, etc. especially if you aren't smart/careful about selecting your equipment, but the stuff isn't as fragile (carbon, aluminum, all of it) as it's made out to be IF it's designed properly.)

My mountain bike has a carbon rear triangle (if they made the full carbon bike in my size I'd have that). It's been crashed, laid down on rocks, the works. I do not even begin to worry about it failing on me within a reasonable lifespan (and no, I don't define reasonable as 2 or 3 years...). If I did, I'd have never purchased the bike. The company is well regarded, has a good track record, and cares about performance and reliability. The swingarm would NOT be carbon if they could do it better and safer with aluminum.

Try this with Aluminum or Steel...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDVpRSNtcPQ

[SadieKate]

I know I'm late to the party, but:

My LBS says "bunny hopping" isn't recommended for non-mountain bikes. I wouldn't bunny hop, as it is supposed to put undue stress on the wheels ($$$) and possibly the frame.

Oh man, there are a ton of cyclocross racers that are going to have to replace their frames, components, you name it, if that's true . . . .

[OakLeaf]

I think the point of bunny hopping a road bike is to avoid running over something that would be an even greater stress to the wheels (and the rider) than the hop...

[moderncyclista]

*waves hands in front of self*

I asked my LBS, that's what they said. They don't sell too many cyclocross bikes - mostly road bikes. They never carry touring bikes in stock - so perhaps they didn't think of this. All I'm saying is what "I" wouldn't do. That is all. Take it or leave it.

I haven't made my distrust of carbon a "secret", to that end -
http://www.bustedcarbon.com/
http://www.bustedcarbon.com/2008_11_01_archive.html
The photos are quite sad to me. I'd hate to spend that kind of money and have something like that happen.
Some of these failures are from crashes, but some are as innocuous as going 8 mph and running over a branch. Or just being defective. One chick hits a pot hole at 20 mph. http://www.bustedcarbon.com/2009/05/busted-cinelli.html
A guy bunny hops on his cyclocross bike. http://www.bustedcarbon.com/2009/03/...-disaster.html
Also, Check Out their no-carbon wednesday feature. http://www.bustedcarbon.com/2009/11/...yclocross.html
Shows a steel cyclocross bike - Trashed from Cyclocross racing. So yeah, I think if you cyclocross you accept the possibility of that.

Who knows I may own a bike with "some" carbon someday. But, just in case - I'd always go around an obstacle. <--Hyper-cautious? Perhaps.

[OakLeaf]

- I'd always go around an obstacle. <--Hyper-cautious? Perhaps.

How do you "go around" an expansion joint? Get off and walk? Just curious...

I've never been able to clear railroad tracks (bunny hopping one rail puts me right on top of the next one), so I just ride over 'em. But expansion joints, pavement seams and the like, you bet I hop.

[MartianDestiny]

*waves hands in front of self*

I asked my LBS, that's what they said. They don't sell too many cyclocross bikes - mostly road bikes. They never carry touring bikes in stock - so perhaps they didn't think of this. All I'm saying is what "I" wouldn't do. That is all. Take it or leave it.

I haven't made my distrust of carbon a "secret", to that end -
http://www.bustedcarbon.com/
http://www.bustedcarbon.com/2008_11_01_archive.html

How did I know the "busted carbon" website would come up? Almost ALL of those photos are from crashes, races, and severely UNDERestimated circumstances; most if not all of which would leave a similarly designed (function, weight, etc) aluminum or steel bike severely damaged as well. Be the bike carbon, steel, or aluminum it seems all failures happen while "just riding along"...BS!

Yes, there's some design defects and recall cases in there too. I can start naming off busted Aluminum from poor design and recalls as well if you'd like....

It boils down to this:
You crash a bike at 30 mph and I don't care what it is; chances are you broke something.

You race a bike and I don't care what it is; eventually you will break it.

You run a bike into your garage door and it doesn't matter what it is; it's toast (yea, a lot of those on busted carbon as well...)

You use a bike outside of it's design specifications and yup, eventually you will break it (that includes ignoring or pushing the rider weight limits that are on LOTS of those lightweight road racing forks and wheels...which can be as low as 150-160 lbs...yup, there's a lot of THAT on busted carbon as well...)

You ignore assembly instructions and, you guessed it, the part is going to eventually fail catastrophically on you (lots of that on busted carbon, some actually admit it...)

You ride a company's prototype or first gen. product and you are taking a certain amount of risk.

From an engineering standpoint there is NOTHING inferior about carbon (or do you not get on airplanes either?). IF one chooses to purchase a no holds barred, ultralight, racing frame one must understand that certain sacrifices were made to get it that way (whether it be steel, aluminum, or carbon). BUT not all carbon bikes are ultralight race bikes anymore. Plenty of companies that are taking longterm strength and structural integrity into account now for the bikes marketed to the masses; instead of just weight (or lack thereof). They are now making downhill mountain bikes out of the stuff; no one's breaking them and no one's complaining.

End lesson:
Regardless of material...Buy the bike designed for your use. Don't expect a "cheap" ($1000 or so frame only), "lightest in class" frame to also be the most durable.

People that buy lightweight race bikes and expect them to hold up to riding/abuse/crashes like a touring bike or even a mountain bike would are going to be sorely disappointed. They weren't designed to. And it doesn't matter what the material is (people used to complain about the weak pathetic ALUMINUM race bikes too...).

Believe the internet nonsense if you'd like, but don't make it seem as if ANY carbon bike is going to fall out from under you at the sight of a pothole. That's absurd and doesn't happen even with the lightest of light frames on anywhere NEAR a regular basis.

[moderncyclista]

Of course that site comes up in a conversation about Carbon frames. What is so wrong with being informed? I don't think you should view it as an attack on those who own, ride, and operate carbon frames. Let alone those who "bunny hop". People ask for opinions on these boards and I try my best to share the wisdom that "I" hold dear.

Also a decent part of that site's content isn't wreck breakage. I don't think I said carbon frames always fail, just that "I" don't trust them. Also, I always follow my mother's old adage: "Just because you CAN do something, doesn't mean you SHOULD."

I could bunny hop the daylights out of my touring bikes if I so chose, but "I" don't want to. You and whoever else can bunny hop their carbon, steel, aluminum, scandium, titanium and the like, to their heart's content. I consider posting here a friendly exercise in sharing - and I leave you with a tiny tidbit of wisdom. (Elie Wiesel: "Friendship marks a life even more deeply than love. Love risks degenerating into obsession, friendship is never anything but sharing.")

[moderncyclista]

How do you "go around" an expansion joint? Get off and walk? Just curious...

I've never been able to clear railroad tracks (bunny hopping one rail puts me right on top of the next one), so I just ride over 'em. But expansion joints, pavement seams and the like, you bet I hop.

I guess I have wide enough tires I've never had to worry about it. I've ridden all over and never had a problem on my 520.

[Dogmama]

This is like asking my German Shepherd to retrieve ducks. If you really want to catch air on a regular basis, I'd get an MTB. I cracked a frame on an aluminum Trek bike doing bunny hops.

As one poster mentioned, I had a jerk try to bunny hop right next to me. He ended up falling into me at 30MPH. OUCH. I ended up in the ER. He was my BF at the time and a lawyer. His main concern was that I would sue him. I said "D*AMN STRAIGHT and I'm going to hire your ex-wife lawyer to represent me." Jerk.

OTOH, bunny hopping over obstacles can be a handy thing. But, my bike has a steering wheel, and I'm assuming that "they" meant for me to steer around as many obstacles as possible. Just guessing here...

I DO like to catch air. I bought an MTB as my "go out & act like a kid" bike. It's great fun and has improved my handling skills in slippery places.

[marni]

there is one guy I run across from time to time while riding that sits and bunnyy hops in place ( on his road bike) at stop lights. I always find a reaason to move away from him or let him stop well ahead of me for the simple reason that one of these days he is going to lose it, or crack his front wheel off and fall and when that happens, I don't want to be around him.

As for obstacles in the road, I much prefer keeping my eyes open, watching the road surface ahead and braking or steering around them . Easier on me and my bike.

Marni

[Chemagne]

There is one place on my ride where I always end up hopping. It is where I am going downhill quickly and the bridge over the stream is wooden(yikes) and the road is lower than the woden planks. Since I like the speed to go up the other side, I usually hop up the little distance and keep going. :O) A little hop here or there has its uses.