Avoiding somthing in the road

[Ron1z]

I have been riding two wheelers for years, always to the left or right of the lane, never in the middle of the lane thats how I was taught to ride.

Well now I have my first trike and told to ride in the middle of the lane. My question is what do you do when encountering something in the road ? swerve and miss it with front wheel seems easy but what about the back wheels? What if you hit it with the back wheel? What will/can happen ?

[Ed H]

I have been riding two wheelers for years, always to the left or right of the lane, never in the middle of the lane thats how I was taught to ride.

Well now I have my first trike and told to ride in the middle of the lane. My question is what do you do when encountering something in the road ? swerve and miss it with front wheel seems easy but what about the back wheels? What if you hit it with the back wheel? What will/can happen ?

That is a definite issue, many times I would dodge a pot hole or obstruction in the road only to hit it with a rear wheel. All you can do is try your best to get around the problem.

[Gorilla]

My experience has been that hitting something with one rear wheel has been no different then I hit the item with one rear wheel in my car. But I've never hit anything that large in my 150K miles or riding 3 wheels. Also I do not just go down the middle. I ride where I think it is the safest with traffic and being seen.

Be safe

[rhino 2]

I have been riding two wheelers for years, always to the left or right of the lane, never in the middle of the lane thats how I was taught to ride.

Well now I have my first trike and told to ride in the middle of the lane. My question is what do you do when encountering something in the road ? swerve and miss it with front wheel seems easy but what about the back wheels? What if you hit it with the back wheel? What will/can happen ?

Ron, Anything can happen if you hit something in the road...Mostly depends on what the object is and how big.....With my 3 wheelers I've had 4 of them since 2008....Two of them were reverse trikes......I try to ride keeping the single wheel sightly to the left of center....If at all practical, Over the years i hit quite a few things [2 and 3 wheels] and without any damage except the brown spot on my underwear ... when not being able to miss something i would radder hit an object with the axle with two wheels and straight on....Or straddle it......

[Koolbreeze]

If both lanes are clear, I just slow down and go around it. If I cannot avoid it I try and center the front tire on it and let the suspension absorb some of the impact.

The rear tires with the solid axle tend to bounce over and move both tires around. If the obstacle is small I have had some luck with splitting the distance between the front tire and the rear wheel but you only have about 6-10 inches to work with.

Brake and slow down is the best bet, or go around if clear, when all else fails center and ride it out, then inspect for damage. The front end is pretty rugged.

[Sully]

I try to line up the object to just one side of the front wheel and hope it goes between the rear wheels. I also try to keep the front wheel off the dead center of the lane, I switch from one side to the other.

[graygoat]

I tend to do what Sully does if I can not get around it.

[ol' school]

I also agree with Sully! Try to miss it on the side of the front tire and hope the back tires miss it by going in between.

I also ride like Ted and Sully stated. I don't ride in the middle. I try to ride with the front tire off center to be in the lane to be seen better.

[ole_phart]

If both lanes are clear, I just slow down and go around it. If I cannot avoid it I try and center the front tire on it and let the suspension absorb some of the impact.

The rear tires with the solid axle tend to bounce over and move both tires around. If the obstacle is small I have had some luck with splitting the distance between the front tire and the rear wheel but you only have about 6-10 inches to work with.

Brake and slow down is the best bet, or go around if clear, when all else fails center and ride it out, then inspect for damage. The front end is pretty rugged.

I'm new on 3 wheels but this is the same thing I do. If it can't be avoided, to me it seems that the front end suspension handles it much better than one of the rear wheels.

[tfdeputydawg]

Well now I have my first trike and told to ride in the middle of the lane.

Who told you that

[David792]

I've learned to use the part of the road that is best. In the old days we were taught to ride in the left wheel track. I figure I'm smart enough now to find the best lane. On two wheels I once hit a piece of split firewood after coming out of a curve. I hit in lengthwise with my front wheel while riding a BMW R1200rt. Amazing what a bike traveling at speed can overcome. It really wants to stay upright.

On my trike I try to ride the front wheel just barely to the left or right of the obstacle, then the rear should also clear it. Try not to swerve for live animals. They are moving targets and are uncanny at getting out of the way. If you have to... hit 'em head on. It's better than flipping over or running into the ditch, a barbed wire fence, a tree, a parked flatbed truck etc...

[DK Custom Products]

Completely depends on what it is.

If not too tall or wide, have it pass between the front wheel and one of the rear wheels.

If it is big, try and go completely around it...IF possible to do safely. Don't want to swerve too much at higher speeds.

If hitting something bigger is unavoidable, I can't think of a situation where I would not rather hit it with a rear tire.

I rarely ride down the center of a lane. I always ride in the lane where I will have the best line of sight for what's ahead, be visible to others, and have good options on escape routes.

Kevin

[GARYD]

10 years on my TG. I will always hit the object with the front wheel. Waaaaaaayy less trauma/tossing around then hitting with either rear wheel....unless it's something really big, then I go around. Thankfully I haven't encountered anything too big that I can't go over with front wheel.

I really HATE manhole covers!! Why can't they put them in the same tract? Around here they are everywhere with no rhyme or reason.

I assume an IRS would be way different.

[DK Custom Products]

10 years on my TG. I will always hit the object with the front wheel. Waaaaaaayy less trauma/tossing around then hitting with either rear wheel....unless it's something really big, then I go around. Thankfully I haven't encountered anything too big that I can't go over with front wheel.

I really HATE manhole covers!! Why can't they put them in the same tract? Around here they are everywhere with no rhyme or reason.

I assume an IRS would be way different.

Or really good rear shocks.

I've found with the 14" Trike Series Shocks™ that a bump or pothole is more smoothly absorbed with the rear tires than the front tire.

If it is a piece of wood or other debris that is too big to pass between the front tire and one of the rear tires, I do not want to run over it with the front tire and then have it bouncing around, all alongside the bottom of the Trike before exiting out the rear....rather just hit it with the rear tire and limit potential damage.

Kevin

[azbob09]

Or really good rear shocks.

I've found with the 14" Trike Series Shocks™ that a bump or pothole is more smoothly absorbed with the rear tires than the front tire.

If it is a piece of wood or other debris that is too big to pass between the front tire and one of the rear tires, I do not want to run over it with the front tire and then have it bouncing around, all alongside the bottom of the Trike before exiting out the rear....rather just hit it with the rear tire and limit potential da

Kevin

That's a really good idea I never thought of but it makes sense!