Fallen off again, help

This has happened 3 times now, I keep falling off at the same point of my commute. its a very tight switchback going up hill on a tarmac path and I keep losing the front end. I'm not sure quite why it goes, I'm riding very slow at the time turning a good 180 degrees left, then mashing it up the hill. 3 times now I get part way round the corner and the front end just washes out, I'm sat pedaling and I'm not sure if its because I'm lifting/lightening the front end as I begin to put power down causing i to go or what, maybe standing and putting more weight over the front will help, it is very tight, I can only just get the bike round. any advice, it begining to do quite a bit of damage to my pride as well as my knees.

maybe try a different route?

i broke my leg in 3 places once -i just never went to any of those places again

Ho Ho Ho, yeah a different route is beginning to appeal, I'm usually late as it is though so shortest is best :)

hamsters learn faster than that..

try a different route
A CLASSIC !!!

Don't cycle to work drunk ;o)

Not very well balanced? A spot on the road that stays damp with the morning dew and proves slippery?

Take it wide, slow, get tyres with a more grippy compound. And perhaps if you can afford to ask the question, consider whether the bike is balanced well at the front and back and whether it fits you well enough to allow you to distribute your weight on it evenly.

I'd go for the wide, slow and grippy tyres though. It's cheaper.

what's the surface, is there oil on the surface?

if you're falling off can you not just pur your foot down instead of hurting your knee, or get off the bike and walk the tight corner, take a pic of what you mean so we can understand the problem

Brett, I seem to be able to cycle home from work after a few with no problems (although last time it took me about 100yds to clip into one of my spds, kept missing somehow ;-P ).

VB/winston: with the recent weather the path is a bit greasy the edges tend to be muddy.leafy which isn't helping, I've landed on my arse thanks to the leaf mulch before now. my tyres are 700X28 schwalbe marathons which are supposed to be decent, pressure may be a tad low. I think the bike may be a bit light at the front, its a 25" harry hall, I'm 6'5" and about 18st so it is a top heavy setup! would lowering my bars help transfer some weight over the front and possibly help matters, I do notice when pedaling up the hill while in the saddle the front wheel does skip about a bit with the pedal strokes.

I think walking the corner or dabing a foot down is the real solution, I just keep seeing it as a challenge though (I do get round it more often than not, but when I do fall its always the front that slips out from under me), people do ride round it but even those on short bikes need to use the full width of the path.

stop, get off and walk around the dodgy area, then get back on ;o)

Maybe I should have asked:

why do I lose front end grip cornering at very low speed and what can I do about it?

some points learnt from climbing (mtb) on loose gravel and slippery rock surfaces.

keep your weight in the middle of the bike. get up and get off the saddle if you must. if you're off the saddle, dont go too far forward or the rear would slip out. if you want to climb it seated, move your bum forward, almost at the tip of the saddle nose. and more importantly, dont pull up on the bars! certain hand position would make it difficult for you to pull up...

those schwable's are a pretty hard tyre, maybe go for something softer on the front?!

i wa slooking for a pic of stabilisers, but found this. wicked !

bispoke is the new aerospoke

nimhbus i wa slooking for a pic of stabilisers, but found this. wicked !

Brakeless too! Double wicked!

you wan 3 arrospk

Do you fling the bike around you alot under your self as you climb? IF so may be try and keep your weight more still and central on the doggy corner.

Just an idea but worth a crack.

BillB ... I'm riding very slow at the time turning a good 180 degrees left, ...

That's back where you came from!

Seriously though, are you slipping on road markings?
Which wheel gives up first? If it's the front get more weight over it, move right forward if you have to unless the surface affords no grip (like joins in the tarmac, metalwork or road markings). If it's the rear, keep the weight a bit further back while you're mashing (as suggested by fatboyralph) but get your body lower by bending your elbows, it feels strange but works well by getting your C of G lower.

Its a path that goes under then along side the major A-road, so it goes up then doubles back and goes up again. no road markings or anything (just a bit of mud and leaf when its been raining). its always the front that goes first so I think I may just need to get more weight over the front. I'll try the leaning forward, bendy elbows thing. for general riding I feel the front end is a bit (little bit) sketchy, maybe I just need to get used to skinny rubber after being on a MTB so long. Would dropping my stem (which is pretty high) help this?

sounds like you're wiping out on moss or something.Why dont you take a shovel with you next time and scrape it off?

What angle is the bike at before you go over?
How fast are you going when you wipe out?
What tyres are you running and what's the surface like?
How are you positioned on the bike - weight forward or back?
Does the front wheel quickly slip out from under you or does it judder and then slip?
I don't think I've met anyone who's crashed in the same place three times - congrats! :)

Hmmm - you're going round a sharp corner then uphill. Do you mash it pretty much as soon as you're round the corner? Sounds to me like you're lifting your front wheel off the ground, partic. the references to general front sketchiness while mashing uphill. I do that sometimes on the geared bike when I've been riding fixed for a while and I forget that I'm in a low gear and try to accelerate quickly from the traffic lights. Perhaps lower your stem a bit so that you're leaning forward more and putting more weight on the handlebars instead of yanking back on them with all your weight on your saddle. You might want to get out of the saddle and lean forward a bit like someone else said, but lowering your bars will probably put you in the right position if your stem is that high.

oh, and how much does your stem extend forward by the way?