Knee Down - What next?

[Steve H]

I certainly don't wish to denigrate anyone's success at getting whichever part of their anatomy to purposefully kiss the tarmac and whilst I concede that it shows a lot of control and skill (in some cases) I personally cannot see the fun of circumnavigating a roundabout umpteen times to facilitate it.

For me it's not what bikings about however (and I'll reiterate this) I certainly don't wish to disparage success in the limb down stakes. I'm just venturing the opinion that I'd rather be out on a road/country lane/A/B Road than riding the industrial estate merry go round attempting to scuff my leathers - I can go on a track and do that.

I realise that it's not the only thing that people use their bikes for however some would have you believe that the knee down myth is the be all and end all of biking proficiency.

SteveH (ducking )
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Mellow Yellow
The BCF Top TEN - 2010, 2009, 2008, The Original.

[iCraig]

You gotta admit though its fun to try and get your knee down for the first time eh?

For me trying to get my knee down is me learning how to get the most from my bike and the most from my riding, and going around a few roundabouts may help me in bends and my confidence etc.

I do love riding on A and B roads too, but I find my cornering ability quite crap to be honest and anything that makes me better I'm all for.

[Bendy]

It's fun, and it's sociable - you can stand around and talk while watching a couple of people play, go out and have a play yourself, have another chat...

It's also useful to know how far you can lean your bike, and a roundabout is the safest place to progressively find this out in my opinion.

Of course it's not the be all and end all, it's just another thing to do. And it's strangely satisfying.

[bennyb24]

yep that's a fair enough point of view, but I bet it only formed after you got your knee down ?

Nowdays, I'll go to a local roundabout if i'm bored or I don't have much time, but in the not too distant past I was consumed by the all important desire/need to get my knee down.

Everything you read, see, or watch to do with motorcycling shows or talks about KD. It's no wonder I and many others have spent hours practicing on roundabouts.

Ben.

[Steve H]

You can have Great Fun on a bike without getting anything down (yes I've done it benny so mabe my perspective is slightly biased) and to chase the holy 'knee down' grail by whizzing round and round a roundabout is just not my cup of tea.

As I alluded to in my post, I can see the positives (especially with the social side of things Bendy) however I'd personally much rather meet with a load of mates and bugger off for a long ride than do the aforementioned - don't you lot get dizzy anyway

SteveH
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Mellow Yellow
The BCF Top TEN - 2010, 2009, 2008, The Original.

[Bendy]

Believe it or not, we do actually go out and ride bikes in places other than industrial estates.

I guess the balance of photos on here may not suggest that, but that's simply cos it's easier to take pictures when your playing in an enclosed space than when you're out in the twisties.

[Smoto Bob]

Not really a show of your skill really is it, "look this is what the bike can do"

if some one wheelies down the road i would be impressed, Off road at speed, rolling stoppys, all require something a bit more difficult than hanging off

No offence any one

(G's rs250 leaning was a bit more impressive )
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[bennyb24]

hmm, don't agree with that one.... it took me a lot longer to GMKD then it did to do a decent wheelie or stoppie (talking about proper wheelies, not little bunny hops)

[izzi81]

[Bendy]

[Korn]

Going round and round and round and round a roundabout is a bit boring so what I like to do is use any roads around it and form a mini circuit with more corners, that way you still have the social aspect of being able to stand around in one spot with your mates but also able to practice other aspects of your riding. Like this:

https://www.nsr125.com/track.jpg

Or you can try increasingly mad kneedown tricks:

https://www.madriders.com/c23.jpg

https://www.madriders.com/DSC00287.jpg

https://www.madriders.com/DSC00218.jpg
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3516 Miles, 11 Countries

[Stew]

I ride a bike because it's fun.
I GMKD because it's fun.
Thats all there is to it really, if I could pull wheelies then I probably would but I need to practice that skill a bit more. Like Bendy says it is easier to take photos when people are circulating a roundabout than it is to take position on a corner and wait for someone.
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"Unlike public school you don't need to have your arse up and your head down to go a long way...."

[Smoto Bob]

[Scratchy]

Lap times are all that matter at the end of the day
You'll look great getting your knee down, right up to the point you're overtaken!
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Don't do as I do, do as I say!

[G]

For a start, knee down is one of those ‘land mark’ biking achievements. When you first do it, you can say to yourself at least ‘I can lean my bike semi-decently’; gives you a sense of achievement.
Though this does vary a lot depending on the bike, stature and flexibility of the person etc; I’ve seen a lot of people have to lean their bikes a lot more than I do to get their knees down.
When I first got my knee down I wasn’t actually going much faster or leaning much more; but it then let me ride faster and lean more because I got a better ‘feel’ of what I could do on the bike.

Personally I don’t that much enjoy continuous ‘roundabout surfing’ these days; though, in my opinion it’s a hell of a lot better place (presuming an empty industrial estate) to explore the limits of grip while leaning than a track.
Given enough ‘laps’ I can generally lean a bike on a roundabout up to the point that I start to feel the rear starting to go, so I don’t feel there’s much more I can achieve from it; but for those that haven’t got to that point, there's still the challenge of pushing yourself and your bike. I would suggest that quite a few crashes by inexperienced (and more expeireiced )riders could have been saved if they'd have done a bit of roundabout surfing, so they know better what their bike can and can't do.
I also can’t afford the sliders bill to do it; used up half a pair of sliders getting a decent pic on Saturday.

I didn’t actually go out that day with the intention of doing anything but meeting up with some fellow BCFers.
As far as going for getting my elbow down; to some degree I did enjoy it initially, as it’s a new challenge; though I did it on about the third attempt, then the challenge was keeping it down for long enough to get a picture, with out the rear sliding too much.
To some degree, stuff like this done in this sort of situation is just another trick… like a wheelie, stoppie, etc; also like, say backing it in seems to have become. All skills that will probably help your control with track or fast road riding, but on their own do little; just a bit of fun.

[McJamweasel]

[MarJay]

For me (as a person who has not done it yet)

I would say that its all about spending time getting things like your body positioning and corner speed right. Above all its about confidence. Despite the fact that I have not yet managed to scrape a knee, I found that when riding to work this morning I had a lot more confidence in what the bike could do. If not least for the fact that I knew my tyres were scrubbed in right to the edges etc.

Personally I don't enjoy going round and round and round all day as much as the actual watching/chatting/marvelling at G with his elbow on the deck. It doesn't matter if you are a fast or slow rider in this situation unlike a rideout where you are stressed trying to keep up with people.

I wouldn't say it was my first choice of biking activity, but the whole get together social part of it is fun!
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Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[fuzz]

[Bendy]

I learnt some key things on Saturday about body position (particularly my feet), things which I will try and apply to my riding next weekend at Cadwell. We shall see if they make me any faster.

I'd never have tried moving about as much out on a country road, nor would I have tried it for the first time at the track. I like the roundabout cos not only are you in a fairly safe environment to try these things, you also have other people who can observe and offer advice fairly instantly. I also like the fact that there are friends around, so I'm more inclined to try something knowing that they'll pick me up if it all goes wrong.

I'm not a massive fan of rideouts, I think cos I haven't found people to ride with who suit my riding style. I prefer to go out on the twisties myself so as not to feel the pressure of keeping up with others who are faster/braver than I am - my idea of a day out having fun doesn't involve stress, feelings of inadequacy, fear or other negatives. I like trackdays but they cost money and are usually far away.

I think what Mark said is key - it doesn't matter if you're fast or slow when you're just out playing. Our little spot has enough connecting road that you can disappear for a thrash, a nice little straight bit where you can work on your wheelies, plenty spots to park and to sit, and lots of the 'locals' know where it is and will randomly drop past to say hello. It's also a nice spot for having a go on other people's bikes, something which is always fun to do. Or you can just roll up and watch - nobody minds.

I go to industrial estates primarily for the sociable side, but the entertainment and advice are very welcome. I can think of worse ways to spend an afternoon.

[Demonic69]

I found my riding so much better afer playing around on a roundabout. You get to try things you can't get away with on a/b roads.
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Back on a Blade. Just feels so right.

[Scratchy]

[Bendy]

Hasn't happened so far.

The park security have been over and told us not to park the bikes in certain spots but other than that we get left alone.

[Scratchy]

Cool. I'll have a look for it next time i'm up that way
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Don't do as I do, do as I say!

[Steve H]

[Visitor Q]

I imagine a good analogy for KD would be sex. You hanker to lose the v-plates for a few years, have sex the first time, thats all great, then you kinda get bored with it a tad.

I am going to get my KD this summer, but im a tightarse and cant afford leather trousers, how would you go about attaching sliders to jeans. Either those velcro pads but im worried you couldnt wash the jeans at all, or just ducktaping them on... but that might inhibit leg movement/be too weak (soon as they kiss they might fly off). Any advice?

Also what is backing it in... im curious about that too. All i can think of is if you get the back to powerslide a tad into the corner.
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