Crossers and Backers!!!!!

Velo Bro

Crossers and Backers!!!!!

Was just thinking the other day when I was cycling with my daughter to school that you don’t see too many people giving Crossers or Backers anymore.
My daughter is 7 and too big for a bicycle seat and as I drop her to school on my way to work I can’t take her bike with me so the cross bar is ideal. She gets great craic out of it as well especially as she asked the other kids and no one knew what a crosser or backer was.

Anyone else partake in this kind of informal pillion transport!!! Or has the nanny society put a stop to it all?

Vello Bro

Lumen

My four year old fits nicely on the handlebars of my cross bike.

Its safer than on my shoulders.

buffalo

None of my friends ever accept a backer, even though I have a nice comfy rack. Crossers are awkward once the passenger is beyond a certain physical size, but nice and intimate.

Morgan

I like to carry passengers draped over my crossbar like a sack of potatoes, although if they're too tall their feet and head tend to drag along the ground.

petethedrummer

Given plenty in my younger days. If your passenger on the crossbar was a tad rotund you would just hold on to their shoulders and let them steer.

Velo Bro

petethedrummer wrote: »

Given plenty in my younger days. If your passenger on the crossbar was a tad rotund you would just hold on to their shoulders and let them steer.

Savage I remember that too And the handlebar dismount when the driver was braking was worthy of an Olympic gymnastics medal!! well sometimes only when your inside leg was longer then the diameter of a 27 inch wheel:o

Velo Bro

Esroh

what about when you had no carrier and you not able to manage on the crossbar so you stood on the pedals and the passanger just sat on the seat.

And slightly off topic . Did you ever have to ride a bike with a crossbar that was to big for you and you had to pedal with your legs under the bar so your were leaning to 1 side but trying to keep the bike upright.

cdaly_

Some young lady wrote:

Oh yes lovely time at the dance and Johnny gave me a crosser home on his bike.

Other young lady wrote:

That was a ladies' bike he was riding...

Micilin Muc

I always got a backer home from primary school, until I had an accident one afternoon. I won't go into any details but my friends believed I had balls of steel :cool:

bcmf

The last time I gave anyone a crosser I believe I was in 5th year in school ie a long long time ago. Myself and a mate were coming home from a mates house and were going down a place called Baggot Rd. Passed 2 Gardai and my mate decided to hurl a bit of abuse at the Gardai. Unfortunatley he was so vigourous in hurling abuse he caught his foot in the front wheel and sent the 2 of us into a heap onto the ground. Gardai just stroll up to us and give us a bollocking. I even ended up in court as the fooker Garda who was just doing his job said there were no lights on the bike (it was dark) and no real functioning brakes. Even though my sis knew the Garda he still brought it to court.
When it came to court and the judge heard the charge he looked at me then looked the Garda then said to me ,something along the lines of , Get outta here.

bugler

I passed a very wobbly crosser in progress on Aungier St this week. Two hairly fellas making very slow progress and zig-zagging. I gave them a wide berth. I was waiting at the lights between Wexford St and Redmond's Hill alongside several other cyclists when they somehow maneuvered past and ran straight through the lights, again wobbling all the way.

Unfortunately they failed to notice the Motorbike Garda waiting to come through the lights in the opposite direction. He pulled them over for a discussion.

manwithaplan

When I was a youngfella, I was giving a (very thin) crossbar on my ancient peugeot racer to a young lady I found rather attractive. As we rounded a corner the front wheel buckled, almost in slow motion. We sank to the ground together and ended up in a not unpleasant giggling heap. I loved that bike.

SerialComplaint

Velo Bro wrote: »

My daughter is 7 and too big for a bicycle seat and as I drop her to school on my way to work I can’t take her bike with me

Do they not have bike sheds/stands for locking up bikes? My 6-year-old cycles to her school with me, and I lock her bike at a stand. My missus then walks home with the little one cycling.

I was really impressed with getting her into cycling at Senior Infants, until I saw one of her friends little sister from Junior Infants cycling up, stabilisers and all, locking her bike beside us.

tomasrojo

manwithaplan wrote: »

When I was a youngfella, I was giving a (very thin) crossbar on my ancient peugeot racer to a young lady I found rather attractive. As we rounded a corner the front wheel buckled, almost in slow motion. We sank to the ground together and ended up in a not unpleasant giggling heap. I loved that bike.

My friend totalled the rear wheel of another friend's bike getting a backer in the late 90s. I was cycling behind them and witnessed the rear wheel pringling. Not sure whether it was over-taxing of the rear wheel, or just that the rear tube wasn't sufficiently inflated.

sexpot

I have a Pashley Roadster and regularly give my gf a backer (on the rack), amsterdam style of course. It's brilliant and so much easier to get around. Could do with a wider range of gears on the bike though and it's always good to have a cushion on the rack as steel is not the most comfortable on bumpy roads.

monument

Cyclist stands, passenger sits on the saddle... What do you call this?

Don't see passengers on bikes, bar children, too often these days, but you do see the odd one. I guess the perception that cycling is dangerous doesn't help, nor the lack of carriers on many bikes.

I can only think of once where anybody took up an offer in recent years, down the wide footpaths in Ballymun to DCU.

tomasrojo

It's common enough to try and make a living giving backers in Africa.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/katine/video/2009/may/22/dennis-ewalu-boda-boda

IM0

you just brought back the times my older brothers would give me a bar to school, and all the jumping on and off without crashing either of us I had to do. ahhh ...unfortunately one day I decided to stick my foot in the wheel to stop [dj scratch] and the pair of us went for an arse over tit sniffing concrete session...I was real young though 9 or so :rolleyes:

face2face

Often got a crosser home from town from the boyfriend back in the day, Grafton Street all the way to Glasnevin, and we (he) cycled up all the hills!

Serialcomplaint: my junior infant cycles all the way to school - no stabilisers - and did it when he was in Montessori too - 2.2kms door to door - very proud mammy!

pickarooney

monument wrote: »

Cyclist stands, passenger sits on the saddle... What do you call this?

Rickshaw style!

Last time I gave a mate a backer the back wheel crumpled to bits going past that same bridge.

squire23

You were a king if you were the one in your group that had the right bike for giving 'bars' as we used to call them (handlebars)

Civilian_Target

monument wrote: »

Cyclist stands, passenger sits on the saddle... What do you call this?

Dunno, but a few weeks ago I managed to do that on Brussels' public bikes, with a lady in the saddle. Given the state I was in, I'm impressed by how accident free it was.

Given backers on the rack plenty of times too - stick a cushion on for luxury, choose a low gear, and be glad the back wheel is re-enforced

Bluefoam

monument wrote: »

Cyclist stands, passenger sits on the saddle... What do you call this?

Don't see passengers on bikes, bar children, too often these days, but you do see the odd one. I guess the perception that cycling is dangerous doesn't help, nor the lack of carriers on many bikes.

I can only think of once where anybody took up an offer in recent years, down the wide footpaths in Ballymun to DCU.

That was called a backer in my day - we had no such things as racks on our bikes.

ED E

Not one person has mentioned pegs....

Civilian_Target

I'm assuming backers are technically illegal?

BostonB

My oldest is too big for the cross bar on the MTB. was thinking or rigging up some padding for the rear rack. Hes not keen on it though.

BostonB

tomasrojo wrote: »

It's common enough to try and make a living giving backers in Africa.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/katine/video/2009/may/22/dennis-ewalu-boda-boda

nice vid.

tomasrojo

Yeah, I was very taken by it when I saw it. I was in Zimbabwe for about six weeks in 1998 (before things got very bad) and it reminded me a bit of that.

recedite

tomasrojo wrote: »

It's common enough to try and make a living giving backers in Africa.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/katine/video/2009/may/22/dennis-ewalu-boda-boda

80 km, one meal a day, and mostly no water bottle, but at the very end of the vid he has one perched on the front mudguard.

He nearly crashed with the pregnant woman on board :eek:

Diarmuid

Esroh wrote: »

And slightly off topic . Did you ever have to ride a bike with a crossbar that was to big for you and you had to pedal with your legs under the bar so your were leaning to 1 side but trying to keep the bike upright.

My first bike with drop handlebars. I think I got it when I was in 5th class (ish). Had to ride it for a year or two like that. 10 speed. Gear changers on the stem. Something like this.
Loved it.

BostonB

Esroh wrote: »

....Did you ever have to ride a bike with a crossbar that was to big for you and you had to pedal with your legs under the bar so your were leaning to 1 side but trying to keep the bike upright.

ah the memories...You'll grow into it son...

snailsong

Bringing back the memories.... my childhood and early adolescense just about summed up.
In Amsterdam, about 20 years ago, maybe 4 am, somewhat the worse for the various medications available in that great city. I 'invented' the sport of bike-surfing. You stand on the carrier, initially holding the shoulders of the pilot, then unsupported for that 'man on surfboard after 50 pints of stout' experience. I think it actually worked ok until we got to the cobbles...more crashes caused by the uncontrollable laughter of following comrades. The wounds healed after a week or so but the memories live on.

The tax man

Lethal_Bullet wrote: »

Not one person has mentioned pegs....

Ah,good old foot pegs. A mate of mine had pegs front and back on a Raleigh
Grifter and it took 3 of us to and from the shops at lunch time. That sponge bit on the Grifters handlebars made for a handy seat.:D

I was never a fan of taking a crossbar for fear of over balancing and falling off backwards. Given loads though.
As a small child my sister would give me a backer on a carrier home from school. One day she mounted a path and the kerb was quite high. The bump going up through the back wheel sent me flying off the bike and straight onto the ground,she came back a few minutes later after she coped I was gone and found me balling my eyes out sitting on the ground where I landed.

positron

I saw a young couple doing the 'rickshaw style' with one of the Dublin Bikes near Jervis Street - looked like they were out on a dinner date and having a good time in general. It was once of the few nicer things I had seen in Dublin that month.

zagmund

Last time I gave someone a crosser it ended in tears. My son was about 5 or 6 at the time and we were late for something so we jumped on the bike and headed off downhill.

As we approached a speed bump I remember (all too well) saying "hold on tight" and accelerating . . . The next thing his foot went into the front wheel, the bike stopped and we went flying.

I was covered in blood and in a lot of pain. He was actually perfectly fine (apart from a phobia about ever being on a bike with me again) but he was upset to see me covered in blood. What had happened was that my glasses had broken and the nose bridge bit had dug into my forehead. A lot of stitches resolved it so I was lucky that nothing worse happened.

That was a few years ago, but despite being a confident cyclist for the previous 20+ years I am still nervous when on the bike - especially with the potholes, bumps, ruts, etc . . . that make up the road surface in Dublin.

I would never have forgiven myself if #2 son had been injured, scarred, or otherwise had a bad outcome from that crash.

z

seeing_ie

Something like this


was my steed in the mid 80s. Ex tourist rental sturmey-archer 3 speed raleigh tourer, the natty front and back carriers ideal for multiple passengers.
Crossbars, backers, handlebars and once, just once, a brother on my shoulders and one on the back carrier down the hill outside the house.
Jumpers for goalposts etc...

recedite

Welly surfing..
Yep, one of us sat on the back carrier in a pair of wellies, while the other pedalled furiously down a steep hill. Once sufficient speed was attained, the wellie surfer put the feet down. As the soles began to melt, he could stand up and be towed along. Works best on a hot summers day. Smokin' good fun.


I haven't told the wife yet, but I've been dreaming of a trip to Arab land to try out this far more sophisticated version since I first saw the video;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMveY18Ssvs

I have the sandals, but I'm not sure I would have the nerve....

ThisRegard

snailsong wrote: »

You stand on the carrier,

Pffft, you had a carrier. Did you have the little streamers on your handle bars too

snailsong

ThisRegard wrote: »

Pffft, you had a carrier. Did you have the little streamers on your handle bars too

Standard issue Amsterdam 1 speed bike. For sale by most junkies for 25 gilders, no questions asked. Typically lasted a few weeks before it was 're-cycled'. Sort of rental scheme in effect.