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Portable Cyclocross Barriers |
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Written by Alan Starrett (Big Al)
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Friday, 09 September 2005 |
Since I am a full blown cyclocross addict I have always put a lot of emphasis on skills training building up to and throughout the race season. I am lucky that just down the street from my house is a public park with enough varied terrain to make a great virtual cross course.
 | | portable barriers |
There is gravel, pavement, grass, elevation change and plenty of natural elements to act as course markers. I have refined this "course" over the years and it mimicks many elements of the race courses I have been on here in New England. The only thing it lacks is a set of UCI regulation barriers. I guess that is not part of the park department's responsibility, go figure. In the beginning I would pull out some dead limbs and throw them on the ground. It works but doesn't really simulate a 40cm high UCI barrier. The next step was to take some old lumber and create a simple u shaped barrier that went into some post holes in the ground. This was better than the dead limbs but still pretty ghetto. I had to stash them in the woods becuase I wanted to just cruise down to the park on my bike and not load up the car and carry around a bunch of wood. These reguired punching holes in the ground at the park and although it didn't cause any long term damage I didn't feel great about it. So I have always wanted a light, self-standing set of UCI regulation barriers that I could carry in a backpack on my bike. A tall order yes but as I found out it is very doable with the help of modern materials.
 | | All the Parts |
The right material choice was right in front of me all the time, I just didn't realize it. It took fellow cross junkie Wally the Webmaster cruising eBay for cyclocross stuff to come across the anwser, PVC pipe. Light, stiff, portable, economical and easy to fabricate. I set about laying out my plans as any good engineer would, sketching on a napkin. In about 5 minutes I had my layout and materials list. I was off to Home Depot for supplies and for a mere $20 bill I had everything I needed. My excitement was barely containable. In about a half hour I had excatly what I had always wanted. A set of 40cm high barriers, just over 10 feet wide that breaks down small enough to fit in a backpack and be carried on a bike. Have barriers, will travel. I can now go on my bike to the park down the street or the park across town and go crazy practicing transitions. So can you do this for yourself? Well heck yes and I will show you how.
Here is what you will need:
MATERIALS:
(4) 10 foot lengths of 1" PVC pipe
(4) 1" PVC 90 degree elbows
(8) 1" PVC T's
(4) 1" PVC Couplings | | Horizontal w/90 Elbow |
Optional - PVC primer and adhesive to permanently affix some fittings to speed assembly
TOOLS:
Measuring Tape
Marker
Hacksaw
 | | Horizontal w/Coupling |
1. Horizontals: The first step is to work with two of the 10 foot lengths of pipe. Cut them in half and then in half again. Judicious use of the tape measure and marker is important here so you don't run out of material. I am cheap so I didn't want to buy another length of pipe. You will be left with (8) 2 1/2 foot sections, these will be the horizontal tops of the barriers. Put a 90 degree elbow on one end  | | Horizontal w/T & Coupling |
of (4) of these 2 1/2 foot sections. These elbows and all subsquent fittings can be glued on to speed assembly and disassembly if desired. Glue using PVC primer and adhesive per manufacturer's directions. I am no plumber so you can see my over zealous use of primer on my joints in the pictures. Take (2) 2 1/2 foot sections and put a coupling on one end. With the remaining (2) 2 1/2 foot sections put a coupling on one end and a T on the other.
 | | 12-3/4 Inch Riser |
2. Risers: The next step is to cut the risers that go from the bases to the horizontals. The length on these is important if you want the assembled height to be 40cm. Start with one of the two remaining 10 foots lengths of pipe. Mark out and cut (6) sections that are exactly 12 3/4 inches long. Nothing more needs to be done to the risers after they are cut, they are ready as is for final assembly.
 | | Base with T |
3. Bases: From the remaining lengths of pipe, one partial length and one 10 foot length, comes the bases. Mark out and cut (12) 13 inch sections. You should be left with only a couple inches of scrap from these two lengths of pipe. Now put a T between two lengths of 13 inch pipe. Repeat this 5 times so you have (6) bases.
4. Final Assembly: Now you are ready for some barriers. Place the (6) 12 3/4 inch risers in the open end of the T in (6) bases. Starting from left to rigth, put a horizontal with the 90 degree elbow on top of one of the risers with the attached base. Take a horizontal section with a coupling and a T and mate up the coupling to the free end of the horizontal you just attached a riser/base to. | | Barriers Assembled |
Attach a riser/base to the bottom of the T on the section you just added. Attach a horizonatal section with a coupling only to the open end of the T on the horizontal you just added. Attach a horizontal with a 90 degree elbow to the coupling on the horizontal you just added. Finally add a riser/base to the 90 degree elbow on that last horizontal. You now have one complete barrier. Repeat with the remaining parts to complete the second barrier. Disassembly is reverse of assembly.
Additional Options
I am always looking to improve things so as soon as I had my barriers together I was thinking of some extra touches. Some string can be attached between the two outside risers of the barriers at the fixed spacing of the 4 meter UCI regulation instead of pacing it off every time  | | Packed Up |
you set them up. Although they stand very well on their own people can snag a toe on the top of barriers now and a again. In that event these barriers will not tip over but their position may be shifted. To prevent this you can drill a hole in the end of one or more of the bases to accept a small metal tent stake to pin it to the ground.
So how do they work? In a word, great. As I mentioned before I am no plumber and I am certainly not a carpenter so I am usually disappointed in the outcome whenever I pick up a saw and measuring tape. So despite my fears the contruction and assembly came out exactly as I had hoped. The function worked out equally well. They fit into a backpack that is easily manageable on a bike. Assembly takes minutes, really more like A minute. If you want to practice your hopping skills over barriers these are not for you. They are simply not strong enough to jump a bike on and I didn't expect them to be. If you want to practice transitions either by yourself or with others they are perfect. The 10 foot width is plenty wide enough for at least two people to charge into at full speed. It ended up being so easy, economical and practical I can't figure out how I didn't think of it before. Like the saying goes, "Take pleasure in the simple things in life." |
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