07-09-2016, 09:45 AM
It may have to do with rail lubrication. In the curves with a restraining rail (anything r<150m), there is a gap below the restraining rail to permit debris and grease so on to fall through. It may not be possible with an off-the-shelf solution to fill the gap with a rubber filler strip (I know what you're talking about - you often see it on heavy railways on newer crossings). There is a lot of wear on the curves from the flanges of the trains (especially since ours are fixed-bogie) so it's very possible that it's not as simple a matter as filling the gap with a rubber strip.
In the video you posted, I think the cyclist would have been fine if they had very firmly snapped their handlebars to the left at the moment of rail-to-wheel interface. The trick is if you're just loosely holding your handlebars, and going parallel enough to the tracks, it'll fall into the gap and throw you off. If you're very firmly holding the handlebars and bias the opposite way, you win out over the track and you're fine. I really should post a little video about this technique. You can "feel it" very easily once you've done it a few times.
In the video you posted, I think the cyclist would have been fine if they had very firmly snapped their handlebars to the left at the moment of rail-to-wheel interface. The trick is if you're just loosely holding your handlebars, and going parallel enough to the tracks, it'll fall into the gap and throw you off. If you're very firmly holding the handlebars and bias the opposite way, you win out over the track and you're fine. I really should post a little video about this technique. You can "feel it" very easily once you've done it a few times.