No longer a virgin

jhon · June 2007

I knew it would happen and it did this morning. It had clearly been raining overnight in London and there I was on my maiden ride in my new road bike. IT WAS FAST, effortlessly went past (with plenty of room) a furiously peddling bloke on a hybrid.. if felt good.

But racing through a turn at the junction coming out of Smithfield into Barbican... the rear tyre's grip just gave way and there I was flat out on the ground. Not much damage apart from a few abrasions and a bruised ego. Several concerned peds ran over but I just jumped up and (clumsily) clipped back in and rode on.

Should the shop have told me, "Yeah they are great bikes, but go slower in the wet"....

Jacomus-rides-Gen · June 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">
Should the shop have told me, "Yeah they are great bikes, but go slower in the wet"....
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No. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out that wet = bugger all grip, especially on a roadbike.

Its a shame you came off, and I'm glad you are ok - just in case the lesson hasn't crossed over, you can't just grab the brakes and go into an emergency stop in the wet either. [:D]

Happy riding, and watch those drain covers too!

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Quote: "25mph is pretty fast when you aren't wearing a car..."

jhon · June 2007

Yes, I kind of realised the break was not much use when I was trying to go down the company's car park which is a descent of ~20%...

Other thing was, I knew the bike was a lot more efficient/rigid... but boy did I feel every single bump...

Tynancp · June 2007

bought a new bike on Wed, keen on a raod bike but the chap in the shop steered me away

quick but lower position means lower visibility and slower to the brakes plus wee all grip on wet roads etc, I found it a convincing argument

something to get used to I suppose

he likewise steered me away from overly slick/narrow tyres, I think he was right on both counts

anything you walk away from is a good one

bobbyp · June 2007

Tynan, not sure why the shop would talk you away from a road bike if that what's you wanted. They're fabulous things and ride in a very different (and faster) way than anything else.

As for the tyres, tread does nothing on a bike tyre, you want as much rubber in contact with the road as you can, so slicks give better grip. I ride 23mm slicks all year round and the only time I've ever lost grip is on ice.

graham_g · June 2007

What are the stock tyres? You never know, if they're particularly naff then that may be a contributor.

jakob_s · June 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Tynan

he likewise steered me away from overly slick/narrow tyres, I think he was right on both counts

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

On road, slick tyres will offer more grip. Bicycle tyres are too thin to aquaplane.

FGG #2384

Jacomus-rides-Gen · June 2007

I don't agree Tynan. If you keep your brakes in good order, and buy good quality pads you have nothing to worry about with a dual-pivot system. I can bring my roadie up into a controlled rolling endo, though the clatter when I landed it meant I never ever wished to do that again!

As to grip in the wet, sure a bigger tyre will grip a bit more, but the difference is not huge. You should be able to change your style to suit the conditions, any bike will wash out in the wet if you try and cycle as if it was dry.

Visibility problems? Maybe on a TT set-up, but a good road set-up won't present a problem. Load carry-wise, yes, a rodbike will indeed lose out as a rucksack is the only way.

Slower to the brakes is absolute tosh unless you are riding on the tops or at the extreme of the drops, both positions which should only be used in situations where you won't need to brake soon. Using the hoods and the drops your hands are allways at the ideal position to operate the brakes.

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">
From Sir Sheldon http://sheldonbrown.com/tires.html#tread

"Tread Patterns
Tread for off-road use
Treads can help improve off-road traction in two ways:
On hard, irregular surfaces, the knobs of the tread can hook onto projections of the road surface, reducing the tendency to slip.
On soft, squishy surfaces, the knobs poke into the surface, digging in for improved grip.
In the late '80s, there was a revolution in tread design, started by the Specialized Ground Control. This tire, and many later MTB tires, had tall knobs at the side of the tread, with extra bracing to keep the knobs from being bent away from the centerline of the tire. These knobs greatly improved performance in sand and mud, because as a section of the tire rolls into contact with the ground, it flattens out. This flattening out causes the outer knobs to bend inward, so that they grab a loose surface like a pair of pliers.

Tread for on-road use
Bicycle tires for on-road use have no need of any sort of tread features; in fact, the best road tires are perfectly smooth, with no tread at all!
Unfortunately, most people assume that a smooth tire will be slippery, so this type of tire is difficult to sell to unsophisticated cyclists. Most tire makers cater to this by putting a very fine pattern on their tires, mainly for cosmetic and marketing reasons. If you examine a section of asphalt or concrete, you'll see that the texture of the road itself is much "knobbier" than the tread features of a good quality road tire. Since the tire is flexible, even a slick tire deforms as it comes into contact with the pavement, acquiring the shape of the pavement texture, only while incontact with the road.

People ask, "But don't slick tires get slippery on wet roads, or worse yet, wet metal features such as expansion joints, paint stripes, or railroad tracks?" The answer is, yes, they do. So do tires with tread. All tires are slippery in these conditions. Tread features make no improvement in this.
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All this said though, you won't like a roadbike, unless you want one - so your choice is understandable. Some people just simply don't like them, one test ride and they come away ashen faced and unsmiling.

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Quote: "25mph is pretty fast when you aren't wearing a car..."

Greenbank · June 2007

One benefit of fixed is that you've always got two feet on the brakes at all times.

--
If I had a baby elephant signature, I'd use that.

Jacomus-rides-Gen · June 2007

I'd like to see a fixie stop as fast as a bike only using its rear brake, I don't believe it could be done. If front brakes are allowed into the equation the difference would be noegligable but a rear brake is better than just resisting the pedals.

_________________________
Quote: "25mph is pretty fast when you aren't wearing a car..."

Greenbank · June 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Jacomus-rides-Gen

I'd like to see a fixie stop as fast as a bike only using its rear brake, I don't believe it could be done. If front brakes are allowed into the equation the difference would be noegligable but a rear brake is better than just resisting the pedals.
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No disagreement with this.

Locking the rear wheel with leg braking is very easy but it takes serious leg braking muscles to even approach basic braking efficiency.

I use leg braking to modulate my speed, especially when coming up to traffic lights, junctions or coming up behind another cyclist. But when I start to leg brake I'll almost always move my hands to the hoods to cover the brakes in case I need some proper stopping power.

--
If I had a baby elephant signature, I'd use that.

Jacomus-rides-Gen · June 2007

Me too, I have a rear brake on my fixie too, for occasions where I want to brake instead of slow down. There is something infinitely satisfying when you lear how to freewheel a fixie and modulate speed.

I don't really like riding mine in town though, I prefer the flexibility of gears so that I'm allways able to produce the most power. (I'm very cadence orientated because of dodgy knees, so I can stuggle sometimes on the fixie)

_________________________
Quote: "25mph is pretty fast when you aren't wearing a car..."

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