Scared of the rain

STEFANOS4784

Any-one else scared of the wet, i'm just starting to get into riding my road bike but i really don't trust the tyres, how quick do people take fast bends in the rain cos i normally slow down to about 8 mph and it ruins the run up to the ascent :oops :roll: :oops:

chuckcork

STEFANOS4784 wrote:

Any-one else scared of the wet, i'm just starting to get into riding my road bike but i really don't trust the tyres, how quick do people take fast bends in the rain cos i normally slow down to about 8 mph and it ruins the run up to the ascent :oops :roll: :oops:

Depends on how tight the bend is, but 8mph is very slow.

Your tyres will grip the road well enough in the wet as long as you don't lean over too far, bigger problem is braking as wet rims reduce braking significantly, meaning more distance to stop. As when driving, motorists will move into any stopping gap you give to vehicles in front, and then stop. I've come close to running into cars as a result. Not much can be done about it unfortunately, as if you run into the back of someone its basically consdired to be your fault.

Ditto with pedestrians, apparently bikes are small and light and so can stop instantly?

ris

as chuckcork siad, it depends on the bend.

my tyres (panaracer paselas on the commute bike) are more of a winer tyre anyway, but on my route home i was happy taking bends at 10-15mph. i'd have pushed it on a couple but backed off because visibility around the corners wasn't great.

bill57

How much water shifting the tread on a typical race tyre does is open to debate, though personally I think none is about right. I've never had a problem, just apply common sense - but watch out for drain or manhole covers made of cast iron. In the wet they will get you good.

fizz

bill57 wrote:

but watch out for drain or manhole covers made of cast iron. In the wet they will get you good.

and white lines.

Its all about confidence and trust in your tyres. Dont rush cornering in the rain just take your time and buidl your speed and confidence up. Also brake in a straight line before you turn into the corner. Otherwise you're liable to end up on the floor.

ColinJ

In the UK there is enough rain to keep washing most of the crap off the road surface. Abroad, tarmac can become treacherous in the wet if it is an arid area like the south of spain. Oily deposits accumulate and then float to the surface at the first hint of moisture. I'd been warned about it but I still got a rear wheel slide on a flat road in a straight line after about a minute's worth of drizzle :shock: !

Watch out for anything made of metal when it is wet - manhole covers, drains, cattlegrids, tramlines and so forth. If you can't avoid them, go over them upright, at right angles to them and not braking. Oh, painted lines on the road are also slippery when wet.

If your wheels get wet, dab your brakes from time to time before you need to use them. This scrapes most of the water off the rims so that the brakes are ready to bite when you need them.

Allow extra braking distance in the wet. Brakes might not work as well as normal, but tyres grip even less. Be especially light on the front brake. You can learn how to cope with most rear-wheel slides but once your front wheel starts to slip, you will go down fast and hard - it hurts!

If there has been heavy rain recently on rural roads, they often get gravel and mud washed down onto them so watch out for that. Also, be very careful near farms - I've seen riders go round bends fast and come off when they hit slurry in the road.

Another thing to watch out for - if you ride too close to another rider who hasn't got mudguards, you can get a lot of nasty stuff thrown up in your eyes. I got grit in my eyes once and had to ride 20 miles home barely able to see.

Beardy10

I always take it easy in the wet...but I am 40 am much more sensible than when I was 21!

As has been said above watch out for greasy roads after even a short hot spell.....the oil and rubber that has been laid down can turn roads into an ice rink.

Braking in a straight line is another great piece of advice.....a bike or car is much more stable when it is accelerating or coasting through a corner. It is amazing how many car drivers you see applying the brakes mid corner...jokers.

Lagavulin

I'm scared of the wet with my shiny new carbon job. I've avoided rain so far but my plan is to find the nearest bus shelter and call dad, friend, 8-seater taxi (in that order).

In contrast I've become a bit more confident - even cocky - on my other bike and this has extended to the wet. I should know better as many of my routes (I'm pretty much enclosed by conurbations) are frequented by buses and HGV's where the prospect of oil on the road is only ever going to be greater. :roll:

STEFANOS4784

lol Lagavulin ditto, cheers for advise though all , guess i'll just have to build my confidence, one other thing though road markings, are those SLOW signs in the road as slippery as they look or am i just paranoid?

celbianchi

STEFANOS4784 wrote:

lol Lagavulin ditto, cheers for advise though all , guess i'll just have to build my confidence, one other thing though road markings, are those SLOW signs in the road as slippery as they look or am i just paranoid?

Rergarding the SLOW signs, I always whether wet or dry ride between the S and the L.

A quirk which I have discovered quite a few others share.

Harveytile

Not so much a quirk as a life saving measure!

All the above is very usefull, and even more care needed on my CX bike complete with knobblies! :twisted: