London's road surface is the worst!

DonDaddyD

<< snip >>I’m going so fast I was about to start singing! But I was taken out of my stride with the pending crater of ‘pisstake’ looming at warp speed.

“If I swerve left I’ll hit the cyclist I’m about to scalp, if I swerve right I may end up under a car – well it sounds like there was a car on my right” I think aloud again…

With no other choice and a lack of experience I forget myself and the fact that I’m on a road bike and attempt to bunny hop the pot hole as though I’m some heavily bearded Wolverine looking Mountain Biker.... It did not occur to me that I could slow down. So bunny hop I did.... My front tyre clears the pot hole, my back tyre lands perfectly in the pothole… << snip >>

The above is from the SCR thread.

OK I love London, I love its diversity, I love its size its scope. There is however things I hate and absolutely despise about London. One of these things is its roads. London roads are filthy, horrible crater filled surfaces that are at its best a sick twisted parody of the Moon surface and at its worse the texture of the devils butt.

I’m being serious here! If the Roman’s could build smooth roads some two thousand years ago, why can’t we? All I ask for is a stretch of road where the surface isn’t as dangerous to me, a cyclists, as the road raging motorists next to me. I pay my taxes. There is a recession on? Pay some builders to fill the holes. This should help to get money circulating again, a lot of money given the number of pot holes in London.

On further and much later inspection of my back tyre I found that I now have a gash right through my newly, and I mean newly as in I bought it 2 weeks ago, Continental GP4000s! Thirty five English pounds that tyre cost me! I got 2 weeks out of it. One of those weeks my ankle hurt because of the Marlborough Loop so it’s not like I got to break the damn thing in or anything!

And that’s another thing! I can do 40+ miles in the Country side with no complaints but 1 commute in London and its hell on the tarmac!

There should be a new standard of quality assurance on top quality tyre boxes:
"Tested in London". If it can survive that, it'll survive everything.

Also why don't local bike shops sell innertubes in bulk (multipacks)?

Add comments as you wish. I'm off to fit a Continental 4 Seasons.

Rich158

DonDaddyD wrote:

I’m being serious here! If the Roman’s could build smooth roads some two thousand years ago, why can’t we? All I ask for is a stretch of road where the surface isn’t as dangerous to me, a cyclists, as the road raging motorists next to me. I pay my taxes. There is a recession on? Pay some builders to fill the holes. This should help to get money circulating again, a lot of money given the number of pot holes in London.

The problem is the councils usually fill the holes, and it's these repairs that constantly fail. I was talking to a highway engineer a few years ago about this very problem, and his reply shed a lot of light on the state of our roads. It's possible to engineer a road to last from anything from 5 to 20 years, it all depend upon the quality of the foundations and the road buildup. The longer you want the road to last, the more it will cost to build. Most council's road budgets are set on a yearly basis and county councils perhaps on a 5 year basis. Therefore they build the roads that the budgets will allow rather than ones that last. A road designed to last 20 years will costs much less to maintain over it's lifetime, will create less traffic and be less of a burden on the countries infrastructure, but it will cost more to build in the first place. Therefore it's easier to budget for a cheaper road you repair on a yearly basis rather than blowing the whole budget and more on one that will last years.

Add into the this the poor repairs the utility companies and anyone else who digs up the road make, which make building a decent road impracticle and it's little wonder that our roads are in a shocking state.

Headhuunter

I agree! Shocking state. Some roads near me are down to the Victorian cobbled surfaces, especially since the snow a couple of months ago. Just abvout every road in London is a patchwork of bad repairs by utility companies, badly repaired potholes etc criss crossing each other. Doesn't affect the motorist so much the poor cyclist is shafted

always_tyred

Does this thread presuppose that the part of the country in receipt of the highest council tax revenues, with (in many cases) less overall expenditure (healthcare, social care, etc. being lower in afluent areas) somehow has worse road surfaces than the rest of the country?

I agree with all of the foregoing, with the proviso that you may well find that its actually just as bad everywhere else. Hands up anyone living in the UK where there are good road surfaces.

Culprit? HGV's and other heavy vehicles. Damage to road surface goes roughly with the 4th power of axle weight, I was once told by a road engineer.

Bassjunkieuk

I dunno it's not ALL bad in London............erm there is a stretch of road in Camberwell towards Walworth Road that is lovely to ride on :-) Pretty much the same as the short section of newly laid tarmac on Gallery Road in SW21 - such a nice relief once you come off the potholed seciton before, just a shame it doesn't run the length of the road :-(

Speaking of bad roads I'm not really looking forward to needing to use Borough High Road in the latter half of this week, that one is a right pig!

As AT says tho this isn't just a London centric problem I think DDD only used London as his example as that's where he rides everyday, pretty much the same for me really!

roger_merriman

Always Tyred wrote:

Does this thread presuppose that the part of the country in receipt of the highest council tax revenues, with (in many cases) less overall expenditure (healthcare, social care, etc. being lower in afluent areas) somehow has worse road surfaces than the rest of the country?

I agree with all of the foregoing, with the proviso that you may well find that its actually just as bad everywhere else. Hands up anyone living in the UK where there are good road surfaces.

Culprit? HGV's and other heavy vehicles. Damage to road surface goes roughly with the 4th power of axle weight, I was once told by a road engineer.

well thats the thing london has a lot of traffic, and fair amount is heavy, you don't see the rippled smeared roads around my folks place, mind you some of the lanes have scree down the middle which kinda trumps london's roads some what!

Bassjunkieuk

DDD - Head over to Wiggle for your multi-pack inner tube kicks. They do 5 or 10 packs which should see you through a week or so in London ;-) Got a 5 pack of Conti tubes earlier for about £17 once it took into account for the various discounts!

wantaway

Eh? I though London's streets were paved with gold?


not plagued with holes.

DonDaddyD

The A23 is the only road I know where buses have actually pushed the tarmac above the curb!

Having been to Jamaica, a Country where the roads are frankly one big pot hole and even the most seasoned of motorists in my family simply won't drive when visiting. I feel reasured in what I'm saying when I can honestly compare the quality of London roads to the roads of what can be considered a developing Country.

pllb

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

DDD - Head over to Wiggle for your multi-pack inner tube kicks. They do 5 or 10 packs which should see you through a week or so in London ;-) Got a 5 pack of Conti tubes earlier for about £17 once it took into account for the various discounts!

Ribble beating that at the moment £19.75 for 10 - http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/productde ... ONTTUBE400

Christophe3967

Always Tyred wrote:

Does this thread presuppose that the part of the country in receipt of the highest council tax revenues, with (in many cases) less overall expenditure (healthcare, social care, etc. being lower in afluent areas) somehow has worse road surfaces than the rest of the country?

I agree with all of the foregoing, with the proviso that you may well find that its actually just as bad everywhere else. Hands up anyone living in the UK where there are good road surfaces.

Culprit? HGV's and other heavy vehicles. Damage to road surface goes roughly with the 4th power of axle weight, I was once told by a road engineer.

I'm sure you're right, but many of the lanes around the Surrey Hills are in an awful state too and I doubt they get many HGVs. As has been said already, its typical short-termism with no coordination.

On a more positive note, two cheers for Ealing Borough where the roads are being resurfaced. You don't get a sense that the repairs will be too long lasting though - potholes are already appearing, perhaps short-termism in action.

Bassjunkieuk

pllb wrote:

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

DDD - Head over to Wiggle for your multi-pack inner tube kicks. They do 5 or 10 packs which should see you through a week or so in London ;-) Got a 5 pack of Conti tubes earlier for about £17 once it took into account for the various discounts!

Ribble beating that at the moment £19.75 for 10 - http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/productde ... ONTTUBE400

:shock: bugger! better not let the wife see that........still I might be able to update my order on wiggle - it hasn't been processed yet!

roger_merriman

Christophe3967 wrote:

Always Tyred wrote:

Does this thread presuppose that the part of the country in receipt of the highest council tax revenues, with (in many cases) less overall expenditure (healthcare, social care, etc. being lower in afluent areas) somehow has worse road surfaces than the rest of the country?

I agree with all of the foregoing, with the proviso that you may well find that its actually just as bad everywhere else. Hands up anyone living in the UK where there are good road surfaces.

Culprit? HGV's and other heavy vehicles. Damage to road surface goes roughly with the 4th power of axle weight, I was once told by a road engineer.

I'm sure you're right, but many of the lanes around the Surrey Hills are in an awful state too and I doubt they get many HGVs. As has been said already, its typical short-termism with no coordination.

On a more positive note, two cheers for Ealing Borough where the roads are being resurfaced. You don't get a sense that the repairs will be too long lasting though - potholes are already appearing, perhaps short-termism in action.

they are no worse if not better than most of the lanes say in the breacon beacons, if your a roadie you do end up having pothole conversations....

but surrey lanes really aren't that bad honest.

Christophe3967

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

DDD - Head over to Wiggle for your multi-pack inner tube kicks. They do 5 or 10 packs which should see you through a week or so in London ;-) Got a 5 pack of Conti tubes earlier for about £17 once it took into account for the various discounts!

or even http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/productde ... ONTTUBE400 which work out at £1.80 each if you spend £50 in total.

pllb

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

pllb wrote:

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

DDD - Head over to Wiggle for your multi-pack inner tube kicks. They do 5 or 10 packs which should see you through a week or so in London ;-) Got a 5 pack of Conti tubes earlier for about £17 once it took into account for the various discounts!

Ribble beating that at the moment £19.75 for 10 - http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/productde ... ONTTUBE400

:shock: bugger! better not let the wife see that........still I might be able to update my order on wiggle - it hasn't been processed yet!

Good luck with that - hope you save some cash

always_tyred

roger merriman wrote:

Always Tyred wrote:

Does this thread presuppose that the part of the country in receipt of the highest council tax revenues, with (in many cases) less overall expenditure (healthcare, social care, etc. being lower in afluent areas) somehow has worse road surfaces than the rest of the country?

I agree with all of the foregoing, with the proviso that you may well find that its actually just as bad everywhere else. Hands up anyone living in the UK where there are good road surfaces.

Culprit? HGV's and other heavy vehicles. Damage to road surface goes roughly with the 4th power of axle weight, I was once told by a road engineer.

well thats the thing london has a lot of traffic, and fair amount is heavy, you don't see the rippled smeared roads around my folks place, mind you some of the lanes have scree down the middle which kinda trumps london's roads some what!

Well, okay, you have to compare like with like. Recently by bike, I've only experienced Edinbrugh and Glasgow and surrounds, rural Devon (!) and rural Scotland.

The cities have some pretty impressive holes, particularly Glasgow, although I bunny hopped my way through Dalry the other day and was quite taken with the topography there. I have seen some pretty decent tarmac smearing, but I think it may be less common because it weathers and breaks up into rubble a bit more here (which isn't good for traction).

The countryside outside of the cities, or the residential streets, have more "natural" wear, but the roads are very bad, often worse, because they have lower traffic and are of lower priority. I guess you don't worry when you have a 4x4.

Other than manure, rural Devon is pretty good though.

Eat My Dust

Rich158 wrote:

The problem is the councils usually fill the holes, and it's these repairs that constantly fail.

No kidding. Last week they resurfaced a section of Harrow rd/Wembley High rd. I think they must have let traffic back on too soon, as the VERY next day I counted 3 potholes. I noticed this moring they had been "patched"up :roll:

roger_merriman

Always Tyred wrote:

roger merriman wrote:

Always Tyred wrote:

Does this thread presuppose that the part of the country in receipt of the highest council tax revenues, with (in many cases) less overall expenditure (healthcare, social care, etc. being lower in afluent areas) somehow has worse road surfaces than the rest of the country?

I agree with all of the foregoing, with the proviso that you may well find that its actually just as bad everywhere else. Hands up anyone living in the UK where there are good road surfaces.

Culprit? HGV's and other heavy vehicles. Damage to road surface goes roughly with the 4th power of axle weight, I was once told by a road engineer.

well thats the thing london has a lot of traffic, and fair amount is heavy, you don't see the rippled smeared roads around my folks place, mind you some of the lanes have scree down the middle which kinda trumps london's roads some what!

Well, okay, you have to compare like with like. Recently by bike, I've only experienced Edinbrugh and Glasgow and surrounds, rural Devon (!) and rural Scotland.

The cities have some pretty impressive holes, particularly Glasgow, although I bunny hopped my way through Dalry the other day and was quite taken with the topography there. I have seen some pretty decent tarmac smearing, but I think it may be less common because it weathers and breaks up into rubble a bit more here (which isn't good for traction).

The countryside outside of the cities, or the residential streets, have more "natural" wear, but the roads are very bad, often worse, because they have lower traffic and are of lower priority. I guess you don't worry when you have a 4x4.

Other than manure, rural Devon is pretty good though.

well i was more aiming at the subject than wether londons rd's compared to glasgow or what not.

redddraggon

Lol "Road surface", where I cycle there isn't always a "road surface", stop moaning about a couple of potholes...

itboffin

DDD I think you need a CX bike

DO IT!

Kieran_Burns

There's one section of road on my way in that is so badly potholed that I HAVE to take primary as the normal path is so rutted it managed to dislodge my chain (!) bend a wheel and pop a shoe out of the cleat and this at 18mph. :shock:

Now I just get up to 20-25 and sit in the middle of the road and arseholes to anyone behind me (fortunately there are parked cars on the approach so I just sit out longer than is 'necessary) Mind you - straight after this is a glorious stretch of recently resurfaced road that is soooo schmooooooooth..... 8)

White Line

Kieran_Burns wrote:

There's one section of road on my way in that is so badly potholed that I HAVE to take primary as the normal path is so rutted it managed to dislodge my chain (!) bend a wheel and pop a shoe out of the cleat and this at 18mph. :shock:

Now I just get up to 20-25 and sit in the middle of the road and arseholes to anyone behind me (fortunately there are parked cars on the approach so I just sit out longer than is 'necessary) Mind you - straight after this is a glorious stretch of recently resurfaced road that is soooo schmooooooooth..... 8)

I have exactly the same thing! But then after the nice smooth part I'm back to pothole galore! Plus there is a car wash there too, so I get sprayed with soapy water. My legs will get wet even on a really sunny day.

But yes, the roads in this country are rather bad. Much better in Europe, IMO.

jthef

Had a road on my commute re patched recently it was worse than fault in the first place.
Other patches they throw a bit of tarmac in so bikes have a mini speed hump until the wagons can knock the top off.
Also report them via
[http://www.fillthathole.org.uk/]
One of the roads I go down has loads of flags on it now and they get fixed a bit quicker, sometimes and sometimes ignored if it is too big a fix.
:?

cjcp

Cannon Street in London both directions, although westbound seems to be worse. It's in a shameful state.

Has anyone noticed the re-surfacing of the westbound stretch from just after the traffic lights after the HoP? Nice and smooth. And then we're quickly back to the bumps after the ped crossing. Let's hope they re-surface that too.

jonginge

cjcp wrote:

Has anyone noticed the re-surfacing of the westbound stretch from just after the traffic lights after the HoP? Nice and smooth. And then we're quickly back to the bumps after the ped crossing. Let's hope they re-surface that too.

Yep, noticed that last night. Was all prepared for the bumps on entering the bus lane but, no, was all luvverly. Now, I need to work out how can I warp spacetime so that mortlake high street appears to be in the borough of westminster...

cjcp

JonGinge wrote:

cjcp wrote:

Has anyone noticed the re-surfacing of the westbound stretch from just after the traffic lights after the HoP? Nice and smooth. And then we're quickly back to the bumps after the ped crossing. Let's hope they re-surface that too.

Yep, noticed that last night. Was all prepared for the bumps on entering the bus lane but, no, was all luvverly. Now, I need to work out how can I warp spacetime so that mortlake high street appears to be in the borough of westminster...

Perhaps it's the (worm)hole that's appeared at the lights heading eastbound at the end of DSC. :?

Gussio

Poor repairs have not coped well with the recent frost and snow. Almost worse than hitting the resulting potholes is the threat of skidding on all the gravel that spews forth from the ground. Most unsettling.

cjcp

Gussio wrote:

Poor repairs have not coped well with the recent frost and snow. Almost worse than hitting the resulting potholes is the threat of skidding on all the gravel that spews forth from the ground. Most unsettling.

Sharing a room with a Finnish girl used to properly bl00dy cold temperatures, she's dismayed at the state of the roads. It is pretty carp.

el_presidente

Swains Lane has a beautiful brand new smooth tarmac surface for all you climbing masochists out there, I was doing repeats on Sunday it was almost a pleasure.

sarajoy

Gussio wrote:

Poor repairs have not coped well with the recent frost and snow. Almost worse than hitting the resulting potholes is the threat of skidding on all the gravel that spews forth from the ground. Most unsettling.

I'm sure I read somewhere on here that in winter, potholes are repairs with a winter mix, because in the rain and cold a proper hard-wearing mix won't go off properly? Then they're re-done in the summer with something more substantial?

Gussio

sarajoy wrote:

I'm sure I read somewhere on here that in winter, potholes are repairs with a winter mix, because in the rain and cold a proper hard-wearing mix won't go off properly?

I believe that they are actually repaired with cake mix :roll: