Road cycling in the rain

Surf-Matt
Surf-Matt Posts: 5,952
edited June 2009 in Road beginners
Totally new to road riding but an old hand at MTBing.
Will go out in ANY weather on the MTB - is that a bad plan on the road bike?

The tyres on the Allez don't look like they offer a lot of grip in the rain!

Comments

  • kingrollo
    kingrollo Posts: 3,198
    Bit like driving a car - you have to take it easier in the wet - but my no means hazourdous. Just take care when cornering. if your used to mtb you will be fine .
  • bompington
    bompington Posts: 7,674
    No, they don't. Some road tyres give more grip than others, search on this forum for mentions, but none of them grip like knobblies.
    I would go out in the wet & try it out - carefully at first, but you can get used to going quite fast - my average time for a hilly, windy, wet & muddy 30km commute goes down by about 5 minutes in winter, when the road is almost never dry from October to April.
  • Surf-Matt
    Surf-Matt Posts: 5,952
    The bike has 700c x 23 (errmm - is that the right way around?!) Spesh Mondo Sport flack jackets. They look about as grippy as a Teflon coated frying pan...!
  • k-dog
    k-dog Posts: 1,652
    The tread on a tyre has nothing to do with the grip on a firm surface - as opposed to mtb tyres where the surface is soft usually.

    It's all to do with the compound.

    Take it a bit easier but you can still ride in anything. Watch the Tour de France for (possibly) some crazy Alpine descents in the rain - and that will show you that you'll probably never get anywhere near the limit of grip on a road bike.
    I'm left handed, if that matters.
  • funckchicken
    funckchicken Posts: 93
    edited June 2009
    you will be fine. just take it a bit easier going into corners and on descents.

    the only weather that will stop me going out on my bike is if there is snow or ice as it's just not safe, other than that i'm there. get some proper wet weather gear and there'll be no stopping you.
  • MikeWW
    MikeWW Posts: 723
    The tyres have more grip than you think but when they go........just be careful
    www.lichfieldccc.org.uk
  • CiB
    CiB Posts: 6,098
    edited June 2009
    Except for cornering & stopping, which obviously takes a bit longer & a bit more diligence, water doesn't really affect my roadie at all.

    Watch out though for iron works, esp flat smooth manhole covers and white paint [both can be like ice in the wet] and puddles that look like surface water but are actually 4" deep and will ruin your rims when you hit them at any kind of pace.

    Road bikes won't dissolve, the bearings won't instantly seize. Just give it a bit of a clean as soon as you can afterwards and a drop of lube on the chain. Road bikes are pretty forgiving beasts.
  • skyd0g
    skyd0g Posts: 2,540
    ...and allow extra braking distance.

    ...it's always better to stop before you hit something,
    ...rather than because you hit something! :shock: IMHE
    Cycling weakly
  • will3
    will3 Posts: 2,173
    ground rims are nice too
  • Surf-Matt
    Surf-Matt Posts: 5,952
    Cheers all! I can imagine ironworks are a major problem - but I avoid them on my MTB too.

    A bit of a bike cleaning/maintenance bore with loads of kit in my shed so it will be well looked after.

    The rear hub is damn noisy - is that trendy/useful? Hope hubs make a huge racket but my own MTB hubs are pretty quiet.
  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    bompington wrote:
    No, they don't. Some road tyres give more grip than others, search on this forum for mentions, but none of them grip like knobblies.



    Yeh, slick tyres grip far far far better on a road surface.
    I like bikes...

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  • pinkbikini
    pinkbikini Posts: 876
    Raised white, yellow and red lines and metal manhole covers get very slippery when wet - avoid. Take it easy when cornering. As someone else said, compound is more important than tread. You can always reduce the tyre pressure in your slicks a little if you are nervous in the rain - this will allow for a slight increase in contact area.
  • blu3cat
    blu3cat Posts: 1,016
    Watch out for when it just starts raining as you often get greasy roads, and it can be quite easy to lock your back wheel.
    "Bed is for sleepy people.
    Let's get a kebab and go to a disco."

    FCN = 3 - 5
    Colnago World Cup 2
  • The Northern Monkey
    The Northern Monkey Posts: 19,136
    This is a question I was going to ask today :lol:

    Got there before me Surf-Matt!

    Has got dry now though so shouldn't be a problem :)
    Santa Cruz Butcher
  • clanton
    clanton Posts: 1,289
    ChrisInBicester wrote:
    Watch out though for iron works, esp flat smooth manhole covers and white paint [both can be like ice in the wet]

    +1 Wet metal can be lethal.
  • mgcycleguy
    mgcycleguy Posts: 292
    The other thing to look out for is rainbow patches on roundabouts... these are diesal spillages out of overfilled HGV fuel tanks... catch one of these at speed in the wet and you're going for a visit to the Tarmac fairy
  • Frank the tank
    Frank the tank Posts: 6,553
    Wet metal is an excellent medium for the precipitation of lack of traction. It was responsible for the most painful fall I've had to date. :cry:
    Tail end Charlie

    The above post may contain traces of sarcasm or/and bullsh*t.

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