Front end washing out

getonyourbike

Well, I planned to start commuting the 8.5 miles to school on monday so I did a test to check the route and about how long it would take on sunday. I did it but came off on a roundabout at some pace in the wet. I thought 'fair enough, I was pushing them pretty hard'. These were contiental sport contacts in 1.6. Well monday and tuesday went fine other than going the wrong way a couple of times .

But today, I was taking a right hander, about to descend a hill at about 30mph (same speed as cars) and the front end washed out again on damp (I say damp but there really was only a tiny bit of moisture left from the rain on sunday) road with no metalwork anywhere for no apparent reason. This has resulted in me hitting the deck and slidding a good 10 yards along the road. I've now got road rash on road rash and bruises on bruises on my knee, elbow and hip. Luckily the only damage to my kit was a small hole in the right knee of my tights.

Basically, has anybody got any ideas on why the front washed out? I turned in gradually and they were Continental Sport Contacts 1.6 at 60 PSI.

fossyant

Diesel ?

straas

No expert but that seems like quite a low psi for a road tyre, maybe when you turned and put pressure on the tyre wall it collapsed slightly due to the low pressure, resulting in the tyre offering less surface area to the road and thus less grip whilst the grip was being tested - resulting in loss of traction and a fall?

gbsahne001

recommended pressure for that tyre is 65psi with a max of 85psi, so you might want to add some air

http://www.conti-tyres.co.uk/conticycle/ti%20sport%20contact.shtml

getonyourbike

gbsahne wrote:

recommended pressure for that tyre is 65psi with a max of 85psi, so you might want to add some air

http://www.conti-tyres.co.uk/conticycle/ti%20sport%20contact.shtml

it's jsut that I'm only 50 kg. I might try adding some air though. But apparently on lots of reviews, I've just found out, other people have aso suffered teh same problem in stlightly damp/wet conditions.

jeremyrundle

Perhaps,............ slow down, you are not a car with four large wheels

langster

Your handlebars look quite high and with your light wieght you might not be getting enough wieght over the front tyre.

Rooner

Sounds like a painful week. How far over were you banked? If you were really hammering it into the corners with your knee down a la Rossi, the tyres only need to lose a fraction of their already minimal grip and you are going to go down.

No chance it was black ice? That stuff is evil, it just looks like a damp bit of road. Only thing to do if you think its about is to ride super-carefully, no sudden directional changes / braking, and certainly no 30mph cornering!

If you are thinking of changing tyres to full on road, I'm running continental ultra race, and they seem to be fine in the wet / damp / slightly frosty morning.

snailracer

Continental Sport Contacts are notorious for poor grip in the wet, save them for use as a rear tyre.

Ditto for Specialized Armadillos.

The Rookie

That made no sense snail........

I'm on WTB Slickasuarus (26x1.5") and they stick very well in the wet.

I wouldn't say 60psi was underinflated given your weight, besides at that smallamount under you'll be increasing grip anyway.

Could be a drop of diesel down, that stuff is aweful, worst still a small spill on dry roads can sit their for weeks and then lift out with some moisture and make the road slippery again.

Simon

snailracer

The Beginner wrote:

That made no sense snail........

I'm on WTB Slickasuarus (26x1.5") and they stick very well in the wet.
...

WTB Slickasuarus? Is that one of the tyres I mentioned?

The Rookie

Nope, but that has nothing to do with you editing the confusing not out of your post has it?

Besides you only mention one tyre.

Simon

snailracer

The Beginner wrote:

Nope, but that has nothing to do with you editing the confusing not out of your post has it?

Besides you only mention one tyre.

Simon

Sorry, your post made perfect sense since you mentioned the removal of my typo :oops:

The Rookie

cyberknight

Fell off on black ice yesterday morning , ribs and knee took the brunt but the bikes ok :shock:

Then the next day got a double flat and the pump would not fit on the valve of the new tube , a chilly long wait for a pick up

getonyourbike

langster wrote:

Your handlebars look quite high and with your light wieght you might not be getting enough weight over the front tyre.

in the pictures on the first page I've got the spacers below the stem but I've since switched it round and in the last few pictures it shows the stem below the spacers. If I only used it for the road I might consider turning the stem around but as its mainly the mtb, the positioning would be horrible for bombing it down hill and general weight distribution.

getonyourbike

I really might have to consider changing the one on the front to something different then, but in the meantime I'll just take it steady on the corners.

blacknosugar

30mph + damp + bend = crash

simples

You can’t expect your tyres to have the same grip in damp conditions. Just learn to take it easy, slow down & don’t lean as far over when it’s wet. Trust me, journeys via the local minor injuries clinic take a lot longer!
I think slicks can just be a bit tricksy in the wet, very little warning between gripping OK, and “Oh dear, I’ve hit the deck”.

captainfly

I've been running the STP0 on 2.3" geax booze tyres at 60psi for some on road winter training and some errands for work (it is far mort jump/4x than road bike but I only have space for one hardtail), anything above 25mph in the damp is pushing it too far and that is with all my 85Kg over the front wheel, though it is load faster than the local roadies 8) .
Sport contacs are notiously slippery when wet, but riding too fast and not having the best techique will send you off, try slowing to the right speed of you tyres, skill and road conditions .
If you want grip then it is a case of using softer compound tyres and living with the extra drag and replacement cost.

tri-sexual

great to hear that you are riding to school
too many kids sit in a car for really short journeys

dont let falling off put you off riding
the more you ride the more you will learn
experience will tell you where to ride fast and where you have to ride with caution
if your route is slippery/dangerous put your mtb knobblies back on.
your sport contacts are notorious for being sideways happy
happy riding

PBo

tri-sexual wrote:

great to hear that you are riding to school
too many kids sit in a car for really short journeys

dont let falling off put you off riding
the more you ride the more you will learn
experience will tell you where to ride fast and where you have to ride with caution
if your route is slippery/dangerous put your mtb knobblies back on.
your sport contacts are notorious for being sideways happy
happy riding

my guess is he's a teacher, not a kid....not one txt speak, typo or poor punctuation in his post!

getonyourbike

PBo wrote:

tri-sexual wrote:

great to hear that you are riding to school
too many kids sit in a car for really short journeys

dont let falling off put you off riding
the more you ride the more you will learn
experience will tell you where to ride fast and where you have to ride with caution
if your route is slippery/dangerous put your mtb knobblies back on.
your sport contacts are notorious for being sideways happy
happy riding

my guess is he's a teacher, not a kid....not one txt speak, typo or poor punctuation in his post!

You doubt all kids by the looks of it. I'm 14, thanks, that's a compliment if you think my grammmar is worthy of a teacher.

getonyourbike

tri-sexual wrote:

great to hear that you are riding to school
too many kids sit in a car for really short journeys

dont let falling off put you off riding
the more you ride the more you will learn
experience will tell you where to ride fast and where you have to ride with caution
if your route is slippery/dangerous put your mtb knobblies back on.
your sport contacts are notorious for being sideways happy
happy riding

thanks mate, I've kind of learnt to put up with falling off due to the mtbing, it's inevitable.

getonyourbike

I stuck on a slightly worn Conti Speedking 2.3 to stop the front washing out and kept the slick on the rear, its fine. A bit less speed but miles more grip due to the softer compund and its more comfortable too.

Valy

I've had a Travel Contact on my MTB (rear) and it was a pretty hard compound. I think I might have mentioned somewhere that I will need to be paid and be wearing full body armor to put a Travel Contact on the front... It locked up very, very easily.

If the compund on the Sport Contact is the same, then this will definitely be part of the problem. If you got any other tires, try to feel how soft the compounds are on the other tires just to see....