State of the roads

dinyull

Bought a 2010 Boardman Comp in January and I'm loving it, HOWEVER the state of the roads up here in North Tyneside is an absolute joke. Over the past 2 weekends I've had 3 puncture's on 4 rides ALL from pot holes.

I know it's my fault for hitting them but there are so many pot holes about it only takes a quick look at the computer/getting a bar from back pocket/taking a drink and bang, puncture.

When in LBS at weekend was looking at the Kevlar strips/armadillo's - would this help any or is there no hope other than to try and avoid hitting them?

Is there any point in getting in touch with the local council?

geebee2

Were these "snake-bite" punctures?

i.e. the inner looks like a snake has bitten it.

If so you may need to inflate tyres to higher pressure, I suggest at least 100psi.

But best to avoid the holes - comes with experience, although can be hard when boxed in riding fast in a group.

dinyull

Not sure if they're 'snake-bite' puncture's, haven't looked at them to repair yet. I do try to run the pressure's @ around 100psi. Simply put: seconds after hitting pot holes the whole tyre is deflated.

Just need to keep my head on a swivel. More annoying is the fact I've been commuting for over 2 years now and only ever had 1 puncture on the Sirrus, although the bigger tyre's probably help.

geebee2

although the bigger tyre's probably help.

Yes, that and sufficient pressure. You may want to try a wider tyre.

How much do you weigh?

I'm 95kg and run 115psi.

pjeffe9172

The state of the roads round where I live are awful too - often having to ride nearer the middle of the road sometimes to be safer. Car passing within inches of me back in Decembe forced me down a pothole by drain cover. There is a website that you can report potholes on and they feed it to the correct local authority http://www.fillthathole.org.uk/. I reported it and a month later it was fixed.....

The site is also useful when you plan a route to see the state of the roads.

cougie

I ride a minimum of 25mm in winter. And look ahead of you. You shouldnt be forced into potholes by cars - you should have spotted it sooner.

Pross

Wrecked a £150 tyre on my car on a pothole last night, glad I didn't hit it on my bike as it would have done me a bit of damage as well as the bike - it was right in a normal cycling line too. They've been fixing the potholes around here as quickly as possible but more are cropping up than they can handle.

saunaboy

I've heard that the roads for the Northern Rock Cyclone will be filled by Northumberland council. I'm also in North Tyneside & the roads are rotten.

Peddle Up!

Potholes "fixed" but not repaired. As far as I can see the new technique is to dump a shovelful of blackstuff into the hole, give it a couple of wacks then on to the next. Life expectancy of repair - a couple of weeks tops.

mr_sj

im also in north tyneside and can also confirm the roads here are bloody awful

MaxwellBygraves

You should see Glasgow

Blacktemplar

MaxwellBygraves wrote:

You should see Glasgow

+1 million

Roads here are a joke - even in affluent leafy suburbs like East Ren they resemble post-conflict Bosnia. I hit a water-filled pothole at 30mph+ on Sunday, no option to dodge as the holes straddled the entire lane. Instant snakebite & slightly distorted rim. Grrrr :evil:

Repairs are equally laughable - a bucket of tar followed by a bucket of grit and a quick compacting - doesn't last even a week. In some cases I've seen them just dump grit into holes.

Makes you wonder why we have nearly the highest council tax in Scotland.

Oh, I forgot. NuLabour and the Banks wrecked the economy. B@stards.