Dealing with very rough/broken patches of road

chris_bass

Hi

i'm not really a noob but this is kind of a noob type question.

pretty much all the roads round by me (and i'm assuming most of the UK judging by what I see and read!) have large stretches where the top layer of tarmac is really cracked and rough to the point of being almost dangerous to ride on. I'm not talking about pot holes because those are usually avoidable, its more roads that have either cracks that span the whole lane or really rough surfaces.

how do you ride over them? is there any technique to spare the wheels some abuse or is it a case of try and pick the 'best' route through and hope for the best?

also, is it ok to signal and go round some bad bits? obviously checking behind first and not just darting out in front of traffic!

Duffer65

Generally I ride slower, slightly out of the saddle and look for a reasonably smooth path through it. It's not always possible and it's often shaky going. I've put Specialized Phat tape with gel inserts on my bars to help dampen the vibrations which helps a bit.

Muffintop

+1 for Duffer65. Distributing your weight evenly over the bike as opposed to just sitting back and not having much weight over the bars seems to help me. There's been a few times over rough ground where I've thought I've lost it or punctured a tyre and I haven't so the bikes are probably more robust than we give them credit for.

Mx

jonomc4

Generally I tend to lighten my gripe on the handlebars slightly - enough to keep my line but I get less shaking - I also stand out of the saddle for the worst bits. I do this mostly though because to much shaking can cause me to go off route - other than that if possible I will cycle further to the right if I can pull out a bit.

Barteos

Don't use 23mm tyres pumped up to 120PSI.

cougie

I dont go over 100 PSI now.

Use your legs as suspension - so lift off the saddle. The bike can take a lot of battering. Obviously avoid potholes if you can - but broken road - just keep the bike going as straight as you can. Speed probably helps.

andy46

Don't go to slowly, with a bit of speed and using legs as suspension tight grip on bars but loose arms I find the bike generally glides over most rough surfaces.

andy46

I also use 23mm tyres 100psi

Barteos

What I actually meant in my previous post was - Don't believe the hype and bin your 23mm tyres.

23mm tyres are designed for RACING on relatively smooth roads and they don't make any sense (from any point of view) whatsoever on most of roads in the country, regardless of how many people use them.
Go for 25mm or 28mm tyres if you can and drop the pressure. You'll be at least as fast but more comfortable and less battered at the end of the ride. You'll have fewer flats and less chance of damaging your wheels.

Rock hard tyres and bouncing all over the place that some people falsely associate with speed, efficiency and low rolling resistance actually make you slower on bad surfaces.

andy46

Interesting, I must admit I've only been riding road bikes for about 18 months and the 2 bikes I've owned in that time have had 23mm tyres. When the time comes to change them I might give the 25mm size a go.

Omar Little

Pick your line to avoid the worst - dont cycle too close to the side of the road as you want to be able to move inside or outside of a particularly bad section and go into the big ring and try and put some power down. Loosen your grip and unweight the bike when its really bad. Taking it slower and spinning can make it feel worse as you will have more weight on the seat rather the cranks.

Double tape or gel pads like specialized bar phat under the tape helps (i think David Millar even has triple wrapped tape!) but 23c tyres are fine, i wouldnt change them just for the sake of it but something you could try out when you need to replace. Personally I prefer the ride on 23, but it is marginal - there isnt really that much difference.