State of the roads - what steed!

jonranford

Hi all

I have been dipping my toes into the joys of the road bike for the last 12 months by taking on triathlon after many years being a runner and the odd MTB foray. I went with a basic alloy frame bike for starters and after the long wet winter have recently moved up to a CF with a Felt F5 to improve my race times. The difference in the bikes is far more than I would have imagined, especially with a wheel upgrade.

Whilst I am really enjoying the bike training, what is really detracting from the fun is the general sh*t state of the roads around Staffordshire. Pot holes aside, the general torn up road surface can make a long ride turn into a bone-shaking mauling. I'm guessing this is not unique to this county so am considering perhaps another training bike that can be a bit softer on the skeleton. Do I go for high end alloy frame perhaps that is not so stiff or something else? Any advice is appreciated

cheers
Jon

ugo.santalucia

Any bike will cope well, that's not the issue. What you want are bigger tyres, that you can run at lower pressure foe extra comfort, safety and reduced risk of damage to your wheels. For that you need a frame that has a bit of clearance under the fork and behind the seat tube. Ideally you would like to be able to fit a 28 mm tyre with a decent enough clearance and if you can even a 30 mm. The latter offerings are coming to the market and they are exceptionally plush to ride, virtually without drawbacks

jonranford

Thanks for the advice, will try the double tape. I have dropped the psi down a bit but was a bit worried with the amount of pot holes about of getting pinch flats which I suffered on some early outings when not at the proper psi.
Have done the odd ride out to Cheshire and Powys which have some much better roads that don't use chippings and the effect on your speed is clear although Cheshire is a lot flatter

oxoman wrote:

I have found that wearing decent padded shorts or bib tights and decent gloves with double taped handlebars does for me most of the time. I use 2 bikes one is alloy with carbon forks and the other is alloy with steel forks and i have to say there isn't a lot between them in terms of road buzz / comfort. Tyre pressures make a big difference, i run the back at 100 psi and the front at 90 psi and that works for me. Yes Staffordshires roads are pants as are South Derbyshires, North West Leicestershires are slightly better although they are currently hiding the potholes under stone chippings near me, Nice NOT. For all out comfort try Specialised Roubaix or Trek Domane.

jonranford

Thanks, will definitely look into this
Also need to reduce my spare tyre which isn't helping matters 8)

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Any bike will cope well, that's not the issue. What you want are bigger tyres, that you can run at lower pressure foe extra comfort, safety and reduced risk of damage to your wheels. For that you need a frame that has a bit of clearance under the fork and behind the seat tube. Ideally you would like to be able to fit a 28 mm tyre with a decent enough clearance and if you can even a 30 mm. The latter offerings are coming to the market and they are exceptionally plush to ride, virtually without drawbacks

ju5t1n

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Any bike will cope well, that's not the issue. What you want are bigger tyres, that you can run at lower pressure foe extra comfort, safety and reduced risk of damage to your wheels. For that you need a frame that has a bit of clearance under the fork and behind the seat tube. Ideally you would like to be able to fit a 28 mm tyre with a decent enough clearance and if you can even a 30 mm. The latter offerings are coming to the market and they are exceptionally plush to ride, virtually without drawbacks

What’s the widest tyre you’d recommend for Open Pros?

ugo.santalucia

ju5t1n wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Any bike will cope well, that's not the issue. What you want are bigger tyres, that you can run at lower pressure foe extra comfort, safety and reduced risk of damage to your wheels. For that you need a frame that has a bit of clearance under the fork and behind the seat tube. Ideally you would like to be able to fit a 28 mm tyre with a decent enough clearance and if you can even a 30 mm. The latter offerings are coming to the market and they are exceptionally plush to ride, virtually without drawbacks

What’s the widest tyre you’d recommend for Open Pros?

I have used 32 no problem, some have gone even bigger

DiscoBoy

Wide tyres at a lower psi and latex tubes/ tubular tyres are the way to go.

dolan_driver

In my humble opinion, there are six areas that can contribute to a comfortable overall ride from your bike. Working from the ground up, they are;

1. Tyres.
2. Type of wheel.
3. Frame construction.
4. Seat Post.
5. Saddle.
6. Shorts.

1. Go for 25mm tyres instead of 23mm. The extra size in tyre will absorb the bumps a little better.

2. Stiff wheels = a stiff ride. The smaller the rim profile, the better the wheel can flex a little and again absorb the bumps and broken road surface. Ugo can offer more advice on this.

3. Stiff frame = stiff ride. I have found that aluminium gives a very harsh ride and I'd imagine a top-of-the-range carbon race frame would do the same. A more compliant carbon frame should help isolate you from the road.

4. Some carbon seat posts are designed to flex in the fore/aft axis while still being stiff laterally. I have one of these and they are excellent. You just need to have 150-175mm of post showing to get the full benefit. These posts are expensive but they do provide a degree of suspension and in my opinion are worth the money. You will feel the difference.

5. A nice saddle with perhaps a touch more padding than the minimal pro saddles will help.

6. A pair of quality shorts with a good seat pad will finish things off and help in the comfort stakes.

Comfort in a bike is a compromise between a rigid, fast bike and a more compliant machine that can deal with the bumps. These six items have worked for me and cycling is a pleasure again after a few years on an aluminium butt-breaker.

DD.

cycleclinic

32mm on OP rim may work but the tyres will not come up at 32mm. 28mm gator skins on OP rims for example come up at around 26mm. A wider rim will give a wider tyre profile so combine the two for the best result.