Cycling in the wet

abakan

How difficult is it to cycling in the rain, this evening was my 1st long spin and it started raining and I now know 2 things

1. dont brake to hard
2. dont go over manhole covers (once bitten twice shy and all that)

is there anything else?
suppose you have to be extra vigilant, thats a given
or should you even be road biking when raining

fish-head

Manhole covers are murderous fellows! Kill a man whole, they could.

uberwolf

road markings.

I came off on wet luas tracks a few months back, and I'm a wreck since on wet days.

Planet X

Just going to say that, don't ride on the white or yellow lines.
Check your tyres, make sure they're not bald. Came off twice one night last winter while circuit training with my club. Bald tyres. Destroyed my Windtex jacket............both sides. LOL. Shorts fcuked. Nice friction burns to boot. I'm getting too old for this craic!

Bicyclegadabout

Wearing less often makes more sense than wearing more. You'll be soaked regardless.

abakan

ye i was cagey enougy on the road marking, back of my head i knew they would be slippy, should have made that point number 3.

like the pun there fish-head(im only after getting it, must be time for bed!!)

I got a bit of a shock when i did a sudden brake pull, back wheel just went from under me, just aswell i wasnt going to fast. gand though.

Planet X

Seems to be a bit damp tonight and probably tomorrow morning.

I'll be droppin' da handbrake tomorrow.

roadmanmad

Reduce tyre pressure if using racing tyres to about 80psi (a bit squigy will do).

Do not ride through water puddles - they can hide craters that can really hurt.

improve your visibility


I do not agree with wearing less is better in the rain. Age, fitness and general health are factors that will allow your limits to be set. One person may need extra layer to maintain temperature. Others may not.

On white lines - Fresh ones can be murder because there are higher. Try to hit them at an angle of above 15 degrees. Running parallel (with racing tyres ) to them an trying to cross over can land you in trouble.

Planet X

Tyre pressure is good alright. Must remember. More contact = less contact!

E@gle.

Motorist have a tendency to drive out in front of you when its wet, as i discovered today.

72hundred

You should read Sheldon Brown's advice about braking. The gist of what he said was that you use the front brake as you main brake 95% of the time. Here's the link: Sheldon Brown Bicycle

72oo

Gavin

72hundred wrote: »

You should read Sheldon Brown's advice about braking. The gist of what he said was that you use the front brake as you main brake 95% of the time. Here's the link: Sheldon Brown Bicycle

72oo

Also what he says about tyres and hydroplaning. Threadless tyres are in fact better than threaded tyres for a bike.

Threaded tyres which are now bald are probably not a good idea though.

High viz in the rain is important I reckon, lights and hi-viz jacket perhaps.

Planet X

Kinda depends on what you're doing. I commute. Have done for........since 79. Still commute, drive in a straight line, but when you're giving it large with a club, circuit training, bunch of guys, it's different, thats' when I hit the deck, taking turns too fast......... ****e tyres.
When racing types come out of a "turn" ....bang....up goes the pace. As in races. Still scared of turns, but getting confidence......it was only last winter when I came off twice in one night.

Been VETS racing this year. Still shakey enough, even though I got good tyres on.
Team mate lean in big time. FFS, I couldn't do what he does. And over gravel.
Hence I loose out in the run in.
Sound in TT's.

cantalach

I'll second the recommendation to lower your tyre pressure by 10-15 psi. Don't run them too soft either though.

Be extra sure that you're carrying a spare tube - punctures are far more common during heavy rain.

If your bike computer has a USB port (such as on the Garmin Edge), make sure the little rubber bung covering it is sitting in snugly.

If it's going to be a long spin, apply lots of vaseline to your...pressure points before you set off. If you wear bib shorts or are otherwise prone to nipple chafing, apply vaseline up there too!

Gavin

Planet X wrote: »

Still scared of turns, but getting confidence......it was only last winter when I came off twice in one night.

Know what you mean. Foolishly went too fast around a bend coming back from mountain biking on Sunday. Couldn't straighten out enough, went into the roadside barrier, shock, awe, 6 stitches!

seamus

Bicyclegadabout wrote: »

Wearing less often makes more sense than wearing more. You'll be soaked regardless.

Indeed, I've noticed that it's a far easier ride if you're soaking wet in shorts and a short-sleeve than if you're bone dry but wearing full rain gear. Probably because it keeps you cool. As someone else said though, common sense prevails. If it's close to zero outside, getting soaked and riding around in shorts probably aren't the best ideas.

I would also advise wearing glasses of some form in the rain to keep spray and drops out of your eyes. All it takes is one errant drop containing a bit of gravel and you're blind for the next 20 metres.

E@gle. wrote: »

Motorist have a tendency to drive out in front of you when its wet, as i discovered today.

Yeah, you'll find that motorists actually drive faster and more erratically in the rain, probably because they're more stressed out. They're also more likely to have windows and/or mirrors fogged up and covered in rain drops, so it'll be much harder for them to spot you.

NTC

Verb wrote: »

went into the roadside barrier, shock, awe, 6 stitches!

Ouch!

Gavin

NTC wrote: »

Ouch!

Yeah! The road wasn't even wet !

abakan

ah battle wounds!!! gotta love them looking back not fun getting them though.

As regards the wet weather - never though of letting air out of the tyre. good idea.

i love cycling in the rain and getting wet but when ur body temp comes down to your drenched clothes and you start to get cold thats when i want to head home.

omri

Verb wrote: »

Yeah! The road wasn't even wet !

Ugly one, looks like you sew it yourself... Rambo style..

Gavin

omri wrote: »

Ugly one, looks like you sew it yourself... Rambo style..

It was really hideous before it was sewn up. One is not meant to see that far into oneself. An experience anyway, first time I've gotten stitches.

VHI Swiftcare are the biz, stitched, injected, ejected, 30 minutes.

cantalach

Verb wrote: »

VHI Swiftcare are the biz, stitched, injected, ejected, 30 minutes.

Jeez that's brilliant - I never heard of it until now. I see it costs €105 though, which is a bit more than A&E. Do you know if any of the health insurers give you any of that back?

Gavin

cantalach wrote: »

Jeez that's brilliant - I never heard of it until now. I see it costs €105 though, which is a bit more than A&E. Do you know if any of the health insurers give you any of that back?

When I went in your one said it would be 105 for consultation, or if I needed stitches it would be 50. My VHI insurance covered the 50 quid stitches and I had to pay 30 for the tetanus injection. I just had to scribble my name on a form and the swiftcare place handle claiming the money back. Payed the 30 quid with credit card. I would have been quite happy to pay the 50 quid myself anyway, didn't go in knowing insurance would cover it. Just saves so much hassle.

I think the 105 consultation fee is basicly there to cover for people wandering in with any old complaint and looking for advice. It seems that if you have serious damage that your insurance would cover, you're ok.

I've heard nothing but good about them, extremely quick. One is around the corner from my house, literally 5 minutes and one is in my place of work! I can go to the one in work to get the stitches out! Super handy.

seamus

The initial consultation is quite pricey as Verb says to keep people from wandering in off the street for minor complaints. Many public A & E resources are wasted by people who wander in because they don't want to pay their GP €50.

The clinic is great. When I busted my face open, I was in pretty much straight away, then I was standing around for about 30 minutes before a doctor saw me, made sure I hadn't done any major damage, then stitched me up and got me a tetanus injection. In that case I had no insurance, the final bill came to €180 or thereabouts. Which isn't bad IMO. Removed the stitches myself to avoid going back :pac:

All in all, about 90 minutes elapsed between going in and being discharged. For A & E that probably would have been 5 or 6 hours. I even rang some of the A & E's to see if they were busy and the first response from all of them was, "Try going to your GP first".

monument

uberwolf wrote: »

I came off on wet luas tracks a few months back, and I'm a wreck since on wet days.

Yeah, I've done that too. Lovely spot I picked too - just before Jervis with a load of people walking by.