Cat's eyes

M94

Can you lose traction and fall while changing lanes that have cats eyes? My bike is quite light so feels a bit scary changing lanes in rain as you can feel a significant bump while doing so. Should I avoid it?

GBX

M94 wrote: »

Can you lose traction and fall while changing lanes that have cats eyes? My bike is quite light so feels a bit scary changing lanes in rain as you can feel a significant bump while doing so. Should I avoid it?

A bit but if it's raining mainly. It's part of riding especially. Don't let it put you off. Gotta be done to move on the road.

Idleater

M94 wrote: »

Can you lose traction and fall while changing lanes that have cats eyes?

Short and abrupt answer is yes, I have done it (had it happen to me), and seen the consequences to a very nearby other road user.

The consequences have been between nothing and a fall, but that doesn't impact on the chances.

Your statement of best avoiding is correct but awareness is best.

galwaytt

M94 wrote: »

Can you lose traction and fall while changing lanes that have cats eyes? My bike is quite light so feels a bit scary changing lanes in rain as you can feel a significant bump while doing so. Should I avoid it?

The bump you describe can be significant but in and of itself shouldn't cause you to lose traction and the suspension & tyres are able to cope with it. You do have to anticipate it and get used to it more than anything else.

It is possible to lose traction regardless in that manoeuvre but that would usually be on a larger bike with more torque where the white line or tarmac joint would momentarily give less grip and you get a small partial spin or slide of rear wheel. Rare, but not unheard of.

gerrowadat

Like any other 'road furniture' in the wet, constant revs and speed over them and no leaning over and you'll generally be grand. It'd only really be if you were throttling or swerving they'd be a problem.

That said, I've ridden over some whoppers on the roads out there, so YMMV.

Wonda-Boy

Everything is possible, but to be perfectly honest the chances of falling purely from hitting one cats eye in rain or not is remote. If you are changing lanes (wet or dry road) it should be in a smooth and controlled motion, with the bike nigh on totally upright. Only a slight deviation from riding straight is needed to change lanes.

If you are leaned over at a very high degree then you are either riding like a mad man or acting the ballax, which would see you falling. TBH all you need to worry about is the front wheel hitting the cat eye forget the back wheel.

sonofenoch

That and paint on the road....oh and those bloody Luas lines can be a kunt in the wet ........saw a young one go arse over face on a bicycle in Abbey street the other , but they can be tricky on a motorbike also

Hotblack Desiato

galwaytt wrote: »

It is possible to lose traction regardless in that manoeuvre but that would usually be on a larger bike with more torque where the white line or tarmac joint would momentarily give less grip and you get a small partial spin or slide of rear wheel. Rare, but not unheard of.

Gave it a big handful once pulling out to overtake a car on a wet night, rear wheel hit the white line and I nearly got highsided off. Lesson learned.

Lumen

This one is interesting. Road is mostly dry. Mostly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eD3CtUgGXEw

Wonda-Boy

Lumen wrote: »

This one is interesting. Road is mostly dry. Mostly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eD3CtUgGXEw

That is different, both wheels were on the paint so the bike had no traction whatsoever. Plus the fact he/she is leaned over on the thinnest part of the tyre.

listermint

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

That is different, both wheels were on the paint so the bike had no traction whatsoever. Plus the fact he/she is leaned over on the thinnest part of the tyre.

all of which was idiotic, the paint was even wet. plonker.

gctest50

Lumen wrote: »

This one is interesting. Road is mostly dry. Mostly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eD3CtUgGXEw

compared to say ..........

Lumen

gctest50 wrote: »

compared to say ..........

Those lads seem to operate under different laws of physics. Maybe it's easier to control the bike when you have only one wheel on the ground. :pac:

frozenfrozen

the guy on the snake is totally twisted up and chopping the throttle.. he was coming off water or not

D3V!L

I had a HD Street Bob that used to "tram-line" on the join in the middle of the road due to its narrow wheels. Never had a problem with cat eyes mainly due to me avoiding them.

Hotblack Desiato

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

That is different, both wheels were on the paint so the bike had no traction whatsoever. Plus the fact he/she is leaned over on the thinnest part of the tyre.

It's the front that went though, odd (and I didn't see the throttle hand move much, anyway)

There's a lot of fair weather summer riders in the US who do very little annual mileage, so their tyres can last years before wearing out, and especially when parked up in high temps the rubber dries out and hardens, it still works reasonably OK in the dry but first bit of wet and it loses grip, a guy I know on a bike specific mailing list from the US had his son crash due to this (thankfully no injury) plenty of tread on the tyres but they were 5 or 6 years old in a dry hot state and the rubber on them was f**ked. A lot of riders over there really fear rain because of this sort of thing, whereas we regard riding in the rain as normal, most of us wear out our tyres within a year or two, and they're not subjected to 30-40 degree temps in our sheds

A tyre in good condition shouldn't have lost grip under those conditions even given the paint, it was barely wet at all.

jay48

You could hear him on and off the throttle and he's dragging the bike down trying to get his knee down as he hits the wet lines . I don't think any condition tyres would've been much use to him there .