Bad Roads Bad On The Bike

[CAMPYBOB]

Ohio roads are right behind Michigan in their craptastic glory.

For two DECADES I had to put in a new Campy Record or Super Record headset every Spring thanks to Ohio roads In their best conditions, they Brinelled the Hell out of the headset cups.

Our roads have caused flat spots in alloy rims and cracks around spoke hole eyelets. And popped dozens of J-head spokes.

I have had one steel frame and one carbon frame crack. The steel Colnago I will allow for my own abuse, somewhat. The Wilier carbon lost out to our shitty roads.

Right now, on March 24th, I just got back from 33 miles of training and there was STILL snow on the roads in the shady spots from the 1/4" to 1/2" we got last night. Ice, too. There were several runs of pavement so broken up all I could do was stand up and idle through it, weaving across the entire width of the road in search of something solid, for up to 1/2-mile at a stretch.

And Hell NO, you won't get me on a cross bike! You'll have to pry my 23's from my (very!) cold, dead (from road vibrations!) hands! Tennessee, here I come!

 

[Rhodolite]

Indiana has **** roads too. Our potholes kill people on a regular basis. Hell, we still haven't patched **** up from LAST winter.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Ohio sees Indiana's Pothole's o' Death and raises you a thousand miles of Patch-over-Patch-over-Patch chip & seal!

Other than for State routes and State funded projects Ohio seems to have forgotten what genuine asphalt is. We've gone to the retarded 'spray & sprinkle' system that was meant for fixing small potholes. We use it to 'pave' the entire county road system.

We adopted it because it was sold as a labor-saving method of road maintenance. In reality, the same number or more union thugs are still sleeping on the same goobermint/taxpayer paid jobs. There are more flagmen and supervisors on-site than road workers.

What little paving work that does get done around here is subcontracted to privately owned firms...with the same union thugs paid by the State to 'supervise' the work. Then, the State brings in more supervisors to supervise the supervisors.

It's a wasteful bit of insanity that serves more to line union thug and goobermint employee (but I repeat myself) pockets. And they say Greece is corrupt...

Ohio takes a back seat to no third world shithole when it comes to our government employee pay scale.

 

[Volnix]

And they say Greece is corrupt...

Greece is not as "corrupt" as it is "absurd" in matters like this.

You see a beautifully built bridge, a fantastic museum, but no planning what so ever for roads which result in some new-ish roads getting destroyed after a year or so because they didn't design for the correct load cases.

Did they do it by mistake? Did they do it in purpose to score a 20 year maintenance contract? Who knows?

Best thing you can do is buy a house (stay clear from apartments) and hope that the gypsies wont move to the forest outside your house.


Not bad for a 400yo road. (Newcastle Upon Tyne)

 

[Dora M]

I can't really choose on what roads I want to ride my bike. Here, all roads are bad. You don't just have to contend with pot holes but also with road where there is no bitumen at all. You have to deal with gravel, dust, mud, rubbish, and so on. I ride my bike to work every day, and all over town and beyond. My way of taking care of my bike is to drive slower and more conscientiously. Also, I have my bike serviced every month in a local bike shop. It doesn't cost much, and is part of my bike preservation routine.

 

[kana_marie]

It's a 30 minute drive to anywhere from here. The roads out here in the country aren't a priority so bad roads are my only option. I'm not ready
For off roaring yet. I imagine my bike and parts are going to have to be replaced sooner than I anticipated.

 

[kana_marie]

It's a 30 minute drive to anywhere from here. The roads out here in the country aren't a priority so bad roads are my only option. I'm not ready
For off roaring yet. I imagine my bike and parts are going to have to be replaced sooner than I anticipated.

 

[ABNPFDR]

The roads in Massachusetts are notoriously bad... after this winter they are as bad as they have ever been. This is the first time I have ever wished for a 'Cross bike... and I am with CampyBob on how I feel about 'cross bikes.

On the up side - I've learned a new cycling skill that I never thought I would need.

How to bunny hop a tri bike from the aero bars.

 

[maydog]

A bunny hop from the aero bars sounds like a bad idea - the jarring would be enough to knock my clip ons out of alignment.

Our winter was surprisingly easy on our roads. In fact some of the roads and a bike path that I frequently commute on were paved late last fall and remain buttery smooth; which is a good thing with yesterday's strong winds I set many KOMs and PRs for 30+ mph on miles long flat stretches during my commute home.

Even with the good pavement conditions, the roads are still very dirty in most spots. So I will stick to the cross bike and my tank-like roadie for a while. The roadie has a steel frame, a massive steel touring fork, heavy duty 36 spoke wheels and 25c tires

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Yesterday I took the wife out to ride the Conotton Creek Trail: http://www.traillink.com/trail/conotton-creek-trail.aspx

Looks good in the pics, huh?

Well...it's gone. Flat out floating, loose pieces of asphalt the size of marbles for tenths of a mile at a stretch. Potholes and frost heaves everywhere. So rough it loosened two fillings. And this is a bike path! It sees nothing heavier than the lardass on his Electra Townie!

My wife took her mountain bike...good call.

 

[ABNPFDR]

campy - my wife took exception to Your comment about the lardass on an Elecrta Townie, she loves hers.

I thought it was hilarious.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Heh...my apologies to your wife!

As we were getting ready cruise the R-t-T path we saw some guy pull up in his nice pickup truck and unload a townie-style bike with...wait for it...apehangers. Talk about an upright position.

The headwind on the return leg was around 9-12 MPH and I kept wondering to myself how bad a person's back has to be in order to sit up like a squirrel begging for a nut while the wind flattens them mile after mile after mile. Talk about self-inflicted torture.

I forgot to ask you, were you with the 101st?

 

[kana_marie]

I'm lucky enough to be in Tennessee. There are some really bad country roads, but almost always an alternative route with decent pavement. I stick to the good roads as much as I can.

 

[schwinnhund]

Our roads here in N. Ga leave a little to be desired. But, the main part you have to worry about is your tires, rims, and wheel-sets. You might want to consider getting a used 'Sport' road bike to use as a beater for those type roads. Sew-up tires suffer especially bad on rough roads, as do thin clinchers. You could get a wider wheel-set for your bike. Personally, I would not ride a $1000.00+ dollar Colnago, etc..., on really rough roads. There are other bikes that are better suited for those conditions. It's best to use the right tool for the right job.

 

[Damien Lee]

Bad roads will definitely damage your bike over time. It's best to avoid bad roads whenever you can, and steer clear from potholes as they can be incredibly dangerous to your own safety. If the roads in your area are bad, then it's better to use a mountain bike as it's better suited towards non-stable roads surfaces.

 

[Froze]

For a road bike... Bad roads really take a toll on the bike. Road bikes are just not designed for rough roads like a mountain bike. You can still ride it through the bad roads but you run the risk of damaging or "cracking" the frames, especially the carbon fiber and aluminum allow ones. I use a sturdier, more durable road bike that has a chromoly steel frame that withstands these occasional rough roads. So I think, a steel road bike is the exception and can survive these tough road conditions.

This is not entirely true, it is true in the sense of ultralight CF or AL racing bikes with ultralight CF rims, but a lot of bikes that are mid level or those made of titanium and steel using aluminium rims can handle rough roads for a lifetime of riding without failure (of course AL rims will wear out due to the use of rim brakes after about 35,000 miles but not break due to rough roads). Of course a mountain bike or a cross bike can handle rough roads with ease.

 

[Corzhens]

Not all roads in our village are paved or cemented. More than half are actually not improved whatsover and some even have grasses growing. Expect the mud and potholes when it rains. I always avoid those roads during the rainy season because they are conducive to crashes.

But I had tried this bike with big fat tires. The owner said he calls it bulldozer because you cannot feel the potholes. I don't know what it's called but it looks good - the big tires are called balloon tires.