Phil_gretz

This is what you described: "Tires will always slip when the road is wet..."


Your words. It just isn't so. Tires so rarely slip on wet road surfaces, that experienced riders are willing to say that they never do.


You aren't talking about wet leaves, or wet wooden bridges, or wet metal gratings, or dry sand, are you? Those may slip, and you do have to take care with them.


When mountain biking in the wet, one has to be careful on exposed/worn smooth tree roots, as they will cause your tires to slip for sure.

Scarbo

Strong winds are the bane of light riders. I had to contend with really bad winds during the time I lived in Texas. I never went down but I did come close to it on several occasions.

decentdrummer91

Its okay broski, no worries. In the end, proof is proof

decentdrummer91

If its never happened to you, and you don't believe it, then that's all that matters

decentdrummer91

Same for me, when i was riding in strong winds, when I was turning I felt sharp gust of wind and I got pushed to the side

Scarbo

Just be careful riding in traffic when there are high winds. Like, riding next to a big truck or something; the wind currents can easily pull you towards it and so you have to be prepared for that. Heavier riders don't have to worry as much about this.

Scarbo

They can slip. Depends on how you torque them. Oil slicks can cause tires to slip as well, as can those painted white lines on roadways. They can also slip when you are riding on a really steep (wet) gradient at times. This is overcome with some finesse, though.

Mr IGH

Coldest commute to work, -22*F
Hottest commute from work, 122*F

The idea that ice magically thaws when the air temperature exceeds 32*F or even 40*F is wrong. Around here the daily high temp can be in the 40s for a week and there's still plenty of icy patches everywhere. I have a wheelset with studded tyres, I'm on Obamacare ($6500 deductible), I can't afford to fall....

Tundra_Man 

See, there's an advantage to me being a 200 lbs fat guy.

20 mph wind here on the Great Plains is a pretty typical day. I usually don't notice it starting to push me around until it breaks 40 mph.

joejack951

And that's how many pedal strokes of the thousands you'll make per ride?

To stay on topic, the harshest weather I've biked in has to be one of these rides:

1. commute home in a 31°F downpour (yes, rain, which instantly froze on everything). I watched two cars flip over onto their roofs as they skidded sideways down a steep hill. I changed up my usual route home to take the more traveled main roads rather than the rural route. Those roads had been salted which meant everyone unprepared for the ice was doing ok. I had my studded Nokians on the bike so was fine even on the ice. I arrived home totally covered in ice.

2. commute to work with a forecasted 1" of snow which turned into 6" in an hour. First time I had to walk a hill, due to loss of momentum/traction even with the studded tires.

3. commute home prior to a storm with ~60mph wind gusts. I was pretty much all over the road trying to steer into the wind and then having to correct when it let up.

Maelochs

I have gone down making a fast turn on a road I didn't realize was wet right at the apex .... and it hurt.

The notion that wet roads are not slipperier than dry roads is frankly, absurd.

Can one ride wet roads? certainly ... damp roads, roads after light rain, roads during a downpour. Will one always crash? One should rarely crash while riding in and situation.

Isd the coefficient of friction of rubber on asphalt higher than rubber on wet asphalt. yes, and anyone who denies is is dishonest or deluded.

I know everyone wants to be "Right on the Internet," but let's all add a modicum of common sense, eh? Wet roads are slipperier, and anyone who rides a lot knows it.

People who drive cars know it, too. We ALL know it ... so why would anyone try to argue otherwise?

decentdrummer91

Exactly

Tundra_Man 

Another factor in how slippery wet pavement can be is the texture of the pavement itself. "Brushed" concrete maintains fairly good traction when wet. Perfectly troweled concrete can be as slick as wet glass.

I could certainly believe locations that don't frequently have wet conditions may not texture their road surfaces as aggressively.

Mr IGH

why do stores have those signs warning about wet floors?

https://www.google.com/search?q=coef...ion+wet+vs+dry

first hit:

DaveQ24

Coldest weather - air temp of -5 degrees F, windchill of approximately -15 to -20 F. I did alright, although it was rather "breathtaking" - literally - and I have asthma (but do OK with modern meds) and at those temps, there is a feeling of constriction in the lungs no matter what meds you take.

"Worst" weather - get caught in a surprise heavy thunderstorm -- saw it coming on radar and tried to beat it home but didn't make it by about 10 minutes - pouring rain, winds to about 60 mph, and a lot of lightning. I was in a residential area so no option to take shelter in a business. So, I got wet!

DaveQ24

I'll leave the debate about "slipperier" up to the physicists.

I have zero fear of riding on wet roads. In fact, I love a good rain ride. The one condition that does bother me a little - doesn't stop me, I just try to use more caution, and at the worst of it ride a different bike with wider tires/more stability - are wet autumn leaves. Those really can be slippery.

I've never had a crash on wet pavement. I have wiped out on frost/ice a couple of times when I wasn't expecting it to be there - early in the fall when I was still riding summer tires.

Seattle Forrest

I've fat biked in Winthrop, on a snow trail that was groomed for bikes, that was probably in the 15 to 2% F range.

I-Like-To-Bike

What you said in the beginning OP was that at temperatures of about 40 degrees you are afraid unless you slow down when taking corners; and NOTHING about wet streets, or anything else related to weather or road conditions that would cause you to slow down more than usual except the temperature.

If your issue is slowing down for slippery wet streets what relevance is the "harsh" temperature of 40 degrees unless freezing temperatures exist or can be expected?

decentdrummer91

I'm not looking to debate about it, i added more info later on, and then I was still being debated, so don't try

Maelochs

Fear is not part of the equation. Once a rider has spent a thousand miles in All weather at all hours of the day and night in extremely heavy traffic, I'd imagine only riding though an active war zone would be scary. Not the point at all.

I am more cautious when it is wet. Wet leaves, wet wood, painted lines, metal grates, manhole covers are all potential dangers, and should be treated with care. And whether or not a rider can switch wheels or bikes is irrelevant. No matter what, smart riders are more careful in tricky conditions.

But ... it seems this is mostly off topic anyway. it seems the majority of riders find freezing or near-freezing rain to be the worst rising environment .... the hardest to dress for, the least pleasant to ride through.

All weather conditions are tolerable if one can prepare. In many cases, the "worst ride conditions" were a function of unexpected weather changes for which the rider was not prepared. Extreme heat or cold can be tolerated if a rider has the proper gear ... though i will say, extreme heat is harder. At some point Adding layers might even be better than removing layers, but when it gets over 100 degrees just drinking a lot of water is not going to make a rider comfortable, and if it is also exceedingly humid, sweating is less effective so it is even worse.

Scummer

Most definitely. That's why I switched to a new MTB with through axles. So much better in freezing weather.

I-Like-To-Bike

Re-read the OP.

Gresp15C

Coldest: Around -15 F

Hottest: 100 F

Probably in terms of pure misery, the worst is in late winter, when there's a heavy wet snow and then it freezes on the roads during the night, into a hard, rutted mess.

Chandne

I'm on the Colorado Front Range as well. I ride into the mid 20s. I use my cross bike if roads/paths are a bit slushy, though I totally avoid rainy days (a bit rare here). If there are too many icy patches, I'll skip the road and use the fat bike for trails or use the trainer. I won't take any risks if roads are icy. I don't have a commute and I'd rather mountain bike in those conditions. If trails are icy, the trainer it is. I also pretty much avoid the 90s+, and go to mountains and ride there.

digibud

Thanks everyone for the chuckle. I'm up at 4:25 AM and had to stifle an out loud laugh. When we were younger (mid thirties) my wife and I commuted ~ 15mi all winter in preparation for one of the early Iditabike races in AK. It was some highway, some city and some country roads to get into town. My wife says our cut off was -20F but I think we road down to nearly -30F at times. We used what amounted to a motorcycle front light and a huge 8" diameter barricade bliking light in the rear run by a very big 12volt battery made by a company called Bicycle Lighting Systems. These days, in our mid 60's we don't ride much under 0F but our fat tire bikes still get us out often enough. That may seem extreme to folks that live in small southern states like Texas but up here it's just ... riding a bike. I'll admit that 30 years ago there weren't a whole lot of cyclist riding on studded tires in negative temps so it's a hoot to see dozens of younger folks (that we can't even think about keeping up with) on the trails with fat bikes. Seattle Forest mentions -2 as "aggressively cold". That got one of several good chuckles. We're expecting -20F in the next day or two and debating whether we should try some Dermatone on our face cheeks and go for a ride.