Roy G. Biv

Took my first fall today skidding.
It had rained pretty heavily earlier so the pavement was slick.
I was going pretty fast trying to make the light and once it was apparent I wasn't I skidded to slow down for a couple feet and the rear wheel slipped from under me.
I got away unscathed and luckily a car wasn't coming up behind me.

I'm curious about how people adapt their skidding techniques in the rain with wet pavement.
Do you do shorter skids?
Lean back more than normal?
Anything different?

For the record I do run a front brake, I'm just used to skidding as my first impulse to slow down.

ADSR

I hit the deck pretty hard on some extra slick concrete. Luckily it was so smooth there was no road rash. It knocks some sense into you.

nahh

Hm... one rain ride a while back i skidded, and the back wheel slipped out to the right, and I fell HARD. left a nifty scar.

Just control your skids more in the rain, and use the brake! Also, skip instead of skid.
With practice, rain riding gets to be fun. lots of fun.

BenReed

Hah this very morning I was enjoying skidding around the wet streets and I decided to skid into a turn.

Drift skid + rain = just don't try.

xdrmusclex

use your front brake, if you try to skid in the rain, you will end up in pain, I fell last year and sliced my shin open pretty badly (down to the bone!) on my chain and chainring.

use caution, skidding in slightly wet pavement is fun (if you are doing it for fun that is, not to avoid death) plus you can practice that sweet crotch to stem move (the "stem hump skid")

Flimflam

Don't skid to try and slow down, skip stop instead. Keeping your weight over the back wheel should help too.

Skidding in the rain is some Tom Cruise-level Risky Business.

kyselad

You actually need to be extra careful with the front brake as well when it's slick, as it's easy to go into a front skid, which practically guarantees a spill. The biggest take-home is to take it easy in the rain and try to avoid situations where you'll need to be stopping too quickly. Skip stops, as mentioned above, are a good strategy, as is sensible use of the front brake.

cal_gundert05

I've never ridden fixed, but I was riding my singlespeed home in the rain earlier, and figured fixed might be better for wet conditions since you don't have to rely on wet brakes. Does anyone favor riding fixed specifically for wet conditions?

Dannihilator

I seem to have a weird knack for choosing a fixed gear ride when it rains.

rduenas

Don't try to whipskid. Or if you do, know that you don't have to lean into it very hard at all.

What I find works best is, because of the lower friction when it's wet, it's really easy to skid while sitting down, with the weight on the back wheel, straight seated skids work well.

whatsham

i find being on a fixed gear alot safer in the rain.more control.
in regards skidding in the rain, i just dont do it while turning, as that is problematic

iwegian

skidding in snow is even more fun. seated skids for days

tall&lanky

it's all about those moonwalk skidz.

carleton

Ever have a car skid on wet pavement? Not fun either.

The key is simply to ride slower. Learn to modulate your speed and braking. And for god's sake, don't adopt skidding as a method to slow your bike because...well you already know what happens when you do that

Negative Force

Wow, a lot of you are really bad at riding bikes.


No.. offense or anything.

patrickgh

Skidding in the rain is jolly good fun. I had to ride home from work one day while it was POURING down rain.. so I decided to skip the huge hill I ride down and go for a smaller hill which was paved a few months ago. I held a skid the entire way down the hill, even swerving back and forth. Effort used = 0

Tigerprawn

Rain? Short skids, seated skids, skip stops. There's no need (depending on your body weight and proportions of course) to shift much weight if at all to the front when it's raining or wet.

beeftech

If it's wet, putting lots of weight on your front wheel while stopping is a no no. This goes for any bike, with or with out brakes. Look out for brake oil, freshly painted lines, and man hole covers/metal. These are slick when wet. Take it slower in high traffic and in turns and you'll be fine.
Going fast in the rain can be fun.

crawdaddio

That's was I was thinking while reading this thread.

UCP

I skidded through a puddle yesterday and didn't eat ****, and I really don't know what I'm doing... I'm trying out for the Olympics... I must be awesome.

THey allow conversions in the Olympics right?

HandsomeRyan

I use my brake. Skidding is far less effective as a method of slowing down (wet or dry) then a brake or brakes. Since you have one, I'd grab that next time instead.

dayvan cowboy

i rarely skid unless its wet out and i want to have some fun. haven't fallen yet(probably jinxed myself for the wet ride home from work)

MIN 

Skid the rain? Yes please.

LeCollectif

Don't forget - train tracks. Hit them at a 90 degree angle. I learned last night that it doesn't matter how fast you're going, you won't clear the tracks at an off-angle.