Road Cycling - What can a road bike really take?

I got a new bike recently, the LBS didnt tell me much about do's/dont's so i just thought id hear what you guys do.

Ive been told by some people, dont go over ANY bumps at all, ill end up bending a rim or spoke or something. If i am approaching a cerb, i walk it, is all this normal?
I keep my tires at about 110-120PSI, so i doubt they'd asborb much abuse.

It is kinda hard to avoid pot holes doin 40mph down my road :D

So what do you guys do?

You don't have to go all out to avoid potholes. A road bike takes more abuse than you'd think, by looking at it. Seriously.

A lot of how much abuse the bike can take lies in the wheels. The frame itself is very strong. So, how many spokes do your wheels have? The lower the count, probably the more likely they'll go out of true if you hit a pothole at 40mph.

Also, it depends how large of a rider you are. If you're tall and strong, it is harder on the bike. If you hit a pothole with 250lbs. weighing down on the bike, it will hurt it more. If you hit a pothole with 140lbs. weight down on it, it won't effect it much at all.

I baby my bike nontheless. however, there are always sharp bumby thinks in my way, and I end doing an emergency bunnyhop, and my bike is ok. I just had the rear wheel's true touched up a few days ago. all systems are a go.

They are 32 spokes, i am 150lbs.

What about cerbs? Can i hop them?

Velo is right it mostly depends on the wheels. I have wrecked both the wheels that came with the bike and they have been replaced with the much more durable MA-3 (the replacement for the MA-40, I believe). Here in Quebec, the roads are pretty bad, I have hit some whopping pot holes and not lost much in the wheels.

Originally posted by Dazza
They are 32 spokes, i am 150lbs.

What about cerbs? Can i hop them?

That's great. Your bike and wheels should be able to take a lot of abuse. This means that curbs are probably okay. Watch it though; you can still get things misaligned by getting big air off of them. Roll off and on. Don't do anything too fancy.

Mr. Dazza...........if you're planning stunts on your road bike, mount at least 23mm tyres..........better yet, 25mm if you're planning on riding over a pothole at 40 mph.

Thats good news, ill keep the bunny hopping to the MTB :D Wasnt really thinking anything too fancy, just rolling over like the lower part of cerbs, where they meet the road, about 3cm high. Should be no problem, cheers!

Mr. Dazza...........if you're planning stunts on your road bike, mount at least 23mm tyres..........better yet, 25mm if you're planning on riding over a pothole at 40 mph.

LOL no stunts my good man. It is rather hard to avoid holes though, as im in the country, and it is Sh.. sorry, SLURRY season, it basically covers the road.. means i have to brake on the bends :mad:

Finesse counts for a lot. There's nothing wrong with bunnyhopping whole sets of railroad tracks at full speed, at your weight, but you do need to land straight. Remember the Titanic? What sank it...? Not hitting an iceberg... hitting an iceberg sideways. Wheels and frames are strongest in the vertical direction. :)

Keeping the tires fully inflated is good for preventing rim damage. The higher the pressure, the harder it is to bottom your rim out on the edge of a pothole and dent the rim.

I had to bunny hop TWO sets of tracks right next to each other, a good 14' of air, no more then 8" off the ground. I was going ~35mph at the time, no problems with the bike or wheels. Learn to land soft, and you should not have many problems.

It is suprising how much off-road riding you can do on a standard road bike. Ive ridden a Cannondale with 32spoke wheels along miles of farm tracks. I would have no problem about taking a road bike through potholes, jumping curbs. Ive even taken my road bike down technical off-road descents that scare off your newbie MTB rider. I didnt ride fast, but I got down in one piece.
You do need to approach the rough stuff with a bit of finesse. Riders who grew up on full-sus MTBs are probably too harsh on their bikes.

WOW i didnt know these bikes could take so much abuse! I cant see myself being able to bunny hop anything, as the setup i have, is much too far forward, and my seats too high.

Anyway thanks very much all for the heads up. :)