Road Cycling - Newbie Question No. 6: Riding in the Rain

Is riding in the rain to be avoided? How heavy does the rain have to be before you stop riding? Any special precautions - ride slower, turn less sharply? Are there issues with visibility or glasses fogging up? Does it damage the bike, the bearings or the gear mechanisms?

I'll tell you a funny story. A friend and I were riding in one of Arizona's Monsoon's one year. The streets were starting to flood. Now we had the good old fashioned caliper brakes. Let's just say the first large enough puddle that we hit that covered our tire and rim completely at the bottom, the pads then got wet on the first pull of the brake lever. Wet pads and wet rim equal no brakes. Now I don't know about the newer style brakes as I had old fashioned steel chrome rims that were quite slick, now I have nice aluminum wheels that are textured on the brake contact areas. Anyway, we were riding towards an intersection that traffic was going, and we were pedaling like Hell to get to our destination, due to the torrential down pour, and well pulled the brakes to stop before the intersection and pretty much almost ate the rear bumper of a vehicle going the opposite direction due to the lack of friction between pad and rim. Rain if possible should be avoided if puddling at all occurs in your area.

Why would you avoid rain or snow? With good fenders and mudflaps, the bike is protected from most road grit. So unless the water is high enough to get into the bottom bracket or hubs, things are OK.

BTW, the rider gets wet. Not a problem when it's very very warm (simply get soaked), cool (wear rain gear) or cold (what about a Winter coat?). I find in-between weather the least pleasant.

Regards,

Visibility can be a prob if you wear glasses, altho a helmet visor helps.

I've used Aztec brake pads for years, with powerful double-pivot brakes (Shimano 105s) on machined aluminum rims. This combo works almost as well in the wet as in the dry, even with the smooth rims on my Puch. And unlike some pads, Aztecs don't turn to stone with age.

If you have glass-smooth rims, press a piece of medium-grit silicon carbide Wet-Dry paper to the rim while turning the wheel. This will give the brake shoes a better surface to grab onto. When done, wipe the rim with a damp, clean rag to remove any abrasive residue.

Simply put, rain doesn't stop me from riding - neither, for that matter, does hail (on the rare occasion we actually get any). Contrary to popular belief, water doesn't make roads slippery, it's the oil that sits on top of the water. I know this because we had extremely dry conditions in 2002, which gave us roads that were far more slippery than on that magical day in Feb of this year when the rain finally broke.

Cornering less sharply is a good idea, although this is something I practice in all weather conditions.

i welcome the rain. it adds another dimension to your ride. gives you confidence in your riding (after you have ridden in rain seceral times). i find it sharpens my skills especially when riding with others in a group. i have to maintain greater concentration to others around me, stopping distance, speed, cornering, etc.

it's also great motivation. if you can go out and ride 20-30 miles on a rainy day you will LOVE your next ride when the day is clearer.

rain is also a good psychological test. if you can get excited about your ride even in rainy conditions...you will have beaten the 90% of riders who stayed home and avoided the rain. translation: should you ever get into competitive cycling...this is the sort of psychological conditioning you want in your riding.

jf

Ahh rain is fun. My school team had a training ride a day or two ago. we were riding along and it started to hail!!Any way we stopped under a tree and waited for the hail to stop when it did we got back on the road and about 5-10 mins down the road it hailed again then we went home!....
Marie

You asked about the bike...

It is a good idea to give you bike a good cleaning if you ride it in the rain... well if you care much about it. ;)

So, an advantage for me with a good, cool, fun rain ride is if I do it when my bike already needs cleaning it forces me to do that.

Of course... It is a little harder to ride in the rain if I have *just* cleaned my rig.

cAPS

I think your guesses and responses so far pretty much cover it. I'll add that, yes, turning on wet roads can be tricky. In many cases I find my tires will slip much sooner than I expect... corner conservatively. Watch out for painted lines, cross-walk markings, etc., they can be extra slick when wet. Same with RR tracks and manhole covers. Slippery when wet! And yes, brakes now work better than they used to, as described in lamajo25's post. You still need to brake early and allow the pads to squeegee the wet rims before the brakes really take effect.

Clean and re-lube your chain more often if you ride in the rain.

As long as you and your bike are well equipped for the conditions, its not a problem.
Rain riding is different if its hot, cool or cold, you need a different approach to clothing. "Get Wet" is OK in the warm, but not when cold.
Fenders are essential to keep road much off you and the bike.
In some parts of the world, if you dont ride in the rain, you dont ride. Why is cycling more popular in damp cool Seattle, than in hot dry Las Vegas??

I enjoy riding in the rain as a change, although I do grumble about the extra attention the bike needs at the end of the ride if the roads have been muddy. Usually, though, I just pick up the bike and bounce it four or five times to knock off the water in the chain and mech, wipe everything down, and relube.

Another vote for fenders. And being cautious with paint stripes.

I don't know if it is my imagination, but it seems that the first rain after a dry spell will not only bring on slippery conditions with oil, as ChrisL pointed out, but will also expose glass on the shoulders and in the gutters.

One thing I might add is to be even more vigilant about visibility. A lot of motorists drive as if they assume all pedestrians and cyclists would be put off by a bit of rain and be huddling indoors or in a car themselves. Bright rainwear and lights in the daytime are a help.

Just another caution. I didn't see it mentioned but may haev missed it.

Be careful of wet tar. They use tar on cracks here and it can be a little tricky too.

Other than the other warnings and cleaning thoughts I say go enjoy a wet one.

Any special precautions
Avoid manhole covers and metal bridge surfaces. Take it easy going around bends.

There really isn't anything tough about riding in the rain.

1) Avoid puddles - they can hide BIG POTHOLES.

2) Take turns a bit slower.

3) Avoid paint - I haven't had a problem with paint, but I have heard that it gets slick when wet. I have this policy of not going out and testing every crash situation exhaustively.

4) Unless it rains really hard, you won't have problems with visibility.

5) You and the bike WILL get dirty. It is a good idea to clean the bike and clean and relube the chain after a really wet ride. Also, it is a good idea to clean yourself that is if you want to continue social contacts.

oH AND HERES ANOTHER (OOPS living up to my namesake there)

On steep hills you will find that if you push too hard or are pressing the pedals a lot your rear tire might not hold it's grip. At leat I have.

cAPS