"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Racing in the Rain

This coming Sunday will be the first criterium of the year in SoCal and there's a chance of rain. I've never raced in the rain before and would like tips to make sure I don't end up on the pavement.

The only part that worries me are the turns.

***No need for tips.****

...and would like tips to make sure I don't end up on the pavement...

***No need for tips.****


you ask for tips, then say no need for tips? I'm confused.

This coming Sunday will be the first criterium of the year in SoCal and there's a chance of rain. I've never raced in the rain before and would like tips to make sure I don't end up on the pavement.

The only part that worries me are the turns.

***No need for tips.****

Huh?

In a crit, you have to be on the inside of turns so people don't slide out into you. This means sacrificing position sometimes and harder acceleration out of the turn.

When you accelerate out of a corner, stay on the saddle until you're completely out of the turn again, or you might spin and slide out the rear while cornering.

Stay toward the front and don't be afraid to brake to get down to a safe speed (before a corner).

Be smooth and fluid.

I won two races in the rain last year, and I'm not sure why. I would think I'd suck in the rain. Just keep at it.

The Georgia Games criteriums were run in pouring rain last year. I mean 1.5 inches that day of rain, serious flooding all over the course with parts under an inch of water running across the course.... However, it was the safest crit of the year, and I didn't see any crashes. Why, because we couldn't go very fast. I would imagine that your race will slow down similar to that race, so the corners will not be as tight as normal. If not, then I apologize in advance and sorry about the rash....use Tegaderm.

^^you missed my teammate going down in the cat 3 crit then at the turn before the finish line.

The first 10 minutes are the worst in rain--oil comes up off the road making it very slick. After that it gets better.

We began taking turns faster as our confidence went up. The bad thing was that at the beginning of the race everybody was nervous. The team at the front put the hammer down hard and split the race up. Try and start at the front and stay there.

As soon as it starts to rain in a crit attack if you can't hold it drop out - that's what I do.

This coming Sunday will be the first criterium of the year in SoCal and there's a chance of rain. I've never raced in the rain before and would like tips to make sure I don't end up on the pavement.

The only part that worries me are the turns.

***No need for tips.****

Stay in bed?

I don't trust my tires on anything wet, not all tires handle water the same way. What are you running?

I edited the post "No need for tips" after using the search funciton.

I've ridden in the rain before however I figure its much different than racing.

Thanks for the tips.

get to the front early then attack, attack, attack.

Slow down, give yourself plenty of room, drop your tire pressure 10 lbs. Don't go into a turn outside anyone sketchy.

Watch that thick white striping, like they use at intersections. It can be slick.

Slow down, give yourself plenty of room, drop your tire pressure 10 lbs. Don't go into a turn outside anyone sketchy.

:thumb:

I don't know. If I stopped to drop my tire pressure I'm sure I would never latch on again but yeah if it's raining before your race you don't run high pressure.

I had a teammate who would simply not slow down when it started raining in a crit. If he crashed out, he'd take the free lap and let some air out.

I guess I wouldn't have thought of that because I generally race at 105psi/95psi anyway. Too much lower and I'm looking at pinch risk. There were a lot of guys letting air out at the start of the ATT crit though. 25% of the field still crashed out anyway.

be really careful if there is cement instead of asphalt.. it can get stupidly slick.

In SoCal the pavement will be slicker than snot when it rains. San Diego gets like 10 days of rain a year? and the pavement is so smooth, no frost heave or rough aggregate to give you nice traction. For non-SoCal folks, think about a parking garage's floor with the oil, the slick concrete, polished from use, then dump bit of misty rain on top of it. Really slippery.

Stay waaaay inside on turns, stay as upright as possible, and don't let anyone in on your inside. I crashed in many rainy crits, almost all of them due to some guy going down who tried to sneak up my inside and then took himself out.

In rain your front tire can just wipe out if you're bobbing while pedaling ('93 Worlds - the guy at the front of the field goes down when he rides in a straight line over a lane stripe) so be super smooth.

If racing is not your living then you can always slow down. This is what I do now, at least in hard turns.

cdr

here is a tip. when grit and sludge gets in your eye (it will happen) do not panic. ride with
your remaining eye, stay focused on the race, and just blink the crud out. it will clear the
eye eventually and you don't need to lose any ground. do not touch your eye with your
finger it will only make it worse or scratch the eye and then you are done


other than that don't fall. some other puke will fall so...avoid that


find some rain tires and mount them. ride less pressure. if it might be the least bit chilly
and wet then make sure to wear an inner layer so you don't lose needless calories staying warm
use full finger gloves, better grip on a wet, snotty and sweaty handlebar

I like to charge up the inside line and right before the turn I start to scream uncontrollably.

Stay off the painted lines on the road, they get very very very slick...if you're on one, any adjustment to your weight distribution will cause your wheels to come out from under you.

I learned this during the Rochester Criterium last year. It was dry all day until our race, and then about 10 minutes in, it started absolutely pouring. So bad that we could barely see where we were going for a few minutes there. I went to set up for a 90 degree turn, found myself on some diagonal painted lines, and went down/slid right through the corner.

Wear a cap to help keep water out of your eyes.

That Georgia Games crit (previously mentioned) sucked balls. There was some psycho in the crowd who kept ringing a cow bell.

here is a tip. when grit and sludge gets in your eye (it will happen) do not panic. ride with
your remaining eye, stay focused on the race, and just blink the crud out. it will clear the
eye eventually and you don't need to lose any ground. do not touch your eye with your
finger it will only make it worse or scratch the eye and then you are done


other than that don't fall. some other puke will fall so...avoid that


find some rain tires and mount them. ride less pressure. if it might be the least bit chilly
and wet then make sure to wear an inner layer so you don't lose needless calories staying warm
use full finger gloves, better grip on a wet, snotty and sweaty handlebar

:twitchy:

this is a bike race, not F1.

:twitchy:

this is a bike race, not F1.


:roflmao::roflmao::roflmao::roflmao::roflmao:

:twitchy:

this is a bike race, not F1.

:beer:

I like to charge up the inside line and right before the turn I start to scream uncontrollably.

:roflmao2::roflmao2::roflmao2:

Don't put too much weight on either end of your bike. If you find a position that's steady, stick to it. I decided to let guys pull through during a wet race last year, sat up a bit in the first corner of the last lap and washed the rear out. Stupid thing to do in retrospect.

And if you feel the rear slip a bit then don't panic and grab the brakes. Bike just may settle itself. Mine had several times in the aforementioned race (Tour of KC) and it wasn't until I went through with my weight shifted differently that I tanked myself. Find your lines, find your rhythm and ride smooth.

http://www.beatcanvas.com/pics/bicycle_rain_roof.jpg

If you're doing two races, bring two kits. Regardless, definitely bring a complete change of clothes, a nice towel (to comfortably dry with) and a poor towel (to wipe off the oil & road grime).

it's not that hard, lower your tire pressure a bit, ride smooth and stay to the inside.

Red Trolley in the rain last year was sketchy, there's a 30+mph uphill 90 degree turn..that was fun...

It's an easy course on sunday...i'll see ya there. I race for Dewalt...come look us up.

What Cat are you?

Hey, T--

I did Ontario last year in the rain--absolute downpour for the morning. No crashes at all. We finished, roads dried out, I did my best to dry my shorts & jersey (I wore my 2nd pair during warm-up as I didn't have a trainer) and they dried well as there was a good breeze, and then started the second race. We had like 5-6 crashes the second race. I figure guys were like, "It's dry now, I can take chances again". Fun times. :rolleyes:

Oh, BTW, Masters racers are safer. Young guns take chances.

And look on the bright side - if you fall, you may end up sliding on the water and have a better chance of keeping more of your skin.

embrace the rain

ive only raced twice in rain and both were relatively safe races. If you can get comfortable in the rain you may have an edge on all the other people making similar posts as this elsewhere.

Don't attack just when it starts to rain. You will probably take yourself out.
Just stay near the front and always stay on the inside through turns. And tubulars at 80 psi do wonders for your grip.

:twitchy:

this is a bike race, not F1.

what i meant was find out if you ride better on a particular tire in the rain vs
your regular tire. I ride better on tubular herringbone in rain than a clincher slick

what i meant was find out if you ride better on a particular tire in the rain vs
your regular tire. I ride better on tubular herringbone in rain than a clincher slick

Hmmmm about that...

A slick handles better in all conditions, on the road.

I thought that was pretty well known by now?

Hmmmm about that...

A slick handles better in all conditions, on the road.

I thought that was pretty well known by now?

how come in motorcycle racing they go right to cut slicks at the first sign of rain? principles of the the two are the same.

Would like to see some evidence that slicks are better in wet than a groved tire for bikes.

Motorcycles use a much wider tire, so they try to push as much of the water out.

how come in motorcycle racing they go right to cut slicks at the first sign of rain? principles of the the two are the same.

Would like to see some evidence that slicks are better in wet than a groved tire for bikes.

Motorcycles go faster than you.

What makes you think a tread pattern is a good thing? Is it your vast and accurate intuition?

Be prepared for your brakes to not work so well.

[I'm thinking of a very very rainy crit I did last year with a long downhill approach to a narrow 90* turn...A lot of people slid out the first time because they didn't realize they needed more time to slow down.]

Be prepared for a flat. Flats are more common in the rain, so it would be good to make sure you've got spare wheels.

Motorcycles go faster than you.

What makes you think a tread pattern is a good thing? Is it your vast and accurate intuition?

intuition...no...i've actually raced motorcycles before in Socal, in the rain.

just saying...what's the big difference, i understand motorcycles are faster but the rule of pushing water out of the way is still the same.

I might buy the bigger contact patch but it has little to do with speed.

intuition...no...i've actually raced motorcycles before in Socal, in the rain.

just saying...what's the big difference, i understand motorcycles are faster but the rule of pushing water out of the way is still the same.

I might buy the bigger contact patch but it has little to do with speed.

It has EVERYTHING to do with speed.

I've got it, you raced motorcycles and you think road bikes are the same.

My understanding is that hydroplaning is a problem on wider tires like motorcycles and cars, so they need treads to shed the water. That NEVER happens on skinny road bike tires (especially not at the lower speeds we travel at), so you don't need a tread to shed water. Rather, you want as much contact surface as possible.

It has EVERYTHING to do with speed.

I've got it, you raced motorcycles and you think road bikes are the same.

I've got it...you're a know it all...so i'll just back out of the conversation...:thumb:

My understanding is that hydroplaning is a problem on wider tires like motorcycles and cars, so they need treads to shed the water. That NEVER happens on skinny road bike tires (especially not at the lower speeds we travel at), so you don't need a tread to shed water. Rather, you want as much contact surface as possible.

This is also my understanding.

Why race in the rain? If you actually derive a living from it, or perhaps if you're competing for a season long point series, or have an obligation to teammates, I can see doing it.

Otherwise, this is really just for fun, and a way of keeping fit. If it's not fun, and your risk of hurting yourself is substantially higher than normal, then there's a pretty good argument for bagging it.

Weather.com has changed their forecast from Few Showers to Partly Sunny for Sunday!!!

Now I just need to work on not getting dropped after the first lap.

Why race in the rain?
Because you already paid the entry fee.

Because you already paid the entry fee.


This is the fallacy of sunk costs.

The entry fee is already gone whether you race or not.

Racing in the rain is fun.

Racing in the rain is fun.

incorrect.