Western Canada - Road conditions in Winnipeg

I don't know how we compare to other prairie cities, but most of the roads here are far from smooth; lots of pavement breaks, ridges, and potholes. I'm now on my third rear wheel in three years of riding my current bike. I've had three blowouts from potholes, and out of about 15 flats in the last decade, only one was not due to bad pavement (that one was glass embedded in the tire). I've also had a large number of spoke repairs and wheel truings. I used to think I would eventually upgrade to a road bike (currently riding an '05 Marin San Rafael road hybrid), but lately I've been thinking about getting a mountain bike and just putting slicks on it so I can have a more durable frame that can handle all this rough riding (none of which is off-road). Does anyone else here in Winnipeg (or SK & AB) have problems like this?

I think to call what we use in Winnipeg as roads is to use the term very loosely. I would think that some roads in war torn countries are better

Haha, roads in Winnipeg... I commute on a hard-tail MTB with slicks. Charleswood has decent roads. Portage Ave is decent too. As is Assiniboine Park. Some of the worst I've seen are Roblin/Corydon (between Cathcart and Cambridge), Grant (east of Kenaston), Pembina Hwy, Henderson Hwy, Ness Ave, etc. I usually say to myself, "That would've been devastating on a CF fork." at least once a ride.

Edit: But I only get a couple flats and a couple broken spokes a year. Have had to rebuild hubs a few times. And the steerer assembly. And I've become best friends with my spoke wrench.

Yeah, the roads are bad.
I commute from St.Vital to the airport through some rough patches, but it's not as if my road bike can't handle it (23c tires). Broke one spoke this year, and first one ever (wheel has > 10,000km on it).
I've never had a flat that was the roads fault (under-inflated tires and glass? yes, a couple times).

and as far as bumps being devastating to carbon, I've commuted on my race bike, and have never questioned the capability of a carbon frame/fork on our roads. It's stronger than most people think.

there is alot of room for improvement though, and it would definately help get more people on bikes if roads were in better shape.

I've commuted on my CF fork/700x23s from St. Norbert to the Forks. Pembina Hwy is not a comfortable ride by any means, but I never flatted/never had any problems.

My boss does a gazillion kilos a year and he says so long as he's regimented about nice tires and great tire pressure, he almost never has problems.

Just move out of Winnipeg. road problem solved!

Seriously, that city is a ____________(insert)

good luck.

and as far as bumps being devastating to carbon, I've commuted on my race bike, and have never questioned the capability of a carbon frame/fork on our roads. It's stronger than most people think.

Nice, I'll keep that in mind. :)



Just move out of Winnipeg. road problem solved!

Seriously, that city is a ____________(insert)

good luck.

I think that's what I'm going to do. Looks like I'll be in Alberta for grad school.

And for another straw:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2009/06/24/mb-transit-corridor-cycling-winnipeg.html

I live in rural Manitoba and the roads here are a combination of rough chipseal, potholes, surface breaks and grit, so bad this spring that i put 700x28 ultra gatorskins on my road bike, they fit with no modifications to the calipers and so far have worked well (no flats). Not as fast as regular road tires but way better than mountain bike tires.

I've commuted on my CF fork/700x23s from St. Norbert to the Forks. Pembina Hwy is not a comfortable ride by any means, but I never flatted/never had any problems.

My boss does a gazillion kilos a year and he says so long as he's regimented about nice tires and great tire pressure, he almost never has problems.

I do the same commute. Pembina from St. Norbert to Portage & Main. The worst sections are from St. Norbert to Dalhousie North and from Grant to Confusion Corner. But if you pay attention than it shouldn't be a problem, and there are always alternate routes that are in better shape, and the rest isn't that bad- there are some stretches that are less than 2 years old.

My commute was an old Kona AA front suspension with slicks. I just bought a Scott S60 FB road bike for commuting I can't wait to try.

apparently the city/province/someone is working on a paved(or limestone not sure) that goes from the current trail at fort whyte to la barriere park. just an fyi to keep on the lookout for it.