Road Cycling - Potholes and Road Defects... how big is too big?

Hello all,

I have been riding my road bike as a commuter the last few days and there are some areas where the road is quite tore up. There are a lot of cracks and some big (greater than 2 inches deep). Also there are the man holes which drop 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch and some larger crement cracks (like 1 inch across where the slabs come toghether. Also I do have to go over some curbs with a 1/2 to 1 inch lip going up and down.

My question is how much can a road wheel take before it will bend, break, etc. I have race x lite areo wheels (very very strong and lite) and they seem to take things fine. Of course since they are 700 dollar rims I am a bit concerned about punishment. Please not the crap is onlyfor a small portion of the ride and I try and ride slower through this stuff. The big stuff I slow down as much as possible before them.

So how much can a road wheel take?

Thanks again...

If after you pass a pothole, you need to stop to pick up your pump and water bottles, that pothole was too deep... :D

If you have to downshift to get out, it's too big.

I mean what will cause a rim to bend...

The other responces ya, of course I downshift before the bump if I can...

I meant downshifting to get back out of a pothole when you fall in! :) I don't know the answer to your question. I think there are probably too many variables for anyone to give a good answer. Rim design and material, total weight of bike and rider, how you hit it (body position, weight shift, balance) and at what speed, tire pressure, spoke tension, and possibly wheelbase I think would all make a difference.

I dont really know what it takes to bend up a rim.. i seem to only bend axles
have you tried doing a little hop over the 1 or 2 inch cracks.. not a full bunny hop but just getting your weight off the bike as it rides over the cracks/holes
works pretty well for me

Do you think that small bumps, small lips taken at 10 MPH or so are going to be a problem...

BTW I am 6' 6" 235 on a 63 cm frame

If you measure the circumference of your wheel and then measure the circumference of the pothole, divide both by the square root of the depth of the hole, add them together and then multiply by the radius of the pothole, you should get an answer. The bad news is this takes a bit of time when you have to get off your bike every 6ft to measure potholes. Usually its easier just to say, huh, don't want to chance that one, and ride around it. I have some cheap Velocities on my roadbike and jump my bike off stuff just for the heck of it, and so far I've had to true them once. Don't know about the Racer X aero whatevers though... but they should be able to take some abuse I would imagine.

At your size you should be careful. Hell at any size you want to decrease the "sharpness" of any impact. shift weight back before the front tire hits, and forward before the back tire hits, so that the tire making the impact has less weight on it. Try to take any impacts straight on, and of course avoid any you can. If you can get down to 10 MPH before hitting anything significant, that's a big plus. Basically do all you can to minimize the impact and keep an eye on the rims for roundness. Then hope for the best.

If you can't (or won't) avoid a pothole -- get out of your seat, keep a very light grip on the bars allowing your arms to absorb the shock, support your weight with the pedals at 3 and 9 o'clock, and let the bike float over the pothole. Keeping your tires at a high pressure is good too, as it will minimize the risk of pinch flats

If you're slowing down to 10 mph, any well-built wheel should be able to handle the hits you describe, so long as you hit them head-on. A wheel is strongest against radial forces, lateral ones will f it up.

Practice your bunny-hopping. If done correctly, it's the best way to preserve your wheels--and butt.

last three post got it right

exactly what I do on my jekyll... just woried about my 700 dollar wheels...

Honestly, if you're not bottoming out the tires to the rims I don't think the potholes are going to damage your rims. At least in the short term. If you continually ride on this type of pavement, I guess you'd get spoke breakage over time.

Today we were on a team ride and our team leader (not the coach) ended up with a broken spoke and bent rim....it is not worth it...I avoid 98% of everything I come accross and I have decent aluminum rims. I think every bang is detrimental to the durability and integrity of the bike and materials. Do not abuse your bike period. Sorry if I sound like the company you bought from but I am serious it isn't worth the risk.

InsaneCyclist

I truly agree, that is why I went with strength over weight, the normal race x lites are 250 grams lighter but not nearly as strong...

I would venture a guess that your wheels will need to be trued every day if you are riding over potholes. I would get a second set of heavy bombproof wheels to use for commuting.

I think every bang is detrimental to the durability and integrity of the bike and materials. Do not abuse your bike period. Sorry if I sound like the company you bought from but I am serious it isn't worth the risk.
Gee, I'm glad I bought a better bike than did you. Any bike that's actually raced, will be "abused." I haven't seen an exception yet.

exactly what I do on my jekyll... just woried about my 700 dollar wheels...
Please try not to take this the wrong way, but why buy something you can't afford to use? That's what I'm hearing throughout this thread.

Buy it. Use it. If it breaks under that "normal" usage, then either buy more with your endless stream of cash or reconsider what you're buying. Simple.

This one is too big.

I wish I had an endless stream of cash. I do not use this bike everyday for commuting, mostly for group rides and some informal racing. If I had that kind of cash, I would have two road bikes, one for commuting with cheeper wheels and one for group riding and racing in all carbon with DA 10, etc, but I can not afford that. I am a college student, making a fair aount of money but not rich by any means. I just prioritize where I spend money that is all, 350 a wheels is a weeks and a half pay for me right now...


Buy it. Use it. If it breaks under that "normal" usage, then either buy more with your endless stream of cash or reconsider what you're buying. Simple.

The question is what is considered normal usage. I would agree if the wheel breaks from "normal" usage than I will go out and buy another wheel and use cheeper wheels on the once or twice a week commute.

My worries come from all the threads that are on here that talk about breaking this or that on a road bike from rough roads and stuff. I have riden MTB for a long time and I can take on just about anything with that, even huge potholes and such. Of course I do not expect to take on huge potholes with the bike but I wanted to know what a "normal" road wheel under "normal" conditions can handle, that is all.


I would venture a guess that your wheels will need to be trued every day if you are riding over potholes. I would get a second set of heavy bombproof wheels to use for commuting.

I do not ride over "huge" potholes everyday, mostly cracks and small lips to driveways, etc. I would not dream of driving through potholes everyday. If one of the wheels does manage to break I will replace and buy a "bomb" proof set of wheels for commuting, which is what I will do whan I get a full carbon bike and uwse thisone for only commuting.

Yes the wheels are 700 dollars a set, that is fine, mainly wanted a very strong and lite set that I would hope would be stronger than stock.

Thank You for All your help... just calming fears I guess being new to the whole road bike scene...

BTW these are the wheels that I am talking about... Race X Lite Areo's with Race X Lite tires...
http://www.ablbaseball.org/Other/2100.jpg

If I had that kind of cash, I would have two road bikes, one for commuting with cheaper wheels and one for group riding and racing in all carbon with DA 10, etc, but I can not afford that.
The question is what is considered normal usage. I would agree if the wheel breaks from "normal" usage than I will go out and buy another wheel and use cheeper wheels on the once or twice a week commute.
My worries come from all the threads that are on here that talk about breaking this or that on a road bike from rough roads and stuff. Of course I do not expect to take on huge potholes with the bike but I wanted to know what a "normal" road wheel under "normal" conditions can handle, that is all.
Yes the wheels are 700 dollars a set, that is fine, mainly wanted a very strong and lite set that I would hope would be stronger than stock.
My "cheapo" 32 spoke wheels are something about which I don't have to worry. If one gets trashed, I rebuild it for the price of a rim and spokes, $75 I figure, maybe $100. I'm not a college student, but I simply will not ride a $700 set of wheels everyday. I can't afford it. Instead, I ride a $300 Schwinn with wheels that probably cost no more than $50 each. Again, I can't afford anything more. (Yes, I do have a custom-built Litespeed Vortex that cost a mint, but I'm talking about "everyday" riding/commuting.)

Normal usage? Is it a road--asphalt, dirt, cinder, brick? If so, I ride on it. That's what I consider normal. And yes, roads come with potholes, railroad tracks, cracks, speed bumps, dead possums, etc. My "cheapo" wheels ride over or through them all. The worst that has occurred in over a decade or more is needing a truing, which I do myself. I'm riding 32 spoke Record hubs, semi-aero rims that are 7-10 years old (so old I checked for the brand, but the labels are gone), and straight-gauge spokes. I consider those essentially bomb-proof. And so far, they have been. I built them that way--to use. I see guys fretting over their expensive wheelsets on every ride. I don't get it. (And, they're usually behind me.)

I can almost guarantee you that those who speak of breaking things have gone overboard with the latest and lightest. (Or, their riding skills are suspect. That, too, is a major culprit.) I know I often quote old pros, but I've learned they learned a few things during their careers. That said, another old pro told me: "You can't finish a race with a broken bike. And if you can't finish, you certainly cannot win." Darn good advice, I've found.

BTW these are the wheels that I am talking about... Race X Lite Areo's with Race X Lite tires...
http://www.ablbaseball.org/Other/2100.jpg

If I had those wheels, they would never see a bump bigger than an inch!!