cheungupdt

I usually ride on Fremont, there is part of a road (bike lane i guess) that is full of rocks that is as big as the width of my tire 23cc. I've already replaced the inner loop twice within my last 200miles. What do you guys do in that scenario besides finding a new route?

Can we report to the city for a cleaning?

Siu Blue Wind

If it's in the bike lane, I don't see why not. It certainly won't hurt to do so. At this point it's a hazard because it forces you into the road.

coldfeet

"Inner loop"?

BlazingPedals

I'm guessing it's "inner tube" and that cheungupdt's native language is not English. Not a bad attempt, actually.

mcgreivey

You can try. How responsive they'll be depends on the city, and maybe what else they have going on this time of year. Whose road is it? It might be maintained by the highway department of whatever jurisdiction maintains that road (state? county? city?). Or if the road goes through a park, it might be maintained by whatever parks department maintains that park.

I guess I'd call city hall first.

Machka 

You mean a gravel road or shoulder?


Good luck with that.

HandsomeRyan

Bring a broom and sweep it yourself?

Arcanum

Complain to the city. Get others to complain to the city. If you fall and are injured as a result of the city not keeping the street clear, you may be able to hold the city legally responsible. That might take a lawsuit though.

Ride fatter tires.

Garfield Cat

Take detailed photos and present them to the next city council meeting. That is, you have to make a presentation at the podium with pictures and all. Hopefully, your local cable television channel will air it and it will get the attention of other residents and activists.

hotbike

What I did, in a similar situation, was I went back... in my mini-van... and scraped up the stones with a snow shovel. I wore a reflective vest, I put out a road cone... I stood on the kerb and used a plow-type snow shovel, upside down, to pull the rocks toward the edge of the road. I stepped aside to lets cars and buses pass. The result was a pile along the kerb-as high as the top of the kerb, ( a berm)which I left behind... and it was picked up the next day. There was a lot of sand mixed in , in this case. If it was just rocks, I might put the in a bucket, and use them somewhere else.

I might also use a utility bike to carry the shovel, but I'm not above using a mini-van.

Yes, do-it-yourself is the most reliable means.

Cyclist01012

Just ride your bike and don't let a few rocks bother you. Figure out why you are flatting? Punctures from the rocks? Pinch flats? Cheap tires. We regurarly hammer on gravel roads and chip and seall with 23's

bradtx

Man, that's just begging for a pair of chromed exhaust tips!

cheungupdt, Make sure you're not riding under inflated tires. A minimum pressure should be about 85% of the max pressure on the tire's sidewall.

Brad

cheungupdt

Continental Grand Prix 4000 were the tires, i don't think it is the best, but i don't think it is considered cheap neither. Please don't make that assumption.

cheungupdt

That's true, i'll pay more attention to the tire pressure. Usually i'm too lazy to pump the tire everytime and so every other time i'll be riding at about 60psi.... It's hard to keep the tire inflated, it takes only a few days for the pressure to drop from 120psi to 60psi.

cheungupdt

It is a paved road. Two lanes for vehicles. And a extra mark off lane about 3 ft wide, i'll assume that is the bike lane, ain't it?

HandsomeRyan

A- all I had in the workshop were elbows and tees when I built that (no endcaps)

B- keeps water/dirt from collecting in the bottom of the tubes.

cheungupdt

That just Awesome!=)

do you ride in that configuration often?

Machka 

Might be a bike lane, especially if it is in a city. Otherwise it might just be a shoulder. If it is a shoulder and you call someone about it, you may get something done about it ... but probably not.

Jeff Wills

Never assume. If there are signs and/or road markings that say "Bike Lane", then it's not a bike lane. Since it's nice and wide, it's good for riding, but you're not required to ride there. It might be safe and prudent to ride there, but not required.

Shoulders on the side of the road tend to accumulate dirt, rocks, litter, and so on because automobile traffic sweep the regular travel lanes clear. Rocks as big as a 23mm tire are pretty hefty, though- perhaps there's a construction site nearby? Trucks tend to spill stuff as they drive along.

Also, I tend to agree with the others- 23mm tires are very narrow for most normal roads. 25mm or 28mm tires can usually be pumped up to the same pressure as the narrower tires, and they'll give you a more comfortable and more durable ride.

fietsbob

Cars do .. out side of the City the white line is a Fog Line ..

here the ODOT moved the Fog Line in towards the centerline , so there is now 24" to the curb
as the road crosses the Bridge, rather than a foot.

Because the pinheads in pickup trucks thought that the gravel and rubbish shoulder
was the bike lane though too narrow to be safe.

bradtx

cheungupdt, Are you using latex tubes? While light and suitable for racing, because of their porosity they need attention every day.

Brad

cheungupdt

No, i'm using the normal inner tube.

HandsomeRyan

If the rocks are too big to be swept as in my example above...



A bit of scrap wood and some u-bolts with wing nuts can secure a shovel pretty well.

rdtompki

I'm going to hazard a guess that we're talking Freemont, California. Good luck getting any municipality in CA to do anything. I live in San Benito county and the roads are falling apart. These recent rains coupled with truck traffic are going to really cause major deterioration, not that anyone outside of CA would care.

I'll ride on the shoulder if it's wide enough, the white line if the should is narrow or debris filled. "Taking the lane" is a last and extremely dangerous resort since the average speed is at least 65 mph on these country roads.

Cyclist01012

When I said cheap tires you had not stated what you were running. I threw out cheap tires as a possiability of flats. Personally I dont like the 4000,s because I have had flat problems with them in the past.