Marto32

Have the roads in manhattan ever messed up your bike? I'm new to cycling and purchased my first road bike in early August. It's a Felt F85 and I mostly ride in central park / the west side bike path. These paths / roads are usually fine, my issue is with the actual roads I have to traverse in order to get to the bike paths. I try to avoid potholes and cracks at all costs but sometimes they are unavoidable (when you're sandwiched between scaffolding and a cab) and I've heard my bike make some very disconcerting noises when I hit them. On one occasion my bike even switched gears because of how hard I hit the pothole. Lately I've been tryign to 'get light' when I have to hit an unavoidable one which seems to help a bit, but I'm worried that these roads may cause harm to the bike...

Just to clarify - I usually steer clear of the rough parts of the road, I'm only talking about the times when I cannot go around them.

RT

The closest I've been to NYC is Law & Order, but it sounds like you need to find alternate routes. They will likely be longer, but hey, you have a (nice) new bike! Ride more!

patentcad

I'm sure that there are potholes nasty enough in Manhattan to deep six your wheel(s). Avoid them.

That is all.

wangster

I ride my tarmac almost everyday to work. Sure there are plenty of potholes that will eat your bike but if they are that big, then it shouldn't be hard to avoid them. Just have to pay a little attention to the road but I wouldn't worry too much about it.

zacster

I've been riding in NYC for my entire life, and now ride a carbon fiber Kuota road bike with a rear wheel I built myself on an Easton hub that weighs 810g, and a matching Easton Orion front. The bike is 5 years old, and the wheels now 2. There is absolutely no issue with either. The rear wheel, which I expected to have to true every now and then, has stayed perfectly true. The front as well.

The thing you have to watch for are wheel grabbing cracks and grates. Just going over rough roads shouldn't damage a well built wheel or bike. And most important, keep your tires inflated! Under inflated tires are the biggest cause of flats and rim damage.

Marto32

Great thanks guys! I haven't gone over any deathtraps yet (really deep potholes) but I have gone over rough patches where there is a 5 - 10 foot stretch of potholes 1 - 3 inches deep.

dmcdmc

I've biked nyc roads for over a decade. I've had one flat while riding ever. You just need to keep your eyes on the road so you dont dump into a pothole. There really aren't as many as people think. Broken glass on the other hand...and vomit on the weekends....that's something else.

Inertianinja

I haven't been riding in the city for decades, but i have been doing a tremendous amount of riding in the NYC since i moved here a few years ago. I have hit potholes hard, sure, but only gotten flats on broken glass that i didn't see. my carbon bikes have not had a problem with the rougher roads. the worst that happened was when i hit a pothole i didn't see while i had a lot of weight on my hands...it knocked my shifters down. i just pulled over and put them back and re-tightened them.

I think you can try harder to avoid the potholes - slow down or try a different street. also, use the city's network of bike lanes. there are enough now that you can get around most of the city using them.

motobecane69

i concur with everyone else, its the cracks that suck, particularly on the 1st avenue bike lane starting at 72street, it's not asphalt, it's concrete slabs and there is a groove in it that should be caulked but the caulk has long since come out and it's the perfect size for a 23mm tire to fit into, it almost got me today. in time you learn certain routes that either avoid bad streets or help you keep continuity with traffic lights and stuff. Like everyone else, I haven't hit a pothole hard enough to actually taco a wheel or do any other damage. make sure you ahve really good brakes (should go without saying) just because you don't always want to risk swerving if you don't know what the traffic behind you is doing.

jeebusaurousrex

Practice "unweighting" yourself for the smaller rough patches. Bunny hopping over unavoidable big ones, which should be very few since you WILL be paying attention to what's ahead and planning your line accordingly.

https://forums.mtbr.com/beginners-cor...ke-565803.html

And if you accidentally turn onto a brick paved street (cobblestones), pretend you're racing a spring classic somewhere in Europe.

The Human Car

Wheels out of true or broken spoke from time to time, that's been the worst of it for me.

v70cat

Just be sure to fill the tubes with air every trip and you should be fine.