fixed gear in the rain
12-21-08 | 11:36 PM
#51
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 832
Likes: 0
From: Brooklyn finally.
Bikes: Bianchi San Jose, fixed
I totally forgot about this post of mine in the mass endeavor that was my semester at school. And YES I can handle my bike. Right now I'm running a conti gator skin on the back its"a slick" I assume because as you know it has almost no tread. I actually fell a second time and it was on a white patch again, those things are like Ice. This second time I fell using my front brake. Since then I have removed my brake. What tires do you recommend for the rain?
Maybe lower the PSI a tad or get wider tires (like 28's or 25's)
I too have slipped on a heavily painted line in the rain (at night). ****er was probably 3mm ridge of solid white line. My front tire just wouldn't ride over it when I changed lanes, and I took a nice meeting with pavement.
Just be careful what your ride over, especially with the front tire.
12-21-08 | 11:46 PM
#53
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 98
Likes: 0
From: Killadelphia
Bikes: Motobecane Messenger 64cm
im pretty sure rain is just a sloppy condition and not a way of riding. What seperates us is the way we ride and how well one can handle their own bicycle in abrupt situations.
12-21-08 | 11:47 PM
#54
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 72
Likes: 0
From: Philadelphia/New York
Bikes: Primary: little orange 70s LeJeune track bike, AKA Tomato Frog, and (secondary) a noisy old Botecchia mixte frame ten-speed of similar vintage.
I find the traction and control are actually better on fixed. I don't rely on the brake which locks the wheel, and slow down more gradually. Of course, panic stops can be disastrous, as on any thin-tired bike. Wet leaves are the worst. So are the potholes that you can't see.
12-22-08 | 05:36 PM
#57
Guest
Posts: n/a
yeah, i don't think anyone's alleged bike skills have too much to do with getting around foul weather and maintaining. I mean, a little, yeah, but in serious snow and hail and such, or when there's lots of or really any ice on the ground, it seems more about having the proper equipment and handling your bike with prudence and common sense, as opposed to relying on expertly honed reflexes and awareness, or whatever. If nature wants to put you down its going to put you down, and no amount of time in the saddle is going to change that.
