My first ever 'off'.

[BLACKPANTHER]

I had my first bicycle fall today since childhood. The really annoying thing is that yesterday I was going round the same mini-roundabout at about 10mph on the Aurora, and I felt the front wheel slip a little. More by good luck than judgement, I stayed upright. Today I was on the Dawes, and I erred on the side of caution, and went round it at about 5 mph. The front wheel went straight down. I picked the bike up and gave it a thorough check before setting off. The only damage (apart from my pride, there's were loooooads of witnesses!) was the gear selector, which didn't spring back after changing down, but when I got home, I removed the cover and bent it back and all's fine. Another good reason to have panniers......not a scratch on the bike, just a slight scuff mark on the brake lever!

I suspect that either there was a bit of diesel on the road. Or maybe it's just a build up of traffic film as it's not rained round here for ages. I've gone round that roundabout a heck of a lot faster without probs.

 

[LeonardYoung]

Glad you were ok. Sounds like a classic case of diesel....every (motor) biker's nightmare. Roundabouts are prime candidates for over-filled coaches and lorries spilling excess fuel as they turn. Sometimes it is very hard to see, especially with the poor light we are all suffering from currently.

I've been caught out a couple of times on a motorbike, but, touch wood, managed to save the front from immediate collapse which is the usual outcome, even if you are leaning a tiny amount.

Over-filling should be an automatic 6 point license endorsement. That stuff is lethal.

Leonard

 

[jasono]

Be careful out there

I came a cropper on some black ice the other week and it shook me up more than anything else

Can't say I've not been off a bike since childhood though, as I've had a couple of motorcycle offs in the past 20 years!

When I came off the bicycle I was running semi slicks and am sure if they were more appropriate tyres for the conditions I would have been ok

Take care

Jason

 

[Biged]

Probably diesel, once followed a coach onto the M18 in the car, diesel started spewing out of his filler as we turned the bend and it completely covered my car from one end to the other, try shifting that with your wipers.

 

[Streethawk]

Yep, sounds like diesel. I usually smell a spill before i see it, 14 years motorcycling has hard wired "slow down" to that smell.

I would also point out that the new sticky grit, with added molasses is actually very slippery itself when on two wheels. I hate the stuff. Does your Dawes have narrower or slicker tyres? width and chunky tread help in slippery conditions.

EDIT: forgot to say, glad you're ok!

 

[RoadieRoger]

Slippery

Glad you were OK Blackpanther .If this road surface continues to be slippery , contact the Highways Section of your County or Local Council and make a complaint . They should then do a friction test on the wearing course with a Pendulum Friction Tester to establish the Friction Co-efficient to see whether it meets the requirement for that Class of road . In rare cases the Contractor laying the wearing course has used limestone aggregate by mistake , this would be lethal . The test for this is to use an eye dropper to dispense a 10% solution of Hcl Acid onto the aggregate and see if it fizzes . I think Lemon Juice has the same effect .Getting onto the road might be difficult , we used to cone it off and it was still scary , in case some idiot driver wasn`t concentrating !

 

[BLACKPANTHER]

Does your Dawes have narrower or slicker tyres? width and chunky tread help in slippery conditions.

Yes, The Dawes has Marathon Plus's 1.25 inch width tyres. The Aurora has The Marathon Plus tours, 1.75 inch front, 2.00 inch rear, it slipped a bit yesterday but kept me upright. I'm really glad I didn't come off on the Aurora.....it must weigh a good 10kg+ more and would've hit the ground a fair bit harder. And it would've been on the side with the wire coming out of the motor, eeeek.

Actually, I've just realised I've posted a thread about my Dawes which is a non-electric bike! Apologies, will I get into trouble?

 

[Morag]

I'd agree with it probably being diesel but you should have smelled it when you bit the dust. So glad you are okay hun.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

May well have been diesel, but normally you can see and smell it. It's possible that it might have been salt. From years of riding motorbikes in all weathers, I can tell you that salted roads can be as slippery as diesel, only instead of it being in patches, it's everywhere.

 

[alex_h]

I had my first bicycle fall today since childhood. The really annoying thing is that yesterday I was going round the same mini-roundabout at about 10mph on the Aurora, and I felt the front wheel slip a little. More by good luck than judgement, I stayed upright. Today I was on the Dawes, and I erred on the side of caution, and went round it at about 5 mph. The front wheel went straight down. I picked the bike up and gave it a thorough check before setting off. The only damage (apart from my pride, there's were loooooads of witnesses!) was the gear selector, which didn't spring back after changing down, but when I got home, I removed the cover and bent it back and all's fine. Another good reason to have panniers......not a scratch on the bike, just a slight scuff mark on the brake lever!

I suspect that either there was a bit of diesel on the road. Or maybe it's just a build up of traffic film as it's not rained round here for ages. I've gone round that roundabout a heck of a lot faster without probs.

Can we then conclude that heavier bike is more stable on the road? Aurora did it at 10mph, Dwes falled off at 5mph. Obviously tyres have a significant influence on the traction.

 

[flecc]

With these diesel spills on bends and roundabouts, please ring the council, or the police who then pass it to the council. They do then come out and wash down the offending area to remove the diesel. I've done that and seen the results on two occasions so well worth it to save some other poor soul on two wheels, even though it's too late for your own spill. Road accidents are a targeted area for councils so they have a vested interest in acting.

Glad that you are unharmed BLACKPANTHER.
.

 

[Synthman]

In regards to heavier bikes being more stable, mine is close to 40kg. When we had that snow and ice last month I was mad enough to carry on using it. I never came off once, despite coming very close. I suspect if I had been on a bicycle, I would have fallen.

I have dropped the bike only once, in my first 3 weeks of owning it. Was coming down my own road, hesitated as a corner came up as I knew there was a nasty pothole there, and locked up the front wheel came to a stop immediately and came straight off the bike. The bike was fine, my leg had a minor graze. I got straight back up and carried on.

I've never been able to lock up the wheels since, but yesterday I had a new brake cable fitted and my front brake adjusted. I had a short ride back from the shop and now I barely have to pull the lever and the brakes come on hard. I'm now worried I'll do the same again, but I assume the brakes will become more slack as I use them.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Whether you slip or not depends more on how grippy the tyres are than the weight of the bike. The grippiness of the tyres depends on how wide they are and the characteristics of their material. However, for two bikes on the same tyres, the heavier one will slip first during a sharp turn, so if someone substantially increases the weight of a bike, he/she should think about whether to upgrade the tyres

 

[BLACKPANTHER]

for two bikes on the same tyres, the heavier one will slip first during a sharp turn, so if someone substantially increases the weight of a bike, he/she should think about whether to upgrade the tyres

Ohhhh, not sure about that. Surely the more a tyre is being pushed into the ground (by the weight of the bike), the better the grip? Just as the faster you go around a corner, the more force is on the tyre, which results in the tyre deforming/flattening, so actually more of it is in contact with the road? If you imagine leaning a loose wheel at say 30 degrees, if would be quite easy to break traction by pushing it sideways. Put some weight on the wheel though and it's harder to push sideways. Maybe this only applies with decent tyres though....I'm thinking more of when I'm riding the motorbike, you definitely get more grip as the speed increases, and it's frightening how fast you can corner on slicks.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Blackpanther, try this: Load up your CBR 1000 with full camping equipment (you'll need a rack, panniers and tank bag), put a passenger on the back, add a heavy chain lock just for good measure, then drive it to your favourite campsite in the rain and see how easy it is to stay on. Ccmpare that with when riding it with just yourself in the wet. Then tell us what you find. You're right in everything you just wrote, but it's not quite as simple as that: Other mysterious forces act.

 

[BLACKPANTHER]

I've always preferred 'heavy' bikes. The Blackbird was (contrary to most bike mag reviews) faster around real world bends than flighty R6s, ZX6Rs and GSXR600s, and many a mate was left to panic on bends that my bike would sail around. Having owned a CBR600 before the 'Bird I know I was faster and felt more composed mid bend when I traded up. Now, I know that a 600 would destroy a big bike on a race track.....but how often do we go on track days?? I now own a CBF1000s, and it's a good balance between handling and comfort.

Back to bicycles, my 26.5 kg Aurora feels better around bends than my 15.3 kg Dawes Tanami. (add another 5kg to each for kit/luggage!)

Then again, it's each to their own when on 2 wheels. What makes me feel comfortable to ride faster, may make another rider want to slow down. Or maybe I'm just getting old.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

The main thing for enjoyment and speed is that you have confidence with what you ride. It's really horrible when your bike slips without warning. I've ridden a few like that (Honda CJ250, GS550, GS500). I also had an RG 250, the last one, and I can tell you that you had to completely re-calibrate your brain in terms of how fast it could go round bends and stop. I've never found a bike to this day that could match it. The old Yamaha TZR 250 was good too, Now I have a VFR400 and NTV650, Coming back to bicycles, since fitting Schwalber City Slickers to mine, the pedalling effort has gone right down, but so has the grip. I've slid a few times, but not enough to fall off.