Bike control 101 - How to stop skidding in the wet?

[Jdratcliffe]

When braking with both brakes, the rear will almost always (always in my own experience) skid before the front does. Your rear can be used as grip meter, if it starts skidding then time to ease off....

+ in a emergency i use the rear as a grip gauge too full on back and feather front when back goes decrease it and increase the front to compensation then nearing the stop apply both eqaully again and then breathe! in normally wet + dry breaking generally use 80% front and then 20% rear to finish (prob why i use 2 sets of front pads to one set of rears)

Tbh thou this is learnt from experience knowledge and feel and plenty of equally hairy moments like the one you have just had so dont worry about it learn from it!

 

[Browser]

+1 to all above advice, treat the brake levers like the trigger of a gun i.e. don't snatch at them, squeeeeeeeze them, nice and progressive like! I know that this seems like bad advice, especially in an emergency, but you can do a quick squeeze that isn't a grab and won't lock your wheels.

 

[summerdays]

Get to know your brakes ... I generally use both, but vary how much of each without even thinking about it now, I know the point that the braking action starts - it helps having hydraulic brakes so the point doesn't change. Back brake is good at adjusting speed, front is good at stopping (but could throw you over the handlebars). And in wet conditions - just go a little slower especially places like roundabouts where diesel spills are more possible as well.

 

[summerdays]

And come wintertime - practise (on a very quiet road) on ice/snow, some very gentle braking - trying not to brake as you change direction otherwise you definitely hit the floor (speaking from experience) .

 

[Pat "5mph"]

And come wintertime - practise (on a very quiet road) on ice/snow, some very gentle braking - trying not to brake as you change direction otherwise you definitely hit the floor (speaking from experience) .

Same here, Summerdays: I started commuting last October, we had a rainy but mild winter, the ice did not come until mid January.
I fell on ice because of the braking: was doing ok (park shortcut, iced path) until I had to brake because I was changing direction.
Freaked me out, stopped riding for 3 days.
Still now, don't know what I'm gonna do when that time of the year comes

 

[GrasB]

Still now, don't know what I'm gonna do when that time of the year comes

Spiked tyres

 

[summerdays]

I managed to cycle quite a distance on an incredibly icy/slippery path one year, until I suddenly realised why all the pedestrians were gripping onto the handrail - touched the brakes and down I went. It was so slippery I then couldn't stand up and had to be rescued by a pedestrian!

Edit: yes I now have spiked tyres - though I suspect they wouldn't have helped on that surface which was a tiled surface next to the river - now I wouldn't take that path in those conditions.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Spiked tyres

I read about them. Should I invest on a pair, put then on one of my bikes just for a couple of months? I don't mind the expense, if they really work.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

I managed to cycle quite a distance on an incredibly icy/slippery path one year, until I suddenly realised why all the pedestrians were gripping onto the handrail - touched the brakes and down I went. It was so slippery I then couldn't stand up and had to be rescued by a pedestrian!

Edit: yes I now have spiked tyres - though I suspect they wouldn't have helped on that surface which was a tiled surface next to the river - now I wouldn't take that path in those conditions.

Yes: even when icy, all is well until you get to near the river! I think next winter a detour is on order

 

[summerdays]

Spiked tyres aren't going to completely stop you skidding on ice, you still need to moderate your cycling, but they are going to help a LOT. And there are lots of different types of ice/snow/slush/rutted snow etc, and it works better on some of those surfaces than others. I think they are worth it - I have my old bike fitted with them come winter time so that I can just grab the bike when I want. And then I take them off and save them for the next winter. Given your location much further north than me I would think they would be very useful.

 

[TheJDog]

The way I was always taught (in cycling proficiency) was to apply the rear, then immediately apply the front. That way you're less likely to go over the handlebars, as the shift in weight isn't as harsh.

I was always taught front first, then rear a fraction later. I use the rear brake very little these days. This morning my back wheel was moving around even under fairly light braking.

Last year in Richmond park I came a cropper in Richmond Park on one of the roundabouts when I was feathering the front brake in the wet. If you haven't done all your braking before you start to turn you have to be very careful. A front end low-sider is almost impossible to catch. I didn't notice mine happening at all.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

2. A very big part of the equation is weight distribution. If you're hitting the anchors suddenly, harshly, in inclement weather or all three, get your weight to the rear. If you can, get it low and to the rear.

<snip>

6. If you are locking your rear in the wet, just keep pedalling as you brake.

Eh?
Combining those two bits of advice is one circus act I'd love to see someone try on a wet commute!

GC

 

[GrasB]

I read about them. Should I invest on a pair, put then on one of my bikes just for a couple of months? I don't mind the expense, if they really work.

This year when it was a bit icy I rode round a corner at about 15mph without much thought only to hear 2 dull thuds behind me. I looked round to see the riders behind me sliding down the road on their posterior. Their nice n' wide tyres with knobbly bits were no match for my Marathon Winters.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Spiked tyres aren't going to completely stop you skidding on ice, you still need to moderate your cycling, but they are going to help a LOT. And there are lots of different types of ice/snow/slush/rutted snow etc, and it works better on some of those surfaces than others. I think they are worth it - I have my old bike fitted with them come winter time so that I can just grab the bike when I want. And then I take them off and save them for the next winter. Given your location much further north than me I would think they would be very useful.

Thank you Summerdays: moderation is always a priority
Will do as you suggest, I have a bike I could keep just for icy days. Strangely enough, even though I live in Glasgow, here in town we get snow maybe a week every year, ice on the roads for maybe a month, usually after mid January.
Of course an "ice bike" is always handy if I should need to venture out town in the winter.
Here we have town centre, then housing estates. If you go just 2/3 miles in any direction from build up areas, you suddenly find yourself on a country road, fields and sheep galore

 

[Pat "5mph"]

This year when it was a bit icy I rode round a corner at about 15mph without much thought only to hear 2 dull thuds behind me. I looked round to see the riders behind me sliding down the road on their posterior. Their nice n' wide tyres with knobbly bits were no match for my Marathon Winters.

Got a spare pair of Marathon originals: should I get the winters instead?
Thanks!