Slip sliding.

[bobcat]

Recently I have found my rear wheel sliding out when the road is wet, I have plenty of wear left on the tyre and was wondering if it may be that the brake pads are gripping to much on one side? Has anyone else had a similar problem?

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Recently I have found my rear wheel sliding out when the road is wet, I have plenty of wear left on the tyre and was wondering if it may be that the brake pads are gripping to much on one side? Has anyone else had a similar problem?

Your just giving it too much welly, be gentle and smooth when its wet and slippery.

 

[cyberknight]

Your just giving it too much welly, be gentle and smooth when its wet and slippery.

Cheeky !!!, ooh you mean when riding a cycle.....

The roads are rough this time of year with diesel, grit and icy spots so take it easy .

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Cheeky !!!, ooh you mean when riding a cycle.....

The roads are rough this time of year with diesel, grit and icy spots so take it easy .

very good.
Theres a fast descent on my ride to work, when the rains came this week the wet road showed up an oil/fuel slick that went almost the full length of the descent, that was about two feet wide, I'm normally getting the fixed to 25-30mph down there.

 

[ColinJ]

Your just giving it too much welly, be gentle and smooth when its wet and slippery.

On one training camp, we were warned about how slippery Spanish roads can be after rain. There is often no rain for weeks or months so when it does finally rain, any oily deposits on the road float to the surface and make it very slippery. "Yeah, yeah" thought I - I'm used to greasy Yorkshire roads so it wouldn't catch me out ...

So, we were riding along one morning and encountered some light drizzle. The ride leader immediately took us down to a cafe for an impromptu stop, which I thought was a bit wimpish given how light the rain was.

We waited 30 minutes for the drizzle to finish, and another 10 or so for the sun to start drying the road. We set off again and I looked back over my shoulder at something and let a little gap form between me and the rider in front. I applied a little more pressure to the pedals to try and speed up to catch him and my back wheel started to slide out from under me! I fishtailed twice before getting the bike back under control.

And the moral of this story is ... yes - roads that see a lot of traffic and not much rain, can be lethal when they first get damp! (They are actually better once it has been raining heavily for a few hours because the oily crap starts to get washed away.)

 

[gaz]

Some rubber compounds are more slippery than others.

 

[bobcat]

Thanks but I am still not convinced it is just the wet, it happens quite a lot and at no speed at all!

 

[HLaB]

If you have a tendency to lean/ brake wrongly and too much it won't matter how fast you are going, in fact ime I think its easier to slide out on grease/ice/gravel etc at low speeds.

 

[bobcat]

Too much braking could be it, maybe I will adjust the brake to allow for this, thank you.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Maybe you're using the rear brake too much - it's a bad habit I have and one which I attribute to being left-handed (aka heavy on the rear). For me, it needs an almost conscious effort to put the onus on the front. I doubt there's anything wrong with your rear brake.

 

[Bicycle]

I too am dubious about it being the brakes. Tyre pressures affect grip and some tyres are more sensitive to pressure than others.

Also, if your rear wheel has had a lateral knock that's shifted it slightly out of line, that can affect grip when any other variables are.... well, varying. Meaning if you're braking, turning, accelarating or similar, a wonky wheel will exacerbate any tendency to lose grip.

You may think you'd know instantly if your rear wheel was not quite aligned. Not so. It's worth checking.

As a last one, if your bearings are gone your rear can move around a little and that can also affect grip where grip is already limited. I suspect you'd know if your bearings were mashed, but it's worth a thought.

Finally... do you have some sort of oil or lubricant on your rear tyre? If it's not on the contact patch you may not be aware of it, but if it's on the sidewall of the tyre it may make you lose grip when cornering and you may think the cause is the braking, not the lean angle.

Good luck finding the cause anyway... nothing is quite as unnerving as a bicycle given to erratic behaviour for reasons that aren't clear.

 

[bobcat]

Thank you all, some interesting avenues look into! Plus I am left handed, bearings could need looking at but at least I have some ideas now. Thank's again.

 

[Ian H]

On one training camp, we were warned about how slippery Spanish roads can be after rain...

I found this out with an impromptu experiment a few years ago.

 

[Ian H]

Possibly just an under-inflated tyre. But generally avoid braking when cornering in slippery conditions.

 

[Banjo]

Recently I have found my rear wheel sliding out when the road is wet, I have plenty of wear left on the tyre and was wondering if it may be that the brake pads are gripping to much on one side? Has anyone else had a similar problem?

If your back end is sliding when braking maybe you need to move your weight back on the bike when braking to put more weight on the back wheel.