# Is it riding a road bike in the rain dangerous?



## norwichcyclist (17 Jun 2009)

I posted a message earlier this week and had an awesome level of response. But, I made a mistake in not making it absolutely clear what my concern was.

I appreciate it is dangerous to ride in the rain and cautions need to be taken on all bikes to avoid having an accident and also to avoid damaging the bike.

I currently ride a MTB with commuter tyres to work. I want to buy a road bike. I've heard a few scare stories specifically about road bikes and how slippy they are in the rain.

So my specific question is - is it more dangerous to ride a road bike in the rain than a hybrid or MTB. If yes, are there tyres or brake pads that I should invest in that would reduce the danger - what are your recommendations.


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## thomas (17 Jun 2009)

I still say no.


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## bikevigilante (17 Jun 2009)

*understatement*

it is well dodgy as I found out a couple of weeks ago,only got caught in a shower but as soon as i braked the tyres slid everywhere - also if you have discs on the MTB you got to adjust to the pads quickly and allow for the extra time to grip the slippy wheels


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## garrilla (17 Jun 2009)

I'm sure if you make the difference a road bike on slicks and an MTBs on knobbly then the answer is probably yes.

If you the consider whether the difference constitute real danger when the rider is both a cautious and capable rider then, imho, the answer is no.

Personally spoeaking, I'm most dangerous on a road bike when the weather is fine and all the conditions exist for a fast-paced ride. This is when I'm more likely to zip across a traffic island, race to stay in flow through traffic lights and make risky judgements about cornering on descents. The rest of the time I take it as it comes.


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## 4F (17 Jun 2009)

No it is not, and your father in law is still wrong.


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## jimboalee (17 Jun 2009)

Remember how many crashes there were on the Paris-Roubaix when it pissed down.


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## garrilla (17 Jun 2009)

I thought this was the reason d'être for the Paris-Roubaix, its not a proper test without plus pleut on the pavé.

But then will the OP face much race-type conditions on wet cobble in Norwich?


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## HJ (17 Jun 2009)

I still say it is not what you ride, but how you ride it that determines if it is safe or not. If you can ride an MTB safely, you can ride a road bike safely.


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## Dan B (17 Jun 2009)

You can ride dangerously in any climactic conditions available, if you want to. If you don't want to, it's easy enough to slow down a bit, anticipate more, and avoid cornering on paint and manhole covers.

The only way a road bike could really be considered more dangerous is in the same way a powerful car could be termed dangerous: it's faster, lighter, accelerates better and so gives you more options to drive/ride like a twonk. You can still choose the option not to.


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## Tynan (17 Jun 2009)

I had a nasty rear wheel slide in the heavy rain on Monday after yanking on the rear brake suddenly, but bikes do that in the wet anyway

can't say I've ever had any bother in the wet on the road bike that I woudn't have expected on MTBs and hybreds

the better feel and handling on a road bike counters any negative effects, I certainly lost it big time on MTBs in the wet when i rode them, and at lower speeds


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## Will1985 (17 Jun 2009)

garrilla said:


> But then will the OP face much race-type conditions on wet cobble in Norwich?


Only around Princes Street and Elm Hill - unlikely commute routes.


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## buggi (17 Jun 2009)

ABSOLUTELY NOT in fact i would say a knobbly tyre is worse. 

with a road bike there is only a very small amount of tyre (the centre) touching the road. you don't need tread as the water is dispersed very effectively to each side of the tyre. you still have constant contact of tyre to road. 

with an MTB you don't have constant contact of tyre to road as the knobbles break this up. Therefore both in the rain and the dry a knobbly tyre does not grip as well on tarmac as a road bike tyre. 

in both the rain and the dry you can slip out when turning on a knobbly tyre when cornering. 

the only time i would say i've slipped in the rain is across metal manhole covers when cornering, but this will happen with an MTB tyre also. Also wet leaves, but also this applies to both road and knobbly mtb tyres. 

personally, i love being out in the rain on my road bike. i think i actually ride faster. i'm just careful to not hit those manhole covers in the wet, but i would be careful on an MTB also.


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## cheadle hulme (17 Jun 2009)

I've just come back from a quick blast and 23mm Michelin Pro 3s are well fidgety on greasy roads believe me!

Grip is a function of area and material properties. As cycle tyres are broadly made of the same stuff, the more rubber in contact with the road, the more grip. Accordingly,my MTB with Marathon+ 1.5" has much more grip than the road bike.


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## dodgy (17 Jun 2009)

buggi said:


> ABSOLUTELY NOT in fact i would say a knobbly tyre is worse.
> 
> with a road bike there is only a very small amount of tyre (the centre) touching the road. you don't need tread as the water is dispersed very effectively to each side of the tyre. you still have constant contact of tyre to road.
> 
> ...



I understand your reasoning, but real world tests conducted by me say that my road bike handles far more sketchily than my MTB in the wet.


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## fossyant (17 Jun 2009)

Cheadle - how new are the Pro 3's - they need running in, my Pro 2's did.

Road bikes are no problem in the wet, unless you ride like an idiot. Look out for drains, diesel patches, etc.....fine.

My MTB, with trail tyres, is squirmy cornering on dry tarmac, all bets off when wet.... Brill off road though !


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## cheadle hulme (17 Jun 2009)

fossyant said:


> Cheadle - how new are the Pro 3's - they need running in, my Pro 2's did.



Not that new - over 700 miles according to my logs - and 3 punctures including one tonight before I'd got as far as Poynton! Then snapped the valve on the replacement tube. Gave it up as a bad job after that.


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## Joe24 (17 Jun 2009)

Road bikes are fine in the rain.
Depending on the road surface, depends how slippy it is.
When i was in Belgium, it was a tad slippy in the wet, and ment me having to go around round abouts pretty slow, and go around courners pretty slow aswell.
Normally though, when im out training at home its fine in the wet. Take courners abit easier and your normally fine. Man hole covers can be pretty slippy though.


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## fossyant (17 Jun 2009)

cheadle hulme said:


> Not that new - over 700 miles according to my logs - and 3 punctures including one tonight before I'd got as far as Poynton! Then snapped the valve on the replacement tube. Gave it up as a bad job after that.



Double bugger............


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## ed_o_brain (17 Jun 2009)

I would say No.
With the caveat it's more down to the rider than the bike. And tyre choice can make a difference too.


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## buggi (17 Jun 2009)

cheadle hulme said:


> I've just come back from a quick blast and 23mm Michelin Pro 3s are well fidgety on greasy roads believe me!
> 
> Grip is a *function of area* and material properties. As cycle tyres are broadly made of the same stuff, *the more rubber in contact with the road, the more grip*. Accordingly,my MTB with Marathon+ 1.5" has much more grip than the road bike.



which is where i rest my case. Road bike tyres have more rubber in contact with the road. it's continuous. with mtb tyres the knobbles break up the contact. knobbles are made to grip mud. road bike tyres are designed to grip tarmac. like you say, tyres are made of the same stuff, therefore both the rubber on mtb tyres and road tyres have the same stickyness, but road bike tyres have constant contact, mtb tyres have a broken contact. 

i would say however, that if you do slip out on either bike, you are more likely to recover on an mtb simply coz of the design of the bike and the maneouverability of it.


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