New Road Surface

[lavoisier]

There has been a new road surface of Tarmac put down on the way out of our village to the next one. It is downhill between the two.
Is there anything I should be aware of when cycling on a new surface or can I just go hell for leather?

Paul

 

[green1]

I'd give it a week or 2 to bed in.

 

[lavoisier]

Sure I read somewhere once about it being slippery due to oils on the surface, or maybe I just dreamt it.

 

[snorri]

or can I just go hell for leather?

NO.

 

[vickster]

I'd be worried about any loose stuff that's left? And be especially careful if wet/greasy

 

[black'n'yellow]

I'd give it a week or 2 to bed in.

If the road was not safe to use, it would be closed.

Sure I read somewhere once about it being slippery due to oils on the surface, or maybe I just dreamt it.

Unless the local vehicle traffic is spinning off the road and there are now piles of cars in the hedgerows, then the road is probably ok to ride.

 

[Kiwiavenger]

i found a recently surfaced road was very sticky (was like cycling through treacle) but the road was surfaced overnight and re-opened at 8 AM about 15 minutes before i rode through

 

[Minotier]

If the new top is anything like the ones around here, be wary of the grit piled up by car tyres along the centre and outer edges!
Especially after dark and it stings like hell if it gets into your skin.

 

[fossyant]

If it's just a top dressing then be careful, if it's new tarmac then it should be OK, just don't go tearing round bends in the wet for a few days.

Top dressing is lethal, the way the council did it in the summer near me was dangerous - very loose, areas where it was inches deep - 23mm tyres don't like that.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

i found a recently surfaced road was very sticky (was like cycling through treacle) but the road was surfaced overnight and re-opened at 8 AM about 15 minutes before i rode through

Now try getting the tar off your bike.

Whilst cycling through Northern Finland - the land of follow that (only) road for 2 days and at the end turn left, now follow it for 4 days, we came across sections of road missing althogether, it had been stripped away to the very last foundation layer; further on, sections had had a new foundation put down which was seriously hard work to cycle on and finally after 20km we came to what was clearly the final foundation before the tarmac. We knew what was coming; we could smell it. We had to cycle through and over the freshly laid tarmac, and passed the stuff that was just being laid. It was like treacle and thick mud combined. Stick as anything and you knew you were sinking into it. (there were no other roads, and no 'pavement's with no options except carry on.) 12 months on and the tar is still over the water bottles, the panniers, mudguards and the bike (it came off the tyres quite quickly). So far nothing has shifted it.

 

[on the road]

i found a recently surfaced road was very sticky (was like cycling through treacle) but the road was surfaced overnight and re-opened at 8 AM about 15 minutes before i rode through

That's what I've found a few hours after it's been re-surfaced but it doesn't effect rolling resistant apart from being able to go faster.

 

[on the road]

And it's not slippy, you can use it when it opens, don't need to give it two weeks to bed in. When a road's been resurfaced with tarmac I always go hell for leather on it, it's quite safe.

 

[tadpole]

In Bristol we are lucky if they bother to fill in the potholes, so a whole road being surfaced would be worth of a picture being taken and FB’ed. I’ve never ridden a bike on fresh tarmac for more than a few seconds.

 

[ianrauk]

Always be careful on newly laid tarmac.
Loose gravel and/or oil left on the road can make things a little tricky.
Just take a little extra care until cars have removed all the debris.

 

[fossyant]

Now try getting the tar off your bike.
.

Liberal WD40, let it soak. A mates car was covered in tar, all over the front bumper and the bonnet - don't know what happened, but got to work and it was a mess, on a silver car. Anyway it was 'oh you are going to be busy with the car polish' - turned out he empted a can or two of WD40 over the front of the car, let it soak and it wiped off.