Road bikes on rough surfaces.

[Globalti]

....and dream of riding on the continent where all the roads are smooth.

 

[MacB]

titanium frame, carbon forks and 32mm tyres could give you the best result.

 

[Globalti]

A carbon seatpost helps.

 

[Hont]

....and dream of riding on the continent where all the roads are smooth.

Except in Flanders

I've got an alu bike and 700x23 tyres and I just try to imagine I'm riding Paris Roubaix all the time.

But there's nothing worse than a previously tarmaced road being re-surfaced with that chipping crap it can take 2-3mph from you, never mind the discomfort.

 

[BigSteev]

....and dream of riding on the continent where all the roads are smooth.

Mmmm, lovely smooth roads...

 

[Davidc]

That type of surface is bad, and even worse when it wears so there are patches of it with the old surface exposed in places, and the difference in level to jolt you!

I use a tourer with 700 wheels and 32 marathons inflated to 90 psi. I generally find the combination comfortable, but those surfaces are still poor to ride.

I agree with the comments about steel, although the advantage doesn't seem as great with modern frame geometry.

I also have an aluminium mtb with suspension forks which is fitted with 1.5" slicks at 65 psi, and on most road surfaces it isn't any more or less testing on the backside than the tourer. It came with some knobblies which I found the most uncomfortable ride ever!

Perhaps it's just my perception, but I think our road surfaces are now worse than I can remember them ever being in the past.

 

[accountantpete]

It's just that the advantages of my Veloflex 20mm's pumped up to the max outweigh the disadvantages.

They can ping a pebble at 100mph right onto the shins of pedestrians or the paintwork of a gleaming new car causing no end of mirth.

 

[totallyfixed]

Learn to bunny hop.

 

[Globalti]

I borrowed this really stiff aluminium bike for a 48 miler in SA last year and it nearly killed me, the roads weren't even as bad as UK roads with the worn out surface dressing but I felt absolutely knackered at the end. It also needed a good service because it wouldn't go down onto the granny ring so at every hill I had to get off and push the chain over manually. The frame was one size too small so I had too much weight on my hands and have you seen the size of that big ring....? Nightmare.

 

[robz400]

What the hell is a smooth road??

 

[Paulus]

What the hell is a smooth road??

I seem to remember them from the dim and distant past.

 

[Randochap]

As I've said before, there is no virtue in suffering when you don't need to and it's just smart to choose the right tool for the job. The surface you're referring to we refer to as "chipseal" and is best tackled with wider, lower-pressure tyres. You'll be more comfortable and go faster.

The bike I like riding best on bumpy surfaces is my 650b bike with 42mm high-performance tyres, which is featured in "my bikes" and has its own page at VeloWeb.

I also write about the virtues of wider tyres in a recent article on VeloWebLog.

 

[RedBike]

I had a tri-cross for a bit. Despite the 'cyclo-x' frame and those stupidly heavy zert insert forks it was NOT a comfortable bike.

Go and try a good steel or carbon audax (not tourer) bike.

 

[zizou]

Its a right pain - Only upside is that it makes smooth tarmac all the bigger reward.

To improve things a bit you could try different bar tape (or even double bar tape)

 

[Jezston]

I borrowed this really stiff aluminium bike for a 48 miler in SA last year and it nearly killed me, the roads weren't even as bad as UK roads with the worn out surface dressing but I felt absolutely knackered at the end. It also needed a good service because it wouldn't go down onto the granny ring so at every hill I had to get off and push the chain over manually. The frame was one size too small so I had too much weight on my hands and have you seen the size of that big ring....? Nightmare.

What about the big ... [double take] ... holy crap!