What can a road bike cope with then?

[punkypossum]

Well, after the rather scary experience of actually buying a road bike - for those of you who haven't seen it, here it is in all its glory:

http://www.trekbikes.com/uk/en/bikes/road/1_series/17e/

Here is my question:

How fragile is it then? After going out with the club and hearing constant panicked shouts of "Gravel" or people pointing to tiny holes in the road to warn others, I'm getting a bit paranoid. Even had to ask the shop staff if it was ok to go up and down a lowered curb - he looked at me like I'd lost the plot! What can I and can't I go over? What sort of surfaces are likely to see me flat on my face? Will my wheels buckle and all my spokes break if I ever hit a pothole (if that is the case, it's going to be expensive, cause I'm so used to not having to care on the mtb that I tend not to notice potholes till I'm in them).

Can anybody give me a rundown of acceptable and non-acceptable terrain and weird "dangers" to watch out for please???

 

[RedBike]

When youre riding in a group the riders at the back can't see these dangers until it's too late to avoid them. Therefore the riders at the front point them out to keep everyone safe and comfortable. Why bash through a hole if you could of ridden around it or risk someone falling off on gravel?

Small holes wont damage your wheels but thats not to say that continually miss-treating your wheels wont cause them to go out of true or start breaking spokes.
Low spoke count wheels are not made to withstand being bashing through pot-holes.

 

[punkypossum]

When youre riding in a group the riders at the back can't see these dangers until it's too late to avoid them. Therefore the riders at the front point them out to keep everyone safe and comfortable. Why bash through a hole if you could of ridden around it or risk someone falling off on gravel?

Small holes wont damage your wheels but thats not to say that continually miss-treating your wheels wont cause them to go out of true or start breaking spokes.
Low spoke count wheels are not made to withstand being bashing through pot-holes.

I'm not saying there is anything wrong at all with warning people or avoiding potholes and it's not like I seek out potholes on purpose, sorry if that came across wrong - it's just that so far I never had to pay too much attention as the mtb is pretty bomb proof. Just wanted some ideas of what I can and can't do on the new one....

 

[peanut]

super bike possum a really good choice . Nice quality components as well. You'll be pleased with that for ages.
Did you get the double or triple in the end ?
Your road bike tyres will need pumping to about 90lbs at least which is probably going to be nearly double your MTB couple that with a much narrower tyre and you will find lots of road hazards are tricky whereas on your MTB you'd probably not notice.

Road bikes aren't fragile but I would never ride up and down kurbs on mine unless I bunnyhopped them. I always avoid holes and gravel so you'll need to be a bit more watchfull .

 

[punkypossum]

Triple!!!!

 

[wlc1]

MY advice would be simply this.

You obviously love your bike ( and rightly so) so jumping off kerbs is a no no. Just steer round anything that look like it may cause a problem.

And if you have to go over something then stand up out of the saddle and "go light".

You'll have no worries honestly. Enjoy it and the bumps will take care of themselves.

 

[longers]

Lovely bike Very nice indeed.

As others have said your bike is built to cope with the road surfaces we have in this country. On a dry day you could easily take it along a bridleway or towpath no problem.

Just avoid the massive holes - as you would on any bike and you'll be fine.

 

[colly]

With a bike like that.

You will go far young lady.

Edited to: lady.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Get a video of the Paris-Roubaix and all your fears will be put to rest.

 

[wafflycat]

Get a video of the Paris-Roubaix and all your fears will be put to rest.

Indeed. Remember that in the dim recesses of time before MTBs came along, roadies used err... effectively roadbikes to do cyclocross of a winter - and still do, but use cyclocross bikes - which are roadbikes with a bit more clearance for brakes in effect.

Found this...

and this..

 

[yenrod]

Punks' - just take into consideration that your riding on a tyre a whole lot less wider than a mtb tyre especially in depth...so off kerbs isnt great..you can do it but you've gotta be a good bike handler - no trash management style !!!!

The frame'll be as strong as will the wheels BUT the rims width and tyre depth and width !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[KyleB]

I was thinking the same thing as punkypossom as I was riding through my uni town of Dundee. The roads aren't the best, a pot hole every meter and it's pretty much impossible to avoid them all, but I haven't really noticed any big change in the wheels. The only thing I found out today is that when cycling in the wet the road bike is hard to stop when yah goin at some speed... nearly went into a car on a roundabout, but luckily the brakes are brand new, and had to lock the back tyre so it skidded to a stop. So yeah moral of the story is... be cautious in the wet.

 

[ASC1951]

I'm with Peanut - the one thing that will not be instinctive is keeping your tyres very well pumped up, even up to 110 psi depending on what the maker prints on it. Well worth getting a track pump.

The rest will pretty much take care of itself. You'll find you won't go over bumps and potholes because, unlike an MTB, it will shake the Bejayzus out of you.

One thing I am careful about is never to use those idiotic ten yard cycle lane we have all over Leeds. They can't be swept so they're always full of glass and nasties.

 

[dodgy]

I find that when riding in a group, some people take some kind of pride in pointing every abnormality in the road out. Like they're saving the world every time or something :?: But I suppose that is better than not saying anything at all when a big hole comes up.

 

[punkypossum]

Thanks, sounds like it is not as fragile as I thought and I've got a track pump and am used to keeping my tyres at max pressure anyway. So, apart from gravel and wet/ice, anything else I should watch out for to avoid flattening myself?