What road surface do you trust?

[makatya]

Hi all. Went out on the ZRX today. Roads were dryish but not yet heated up so I went on one of my usual runs and it suddenly became more noticable to me how I subconsiously change my style of riding depending on the road surface as well as the conditions. I tend to like black, flat tarmac in hot weather as the bike seems to stick to the road like a drunk to a Taxi cab hanging outside his favourite pub at 1am!

Are there any road surfaces that you trust to get your knee down on and if so what roads, bends and routes have you done that you know you can crank it over on?

[roy e6]

None, dont trust any. To many manholes, white lines/writing and diesel. And as for bends, you just never know whats round them.

[Farky]

roy e6 said:

None, dont trust any. To many manholes, white lines/writing and diesel. And as for bends, you just never know whats round them.

So you dislike biking then?????
How do you enjoy it??

Ian

[m3psm]

I've had a few favourite routes where you can really open it up, crank it over and even get your knee down. They take time to learn properly to the extent that you can trust the surface though, and I used to go out at about 6:00am on Sunday mornings to practice when I was younger.

I've now moved to a new area and no longer have the time to go and seek out a local route. I did do one of my old routes recently though and found new junctions, manholes and different road surfaces which changed the character completely

Unless I know the route very well I retain a decent margin of safety to allow hard braking or course deviation. I must be getting old

[Rick448]

I trust most smooth surfaces (but not shiny ones) the main thing is i don't trust other road users. I always expect the worst and try to prepare for it. Unless i can see around a bend i wont use all of my side of the road and allow myself a decent safety margain. Also i am practicing getting my corner entry speed and positioning more consistant ready for the CSS later this year, throttle control is also a big factor. So many things to take into account, i guess thats why bikes are such fun.

[Chilli]

Farky said:

roy e6 said:

None, dont trust any. To many manholes, white lines/writing and diesel. And as for bends, you just never know whats round them.

So you dislike biking then?????
How do you enjoy it??

Ian

I agree. The fact that you don't trust the roads doesn't mean you don't enjoy biking. I love being on thr bike, but I still don't trust either he surfaces or what's around the corner to be getting my knee down etc.

[Farky]

Most of the roads i enjoy have got alot of corners you can see the whole way around??
Did he mention getting the knee down?? I didnt see any mention of it??
Judging by his post, i made the assumption that he couldnt enjoy biking, taking everything into account that was said?
I know i couldnt enjoy it if i didnt know what was round EVERY corner, or if i didnt trust ANY road.
IMHO of course.

Ian

Edited by Farky on Sunday 27th April 20:22

[roy e6]

Chilli said:

Farky said:

roy e6 said:

None, dont trust any. To many manholes, white lines/writing and diesel. And as for bends, you just never know whats round them.

So you dislike biking then?????
How do you enjoy it??

Ian

I agree. The fact that you don't trust the roads doesn't mean you don't enjoy biking. I love being on thr bike, but I still don't trust either he surfaces or what's around the corner to be getting my knee down etc.

Thanks Chilli you said it for me. Love biking , Just don`t trust the roads for the reasons i gave. Yes we have some great roads,fast roads, Don`t mean to say i am going to trust them and bin the bike.

[robstvr]

It's not got much to do with what may be around the corner - it's to do with appropriate speed, and being able to stop/take avoiding action within the distance that you CAN see. Your safety should not be compromised because the road has bends.

I love biking, but know of too many people as youngsters who ended up dead against the backs of lorries, skips, etc to go around blind bends outwith the above conditions.

Farky, coming from where i do (the Highlands) i know of plenty roads which have great surfaces, sweeping bends and a view for 2 miles in the distance, so I get what the OP means about suitable roads for "cranking". Again, these Highland roads have no lines or manhole covers or the like - only sheep, sheep st, and roadkill to worry about. Cars and bikes, I love to hoon, but a blind bend/crest is a thing to respect, not conquer.

Again, my 2p only.

[RizzoTheRat]

Only road surface I truely trust is the one covered in mud and gravel. I know that one's going to be slippery, anything else is an unknown quantity

[Beemer-5]

Farky said:

roy e6 said:

None, dont trust any. To many manholes, white lines/writing and diesel. And as for bends, you just never know whats round them.

So you dislike biking then?????
How do you enjoy it??

Ian

What he said is true, though.
The vast majority of our roads are cluttered with traffic/cameras and the ones which aren't often have rubbish road surfaces.

You don't know what's round the bend, either, it's true.
Our local paper had a story of a biker who rounded a country lane bend with his knee down, only to find standing cattle.......

It wasn't pretty and he got very badly hurt.

[Hyperion]

RizzoTheRat said:

Only road surface I truely trust is the one covered in mud and gravel. I know that one's going to be slippery, anything else is an unknown quantity

Good answer!
I don't think you should be trusting any road surface...It's all about knowing how to react when you do encounter the unexpected.

[rsv gone!]

Hyperion said:

RizzoTheRat said:

Only road surface I truely trust is the one covered in mud and gravel. I know that one's going to be slippery, anything else is an unknown quantity

Good answer!
I don't think you should be trusting any road surface...It's all about knowing how to react when you do encounter the unexpected.

Saw a good coating of diesel on a roundabout this morning! Thankfully, I was going over (perpendicular) the spill. It was pretty much the entire lane width on a two-lane roundabout in MK.

[Farky]

My comments werent directed at the OP, it was the guy in the second post!
I was only stating that I PERSONALLY couldnt/wouldnt enjoy biking if i regarded EVERY SINGLE thing on the road as a danger!! Surely the guy must hate walking to the shops eh??? Think of all the dangers on the way there?? All those corners he cant see around!!
I KNOW there are loads of dangers out there, i too have lost a friend to 'these dangers' BUT, IMHO, i couldnt carry on biking if i looked at it in the same way as 'roy e6'

Ian

Edited by Farky on Monday 28th April 19:15

[slim_boy_fat]

ICE

you know where you are with that. Usually at home in front of the TV in my case.

[Chilli]

Farky said:

My comments werent directed at the OP, it was the guy in the second post!
I was only stating that I PERSONALLY couldnt/wouldnt enjoy biking if i regarded EVERY SINGLE thing on the road as a danger!! Surely the guy must hate walking to the shops eh??? Think of all the dangers on the way there?? All those corners he cant see around!!
I KNOW there are loads of dangers out there, i too have lost a friend to 'these dangers' BUT, IMHO, i couldnt carry on biking if i looked at it in the same way as 'roy e6'

Ian

Edited by Farky on Monday 28th April 19:15

We're all entitled to our opinions mate. Personally, I'd rather be out riding with Roy with his attitude than yours.

[RizzoTheRat]

Farky said:

My comments werent directed at the OP, it was the guy in the second post!
I was only stating that I PERSONALLY couldnt/wouldnt enjoy biking if i regarded EVERY SINGLE thing on the road as a danger!! Surely the guy must hate walking to the shops eh??? Think of all the dangers on the way there?? All those corners he cant see around!!
I KNOW there are loads of dangers out there, i too have lost a friend to 'these dangers' BUT, IMHO, i couldnt carry on biking if i looked at it in the same way as 'roy e6'

Presumably the fact that you're still alive means you do treat many things on the road as a danger and take the appropriate action. You say yourself you know there are loads of dangers out there, that pretty well agrees with what Roy said. Do you dive in to every corner at the limit of the bikes performance as if it were a race track, or do you ride at the limit of your knowledge of the road?

[Farky]

Chilli said:

Farky said:

My comments werent directed at the OP, it was the guy in the second post!
I was only stating that I PERSONALLY couldnt/wouldnt enjoy biking if i regarded EVERY SINGLE thing on the road as a danger!! Surely the guy must hate walking to the shops eh??? Think of all the dangers on the way there?? All those corners he cant see around!!
I KNOW there are loads of dangers out there, i too have lost a friend to 'these dangers' BUT, IMHO, i couldnt carry on biking if i looked at it in the same way as 'roy e6'

Ian

Edited by Farky on Monday 28th April 19:15

We're all entitled to our opinions mate. Personally, I'd rather be out riding with Roy with his attitude than yours.

Looks like my opinion has given me an attitude now eh??

Ian

[Farky]

RizzoTheRat said:

Farky said:

My comments werent directed at the OP, it was the guy in the second post!
I was only stating that I PERSONALLY couldnt/wouldnt enjoy biking if i regarded EVERY SINGLE thing on the road as a danger!! Surely the guy must hate walking to the shops eh??? Think of all the dangers on the way there?? All those corners he cant see around!!
I KNOW there are loads of dangers out there, i too have lost a friend to 'these dangers' BUT, IMHO, i couldnt carry on biking if i looked at it in the same way as 'roy e6'

Presumably the fact that you're still alive means you do treat many things on the road as a danger and take the appropriate action. You say yourself you know there are loads of dangers out there, that pretty well agrees with what Roy said. Do you dive in to every corner at the limit of the bikes performance as if it were a race track, or do you ride at the limit of your knowledge of the road?

Obviously the later part to your question.

Ian

[Beemer-5]

Let's just be honest here.
The amount of times you can safely extend a modern 600cc/1000cc sports bike on public roads is minimal.
Sadly, the best days for road biking are long gone.
Far too much traffic, far too many scameras and far too many speed humps and other restrictions.