- This topic has 7 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 13 years, 7 months ago by plastic.
And a question about gravel and oil
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August 22, 2010 at 7:49 pm #4201plasticParticipant
So (see other post for full story) I pulled over on a gravel shoulder at around 10mph and dropped the bike. It was a bit scary that I had absolutely no control or balance imediatelly upon entering it (I did enter at an angle).
My question is, when on asphalt / curves is oil and or gravel as tricky? If so, sugestions? Or is it just normal for actual gravel to be that slippery.
(riding an aprilia mana, kinda like a gladius, 500 pounds, automatic).
Thanks!
August 22, 2010 at 8:04 pm #28244Jeff in KentuckyParticipantOil and gravel on pavement are like riding a dirt bike with bald tires that is geared way too high and has extra touchy brakes- use little or no front brake, mostly use the back brake, slow down a lot, and do as little turning as possible. Some throttle is often better than idle, because the back tire will spin a little and keep the front tire moving so you can turn easier.
Go to a big area with gravel or wet grass and practice.
August 22, 2010 at 8:12 pm #28245eonParticipantAre you asking if oil on a road has less traction than gravel? Most definitely I would say (though I’ve never tried riding on oil and hopefully never will). Gravel is really not a big problem if you take it easy as most roads are really just a light dusting of gravel over a hard surface. You bike will move around a lot but it still has a lot of traction and is not going down if you stay off the front brake. Now I’m not talking about whizzing round bends sliding the back tire out, I’m not that good a rider, but puttzing around at 10mph is no problem once you accept the bike is going to move around and not try and fight it.
If you hit deep gravel then the principles are the same but the feelings are more intense as there is nothing solid for the back wheel to grab. But I’ve ridden a road like that up a steep gradient with 180′ switchbacks. And one of my companions was riding a feet forward cruiser, with passenger and with gear for a weekend trip. He made it okay. It’s all just a learning experience
August 23, 2010 at 2:27 pm #28262CBBaronParticipantThe biggest thing on any loose surface (gravel, dirt, bridge grates, grooved pavement, etc.) is to hang loose and mostly let the bike do its thing. The problem is a new rider tends to stiffen up or grab too much brake causing a skid. Stay loose and “go with the flow”.
Same for slick patches in corners (gravel, oil, wet leaves). Leave yourself margin when entering a corner and most of these obstables will just cause you to slide off your line a little before getting traction again. Once you do the bike will correct itself and it will just be a quick puckering experience. If you are on the edge ofcourse then this doesn’t apply.
Craig
August 23, 2010 at 9:52 pm #28266AParticipantSpeed is your friend, gives you stability to stay upright, point the front wheel where you want to go and give it more throttle..
The main thing is avoid drastic directional or velocity changes while on loose surface, keep your momentum until you ride through the loose gravel.. or when you have better traction.
If you absolutely have to stop on loose surface, make sure you allow plenty of run off room to scrub speed without using brakes, as you apply the brakes to slow down, you should progressively use less brakes as you get close to a complete stop.
August 24, 2010 at 12:23 am #28271TrialsRiderParticipantI vividly remember the day I saw about 4 lbs. of fresh black grease, fall off a Semi-Tractor trailer truck 5th. wheel hitch and splat on the pavement directly in front of me, it looked like black cow flops in the middle of the road. On another occasion while traveling the Trans-Canada Highway across the Prairies, I encountered several miles of pavement that had been deliberately sprayed with what appeared to be fresh oil, a high speed gravel shoulder ride quickly became the best defense. Paying close attention to your surrounding, reading the terrain or surface conditions and practicing avoidance are your only defense.
To be a good rider you need to be able to ride pavement and gravel, to stay upright you need to avoid the greasy pavement completely.
You can not avoid riding gravel forever and if you keep them in a relatively straight line, street bikes are amazing fast rides on gravel roads, you do need to learn how to balance well and handle the inevitable wiggle that highly pressurized street tires induce on gravel.
September 2, 2010 at 2:45 pm #28416MaxParticipantCheck out this article. http://www.max-metal.com/riding-tips/riding-on-a-gravel-road/
September 4, 2010 at 7:12 am #28471plasticParticipantGreat article. Again, basically everything I did wrong, mainly ront breaking. It did shook me up a bit later on – not at the time, but when later when I realized that little fall cause 2 weeks of pretty bad knee pain, on both knees… Got some knee protection and slowly getting back on it.
As far as balancing the bikes with the knees, does that work on a heavier bike? Mine is about 550′ (I sure wish I could shave 100′ of it)….
Thanks again!
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