Road surfaces

[allen-uk]

I know we've banged on about road surfaces quite a lot (!) but today I was riding round NW London, on the usual washboard-type roads, (forgetting about drains and potholes, I'm just complaining about the concrete/tarmac/stones that seems to make up local roadways), and all of a sudden, for no apparent reason, I rode onto a SMOOTH tarmac stretch. Main-ish road up in Edgware, and for about 2 miles it was a completely different experience.

Coming off it and back onto the usual stuff was a real let-down, but it did underline just what most of us are missing, most of the time - unless there is some shangri-la in the UK where all the roads are smooth tarmac.

The Wisper's got front suspension, which helps, but not much on these lumpy bumpy roads. Is there any future in switching tyres to big broad ones (currently on Marathon Plus), or would the increased puncture-rate defeat the object of a smoother ride?

A.

 

[flecc]

Schwalbe Big Apple tyres are very comfortable, touted as "suspension for bikes", and they do have Kevlar puncture protection, though not quite to the protection level that the MPs have:

Big Apple site and range

The 26" x 2.00 or 2.15 should fit your Wisper ok. Which depends on how close your mudguards are to the tyres, I think the 2.35 size might be too fat.

A number of members have these and swear by their value.

 

[Synthman]

I've ridden over two sections of fresh road in Oxford, and the difference is unbelievable. The ride is proper smooth, the bike accelerates quicker and goes faster, and it is even easier to pedal. Unfortunately they're not roads I regularly ride on, my usual journeys are very bumpy.

 

[lemmy]

What a luxury it is to get on a stretch of new road. Unfortunately so many now are just gravelled on tar or whatever and rely on the cars to smooth them out. Six months later, they are like riding on corrugated iron.

Marathon Plus have changed my riding experience. I used to get a puncture or two every week around west London. Now I haven't had one for over a year since fitting the MPs. The effect has been to make cycling a reliable means of transport. There is nothing, ride, acceleration, anything that could make me give them up.

 

[allen-uk]

What are the criteria for road surfaces, any ideas? Is it that the super-smooth surfaces wear out quicker, or provide less grip for vehicles? Or are they just more expensive?

But Synthman is quite right - it is a completely different cycling experience, riding on smooth tarmac. Quite a joy compared to normal.

My cycling grandpa, Charlie, wrote in his diary in 1890 in India:

Another bump over big cobbles and I was on the Grand Trunk Road. It was a treat, surface like a racing track, and I let the machine go. The road is undulating and not very shady right away to Ghaziabad which according to the milestones is 11 from Delhi.

Oh for a few Grand Trunk Roads here!

A

 

[bert11]

My regular route comprises rural roads with some horrible ruts/holes. I'm thinking of getting the Cane Creek Thudbuster, but at over £100 i'll have to save up

 

[flecc]

What are the criteria for road surfaces, any ideas? Is it that the super-smooth surfaces wear out quicker, or provide less grip for vehicles? Or are they just more expensive?

Yes, pure tarmac wears faster and is less stable in hot weather, inclined to store heat and melt, causing local failure. Incorporating stone chippings, either in the mix or the cheaper and less satisfactory adding onto the wet tar surface makes the surface much harder wearing and longer lived.

The anti-skid factor is also important, plain tarmac only good in slightly damp weather in this respect. Anti-skid surfaces often have different materials in them, often calcined bauxite as the aggregate, bonded with resin rather than bitumen.

But when it comes to road surface quality and evenness, the most important factor is care, preparing the working surface properly to give a flat base, laying the material evenly and compacting the material adequately and evenly. Not commensurate with lowest cost quotes of course.
.

 

[Mussels]

Schwalbe Big Apple tyres are very comfortable, touted as "suspension for bikes", and they do have Kevlar puncture protection, though not quite to the protection level that the MPs have:

Big Apple site and range

The 26" x 2.00 or 2.15 should fit your Wisper ok. Which depends on how close your mudguards are to the tyres, I think the 2.35 size might be too fat.

A number of members have these and swear by their value.

I found 2.35 fitted on my 905 just fine (the mudguards may have been different though) and offered a very comfortable ride. The pressure needs to be quite low to produce the floating on air feeling, I found 40psi worked well and didn't noticably affect my journey times.
I haven't tried them on the 906 yet but I will do when the current MPs wear out.

 

[allen-uk]

Any thoughts on the puncturing aspect, Mussels? I like the idea of floating on air, but not of increased punctures!

A

 

[Mussels]

Any thoughts on the puncturing aspect, Mussels? I like the idea of floating on air, but not of increased punctures!

A

They were good to start with but I got a lot of punctures when they were half worn, but that coincided with heavy autumn rain which means all the debris in the gutter gets washed up onto the cycle path.
The Big Apples are on par with most puncture resistant tyres, they won't be as good as MPs. However I find repairing punctures easy (as long as I don't have MPs fitted) so the odd 10 minutes at the roadside is a small price to pay for the comfort and reduced stress on the bike.
The state of the roads means stress on the bike is considerable, on my 905 I snapped the frame, seat post and a few wheels , Big Apples could have prevented some of that. So far on my 906 I've knackered a wheel, the chain guard and the luggage rack through bumpy roads.

 

[allen-uk]

Thanks Mussels. Just out of interest, were you doing long commutes on your Big Apple/905 which took the bashing, or was it just the odd 'pleasure' riding?

A

 

[Mussels]

Thanks Mussels. Just out of interest, were you doing long commutes on your Big Apple/905 which took the bashing, or was it just the odd 'pleasure' riding?

A

It was commuting, the stress failures came after several thousand miles of London roads.

 

[Biged]

I fitted Big Apples this week, i had previously started a thread on them, look it up.
Dead easy to fit, some have trouble with MP's but you wont with big apples

 

[Cyclezee]

I did find whilst riding some of the roads around Presteigne yesterday, that they are in better condition than many in my home town of Milton Keynes. That is probably due in part to much less traffic.
Our Redway cycle routes are also deteriorating in many areas due to lack of maintenance and with cuts in council budgets they could get a lot worse.
One of the problems is we have literally millions of trees and their roots undermine and gradually break up the surface.

 

[Mussels]

It was commuting, the stress failures came after several thousand miles of London roads.

That was a bit misleading I think. I have been through several sets of tyres but only one pair of Big Apples, if I only used Big Apples all the time then it may have saved some of the broken parts.

 

[allen-uk]

I'm coming round to the view that I might give Big Apples a go for six months, given that I don't commute, and only clock up about 40 miles a week poodling around NW London. One puncture, mind, and I'm back on the MPs!

A