Why do some walk their bikes across gravel?

[Mike Reed]

I people walking a lot, but I've always just ridden over gravel
(parking lots and such). What's the motivation to walk or even carry
your road bike?

I guess with a high-end TT rig, if you picked up a pebble, it could
tear sh*t up between the tire and frame. Could this be it? I've see a
lot of standard road bikes being walked too.

I'd rather have my tires on gravel than my cleats.

Example from yesterday (TT bike):
http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2...nelibere06/dauphinelibere063/Dauphine06-s3-01

 

[Tim McNamara]

In article <[email protected]>,
"Mike Reed" <[email protected]> wrote:

> I people walking a lot, but I've always just ridden over gravel
> (parking lots and such). What's the motivation to walk or even carry
> your road bike?

Fear of crashing, generally. Most people riding bikes have very minimal
bike handling skills. Good skills are really developed in childhood,
and many children have very limited bike riding experience since most
parents drive their children everywhere to organized activities that
have had the life and spontaneity squeezed out of them, and where all
must receive prizes (Lewis Carroll reference).

 

[Tuschinski]

Tim McNamara wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>,
> "Mike Reed" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > I people walking a lot, but I've always just ridden over gravel
> > (parking lots and such). What's the motivation to walk or even carry
> > your road bike?
>
> Fear of crashing, generally. Most people riding bikes have very minimal
> bike handling skills. Good skills are really developed in childhood,
> and many children have very limited bike riding experience since most
> parents drive their children everywhere to organized activities that
> have had the life and spontaneity squeezed out of them, and where all
> must receive prizes (Lewis Carroll reference).

Well, I hate gravel too:

My last crash was with my city-bike going carefully through a corner
with some gravel. I didn't go very fast, but I did scrape my knee and
Elbow. Not a big deal if I wasn't underways to an important client.

Honesty helped: I simply told he people I looked a bit disheveled
because of the accident and noone seemed to mind, but I must say it
wasn't my finest hour.

The crash itself was stupid. I had seen the gravel, so I went pretty
slow. I cornered and my frontwheel just slipped away. BANG. And there I
am priding myself on my bikeskills ^^ (I used to cross as a kid and
after that 20 years roadracing in the peloton)

 

[Lou Holtman]

"Mike Reed" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I people walking a lot, but I've always just ridden over gravel
> (parking lots and such). What's the motivation to walk or even carry
> your road bike?
>
> I guess with a high-end TT rig, if you picked up a pebble, it could
> tear sh*t up between the tire and frame. Could this be it? I've see a
> lot of standard road bikes being walked too.
>
> I'd rather have my tires on gravel than my cleats.


Even with 65 euro tires?

Lou

 

[Callistus Valerius]

> I people walking a lot, but I've always just ridden over gravel
> (parking lots and such). What's the motivation to walk or even carry
> your road bike?
>
>
> I'd rather have my tires on gravel than my cleats.
>
It's an economic decision. New Look cleats cost less than the Brave
Soldier dressing that you'll have to use to patch that hole in your knee and
elbow. We all use to ride on gravel too, we just a little smarter after
that happens. Your turn will come some time too.

 

[Callistus Valerius]

> Well, I hate gravel too:
>
> My last crash was with my city-bike going carefully through a corner
> with some gravel. I didn't go very fast, but I did scrape my knee and
> Elbow. Not a big deal if I wasn't underways to an important client.
>
> Honesty helped: I simply told he people I looked a bit disheveled
> because of the accident and noone seemed to mind, but I must say it
> wasn't my finest hour.
>
> The crash itself was stupid. I had seen the gravel, so I went pretty
> slow. I cornered and my frontwheel just slipped away. BANG. And there I
> am priding myself on my bikeskills ^^ (I used to cross as a kid and
> after that 20 years roadracing in the peloton)

Had the exact same thing happen to me, but I have a better excuse, it
was at night. Had a light but I was turning a corner slowly and didn't see
the gravel till I was on the ground. Surprises the heck out of you. Once
that front wheel starts sliding, you can't recover, it just happens too damn
fast.

 

[catzz66]

Mike Reed wrote:
> I people walking a lot, but I've always just ridden over gravel
> (parking lots and such). What's the motivation to walk or even carry
> your road bike?
>
> I guess with a high-end TT rig, if you picked up a pebble, it could
> tear sh*t up between the tire and frame. Could this be it? I've see a
> lot of standard road bikes being walked too.
>
> I'd rather have my tires on gravel than my cleats.
>
> Example from yesterday (TT bike):
> http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2...nelibere06/dauphinelibere063/Dauphine06-s3-01
>

Riding on gravel feels like riding on ball bearings with skinny tired
slicks.

 

[[email protected]]

Mike Reed wrote:
> I people walking a lot, but I've always just ridden over gravel
> (parking lots and such). What's the motivation to walk or even carry
> your road bike?
>
> I guess with a high-end TT rig, if you picked up a pebble, it could
> tear sh*t up between the tire and frame. Could this be it? I've see a
> lot of standard road bikes being walked too.
>
> I'd rather have my tires on gravel than my cleats.
>
> Example from yesterday (TT bike):
> http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2...nelibere06/dauphinelibere063/Dauphine06-s3-01

As already mentioned, fear of crashing. For those who do ride on
gravel roads, they ride more cautiously and at a slower pace than if
riding on paved roads. The slower pace is because they are
intentionally putting out less effort, not because the road surface
slows them down. On week long cross state rides there are usually
several miles of gravel. For the thousands of people on these rides,
they ride on the gravel. They do not walk their bike for miles.
Gravel can also have sharp edges on the rocks. Gravel can puncture
your sidewall if you are riding on it. Gravel won't harm your tires if
your weight is not on the bike.

 

[Mike Reed]

Callistus Valerius wrote:
> > I people walking a lot, but I've always just ridden over gravel
> > (parking lots and such). What's the motivation to walk or even carry
> > your road bike?
> >
> >
> > I'd rather have my tires on gravel than my cleats.
> >
> It's an economic decision. New Look cleats cost less than the Brave
> Soldier dressing that you'll have to use to patch that hole in your knee and
> elbow. We all use to ride on gravel too, we just a little smarter after
> that happens. Your turn will come some time too.

This is really surprising. I'm 35, and have been riding seriously for
15 years. I've taken my road bike on easy single track, gravel roads,
etc. and never gone down. Just lucky? Dunno.

I also have done that Hell of North Boulder road race (still going?),
and that's on a lot of gravel. No crashy.

I've crashed plenty on my MTB off road because I'm pushing the limits,
but on the skinny tires I'm more conservative.

I still currently scoot across the gravel parking lot for the Austin
Veloway a couple times a week. I rarely slow below 10mph, and that's
just to squeeze through the 3' wide entrance gate.

I guess my bike handling skills are above average, but I'm not a
miracle worker. I can trials up stairs (on my road bike) and onto
picnic tables (MTB), and trackstand all day long. I'm mediocre at
descending and cornering.

 

[Mike Reed]

Callistus Valerius wrote:
> > Well, I hate gravel too:
> >
> > My last crash was with my city-bike going carefully through a corner
> > with some gravel. I didn't go very fast, but I did scrape my knee and
> > Elbow. Not a big deal if I wasn't underways to an important client.
> >
> > Honesty helped: I simply told he people I looked a bit disheveled
> > because of the accident and noone seemed to mind, but I must say it
> > wasn't my finest hour.
> >
> > The crash itself was stupid. I had seen the gravel, so I went pretty
> > slow. I cornered and my frontwheel just slipped away. BANG. And there I
> > am priding myself on my bikeskills ^^ (I used to cross as a kid and
> > after that 20 years roadracing in the peloton)
>
> Had the exact same thing happen to me, but I have a better excuse, it
> was at night. Had a light but I was turning a corner slowly and didn't see
> the gravel till I was on the ground. Surprises the heck out of you. Once
> that front wheel starts sliding, you can't recover, it just happens too damn
> fast.

Yeah, gravel in a road corner is a different ballgame. I'm talking
about gravel roads and parking lots.

 

[[email protected]]

> This is really surprising. I'm 35, and have been riding seriously for
> 15 years. I've taken my road bike on easy single track, gravel roads,
> etc. and never gone down. Just lucky? Dunno.
>
IMHO, luck is a good part of it.

> I also have done that Hell of North Boulder road race (still going?),
> and that's on a lot of gravel. No crashy.
>

There are many kinds of gravel. The really fine grain on a firm
underground can be riding on bearingballs.

> I've crashed plenty on my MTB off road because I'm pushing the limits,
> but on the skinny tires I'm more conservative.
>
> I still currently scoot across the gravel parking lot for the Austin
> Veloway a couple times a week. I rarely slow below 10mph, and that's
> just to squeeze through the 3' wide entrance gate.
>

Well, I think that deep, heavy gravel is less of a problem than the
above mentioned gravel on a hard surface.

> I guess my bike handling skills are above average, but I'm not a
> miracle worker. I can trials up stairs (on my road bike) and onto
> picnic tables (MTB), and trackstand all day long. I'm mediocre at
> descending and cornering.

Well, I was a good BMXer, I seldom fall in races and I feel fine in the
bunch barreling towards the finish... so maybe your handling beats
mine, but I sincerely doubt it's by much ^^.

The problem is that when your frontwheel has no more grip you can't do
anything to counter it. Because you lean over a bit in the corner you
get beaten by our arch-nemesis: Gravity ^^

 

[[email protected]]

>
> Yeah, gravel in a road corner is a different ballgame. I'm talking
> about gravel roads and parking lots.


Concering the picture with the guy with his TT bike:

He is carrying his bike, so it seems he primarily does it to safe his
flimsy tires.

 

[Pat Lamb]

[email protected] wrote:
>
> There are many kinds of gravel. The really fine grain on a firm
> underground can be riding on bearingballs.
>
>> I've crashed plenty on my MTB off road because I'm pushing the limits,
>> but on the skinny tires I'm more conservative.
>>
>> I still currently scoot across the gravel parking lot for the Austin
>> Veloway a couple times a week. I rarely slow below 10mph, and that's
>> just to squeeze through the 3' wide entrance gate.
>>
>
> Well, I think that deep, heavy gravel is less of a problem than the
> above mentioned gravel on a hard surface.

Although 4" of pea gravel combines the worst of both. When you get
through the equivalent of deep sand, you still don't have solid traction!

Pat

 

[Sorni]

Mike Reed wrote:
> I people walking a lot, but I've always just ridden over gravel
> (parking lots and such). What's the motivation to walk or even carry
> your road bike?

Many mentioned fear of crashing. I bet some with really high-zoot bikes are
just as afraid of dings in their paint and/or dirt on it.

Sadly, I'm serious.

 

[Tim McNamara]

In article <[email protected]>,
"Mike Reed" <[email protected]> wrote:

> Yeah, gravel in a road corner is a different ballgame. I'm talking
> about gravel roads and parking lots.

IME gravel roads and parking lots are fine. The gravel is on a softer
surface and as such is mostly stable. Gravel scattered over pavement is
a different story.

 

[Jasper Janssen]

On 8 Jun 2006 06:07:34 -0700, "Mike Reed" <[email protected]> wrote:

>I people walking a lot, but I've always just ridden over gravel
>(parking lots and such). What's the motivation to walk or even carry
>your road bike?

If the gravel is 2+ inches deep, it's nigh-impossible to ride through, you
then need the larger contact surface area of your shoes.

Jasper

 

[Mike Reed]

[email protected] wrote:
> > This is really surprising. I'm 35, and have been riding seriously for
> > 15 years. I've taken my road bike on easy single track, gravel roads,
> > etc. and never gone down. Just lucky? Dunno.
> >
> IMHO, luck is a good part of it.
>
> > I also have done that Hell of North Boulder road race (still going?),
> > and that's on a lot of gravel. No crashy.
> >
>
> There are many kinds of gravel. The really fine grain on a firm
> underground can be riding on bearingballs.
>
> > I've crashed plenty on my MTB off road because I'm pushing the limits,
> > but on the skinny tires I'm more conservative.
> >
> > I still currently scoot across the gravel parking lot for the Austin
> > Veloway a couple times a week. I rarely slow below 10mph, and that's
> > just to squeeze through the 3' wide entrance gate.
> >
>
> Well, I think that deep, heavy gravel is less of a problem than the
> above mentioned gravel on a hard surface.
>
> > I guess my bike handling skills are above average, but I'm not a
> > miracle worker. I can trials up stairs (on my road bike) and onto
> > picnic tables (MTB), and trackstand all day long. I'm mediocre at
> > descending and cornering.
>
> Well, I was a good BMXer, I seldom fall in races and I feel fine in the
> bunch barreling towards the finish... so maybe your handling beats
> mine, but I sincerely doubt it's by much ^^.

Yeah, I'm ok, but not great or anything.

> The problem is that when your frontwheel has no more grip you can't do
> anything to counter it. Because you lean over a bit in the corner you
> get beaten by our arch-nemesis: Gravity ^^

Yep, the gravel I'm talking about is fine traction-wise. You wouldn't
want any kind of speed in a corner, but it's not ballbearings. I still
see half the people walking.

 

[Antti Salonen]

Lou Holtman <[email protected]> wrote:

> Even with 65 euro tires?

I'm not sure what tyres you're refering to here. I quite often ride on
gravel roads on my road bike with typical road tyres, currently either
Michelin Pro2 Race or Continental GP 4000. Perhaps this is some great
disaster waiting to happen, but so far nothing has happened.

-as

 

[Werehatrack]

On 8 Jun 2006 06:07:34 -0700, "Mike Reed" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>I people walking a lot, but I've always just ridden over gravel
>(parking lots and such). What's the motivation to walk or even carry
>your road bike?

Have you never ridden into what first appeared to be a thin veneer of
pea gravel only to discover, as your wheel began to grab and veer
strangely, that it was really two or three inches of the stuff newly
laid and slick as wet leaves?

However, I doubt that this was the motivation for the rider in
question in the photo that was linked. I don't know, of course, but I
suspect that he was just protecting against the possibility of a sharp
stone puncturing a tire. I've had that happen a couple of times over
the years, which is part of the reason why I avoid, where possible,
paved or hardpacked surfaces that have loose gravel on them.


--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

 

[Ernie Willson]

Mike Reed wrote:
> I people walking a lot, but I've always just ridden over gravel
> (parking lots and such). What's the motivation to walk or even carry
> your road bike?
>
> I guess with a high-end TT rig, if you picked up a pebble, it could
> tear sh*t up between the tire and frame. Could this be it? I've see a
> lot of standard road bikes being walked too.
>
> I'd rather have my tires on gravel than my cleats.
>
> Example from yesterday (TT bike):
> http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2...nelibere06/dauphinelibere063/Dauphine06-s3-01
>
I often walk my bike across gravel simply because I don't like crashing.

ISTM that gravel presents three types of hazards that I try to avoid

1. Shallow gravel on a hard surface (like asphalt). Here, when you
corner hard the wheels come out from under you and you end up sliding
sideways with our leg trapped between the bike and the pavement. Creates
bad road rash on legs and arms.

2. Deeper gravel on a softer surface. Here the front wheel digs in as
you try to turn. Suddenly the wheel snaps to a right angle with your
direction of travel, and the front wheel snowplows forward while
pointing to the side. Because of the abrupt stop this often ends up with
a severely bent front wheel and doing an endo. Hard on equipment and
your head.

3. Really deep loose gravel/small rocks. In this situation the front
wheel moves from side to side relative to your forward direction. It is
very difficult to move your center of gravity around fast enough to stay
upright. Try to stay upright by going slow and using legs for support as
necessary.

The solutions that I have found, whether on a bike or motorcycle are to
either walk the bike, or proceed very slowly.

YMMV

EJ in NJ