[Touch0Gray]

OMG...the roads are just crumbling around here.....they are literally a mosaic of broken bits of asphalt after the winter we had. It is exhausting to ride on! The center line seems to be in the best shape, but that is NOT the best place to ride most of the time...

I am starting to worry about getting a front tire into a crack or hitting a hole (un-avoidable sometimes) at any rate of speed.

Yesterday it was so rough, that when I finished, I checked my headset (threaded) and it was a bit loose, the two nuts were not jammed tight against each other they had vibrated LOOSE!!!

note to self: service headset Monday

When you hit a bit of new of un-damaged road it is like you died and went to heaven.....then the new pavement goes away.....back to reality....Honestly, I thought my fillings in my back teeth where going to rattle loose.

 

[FatTireFred]

pretend you're a classics hard man

 

[MR_GRUMPY]

Got the same thing here. Some roads are so bad, you can't even do group rides on them. Even on solo rides, you have to veer six feet from the edge, in spots, to avoid the pot holes. The only roads that are nice, are ones only one to two years old.

 

[Kerry Irons]

The reason why

OMG...the roads are just crumbling around here.....they are literally a mosaic of broken bits of asphalt after the winter we had.

And this is why McCain and Clinton want to eliminate the gas tax for the summer. There's nothing like neglecting the country's infrastucture to fire up a political campaign

 

[Touch0Gray]

And this is why McCain and Clinton want to eliminate the gas tax for the summer. There's nothing like neglecting the country's infrastucture to fire up a political campaign

I'm not positive, but I am pretty sure the roads I ride are not funded federally. Generally speaking, WI has a great road system, primarily funded by the states (incredibly high) fuel taxes. I do NOT object to paying fuel taxes to fund local projects. I do however object to paying exorbitantly high fuel prices to fund record profits by the oil companies. (see thread on search for most energy efficient car)

Although, if I buy less fuel either because I am riding my bike or driving an efficient vehicle, I am more a part of the problem than the solution......kind of a catch 22....

 

[MR_GRUMPY]

Around me, it's the county roads that suck.

 

[Touch0Gray]

Around me, it's the county roads that suck.

The closest town in any direction from me is from 7 to 8 miles and the towns are 4400, 3300 and 750, with a town of 21,000 16 miles away...needless to say most of my rides are on "fairly" rural roads too.....There is some new pavement that I ride...it is like a dream come true...

 

[Reynolds531]

I've gone from 23 mm and 25 mm tires to 32 mm and 35 mm tires at lower pressure to deal with the bad roads. After riding 35 mm tires all winter and spring I briefly switched to 28 mm but didn't feel secure on broken pavement. With 35's I cna handle some non-technical single track mountain bike trails. maybe I loose 0.5 mph (probably less), but it's worth it.

 

[bmxhacksaw]

When you hit a bit of new of un-damaged road it is like you died and went to heaven

Add a little tailwind and you have what my riding buddy Greg calls "Gregtopia".
I don't know about other parts of the country but around here (Idaho) they do what's called chip seal. They lay a liquid tar kinda stuff down and then lay down gravel. After the traffic has packed the gravel down for a week or two they come back and remove the excess gravel. What you are left with is a very coarse "pavement" that is supposed to aid in traction in the winter and doesn't break up over the winter. There is nothing more maddening than when the repave a road and it is perfectly smooth asphalt for a few months and then they chip seal it. We basically have to avoid the road for about a year before the traffic has smoothed the chip seal out. Last year they chip sealed the bulk of the roads to the south of town and since the wind always comes from the south it really limited out southern loops and made for boring rides on the same loops all summer.

Even though there are no pot holes in chip sealed roads the extreme vibration makes it so your really have to concentrate to keep the pace up and it eventually wears you down.

 

[Kerry Irons]

Funding bucket

I'm not positive, but I am pretty sure the roads I ride are not funded federally. Generally speaking, WI has a great road system, primarily funded by the states (incredibly high) fuel taxes. I do NOT object to paying fuel taxes to fund local projects. I do however object to paying exorbitantly high fuel prices to fund record profits by the oil companies. (see thread on search for most energy efficient car)

Although, if I buy less fuel either because I am riding my bike or driving an efficient vehicle, I am more a part of the problem than the solution......kind of a catch 22....

Local roads are almost exclusively funded by state fuel taxes, local millage, and local general funds. However, what often happens is that as federal and state funds get cut, then the locals are required to put up larger percentages of projects on the major roads. In theory, the money stays in separate buckets. In practice, loss of funds for roads and bridges has an impact across the whole system.

 

[threesportsinone]

Yeah, it's pretty bad. I rode a fast 30mile charity ride on Saturday that went through some good roads, so that's replacing Paoli for this season.

I'll go out for a ride and I need to adjust the bars at the end because all the bumps make them slip or I need to invest in a knurling tool, or get a new 26.4mm bar. And my Brooks squeaks like crazy with all the bumps.

I'm thinking I'm gonna put some 25 or 28 tires on my single speed, and I need handle bar tape (either natural cork and do what you did, or cloth and shellac, or sew on covers, something to match a well worn honey brooks from 1970).

 

[DoubleTap]

Hey, wait a minute!

Every century I have ridden has been routed over the worst roads in that particular county. Why? Because those are the roads that cars try to avoid. Fewer cars means safer!

Put on the 700x25c tires, inflate to 95psi, and enjoy the safety.

TT

 

[threesportsinone]

Every century I have ridden has been routed over the worst roads in that particular county. Why? Because those are the roads that cars try to avoid. Fewer cars means safer!

Put on the 700x25c tires, inflate to 95psi, and enjoy the safety.

TT

I'm talking about the most used (and maintained) roads in downtown Madison, WI. The old milking truck backroads are in excellent condition, thats where I try to ride, few cars and great conditions, + hills if you can make it out past where the glaciers came.

 

[Touch0Gray]

Add a little tailwind and you have what my riding buddy Greg calls "Gregtopia".
I don't know about other parts of the country but around here (Idaho) they do what's called chip seal. .

oh yeah...we have chip-seal......they get a kick out of using the biggest pebbles they can find I think...

Hey, 3 in 1......see if you can find a cross hatching file to "knurl" the bars where they clamp.

 

[Touch0Gray]

I'm talking about the most used (and maintained) roads in downtown Madison, WI. The old milking truck backroads are in excellent condition, thats where I try to ride, few cars and great conditions, + hills if you can make it out past where the glaciers came.

and by glaciers, you mean LAST WINTER?

 

[Touch0Gray]

Yeah, it's pretty bad. I rode a fast 30mile charity ride on Saturday that went through some good roads, so that's replacing Paoli for this season.

I'll go out for a ride and I need to adjust the bars at the end because all the bumps make them slip or I need to invest in a knurling tool, or get a new 26.4mm bar. And my Brooks squeaks like crazy with all the bumps.

I'm thinking I'm gonna put some 25 or 28 tires on my single speed, and I need handle bar tape (either natural cork and do what you did, or cloth and shellac, or sew on covers, something to match a well worn honey brooks from 1970).

btw...that polyshades is not wearing well.....I ordered brooks tape the other day.

 

[threesportsinone]

btw...that polyshades is not wearing well.....I ordered brooks tape the other day.

Ok, thanks. I think cloth+amber shellac would look appropriate/period correct, but I'm not sure how much comfort it will provide on these roads. And the sew on elk hide from Velo-Orange is so expensive, especially for a $6 bike. And I'm not sure whether or not I'm going to switch to mustache bars, which ain't easy with the old quill stems.

 

[Touch0Gray]

Ok, thanks. I think cloth+amber shellac would look appropriate/period correct, but I'm not sure how much comfort it will provide on these roads. And the sew on elk hide from Velo-Orange is so expensive, especially for a $6 bike. And I'm not sure whether or not I'm going to switch to mustache bars, which ain't easy with the old quill stems.

I'm not sure any tape will provide comfort on SOME of these roads...btw from what I hear, change your bar before you put the velo-orange wrap on...lol

 

[piette]

Well I am north of you guys and it doesn't get any better up here I can tell you that. The roads around Kaukauna and Appleton are terrible. Cripes I am so sick of swinging out to dodge potholes, it's hardly fun to ride anymore. I ride a bike trail to get to the rest of my ride and the other day I had to make an evasive manuever because the darn bike trail had an enormous pot hole in it from all the rain washing it away. This winter really took a toll on the roads.

Jeff

 

[uber-stupid]

Sigh...

Yeah, sounds like commuting in and around Boston, all of this. It's why I have a mountain frame with road cranks, and 1.2-1.5" slicks.