[Doomed offline]

Went out in the rain and as I was "hopping" onto a bridge my tires stopped being tires and decided to act like skates. Obviously I fell off the bridge and as I lay there laughing. I thought this is a good one. I had never hit wood as slick as ice before but this was horrendous.No steering no matter what direction I turned the bars, my rear tire just kicked out leaving the telltale "Drifting" marks across the wood Has anybody else experienced this or am I just lucky?

[fat_billy offline]

One of the reasons fat people don't ride in the rain. Later,

[mtbgreg1 offline]

:mrgreen:

Went out in the rain and as I was "hopping" onto a bridge my tires stopped being tires and decided to act like skates. Obviously I fell off the bridge and as I lay there laughing. I thought this is a good one. I had never hit wood as slick as ice before but this was horrendous.No steering no matter what direction I turned the bars, my rear tire just kicked out leaving the telltale "Drifting" marks across the wood Has anybody else experienced this or am I just lucky?

A little set up to my experience:
My local trail system has only 1 or 2 bridges in the course of 50 miles. So i don't think about riding on wood that much.

OK
I was riding the day after a rain, and since the trails had been dry before the rain, they were running superbly tacky and not slick at all! Traction had been great my entire ride, and I was busting down a hill that feeds into one of the only bridges in the trail system. I flew onto the bridge and I completely slid out, as I was sliding sideways my front wheel caught one of the supports for the railing, catapulting me forward off the bridge and into the dirt.

This was a couple months ago, and my shoulder is still slightly tweaked

So yeah, I've done that too

[pinkmtb offline]

Wood + rain = slick

Oh yeah, i have encountered icy bridges before. I usually walk wet bridges.

[grandlakejames offline]

I was riding Winter Park Resort (CO) this summer and we were at the top of the mountain when it started to rain. It was pouring when we got near the bottom and there was one area of boardwalk to go over that had an elevated turn in it. Muddy tires and an elevated slippery boardwalk was not a good combination and I was on the ground before I knew it. A very scraped up elbow was all I got out of it and an understanding of how slippery wooden structures become when wet!!

Fun times we have on bikes!!

[CraigCreekRider offline]

Haha - part of the adventure of moutain biking.

The trail bridges in Slatyfork West Virginia are notorious for their ah shall we say slickness. Wet climate + wet wood + moss = trouble.

[Fitch offline]

Yup, wet bridges and gravity do NOT get along.

I was riding in NH on Friday, where the wheels were staying fairly damp from some wet passages. The amount of spin-out my rear wheel encountered on roots was driving me bonkers!!!

[treky92 offline]

Another thing with wet wooden bidges is when they are uphill. At my local, there is a bridge that crosses a creek at about a 15 degree incline. No matter how I keep my weight when it is damp, the back tire just spins. I have experimented with different gear combinations and weighting, but always spin out on that bridge when it is wet.

[mtbgreg1 offline]

Another thing with wet wooden bidges is when they are uphill. At my local, there is a bridge that crosses a creek at about a 15 degree incline. No matter how I keep my weight when it is damp, the back tire just spins. I have experimented with different gear combinations and weighting, but always spin out on that bridge when it is wet.

That sounds down-right treacherous!

[element22]

I had a few times where the features (wooden) were down right nasty and others that were no issue at all.. Depends if it was made of lumber or raw cut (least how i feel). Whenever I traversed raw cut from fallen trees it was "grippy" compared to that of cut lumber. Adding to it tires do make a difference.

[cynergy68 offline]

Another thing with wet wooden bidges is when they are uphill. At my local, there is a bridge that crosses a creek at about a 15 degree incline. No matter how I keep my weight when it is damp, the back tire just spins. I have experimented with different gear combinations and weighting, but always spin out on that bridge when it is wet.

That's because your tires are junk and you weigh 110lbs soaking wet

[brianW offline]

one thing to say about wet wooden bridges, hardware cloth!

[ryboy offline]

I was riding ma maki up in the UP after a rain,hit a wet bridge and the tire went over the edge and I hit my face smack on the edge. Got a nice black eye to show for it.Lucky me though and another inch or two and I'd be missing teeth.

[jeff]

I had a nasty spill on a broken, twisted bridge out at Modoc during the Sumter Metric Century race a couple years ago. I was warned ahead of time that the bridge was slick so I walked the bike across, only to slip and nearly fall into the creek below. Somehow I managed to grab the high side of the bridge and fell on top of my bike, jamming the derailleur into my rear wheel and destroying both. Hurt like crap too.

[brianW offline]

I had a nasty spill on a broken, twisted bridge out at Modoc during the Sumter Metric Century race a couple years ago. I was warned ahead of time that the bridge was slick so I walked the bike across, only to slip and nearly fall into the creek below. Somehow I managed to grab the high side of the bridge and fell on top of my bike, jamming the derailleur into my rear wheel and destroying both. Hurt like crap too.

"The Bridge of Death" I was waved off and walked down, thru and up the creek. Guy before me walked and almost went over the edge. SorbaCSRA fixed the bridge but I take extreme care when I cross it.