Gravel

I'm a new rider and have heard horror stories about slipping on gravel so I had some questions. If I hit gravel at low speeds will the bike still slip out? Does there need to be lots of gravel to pose a hazard? Anyone with experience riding on and turning over gravel please chime in.

The most dangerous gravel i've ran across tends to be at the intersection of side roads i'm turning on too.going straight across it has never been a problem being suprized while turning on to a new street is a bit scary when the bike gets loose.

light gravel in 1st gear doing about 5km/h and I turned right off a road into a cul-de-sac and the rear still stepped out. practised a couple times, didnt seem to matter whether i had throttle open closed or even in neutral.

Gotta hit it as straight as possible.

I avoid gravel like the plague. I watched someone I know go down just pulling back onto the street from the shoulder at 5 mph.

The worst is when it's strewn about in the corner of the intersection and you have to turn across it. In that case, I either try to go around it, or slow way down, and veer wide so I can go across it fully upright.

Ok now I'm terrified of gravel. How much does there have to be to cause a problem? What if theres a few pieces lying around in the turn?

You don't have to be scared of it just be prepared for it.it does'nt take much to get loose.so just turn off on to new streets slowly and caustiously.most of the time in the daylight you can see the loose rocks.:rockon:

I live in gravel-town...Edmonton, Alberta. Its amazing how nasty it is at times.

Things to remember about low-speeds when navigating through traffic in gravel:

1) Roll on the throttle too hard and your wheel WILL slide out. Recover by gently letting off on the throttle and straightening the bike out.

2) Roll on the throttle WAY too hard when on gravel and you're just dumb. So don't try to shoot into little gaps when merging into traffic when there is gravel around. You will force yourself to need to accelerate quickly AND lean gently to turn into the lane ur getting into. Thats just asking for trouble. Wait till bigger gaps in traffic to merge into.

When navigating around traffic at speed:

1) If there is gravel around.....obey the speed limit. because:

a) You won't really get into trouble navigating corners even with gravel under ur tires if you are at the speed limit. If you are at the speed limit and turning and hit a gravel patch, you will have left yourself enough of a cushion to straighten the bike up gently until you are through the gravel patches. And even if you have to go through gravel at 60kph or so through a corner, if its not crazy deep you will be fine. Your back tire may squirm a little in the slightly worse cases, but you'll be fine.

b) when you need to brake you will have less speed to bleed off. Be aware of this ALWAYS when coming up to intersections or stop signs or wherever traffic slows down. If you want to be safe in braking:

i) Keep a good following distance and if someone is tailgating you change lanes get them to pass you.

ii) When coming to red lights, stop signs, etc anywhere traffic slows down: start slowing down earlier and leave yourself more room to stop than if there were no gravel. You can stop much later than this approach when you avoid the gravel portions of the lanes, yes. But the problem is you will have too much speed IF someone turns into your lane:

STORY

My cousin was coming up to an intersection on his bike. The light is red. He is braking on a gravel free portion of his lane. Someone turns into his lane within 100-200 metres (not sure how far from light but fairly close to it) from the final stop line. My cousin tried to swerve around the guy who turned in front of him.....but hit the gravel that forms strips in lanes. His knee and slightly above knee made contact with this guys bumper. His knee and bones in his leg were turned to powder for all intents and purposes. Doctors told him he'd never walk again. He was in the hospital for a full year and underwent countless surgeries. For another year after that he couldnt walk and went thru an insane amount of physio. Now he can walk and lightly jog. He will need a knee replacement surgery in 10-20 years then when that wears out (which it will) he cant get another and will spend the rest of his life on crutches/canes/wheelchair from then on.

Why? He approached an intersection at a speed that he couldnt swerve in gravel. If he had been going slower (he wasnt doing anything crazy, but fast enough that he couldnt swerve away due to gravel from people changing lanes to jockey for position for the green light).

So:

slow down as ur approaching intersections.

P.S. as has been said by others, when turning where there is gravel go super-slow. I ride kinda fast in city, but until they clean the gravel:

Lone = GrandmaLone

P.P.S.

http://www.600riders.com/forum/track-tech-riding-techniques/15294-tire-grip-dynamics.html#post192736

bit about gravel at the end.

AAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

yes gravel can be slippery!

make sure you are very smooth with any inputs whether braking, accelerating, steering or leaning. however, you can ride straight across it just fine. no need to be paranoid that your bike is going to pull a cartoon-on-a-bannana-peel.

The most dangerous gravel is the stuff you don't see. so be easy on the controls when you have to traverse it, but more importantly, stay alert and attentive so you don't find yourself in a patch without warning. and if you do, remember that your bike really wants to keep going straight and upright due to the gyroscopic forces, so if you have to just ease off your line a little without any dramatic moves.

MNDZA said:

Ok now I'm terrified of gravel. How much does there have to be to cause a problem? What if theres a few pieces lying around in the turn?

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Rather than be "terrified" work on being aware and relaxed. If we ride "terrified", this means we're going to be gripping the controls way too stiffly, with way too much tension. All that tension gets transmitted to and through the bike. This is a classic recipe for disaster -- and it'll just make riding more of a chore than a joyous experience.

If you've got a bicycle, or access to one, gear up and go out and practice riding through gravel. Get a sense of how and when a two-wheeled vehicle loses traction, how you can "save" it by allowing the bike to stand up and go on a straight line.

I know it's not a perfect 1:1 equation, when equating bicycle experience with moto experience, but in the end they are both two-wheeled vehicles that (as has been mentioned) have some similar, basic, rotational/gyroscopic forces at work.

Stay relaxed yet focused/in the moment. While it's important to be aware of and respect the know knowns and the known unknowns (A Rumsfeldian moment...) don't allow fear or tension to dictate and/or ruin the ride.

Rob and I have a story about gravel:

We were coming home from his cousin's house after a cookout following a LONG day of riding. We had been up since 5AM (it was now midnight, or just after) and had already ridden 400+ miles that day. Rob was leading though the dark and almost missed his turn. He slammed on the brakes and started to turn, hopped on some gravel, and because he was so tired he couldn't respond fast enough and went over. I saw him going down (keep in mind these were 1mph falls, nothing serious), and over-braked myself. When I went to put my foot down, it landed on some rocks and slipped out from under me, and down I went. We actually were laughing for about 15 minutes in the middle of the road about it, as we were both fine.


Moral of the story: Know where the gravel is, and be prepared for it. If you don't know where it is, keep your eyes on the road and pay attention to the little things (gravel, roadkill, etc.), in addition to the big thigns (cars). Don't ride impaired (by alcohol, drugs or lack of sleep), and take it easy. Smooth and steady will be your best response to gravel, as any sudden movements can get hairy fast.

Riding through gravel is certainly doable, you just have to be proactive. Reactive tends to result in a horizontal bike and bruised ego.

It's good that you're scared. I was when I first started riding 6 years ago (although I rode racing bicycles and mountain bikes since I was a kid). Everytime I read a story about a biker going down because of gravel I cringed. It kept me up at nights wondering how I was going to avoid it. It didn't paralyze me with fear though. It just ended up reminding me that riding is dangerous. Be aware of as many "traps" as possible and always have a little fear. It's a good thing. As to gravel. Always scan the surface of the road ahead. Scan, but don't fixate. There's plenty else to look for. Even a road you travelled an hour ago that was perfectly clean may have gravel, oil, or a dead groundhog on it now. I find the surface of entrance and exit ramps to highways are particularly fickle, clean one minute, sand the next. Slow down when you can and ride straight over when you can when you see gravel and sand. The Fizz is a supremely well balanced bike and very forgiving. It and you will tolerate some slipping if you are not going too fast or too leaned. The first time you slip though you may need a change of underwear. Stay scared but don't stop riding.

i have not taken any falls on gravel, but i have felt the tire give a bit while ridding on it one time.. yea, its not something that i would say "oh yea, try it to get the feeling".. very scary stuff... but i just try to pay attention to the road ahead to keep and eye out for gravel and sand because yea, would hate to go down on it for not paying attention..

Gravel is the reason I dropped my bike while unloading it off the trailer the day I bought it. I walked it down the ramp just fine, but the front wheel went sideways the second it touched gravel which made me slide one way while the bike went the other.

lonesoldier84 said:

I live in gravel-town...Edmonton, Alberta. Its amazing how nasty it is at times.

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My god, that sounds like an awful place to ride. All those hazards you mentioned and the story the crash - I think it would be too much for me. I can keep an eye out for gravel on the corners in the twisties, but if it was just an everyday reality ... not sure.

Although I'm just exposed to "normal" gravel that has come off a hilliside in the twisties, I'm a bit freaked about it. I've always been able to see it so far, but could easily imagine lighting conditions/shadows that made it hard to see. Gravel is the single biggest concern that keeps me riding far less aggressively than me or the bike could otherwise handle. Without having much experience with it except a couple of unsettling step-outs, I tend to feel like I really need a lot of safety margin to recover from it. So I take it slow all the time. Not as much fun ripping it up, but that's how my priorities stack up.

I'm not that far south of lonesoldier. The best advise I can give anyone about riding on gravel is go find a gravel road and ride it a lot, ride it until you give up on being tense and relax, you will be amazed at how much more relaxed you will be on the street after. Don't worry to much about laying the bike over, you probably wont, just cruise along. I usually go 25-30mph on gravel roads

joe1971 said:

I'm not that far south of lonesoldier. The best advise I can give anyone about riding on gravel is go find a gravel road and ride it a lot, ride it until you give up on being tense and relax, you will be amazed at how much more relaxed you will be on the street after. Don't worry to much about laying the bike over, you probably wont, just cruise along. I usually go 25-30mph on gravel roads

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very good advice. you need to get comfortable with your back tire swimming around. that way when it happsn on the roads in a corner you dont instantly soil yourself and do something drastic. your response needs to be instinctual and calm.

and @ cv_rider.....its horrible man. 100% of corners you need to be at least THINKING about gravel and very commonly looking for it ACTIVELY even after they have supposedly picked it all up (the city). the bad stretches are just horrible. Its like riding in a desert sometimes. but with cars and obstacles.

i want to move but cant afford to yet. primary reason i will be moving is weather and roads. next year i graduate. i will be looking for work outside of edmonton.

I live on a gravel road, 50 MPH highway to gravel. Take it slow and respect it. You will be fine