Do you put your foot on the floor to test grip levels?

[xgrafcorex]

I do it but only when the road is very lightly wet. In the UK we get a lot of very light rain that can cause the road to become very slick as the oils in the road come to the surface but don't get washed away by the rain. It's at those times that I will 'check the road' but then only below, say, 5 mph when I'm getting ready to stop. Usually, I'll leave my foot down as I stop. If it's been raining hard or for a long time (hours or days) then I usually don't bother as the oils have had a chance to wash away.

I hope that helps.

So if it's only rained a little bit, you check the conditions; and if it's rained a lot, you don't bother?

I guess it is a good indicator since you put your foot down at such a low speed, but I figure if these two sides are so cut and dry, then the braking option should be easily decided upon.

In this situation, I would think you would just need to brake more cautiously during a light or early sprinkle. Then a bit more thoroughly in more dry conditions.

 

[Doorag]

So if it's only rained a little bit, you check the conditions; and if it's rained a lot, you don't bother?

Exactly. This is from many years of riding bicycles on wet roads and I do the same then. I've learned that after heavy or sustained rain, the oil has usually washed away and the grip (at low speeds) is almost the same as in the dry.

Riding in the wet, motorcycles lose 10% grip but 50% rider confidence.

 

[haylo]

I do it on surfaces that i'm not sure about and that I will use again. Theres a roundabout near me that looks like it SHOULD be really slippy, but it isn't, it's actually surprisingly grippy, when I first went on it I tested it with the foot down method, after that I knew it was really grippy so just took it like a normal roundabout.

I also thought I was the only one. :thumbup:

 

[alanrim]

This is looking increasingly like a mainly UK thing.

Wonder if it is because we tend to have varying road surfaces and weather conditions all changing on a regular basis. We may have 100 metres of re-tarmaced road then some really old stuff. Shiny tarmac then tarmac with a rough gravel looking surface.

From my time in States seem to remember roads fairly consistent quality.

From my point of view braking to test a surface is not a good idea on a bike, nor is going too slow on a country road if you don't want rear ending. If you know the surface is slick you can take the appropriate action before you get into trouble.

 

[alanrim]

Respectfully, i dont see the point, road conditions can change so so quickly, oil, dirt, rubble, etc, can be around any corner.

:thumbup:

Difference is you may have a chance to ride around these, the road surface grip can be so variable here in UK just because of the type or age of tarmac and the weather conditions.

 

[fast blue one]

I might if I had tyres on my feet, but as I don't then I don't see any value as 2 different materials will give 2 different readings.

 

[krushnuts]

I put my knee-puck down to get a sense.


j/k

I'm with wolf on this one, road conditions can change and I can usually tell by looking at the road...or so I think.

Um yeah, visual feedback combined with feedback from your tires should provide more than enough to judge. I made the mistake of ignoring the visual feedback (with only 1-2 drops of rain on the patch scanned) which resulted in a front wheel slide - crash.

 

[krushnuts]

I do it on surfaces that i'm not sure about and that I will use again. Theres a roundabout near me that looks like it SHOULD be really slippy, but it isn't, it's actually surprisingly grippy, when I first went on it I tested it with the foot down method, after that I knew it was really grippy so just took it like a normal roundabout.

I also thought I was the only one. :thumbup:

Nah man, foot response is always going to be AFTER tyre response

 

[krushnuts]

It's looking good for us foot on the floor nutters, 9 votes so far. To the non-believers it goes like this:

Gravel - you can see
Sand - you can see
Rain - you can see
Load of crap from a farm vehicle on the road - you can see
Freshly laid tarmac that might or might not have 'cured' - hmm, might just put a foot down just to feeeel the grip
Dark tarmac that may or may not be wet after a shower - well, it could be dry but I might just drag the front of my boot along the ground to get a feeeeeel for it
etc etc

The point is motorcycling is all about feel and confidence. If you had to tell someone how to steer a bike through a bend how would you do it? "When you see a corner apply a bit of front brake, a bit of back then steer AWAY from the corner just a little bit then lay the thing on it's side". See, nothings black and white. It's all about feel and confidence and putting youre foot down for a swift drag every now and then helps me (and 8 others) build up knowledge of the road surface and therefore confidence

I disagree, it's not all about feeling it out, yeah you can 'do it your way' but, at the end of the day there is nothing a decent training course can't to to teach you how to do it right, not once (oh jeez I got it!) not twice, but every time. On the other hand, I agree, you gotta have confidence in yourself to pull these kinds of menouvers off, if you were scared sh*tless all the time you woulndn't be on a bike, so moot point for this forum.

Training = skill = knowledge = power = being able to pin point where you f*ck up when you crash and subsequently fix it, prolly not the first time, or the next time you ride that certain patch of road. But understanding how it happened is the key.

I wish I could put my foot on the road to test it. I'd be bying new boots on a weekly basis!

 

[stryken]

I do it sometimes on long rides more just as a break from having my legs bent. Just hang both legs down and flatfoot them (almost ... I'm short) Just let them bounce around on the ground for a few seconds to get the blood flowing. No danger, as someone said they are just hanging loose and the foot pegs spring backwards.

 

[mstewar1]

No way would I do this. To my little brain, this is on par with cleaning the chain with the bike running and in gear. You're just asking for trouble. I understand that the folks who do it, and have done it for years, feel that it's no big deal. I get it. I would just never do it. I like my knees and ankles the way that they are...

 

[Mattberkshire]

Just reading this months Bike magazine (UK). In it there is an interview with Chris Vermeulen who some would say knows what he's talking about. In it he discusses riding in the rain. Quote:

"I put a foot down to feel the tarmac..."

So us foot-put-downers are not so mad after all!!!:Flip:

 

[reiobard]

i go through a lot of shoes because of this, but it is often better o test with a foot than with a bike if the road is the type to get lippery when wet!

 

[fast blue one]

Going at a tangent, has anyone noticed the amount of people sticking feet out when they're cornering, trying to do a Rossi but at a fraction of the speed.

 

[Botch]

i go through a lot of shoes because of this, but it is often better o test with a foot than with a bike if the road is the type to get lippery when wet!

I was wondering what your shoe/boot bills were, doing something like this!

 

[oldfast007]

"this is on par with cleaning the chain with the bike running and in gear. You're just asking for trouble."

There is nothing wrong with this method.... I use all 3 fingers to clean my chain with the bike in gear....

I have tried the Jedi/Rossi method of road surface analysis, still can't get the "feel".

If it looks slick, ride accordingly...

 

[Doorag]

Going at a tangent, has anyone noticed the amount of people sticking feet out when they're cornering, trying to do a Rossi but at a fraction of the speed.

I read an article where they reckon it's Rossi just messing with everyone else. As soon as they all do it (just a few more to go) then he will stop. It did come in handy at keeping a potential pass at bay from another rider so there may be logic to it yet. That or he rides too much off-road in the off season.

Regardless, he's a machine.

 

[ktravelet]

I do this because we have a lot of a tar and chip roads here. Sometimes the chips are "glued" well and sometimes its like a gravel road. Since they both look the same the only way I can tell is by putting a foot down

 

[jrevans]

Going at a tangent, has anyone noticed the amount of people sticking feet out when they're cornering, trying to do a Rossi but at a fraction of the speed.

Not so much the Rossi foot thing, but guys who forcefully attempt to drag their knees at any speed and any turn. They hang so far off of their bike and it serves no positive purpose for how they are riding....

 

[Texperkin]

I have friends that tell me I'm dragging my knuckles. :Flash:

I've actually tried to do this while stopped at lights but it scared me too much because the road ALWAYS feels slippery on my boots. Gave it up really early on because I don't weigh a couple of hundred kilos and have the same rubber on my feet as are on my tires. And the road DOES change suddenly anyway.

However I do 'get' that you're feeling the road. I just don't trust it at any time.