Riding to work this morning in this rubbish weather I felt like I was going to lose the back wheel every time I went round a round-about or a bend , I been riding for 5 years but this morning never felt confident because I was thinking I would come off because of the weather conditions, does anyone else have that feeling when riding ?
Ride a trail bike with part worn Pirelli Scorpions and you get to live with that feeling even without today’s weather.
Check your tire pressures. Seriously. A few PSi out can make a nasty difference.
I’m ok in the wet.
Its the patches of mushy leaves, shiney shiney drain covers and the pretty splotches of disiel (<<wtf cant spell it!) that worry me :ermm:
Check your tyre treads as well mate, if they’re a bit thin or the rear’s squared off then every time you go round a bend you’re either going onto a thinner tread (which isn’t moving the water as well) or the tyre is riding on the ‘corner’ between the squared off main tread and the side of the tyre… Either of these can give the feeling that the tyre’s losing grip on the bends.If you need to replace them, depends on the bike but I can recommend Avon Storms (now in ‘Ultra2’ version) or Dunlop Roadsmarts - both brilliant wet weather tyres, and pretty hard-wearing too -
Other than that, usual wet-weather rules apply - leave lots of ‘thinking’ room in front of your front tyre, use a gear higher than normal, try to lean less than usual and keep your lines smooth…
Also depends on how slick your tyres are - my Pirelli Corsas take a good 2 miles to warm up when the weather turns cold.
Wakes you up nicely when you get an unexpected fishtail accelerating past traffic…:w00t:
I’ve just put some Bridgestone BT-023s on my SV, and they’re brilliant in the wet. Brilliant in the dry, too, for that matter. The really inspire confidence.
I was running Roadsmarts before - which I loved - but the Bridgestones are even better.
But yes, this morning was a bit dicey - the wind (which was bad enough by itself) had blown leaves all over the road, which had then turned to mush. There were a few corners that I went around almost upright.
i felt very unconfident this morning too… the wind was unbelievable and yes it did make it very unsettlling around roundabouts. also, passing blackheath common was quite bad with the wind!
I pay a lot of attention in the corners now for any loose leafs. I had a nerving moment on the otherday on a roundabout when back wheel lost it, luckily I was able to control it. If I would have been on a cruiser type bike, I think I would not have been able to save it.
The very strong wind made riding in westway very interesting today. Every gust made it feel like the back wheel is loosing it any moment.
Yes, there is less grip so its bound to give you the willies.
Agree with checking the PSI - also, even if your tyres have lots of tread left - they may be old and that makes a big difference too.
BTW Michelin Power Pures are a great sports tyre and they really perform in the wet too.
+1 Have had them since August trackday and still going strong with daily commuting.
Brent Cross flyover this morning was insanely windy, I also was almost taking some corners upright the leafy mush was so bad.
My Bandit 1250 with ABS and Michelin Road Pilot 2s feels solid as a rock in the wet. You occasionally get the odd minor slide but the bike is a very forgiving one and you have plenty of time to react, and when you do it immediately sorts itself out.
I also recommend you check your tyres - pressures, tread, etc.
was very windy today… my bike was almost at a 45 degree angle into the sidewind just to go in a straight line past the sorry looking Millbank Tower this morning !! 
A40 west way was crazy windy
I found the vent on my helmet this morning - closed it
Back end wiggling all over the place on my Pirelli Scorpions, even at walking pace on the leaves but kind of okay with that…it’s when the front end starts to slip that I really don’t like it.
+1 on keeping the tyre pressures correct- makes all the difference.
I also agree with checking the PSI, i had an unnerving ride once, when we checked it, it was well down.
Wow what a rain that was at lunchtime… Was so glad to be in the office and not on my bike…
Sky is getting very very dark now… take care
This morning at work I have been given a new bike with 59 miles on the clock…:w00t: yeah it’s a nice bike and all that but riding it in this weather was not what I 'd call exciting. I didn’t enjoy it one bit. Better be safe than sorry so stuck with the traffic-flow and gave up filtering for the day 