Damage to sport bikes, bumps and pot holes, from city riding

[AbsolutEnduser]

hello all,

I'm wondering how much damage can be caused by potholes and metal plates across the road in daily riding in San Francisco (or related) to modern bikes.

What would be the damage to rims, shocks , forks, anything else?

Speeds typically don't exceed 25-40mph (YSMV), while holes can be up to 2" deep and a foot long. It could be one inch metal plates across all of the road, or respective trench dug 1-2" in the asphalt. Sometimees there are 2-3 feet wide round "dips" (hard to see in the dark)

And no the advice to roll over with the throttle doesn't help--instead that would make you accelerate too much in city traffic (not wise) or be otherwise uncomfortable for rider or passenger

 

[VtownMac]

I've heard of rims being bent from potholes, but I'm thinking these are serious potholes. I'm talking greater than three inches deep with defined edges. Not dips.

Fork seals can blow, too

Remember, if your bike is damaged from a pothole, the gov will pay to fix it.

 

[AbsolutEnduser]

I was also thinking how much abuse can it take, in daily usage terms. There are always potholes on every stretch...

 

[imurdaddy415]

Remember, if your bike is damaged from a pothole, the gov will pay to fix it.

Who do you contact if this were to happen?

 

[afm199]

The gov WON'T fix it unless they have been previously warned that a hazard exists. The law basically says that shit happens and if you notify the DPW of a hazard, then subsequent damages can be sought. However in most cases if you are dumb enough to ride into a pothole, you are the loser.

 

[Lester Green]

Remember, if your bike is damaged from a pothole, the gov will pay to fix it.

pfft. good luck. has to be a known pothole and cal trans would have to have been notified and had a reasonable amount of time to fix it. lotta red tape, major hassle, sometime yields results. YMMV.

 

[rumpofsteelskin]

*cue DRZ true believer theme*

I used to worry about potholes, torn-up sections of pavement, steel plates, cracks, curbs, brick walls, lava, and assassins. But then I got one of these and all that went away:

 

[rapidrobbie]

look where you are going should be doing that anyways,change up your route....Robbie

 

[VtownMac]

Who do you contact if this were to happen?

You file a claim with caltrans. No doubt it's a pain in the ass. If your vehicle is damaged from a public road defect you'll at least need pictures, a police report, damage estimate, and persistence/patience to get reimbursed.

 

[jrace]

You file a claim with caltrans. No doubt it's a pain in the ass. If your vehicle is damaged from a public road defect you'll at least need pictures, a police report, damage estimate, and persistence/patience to get reimbursed.

That'll work just great with city riding, won't it. :teeth

-jim

 

[Giuseppe]

I got owned by a pothole a couple years ago on 101 in San Jose. Kiss the rim goodbye or spend 100+ bones to get it straightened.

 

[pSykopSoMaTiK]

If it happened in the streets of SF, then the city of SF will be responsible. I went through the SF process many years ago, ~1994, and it took about 9 months for them to reimburse me. Basically, there was a large pothole that bent a rim. I had to first get the rim repaired before submitting a claim along with the receipt and pictures.

Fast forward to 2007. 101 N in SF was being worked on and a section of the freeway cracked my transmission. Since it was on the highway it is Cal Trans' claim. Got transmission replaced and submitted claim to Cal Trans along with pictures. Took them 3 months to reimburse me that time.

 

[AbsolutEnduser]

That'll work just great with city riding, won't it. :teeth

-jim

Exactly. Also, I'm looking to file about 5 claims per mile. (It's my right blah blah and I figure if the city gets double the amount of work they'll just do it)

No, really most of these bumps are of the smaller kind. I don't fall into the potholes dug from the rain that are as big as a wheel. The question is how many of the small ones and how hard can you hit them

Crack transmission???? how does THAT happen? This is the kind of advice I'm looking for from this thread. Did you bottom out the belly pan of the bike and ... ? :laughing

 

[pSykopSoMaTiK]

Exactly. Also, I'm looking to file about 5 claims per mile. (It's my right blah blah and I figure if the city gets double the amount of work they'll just do it)

No, really most of these bumps are of the smaller kind. I don't fall into the potholes dug from the rain that are as big as a wheel. The question is how many of the small ones and how hard can you hit them

Crack transmission???? how does THAT happen? This is the kind of advice I'm looking for from this thread. Did you bottom out the belly pan of the bike and ... ? :laughing

No, I'm more observant on the bike and there is more wiggle room on 2 wheels than 4. The cracked tranny was in a car, I just used that example for the sake of the claim against Cal trans.

As far as the type of damage from pot holes, here in SF you can't really avoid them all. It wear and tear, more here than say, suburbiaperfectlysmooth pavement.

 

[VtownMac]

Exactly. Also, I'm looking to file about 5 claims per mile. (It's my right blah blah and I figure if the city gets double the amount of work they'll just do it)

No, really most of these bumps are of the smaller kind. I don't fall into the potholes dug from the rain that are as big as a wheel. The question is how many of the small ones and how hard can you hit them

I'd venture to say if you aren't bottoming on all of these bumps an smaller potholes, you shouldn't worry about damage. Over time springs sag and dampers/damping fluid wear out. Totally normal. Roads have bumps. That's what your suspension is for.

One way to get suspenders to last forever is to buy a duc to polish and commute in a cage, but that's for the birds.:rolleyes

 

[07chuck]

Running proper tire pressures will prevent most rim damage, as will watching road conditions...

As with most things that can go wrong with a bike it usually starts with the nut on top...:laughing

 

[louemc]

Pretty sure the state vehicle code, says You look at what the conditions are, and drive accordingly. The state isn't going to pay for every mistake a vehicle operater can make on any piece of road. And the state isn't going to keep the streets and roads flaw free, for you.

If the streets and roads have pot holes you can't miss.... get a bike that takes it in stride. And... pay attention, (you might need more lights on your bike at night, as well) it's up to you.

 

[louemc]

Running proper tire pressures will prevent most rim damage, as will watching road conditions...

As with most things that can go wrong with a bike it usually starts with the nut on top...:laughing

Really :thumbup Off road racers are going across un-prepaired ground that has rocks sticking up. Those racers bothered to learn how to ride a bike.

 

[mosquito]

For the SF Pothole Police: http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=298107