Screw the streets in SF

[OVerLoRDI]

[RANT]

The streets are constantly being dug up, covered with steel plates, and ruined even more than they were before. And when they fill in the chunks they dug up they do such a half-assed job leaving giant raised sections for no good reason. 6th and Folsom had some monster asphalt mountains in the intersection for months, same with Oak and Steiner(?) Let's not forget the sunken/raised manhole covers, street car tracks, cable car pine wood dust.

I feel like I need a dirt bike for the city now. Going to find me a KLR for the city runabout.

[/RANT]

But in all seriousness, I've been riding around the city for the last 2 years and it has only gotten worse. What say the BARFers about using a Dual Sport as a city run about? Seems like a 21" front wheel and lots of suspension travel would make the experience a lot more manageable.

 

[mototireguy]

What say the BARFers about using a Dual Sport as a city run about? Seems like a 21" front wheel and lots of suspension travel would make the experience a lot more manageable.

Yuppers 21" front dual-sport bikes are the not so secret prime choice for this urban jungle shitty pavement infested city of ours. Potholes, curbs, shitty pavement, etc, bring it on.

Added bonuses include cheap tires, cheap maintenance, cheap insurance, cheap-free tip over/crash repairs.

 

[injun]

Yea I remember 14 years ago riding down third street on my KLR and catching some air every day, now it's smooth not as much fun.

 

[Reli]

Screw the HIGHWAYS, especially 4, 24, and 680. They're full of weird little dips and heaves that bottom out your suspension.

 

[Loki1000R]

All the current street digging going on now started AFTER the San Bruno pipeline failure. AND most of the work I see, is being done by PG&E. Hmmmmmm...

 

[Losmeister]

+1 on DS

 

[LectricBill]

I think there oughta be a SF ordinance that requires all street crew foremen and city inspectors to ride a road racing bicycle at 20 mph over their work with 120 psi in the tires.

If there's not a big smile on their face after the initial ride, then they must ride the same route 100 times in a row, and then 100x daily until the job is completed in such a way to make the smile return.

Franklin and Gough have become real minefields with humps, holes, plates with no asphalt ramps, just abrupt edges. A real joy in rush-hour traffic in the rain.

But don't get me started....:rolleyes

 

[louemc]

The trick is simple enough..Get a bike that is right/proper/correct, for where you ride it.

KLR and the like, would suit some...I prefer Motard for tires and front brakes, that I can count on, in the higher speeds on the freeways and roads outside of the city limits, as well as the rough inside the city limits.

I like the rough...It gives you something to do.

 

[OVerLoRDI]

Franklin and Gough have become real minefields with humps, holes, plates with no asphalt ramps, just abrupt edges. A real joy in rush-hour traffic in the rain.

But don't get me started....:rolleyes

Franklin especially is a terrible.

Time to start CL trolling for a DS. Sadly it seems like the older DS bikes holder their value really well and there aren't a ton of options.

 

[Loki1000R]

My biggest complaint has to be when they refill the holes and then add that shit layer of concrete and leave it like that....forever:thumbdown

 

[2strokebendejo]

Oak st sucks. They have dug up haight / Scott 4 times in 1year
Christ. Although there did make fell as it turns to Lincoln by park pretty smooth

 

[RightCoastBias]

It'll make you a better rider in the end. I'm never bothered by it, personally.

 

[moto-rama]

.... I've been riding around the city for the last 2 years and it has only gotten worse.....

....been riding around SF since '67, and it gets worse, then better, then a little worse, then a lot worse, then a lot better, then bad, to worse and repeat.

It's mostly PG&E that ruins the pavement, by doing sub-standard patches. This is especially galling when a street, like Oak or Fell is nicely re-paved, then within days, PG&E shows up to fuck it up.

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/S-F-streets-mean-they-re-full-of-potholes-3171170.php

 

[Z3n]

Buy a supermoto. Grip is more important than the ability of the 21 to climb obstacles.

 

[mitiasbikes]

I like the city like that, so much fun to ride around and keeps the cagers at bay.

 

[Cabrito]

My KLR loves the city streets.

 

[EjGlows]

Mission is a POS. I swear, I'd put a shovel to DPT's collective head if I could.

 

[h2v7]

Time for super moto time that be best way to go

 

[Carlo]

I used to go over California St to 19th from 3rd and Howard on my Kawasaki Triple every day.
Did more than a few wheelies along the way.
Maybe the streets weren't as bad in 1979?

 

[ilikefood]

Riding anything other than a supermoto (a real one, not a marketing exercise with 5" suspension travel) or a dual sport in the city is just silly. Suspension designed for smooth roads and tracks makes no sense in the city. Get a DRZ-SM and you'll be looking forward to bumps and potholes.

Crappy pavement conditions are the reason why I want a bike with long suspension travel for my commuter bike.