Biking with a dirty back

[Bombay]

hello cyclists. Might be a bit silly question, but lets go. The other day we went biking with my girlfriend on the tarmac and were caught by heavy rain. Luckily we managed to find shelter, but on the way home the roads were still wet AF. So, when we got home, my shirt was a dirt fest with mud drops/stripes all over the back and the same with shorts around the saddle area. Meanwhile, my girlfriend had couple tiny drops on the back and nothing else - the comparison was crazy. Of course we don't have fenders yet for the bikes.

- I have 26" specialized downhill
- she has 27.5" MTB hardtail with suspension

Is this difference because of the tire profile or bike's geometry? We had the same speed. Being curious

[CharleyFarley]

(06-20-2019, 06:12 AM)Bombay Wrote:  hello cyclists. Might be a bit silly question, but lets go. The other day we went biking with my girlfriend on the tarmac and were caught by heavy rain. Luckily we managed to find shelter, but on the way home the roads were still wet AF. So, when we got home, my shirt was a dirt fest with mud drops/stripes all over the back and the same with shorts around the saddle area. Meanwhile, my girlfriend had couple tiny drops on the back and nothing else - the comparison was crazy. Of course we don't have fenders yet for the bikes.

- I have 26" specialized downhill
- she has 27.5" MTB hardtail with suspension

Is this difference because of the tire profile or bike's geometry? We had the same speed. Being curious

I'd guess it has more to do with the tire tread pattern than the geometry, although if your saddle was closer to the vertical line of the tire's furthest point, than your girlfriend's bike, it might make a bit of difference. Or it could be that the muck just took a liking to you!

[Bombay]

(07-07-2019, 09:07 AM)CharleyFarley Wrote:  I'd guess it has more to do with the tire tread pattern than the geometry, although if your saddle was closer to the vertical line of the tire's furthest point, than your girlfriend's bike, it might make a bit of difference. Or it could be that the muck just took a liking to you!

thanks for the reply. I'll take pics of the patterns once I'm back from the holidays. Also will check the distance, perhaps that's actually the case It's just that typically wet back (the nasty brown line, ha) and especially the area around the lower back is unavoidable during such wet ride. This was an unusual case.

[CharleyFarley]

(07-07-2019, 06:38 PM)Bombay Wrote:  

(07-07-2019, 09:07 AM)CharleyFarley Wrote:  I'd guess it has more to do with the tire tread pattern than the geometry, although if your saddle was closer to the vertical line of the tire's furthest point, than your girlfriend's bike, it might make a bit of difference. Or it could be that the muck just took a liking to you!

thanks for the reply. I'll take pics of the patterns once I'm back from the holidays. Also will check the distance, perhaps that's actually the case It's just that typically wet back (the nasty brown line, ha) and especially the area around the lower back is unavoidable during such wet ride. This was an unusual case.

I remember when bikes all came with fenders. If it's going to be ridden in wet conditions then I think fenders are essential. I put them on my Schwinn hybrid. My fat bike took something different. I had to fit it with Dave's Mud Shovels. They keep regular road grit off me, too. I have road tires on the fatty and it's surprising how much stuff they kick up. They are quickly and easily removed but they're best left on the bike because of road grit, and I wouldn't want to be riding it on wet roads without them.

[Bombay]

(07-07-2019, 09:07 AM)CharleyFarley Wrote:  I remember when bikes all came with fenders. If it's going to be ridden in wet conditions then I think fenders are essential. I put them on my Schwinn hybrid. My fat bike took something different. I had to fit it with Dave's Mud Shovels. They keep regular road grit off me, too. I have road tires on the fatty and it's surprising how much stuff they kick up. They are quickly and easily removed but they're best left on the bike because of road grit, and I wouldn't want to be riding it on wet roads without them.

yeah it's a bit tricky with the mountain bikes. I like more clean and sporty look, but my girlfriend prefers having some sort of fenders, although the bike was gentle with mud/dirt splash during the first wet ride as I mentioned. Therefore something quick & easy to remove (like your ones) is a good fit in my case.

Was googling and found these: http://www.musguard.com/
They were on kickstarter few years ago, successful funding. Made originally for fixies, but the fit seems to be fine also with MTB + disc brakes.

Just curious, what fatbike do you have?

[CharleyFarley]

(07-07-2019, 07:43 PM)Bombay Wrote:  Was googling and found these: http://www.musguard.com/
They were on kickstarter few years ago, successful funding. Made originally for fixies, but the fit seems to be fine also with MTB + disc brakes.

Lightweight and practical. I never saw those before.

Quote:Just curious, what fatbike do you have?

I have a Specialized Fatboy SE. Bought it in September 2016 and have put around 6,000 miles on it. I ride pavement so I changed the knobbly tires for road tires. The knobblies were susceptible to multiple punctures from sand burrs in long grass. Also swapped the straight bars for swept back ones, and installed a steerer extension because I don't like leaning down so far with so much of my weight on my wrists.

Incidentally, this is my fouth attempt to respond to your recent post because the photo I posted was a bit too big. In trying to add a smaller size, I lost all of my response. This forum program could use some fixing. The forum accepts photos 500 megabytes in size, so my response was rejected. I downsized the photo to 137 megabytes and it still rejects it. Ah, I just found the problem. My photo was saved as a .PNG file. The forum wants .JPG files, but it doesn't say so. So here we go with a fourth attempt to post a photo.

[Nicholas]

(07-08-2019, 08:37 AM)CharleyFarley Wrote:  Incidentally, this is my fouth attempt to respond to your recent post because the photo I posted was a bit too big. In trying to add a smaller size, I lost all of my response. This forum program could use some fixing. The forum accepts photos 500 megabytes in size, so my response was rejected. I downsized the photo to 137 megabytes and it still rejects it. Ah, I just found the problem. My photo was saved as a .PNG file. The forum wants .JPG files, but it doesn't say so. So here we go with a fourth attempt to post a photo.

Hi, CharleyFarley.
Thank you for pointing out the issue with images. It is fixed now, and we are now looking for other solutions that would improve the user experience: how to automatically reduce the size for 500MB+ images.

[CharleyFarley]

(07-10-2019, 11:23 AM)Swede Wrote:  

(07-08-2019, 08:37 AM)CharleyFarley Wrote:  Incidentally, this is my fouth attempt to respond to your recent post because the photo I posted was a bit too big. In trying to add a smaller size, I lost all of my response. This forum program could use some fixing. The forum accepts photos 500 megabytes in size, so my response was rejected. I downsized the photo to 137 megabytes and it still rejects it. Ah, I just found the problem. My photo was saved as a .PNG file. The forum wants .JPG files, but it doesn't say so. So here we go with a fourth attempt to post a photo.

Hi, CharleyFarley.
Thank you for pointing out the issue with images. It is fixed now, and we are now looking for other solutions that would improve the user experience: how to automatically reduce the size for 500MB+ images.

Thank you, Swede! I'm surprised you got on it so quickly. It's no problem for me to downsize a photo because I use an editor, but I realize not everyone can do that. I didn't know if camera phones can reduce the size so I searched it, and they can. A medium resize will reduce a photo to 640 x 480 pixels which is a little over 300MB.

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(06-20-2019, 06:12 AM)Bombay Wrote:  hello cyclists. Might be a bit silly question, but lets go. The other day we went biking with my girlfriend on the tarmac and were caught by heavy rain. Luckily we managed to find shelter, but on the way home the roads were still wet AF. So, when we got home, my shirt was a dirt fest with mud drops/stripes all over the back and the same with shorts around the saddle area. Meanwhile, my girlfriend had couple tiny drops on the back and nothing else - the comparison was crazy. Of course we don't have fenders yet for the bikes.

- I have 26" specialized downhill
- she has 27.5" MTB hardtail with suspension

Is this difference because of the tire profile or bike's geometry? We had the same speed. Being curious

Been having another think about the tires. Some tires have a tread like a chain of 'V's. On a car tire the Vs should point forward, viewing it from the top. The idea is for the tread to discharge water out the sides to prevent aquaplaning. At least, this was how it was years ago. If the tire was reversed on the rim, it would have the effect of gathering the water and then shooting it up like a rooster tail. If your bikes have such treads, perhaps yours is mounted the wrong way. It's just a thought.

I just did a bit of digging around on this subject and found there are a lot of views on how tires should be mounted. Some tires have arrows on the side to show the direction of rotation. Some guys say the front and back tires should be mounted differently to one another.

[Bombay]

(07-10-2019, 03:37 PM)CharleyFarley Wrote:  Been having another think about the tires. Some tires have a tread like a chain of 'V's. On a car tire the Vs should point forward, viewing it from the top. The idea is for the tread to discharge water out the sides to prevent aquaplaning. At least, this was how it was years ago. If the tire was reversed on the rim, it would have the effect of gathering the water and then shooting it up like a rooster tail. If your bikes have such treads, perhaps yours is mounted the wrong way. It's just a thought.

I just did a bit of digging around on this subject and found there are a lot of views on how tires should be mounted. Some tires have arrows on the side to show the direction of rotation. Some guys say the front and back tires should be mounted differently to one another.

   

here is the profile|tread of my GF's rear tire (the one that doesn't splash all over the back); unfortunately can not take a photo of the splashy tire, already gave it back to a friend from whom I borrowed the DH bike. We will see how my actual new mountain bike and its tires will behave in rain or wet roads.
____

have you ever had the chance to take your Fatboy on a snowy ride (I suppose outside Florida) and shred that slushy ice? In other words, how (if) is the biking experience on snow|ice? I still have never biked on a legit Fatbike o_O

[CharleyFarley]

(07-15-2019, 05:34 AM)Bombay Wrote:  

(07-10-2019, 03:37 PM)CharleyFarley Wrote:  Been having another think about the tires. Some tires have a tread like a chain of 'V's. On a car tire the Vs should point forward, viewing it from the top. The idea is for the tread to discharge water out the sides to prevent aquaplaning. At least, this was how it was years ago. If the tire was reversed on the rim, it would have the effect of gathering the water and then shooting it up like a rooster tail. If your bikes have such treads, perhaps yours is mounted the wrong way. It's just a thought.

I just did a bit of digging around on this subject and found there are a lot of views on how tires should be mounted. Some tires have arrows on the side to show the direction of rotation. Some guys say the front and back tires should be mounted differently to one another.

have you ever had the chance to take your Fatboy on a snowy ride (I suppose outside Florida) and shred that slushy ice? In other words, how (if) is the biking experience on snow|ice? I still have never biked on a legit Fatbike o_O

The last time I rode a bike in snow, I was a teenager and it was my only transport to work. I wouldn't really care to ride my fat bike in snow because it has road tires instead of the knobbly tires made for snow. They might work well, though.

Earlier this year, while on a longish ride, I noticed another cyclist a distance behind me, and he kept up the pace. When we got to a red light, he asked me what the advantage of a fat bike is. I said there's none on Florida pavement, but it would have an advantage in snow or mud. I also ride a hybrid, and I find the fat bike more comfortable despite both bikes having identical memory foam saddles.

Incidentally, I noticed you posted your question July 15th, but I never received a notice by email to tell me. I think we have to click on one of the options below, each time, in order to get the emails. I think it should be automatic.

"Subscribe and receive email notification of new replies"

[Bombay]

(07-27-2019, 10:54 AM)CharleyFarley Wrote:  The last time I rode a bike in snow, I was a teenager and it was my only transport to work. I wouldn't really care to ride my fat bike in snow because it has road tires instead of the knobbly tires made for snow. They might work well, though.

Earlier this year, while on a longish ride, I noticed another cyclist a distance behind me, and he kept up the pace. When we got to a red light, he asked me what the advantage of a fat bike is. I said there's none on Florida pavement, but it would have an advantage in snow or mud. I also ride a hybrid, and I find the fat bike more comfortable despite both bikes having identical memory foam saddles.

Incidentally, I noticed you posted your question July 15th, but I never received a notice by email to tell me. I think we have to click on one of the options below, each time, in order to get the emails. I think it should be automatic.

"Subscribe and receive email notification of new replies"

the same situation here. Apparently yes, we have to click the thread subscription every single time if it's not our post (I didn't click it when posting this thread), so just have to remember it. I'm sure they'll fix this little issue.

yeh i'm curious to try out a fatbike during winter ... by the way, do you see others in Florida riding the fatbikes on daily basis?

[CharleyFarley]

(08-07-2019, 05:25 AM)Bombay Wrote:  

(07-27-2019, 10:54 AM)CharleyFarley Wrote:  Incidentally, I noticed you posted your question July 15th, but I never received a notice by email to tell me. I think we have to click on one of the options below, each time, in order to get the emails. I think it should be automatic.

"Subscribe and receive email notification of new replies"

the same situation here. Apparently yes, we have to click the thread subscription every single time if it's not our post (I didn't click it when posting this thread), so just have to remember it. I'm sure they'll fix this little issue.

I dug around in 'Settings' and found you have to edit something. The default setting isn't set for automatic notifications. I changed mine to 'Instant email replies.' Now, as soon as someone replies to me, I get an email. Hard to understand why the default is set to not receive notifications. I would think everyone would want to be notified, and to opt out if they don't want them. When you set it to automatically receive emails, you'll find that when you scroll down to the bottom of your new post, the choice is already set to subscribe and receive notifications. Click on your name at the top, go into Settings, and dig around from there.

Quote:yeh i'm curious to try out a fatbike during winter ... by the way, do you see others in Florida riding the fatbikes on daily basis?

Actually, I hardly see any. I see a lot of trail bikes and only the occasional fat bike. I see a few bikes with fatter tires, probably about 2 1/4" but none with 4" tires like mine. My original tires were 4.6" and they were knobbly, but they were susceptible to punctures from sand burrs in long grass. So I got these 4" road tires and have never had a problem with them in over 4,000 miles. I didn't expect them to last this long.

When I bought my bike I asked the bike shop if they sell many of them, and they said they're selling like hot cakes. Well, I guess the people who bought them moved out of state. They are essentially a mountain bike, so perhaps they only use them in the mountains, which we don't have in Florida. Still, I love mine and if anything happened to it, I'd get another one.

I noticed that my former bike shop was selling a fat trike. I can't imagine who would want one of those because it's hardly made for the mountains.

[Bombay]

(08-07-2019, 08:35 AM)CharleyFarley Wrote:  I noticed that my former bike shop was selling a fat trike. I can't imagine who would want one of those because it's hardly made for the mountains.

long time no see. Came here to read older posts, with a hope of finding something that I've missed ... fat trike, that's news to me! Was it like a recumbent bike with laid-back pedaling position or like a typical trike with two rear wheels plus basket?

[CharleyFarley]

(02-12-2020, 10:51 AM)Bombay Wrote:  

(08-07-2019, 08:35 AM)CharleyFarley Wrote:  I noticed that my former bike shop was selling a fat trike. I can't imagine who would want one of those because it's hardly made for the mountains.

long time no see. Came here to read older posts, with a hope of finding something that I've missed ... fat trike, that's news to me! Was it like a recumbent bike with laid-back pedaling position or like a typical trike with two rear wheels plus basket?

It was a typical trike but with fat wheels, probably 4" tires. I don't remember if it had a basket. I just did a search for 'fat trike photos' and there are a variety of them. There are recumbents, too. The only use I can see for them is in the snow so you can't fall off if it slides on the ice. Ride one on the beach? Maybe on hard sand but pushing three fat wheels through soft sand is going to be quite a workout.