Grit - more harm the good???

**gamgee** · 8th July 2006, 17:54

No this isn't a bugger i binned it thread, I managed to keep it upright, so i still haven't binned a bike in 4-5 years riding

but probably the closest i've ever gone, I came around a corner going a little wide, but nothing serious, then 'ohshitgrit' and the front wheel is sliding out of control, farken luckily i managed to once again use my freakishly honed ninja skills to get the front wheel back in check by taking it all the way to the gutter, and pretty much rode out of it down the gutter, scarred the poos out of me tho.

So my question is, does grit do more harm than good? surely the number of people skidding out on grit in the 18 or so hours when it isn't icey, is far more than the number of people who slide out on ice in the 6 hours max that it is, so wouldn't it be easier to either walk if you absolutely have to leave early, or just leave later

**Maha** · 8th July 2006, 18:04

Ride/Drive to the conditions i guess.......grit is good, the body needs roughage
Also, i think the council or whoever puts it on the road, could swing by once its gone slushy, and pick it up, but when its icey?.... the road needs it, just as much as the body. the similarities are spooky........

**Motu** · 8th July 2006, 18:23

I'm from Auckland......They used to spread sand on melted tar up here in the summer.We thought it was great - you could get really crossed up in the corners.

**Jantar** · 8th July 2006, 19:13

You haven't got the right option for me.
Grit is good, I ride a bike. In central, where the ice can hang around for days, grit is very good. But I do agree that grit on dry roads when there is no ice is just plain scary.

**gamgee** · 8th July 2006, 19:29

Originally Posted by Jantar

You haven't got the right option for me.
Grit is good, I ride a bike. In central, where the ice can hang around for days, grit is very good. But I do agree that grit on dry roads when there is no ice is just plain scary.

Yeah i've just come back from wanaka and central otago is definitely one place that needs grit, Lawrence still had snow in shaded places from 3 days ago, but driving up there last friday was probably the most scarred i've ever been driving, anything that was shaded was black ice, I was driving along the road just after roxburough and even little shaded bits from trees you'd feel the car start to slide sideways a little then regain traction in the sunny parts, worst one was just outside lawrence on a 100k big sweeping corner, i went round it at about 60-70k/h and still the car was getting sideways, it was a fwd luckily so i could just oversteer and power on the wheels to keep from sliding into the ditch on the other side of the road, what made it worse was if i had completely lost it, i would have gone head on with a truck, scaaary shit! was worth it tho as we got a week of near perfect snowboarding

**Jantar** · 8th July 2006, 20:08

When I went to Dunedin yesterday (see http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...ad.php?t=32062 )
The roads were quite good as far as Millars Flat, but from there to Milton was just one big sheet of ice. Curves that I wouldn't normally slow down for, I was taking at only 60 - 70 kmh. My son left Alex by bus about 10 minutes before me, but I didn't catch up to the bus until just short of Lawrence. It was one of the coldest rides I've ever done, and that road sure could have used some grit.

**Goblin** · 8th July 2006, 20:58

Originally Posted by Jantar

You haven't got the right option for me.
Grit is good, I ride a bike.

Me too, though it's not as bad here. I found the grit quite fun to be honest. It's much scarier riding on ice than grit. On the sheep feast ride we experienced a fair bit of ice on the way down & lots of grit on the way home. When you know there's grit on the road you just slow down alot earlier for corners and if you're like me & blackbird2, ya give it some berries exiting the corner & fishtail ya way out

Makes for a bit of fun when you have to be riding slower

**smokeyging** · 8th July 2006, 21:39

Grit is scary shit, ice and black ice is of course worse. I know what I’d sooner have.

**Dadpole** · 8th July 2006, 22:54

Just pray they don't go for the old UK option of "salt is cheaper"

**Wolf** · 9th July 2006, 16:54

It's never bothered me. Never had any hairy moments on gritted roads that I can recall - not even when I was ten-foot-tall and bulletproof and attacked every road as such (and had hairy moments on all sorts of other surfaces).

So nope, my option's not on your poll: "As long as it stops the road being too icy, no worries."

**sels1** · 9th July 2006, 20:28

Originally Posted by Wolf

and had hairy moments ."

isnt that normal for a "token werewolf"?

Grit is better than ice for sure, but we dont have much of either round these parts.

**one-speed** · 9th July 2006, 20:34

Originally Posted by Goblin

Me too, though it's not as bad here. I found the grit quite fun to be honest. It's much scarier riding on ice than grit. On the sheep feast ride we experienced a fair bit of ice on the way down & lots of grit on the way home. When you know there's grit on the road you just slow down alot earlier for corners and if you're like me & blackbird2, ya give it some berries exiting the corner & fishtail ya way out

Makes for a bit of fun when you have to be riding slower

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yep must second that, i do'nt ride on ice or grit very often to me grit needs to be there i've hit ice and without grit i know which i prefer.
later on in the day when there's no ice and as long as the council keeps the signs up,!! keeps you aware what's in front of ya,then ya can have alittle play keeps the boredom away.

**Wolf** · 9th July 2006, 20:41

Originally Posted by sels1

isnt that normal for a "token werewolf"?

I prefer to choose when I have my hairy moments, or at least have fair warning.

Good thing about grit is it's lighter-coloured than the road surface and you usually can see it. I also tend to be travelling slower on icy mornings and expecting ice or grit.