Ok, I have a question/complaint. Yesterday I went for a nice ride that takes me on three of the biggest longest mountains we have in the area, and just as I was starting the descent of the second (and biggest), I saw a sign that said “Next week road will be oiled and chipped.” I thought, alright, I’ll ride somewhere else for a little while. A mile down the road (the whole descent is about 5 miles) it became oil and gravel. The road was covered shoulder to shoulder in gravel with no worn-in clean spots from tire-tracks (it’s not a super high-traffic road) so instead of a nice speedy 40-45 mph descent I was stuck doing 15-20 being scared for my life as my tires skidded this way and that and my brake pads heated up, began to glaze over, and chattered and squeaked the whole way down! At the end of the hill I said a quick thank you to God, Jesus, Buddha, and anyone else who was listening, and cleaned the gravel from my tires to keep on keepin’ on.
This brings me to a few questions.
#1. Has anyone had the same issue with brake pads turning to complete crap on a long descent with lots of braking? I cleaned them with sandpaper and they should be fine, but they were loud and terrible for the rest of the ride.
#2. My tires are littered with holes and gashes and chunks missing from the gravel, but there are no actual rocks or debris still in them. I check my tires regularly before I ride to help keep from getting flats, and have never seen tires this bad, just the occasional cut or stuck stone. Should I just throw these out since they will surely fail me soon? Will the tires soften up and “heal” a little? What is a rider to do?
#3. They are Specialized Pro All-Condition tires (700x23), does anyone know of a tire that might hold up better?
#4. Has anyone ever had an experience like this?