is it me or are the roads super slippy at the mo?

I had similar issues earlier in August when we had light rain on dirty roads (admittedly I had crap tyres at the time!). Broke my elbow on a fall. I've since upgraded to Continental Grand Prix GT and have had not such problems, no movement at all. I also went up to 25mm. Made a huge difference.

Oh yes, and now use tyre drop to get the correct PSI for my tyres.

I binned it this morning, on the lanes outside bath. was only doing about 12mph on a steep off camber corner, feathered the back brake and the wheel just locked up immediately. then the front broke away and down i went. mostly i was just muddy

That was on Conti GT 25mms which are blackchili compound and normally very predictable. to be honest i think i would have needed ice spikes to stay upright, was just a whole corner of packed down leaves covered in morning dew...

That's the thing - the roads are just treacherous from October until March. If it's not leaves, it's ice, and if it's not ice, it's oil, and if it's not oil it's mud washed off the fields.
Either accept you're going to fall at some point, or brake early and steadily into corners, take them far slower, and don't take any risks descending.
It then takes SO long to rediscover your cornering and descending mojo when the roads dry out. Sad times.

Bang. Went down hard this morning. Nothing really damaged but my pride thankfully but it was out of nowhere on a corner I normally take at 20+mph in the summer but was being winter cautious at between 12-15mph. Front wheel just disappeared from under me. Took the fall on my shoulder and scratched the buckle of my Zxelliums. Had a look at the road and can't work out why I went down. Bike is wearing Conti 4000s, think I'll just stay on the trainer until march.

Went down this morning, 35 on a descent road turned right, tightened up and then I was over and sliding down the road.
Second ride on the winter bike and bent the hanger, and possibly damaged mech,
Ripped knee and arm warmer and a fair bit of skin on the road!

Almost came a cropper twice this afternoon. Back wheel locked up on the approach to a junction, managed to stay upright more through luck than judgement. Then, turning into another road at a T- junction, had a right @*$€ nipper, when the front wheel started to go. Adds a bit of interest to the ride I guess.

I think it's a combination of diesel, mud, rotting leaves and damp.

Roll on summer!

don't know if it is my imagination, but the roads seem far worse than in previous years? whether it is the lack of rain for the last few weeks, a change in the mix they are spreading on the roads i don't know. It isn't nice!!!!!

Glad it's not just me; I was getting paranoid! Two falls in two weeks, slow corners. One a roundabout (where a friend also went down) and one a 90 degree corner. Both pretty much dry, both surfaces coated in a fair amount of black stuff. Front wheel just went from under me both times.

I must admit that I've never experienced roads like this before, problem is I'm now super nervous about all cornering and descending.

Not good.

I had a two wheel slide on Friday, turning an uphill corner that I ride every day. Through my immense bike handling skills (i.e. blind luck) I stayed upright. I stopped to check for punctures as it felt so unlikely to slide at that speed.

So, the question is: Is it worse than previous years and if so why?

I'm running Gatorskins, they are 23's and they are impeccable, I have dropped the pressure down to 85 but the only slip I get is uphill (out the saddle) and hard on the brakes - I won't buy a different tyre, yes the roads are more slippery than usual but I can only tell because those I ride with keep slipping and that's on a multitude of tyres?

Good tyres: anything wider than 25mm I guess. Personally I don't run anything above 25mm due to lack of clearance.
It's possible to avoid wheelspin by evening out the power through the pedal stroke. Overgearing slightly can help, but I'm guessing at 15% grades and higher you're close to your lowest gear and potentially not able to rev any slower.
Scavenging the tarmac for rougher patches can help as the friction here will be greater. Reducing the gradient by zig-zagging is potentially useful but not very traffic-friendly!

Had a scary ride yesterday - three rear wheel slips (23mm GP4000s) but managed to hold them all. Having just come off my first Midlands Cyclocross season, it has had two effects: a) I am definitely better at handling slippy surfaces. b) I am definitely better at falling off .... had quite a bit of practice, especially at Sundowne where slicks where not the right choice!!

Agree with most - roads do seem slippier this winter (and not because of ice).

On an mtb you'd often sit on the saddle nose on really steep stuff so that a) you don't lift the front b) don't spin out the back 'cos you're too far forward, or putting too much torque down at one point in the pedal stroke.

I guess you've run out of gears ? - maybe a bit more weight further back, and controlling your pedal stroke a bit more - maybe with not all your weight through the downwards pedal ?

But what do I know, I mostly ride a recumbent - I've been getting wheelspin on steep stuff very occasionally, I think some little-used back-roads roads are just a bit slippy..

went down on an icy/greasy corner on saturday at a relatively fair speed (32km/h-ish), luckily the bike and gear emerged relatively unscathed (new bar tape needed) but my leg, ribs and shoulder are paying the price now.

Very slippy at the moment; went down on a bend commuting home yesterday (Bath) that I've been round hundreds of times. Probably caught a bit of smooth tarmac at the wrong angle. I was a bit miffed as I've just switched back to my Hybrid (road bike was just getting too dicey) and put some new tyres (Schwalbe Marathon + 32; old ones were 35) on to be on the safe side. Perhaps they need a few miles to scuff them up a bit. Phenominal hip bruise; bike was fine because I cushioned its fall! I can also recommend Altura Night Vision Jackets and Vaude Pannier/Rucksack bags; no rips at all. Another cyclist and car witnessed it all. Many thanks to the cyclist for helping me up and checking I was OK. The motorist just drove off; hope he/she has a miserable Xmas!

It's been very dicey on my commute lately..I ride mainly unlit country lanes in the dark...One section is entirely covered in leaves & I've been lucky to stay on a few times. Also can be bad with flooding after wet spells.. Thinking of going back to 32's & something with a bit more tread pattern, until Spring..

Roads are mega slippery at the moment. I nearly came off riding my BMX to the skatepark, that's 2.25 tyres at about 65psi. Whilst I don't doubt that wider tyres help, and I do have them on my roadie, it's just plain slipery out there. I've really noticed the difference in the car too.

I noticed the change a few years back, but since then the roads around here have been consistently slippery as heel when salted.

I think the challenge is additives mixed with the salt to ensure it sticks to the road better... the only challenge is that it is slippery as hell for two wheeled vehicles and horses.

Once you have adjusted (once its being used in your area), you just get used to creeping around corners and being gentle on the pedals.

Tyre width and tyre pressure isn't really going to make a difference as its a film on the road surface itself... so unless you can get through this layer, any tyre is going to be slippery.

http://www.safespeed.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5942

Rarely would I be interested in anything from Safe speed, but it does suggest not just imagination and it does suggest that others think the formulation change is an issue.

Sodium ferrocyanide ( E535 ) and ABP ( like molasses ) are added to the salt which stops it caking and sticks it to the road better. When it dries out it can make it slippier than a plain dry road though

Big sideways, and not the first this year, on my Continental Gatorskins yesterday. Plus wheel spin, even when sat down, up a fairly greasy hill. At 85psi.

I'll be ditching the Gatorskins asap for something grippier in damp conditions, but where I had the sideways yesterday is where I crashed in March. Inspecting the road surface the next day then showed me the slippery nature of the tarmac. Then the Council did something to improve matters (clean top surface?) but now it's back to lethal. Will complain again, have posted a note to all the local cyclists I know that it's treacherous, and I might even make a DIY sign because it's by far the worst location I know for lack of grip.

Got out of hospital yesterday after 1 1/2 hrs surgery to repair broken collarbone - couldn't persuade them to use titanium plate! Came off on route I've ridden hundreds of times - 3 month recovery - be careful out there!