Cyclists

[BAUTE]

well today is a sad day, I have been a member here almost since the boards inception and am ashamed to be if most of the people posting in this thread a representitive cross section of the rest of the member base.

I never had much time for John McMaster with his union stooge rants but suggesting bikes arent allowed on the road because they dont pay rego is just funny. Like a lot of cyclists I pay rego, twice, once for the ute and once for the motorbike, I am the sole users of these vehicles sp when Im on the pushy nobody else is using them but wouldn't say that that money is going in to roads because Im not that big an optimist.

To all those (charliewool and others) who advocate violence or property destruction you should a. take a good long hard look at yourselves and b. be given a holiday from this forum if nothing else to raise the sum total of IQ points around here.

As I said at the start today I am ashamed to be member here today

[BAUTE]

Originally Posted by 4.9 EF Futura

And the ones who wear spandex on their ride to work in the morning should be fined massive quantities of money. It's not the tour de france, poseur. It'd be nice to have more than 0.0005mm of lycra between me and your ***.

for the sake of people around me I dont wear knicks (nobody needs to see this ИИИИ in lyrcra) but do wear jerseys but thats because they are the most comfortable thing to ride in, very little normal clothing will give protection from an accident so it comes back to comfort and if I had a less generously proportioned body I would wear knicks as well because they are comfortable

[parawolf]

Originally Posted by 4.9 EF Futura

And the ones who wear spandex on their ride to work in the morning should be fined massive quantities of money. It's not the tour de france, poseur. It'd be nice to have more than 0.0005mm of lycra between me and your ***.

Down with spandex

a) cycle knicks are more comfortable; they don't ride up, they don't let you swing free and they actually breath air to keep you cool really well

b) You can get 'shy shorts' which have a cycle knick interior and look like a set of surf shorts on the outside. However while these are comfortable, they are not all that practical as you slide around on the seat a little, with lycra knicks they 'stick' a little to the seat, and to your backside so on a longer ride it lycra knicks are far more practical.

c) cycling knicks take up less bulk, you can put a spare set of cycle shorts + socks in a plastic bag, and put them in one of the 3 pouches usually found in the back of a cycling jersey. So if it rains on the way to work, you have dry gear to ride home in.

d) I agree that cycling knicks look horrid on people that are even slightly overweight. I would never consider wearing such attire if I was overweight.

[parawolf]

oh and:

e) the girls love it

[xbgs351]

Originally Posted by 4.9 EF Futura

Cyclists are a genuine pain in the ar*e and a nusiance on the road.... but they have every right to be there and deserve an appropriate amount of room and to be able to cycle in saftey.

Yes, i honestly believe that cars have more of a right to be on the road than pushbikes. But i dont let this prejudice affect my driving - we are required to give them room and that's what i'll do. I'll never get too close to them, i'll never yell at them or curse them. I make an effort to look out for them and to make sure i look for them in mirrors, blind spots etc. But i reserve the right to ИИИИИ about them

And the ones who wear spandex on their ride to work in the morning should be fined massive quantities of money. It's not the tour de france, poseur. It'd be nice to have more than 0.0005mm of lycra between me and your ***.

Down with spandex

As a cyclist this is all that I expect from a driver. You don't have to like us, but you do need give us room and refrain from yelling abuse.

Your welcome to your thoughts about lycra/spandex, I don't care. At least drivers can see us and we don't chafe holes through our manhood.

[parawolf]

Originally Posted by xbgs351

As a cyclist this is all that I expect from a driver. You don't have to like us, but you do need give us room and refrain from yelling abuse.

Spot on, I don't need anything more from a driver, just give me a bit of room, be patient for 5 seconds and curteous, and i'll do the same.

[max^power]

Same here, i only want to make it to the end of my ride.

[nugget378]

Originally Posted by parawolf

Spot on, I don't need anything more from a driver, just give me a bit of room, be patient for 5 seconds and curteous, and i'll do the same.

I have yet to see patience from a cyclist,Many a time I have seen them kick a front guard coz they did'nt like the response to they're behaviour,The one's in the fancy gear are the worst offender's, Im waiting for the day I see one of them tangle with the wrong bloke.

[parawolf]

Originally Posted by nugget378

I have yet to see patience from a cyclist,Many a time I have seen them kick a front guard coz they did'nt like the response to they're behaviour,The one's in the fancy gear are the worst offender's, Im waiting for the day I see one of them tangle with the wrong bloke.

Well I guess you haven't seen me on the road here in Melbourne. I wouldn't want to 'hit' a car in frustration because all it would take would be for the car to swerve at me (or any cyclist for that matter) and I would probably be going A over T.

Being a cyclist I take it easy against motorists, if someone does something in front of me, it could be that they didn't see me, or didn't notice. However if i'm in a group then it gets a little frustrating, but still you get over it.

I'm a 'fancy gear' rider, but I want cars to respect me, or at least just give me room.

[4.9 EF Futura]

Originally Posted by nugget378

I have yet to see patience from a cyclist,Many a time I have seen them kick a front guard coz they did'nt like the response to they're behaviour,The one's in the fancy gear are the worst offender's, Im waiting for the day I see one of them tangle with the wrong bloke.

Yes but there's a**holes to be found in all sorts of vehicles... cars, motorbikes, buses, trucks, vans, scooters, planes, helicopters and yes - bicycles.

But yeah - i've utlised my warning device for a few (i.e. if they didnt see me as they pull out of side street or cutting across me in traffic) and it doesnt go down too well. I guess the kind of idiots that cut you off on bikes are the idiots that get enraged when you beep them - much like people who drive cars like idiots are more likely to over react when you beep them....

[nugget378]

No i would'nt have seen you as I live in sydney lol, But seriously I would'nt want anyones blood on my hands, Lately I had a close call though, I was waiting in traffic to turn left into a laneway in inner sydney (regent st) and as the traffic started moving I started the turn,a cyclist (courier) was coming up the left side between the parked cars and the traffic,I did not see him at all until he had already passed, if i had taken the corner a little quicker we would have collided,He then stopped,turned around and started to abuse me, I was in too much of a shock at the near miss to even respond, This is the type i have no time for, a bit of patience on both sides will go a long way

[xbgs351]

Originally Posted by nugget378

I have yet to see patience from a cyclist,Many a time I have seen them kick a front guard coz they did'nt like the response to they're behaviour,The one's in the fancy gear are the worst offender's, Im waiting for the day I see one of them tangle with the wrong bloke.

I wear fancy gear and I am also a patient rider. I do however ride aggressively for the reason of safety. This behaviour may be misconstrued by some drivers.

When amongst city traffic I prefer to ride fast. This makes my speed similar to the rest of the traffic and seems to earn drivers respect.

When by myself I ride about 1m from the curve. This makes cars drive around me instead of just squeezing through. It also makes it easier to avoid parked cars, pot holes, glass, road debris etc.

I usually prefer to ride two abreast for the same reason that I ride 1m from the edge of the road. Riding two abreast forces cars to go around us, instead of trying to squeeze through. Most cycling fatalities happen to riders riding single file.

I also take up the whole lane when entering roundabouts. Roundabouts are extremely dangerous for cyclist, and taking up the whole lane is the safest way to negotiate them. I accelerate and corner faster than most cars so I'm not exactly holding up the traffic.

[Neeek]

As an ex-courier, ex-semi-pro mountain biker and much as it pains me to say it, ex-cyclist, most car drivers don't know how to deal with a bicycle. That's not to say they're bad drivers, but they just don't know any better.

Passing us too close is very frightening, let me tell you. It's not funny. And if a car (OK, person driving it) does something like open a door in front of me, cut me up for no reason such as overtake me then slam on the brakes and turn left, or sit on my tail, then I get angry. My preferred method is to remove a wing mirror, which is something I have done many many times. Don't care if it's a brand new BMW 7-series, an XA GT or a 1981 Corolla. When I used to commute in London, they didn't have a hope in hell of catching me either.

I'm not sure I would still bash mirrors off, but given the amount of traffic-related accidents I've been in it's tempting.

And as I will maintain until the day I day, cyclists and motorcyclists, boradly speaking (there are a exceptions, as always) make the best drivers. They are generally considerate and they have more awareness of what's going on around them. And above all, they know that in an accident, they'll come off worst so will do just about anything to avoid one.

I could rant on about this for hours, but I won't. Most drivers are fine with cyclists... the minority who aren't need to have a couple of wing mirrors removed.

[xbgs351]

One more thing for drivers to be aware of. Push bikes take a lot longer to stop than cars. When it's wet push bikes take a hell of a lot longer to stop than cars.

[Neeek]

Originally Posted by xbgs351

One more thing for drivers to be aware of. Push bikes take a lot longer to stop than cars. When it's wet push bikes take a hell of a lot longer to stop than cars.

Not if you've got hydraulic discs..! Essential equipment for the commuter, IMHO.

[parawolf]

Originally Posted by Neeek

Not if you've got hydraulic discs..! Essential equipment for the commuter, IMHO.

I disagree. V-Brakes or Rim Brakes are just as effective as stopping in the wet as discs.

There is no point in a commuter having discs as it is an added expense to buy, more expensive to maintain for perhaps less than 5% braking improvement. I can easily lock brakes on my bike, and i've got Rim brakes. The bigger problem with rim brakes is that they are more problematic with wheels that are out of true, as that is their contact surface as well. Discs have their own braking surface that doesn't warp with the buckle.

Added weight of discs (there is some) over rim brakes could also be seen as a disadvantage.

This is my bike:

[xbgs351]

Originally Posted by Neeek

Not if you've got hydraulic discs..! Essential equipment for the commuter, IMHO.

I'm not a commuter and I'm stuck with humble Record brakes.

[xbgs351]

Heres my bike.

[Neeek]

Rim brakes are fine and dandy, don't get me wrong. At the risk of turning this thread into one that will discuss the finer points of bicycle brakes (and no doubt have me contributing to every other post because of it!), it's not about the ability to lock wheels up. There's no control in that, and any old bugger on their clunker can grab a handful and lock a wheel.

It's all about modulation - applying the maximum amount of force to the lever in a controllable fashion just shy of the wheel locking. By this measure, I have yet to encounter a rim brake that performs as well as, specifically, my Hope discs.

It's fair that in the dry, a rim brake will pull you up just as well as a hydro disc, no trouble. Especially a good rim brake. But in the wet, on or off road, I'll stand behind my Hopes. They've saved me from many a disaster. They may be expensive and heavy, but they're maintenance free, durable, and just damn good.

As for wet-weather performance, part of the advantage of discs is that they don't go through puddles and therefore will not get as wet as a rim will. While a rim brake system will spend at least once revolution scraping water off the surface before it bites hard, a disc will have less water to shift off the rotor and a much more controllable clamping force when it does bite.

Each to their own.

[Neeek]

Originally Posted by xbgs351

Heres my bike.

Oh, go on then...

[GreenMachine]

Can I play with the cool kids??

[Sourbastard]

Originally Posted by GreenMachine

Can I play with the cool kids??

Man thats cool GM. How much boost can it handle?

[GreenMachine]

I dunno - the brakes are great though!

[Casper]

Originally Posted by GreenMachine

Can I play with the cool kids??

not until you pay rego, no:P

[GreenMachine]

Yeah, I'm with P.J. O'Rourke on this one - If they want to play with the traffic, make the bastards carry a fullsize car battery and display indicators, a brake light, a headlight and a horn. Make them use ADR-compliant bumpers and airbags if they're capable of more than 40kph. And make them get a licence too. And outlaw those stupid budgie-smuggling lycra pants.

Edit: Vote 1 - GM for PM!

[max^power]

it didn't take that long for this thread to go downhill.

[parawolf]

GM, I know you are joking (partially) however i'm now glad that I picked up a 'travelsmart' map from Bicycle Victoria this afternoon, which shows all the bike paths, bike lanes in the greater melbourne area (Yarraville in the west to Brunswick in the North, Abbotsford and St Kilda). I've now found a bike patch which takes me from Collins St, to Docklands to the St Georges Road bike path and all I have to do on the road is about 600 metres in total.

So thanks for some of the attitude around here, i'm getting off the road, getting clearer air and getting more exercise as the ride distance will add about 3 - 4km to my ride home.

I get to wear my budgie smuggling lycra pants with others that want to as well, and we can do it in private.

And the best part, is that for about the 600 metres of road i'm on, I could easily walk that pushing my bike as a pedistrian, don't worry about your valuable rego or other junk because I am not on the road.

You will say good riddance, but i've said it first.

And in peak hour? i'll still do my ~13km commute faster than a car or public transport will do my original path of 9.4km.

[bathurst77]

MY point is, was, and reamins this. Im not saying bikes shouldnt be allowed or onthe road etc. But that if there is a specialy built safe bicyle road then cyclist should be forced to use it, and not use a 110kmh zoned feeway because "its smoother or less hilly".

The bike lane was built for bikes, the road for cars and trucks. Lts keep it that way. safer for all.
As to the quote "I dont like bus lanes.." well, the same applies. Buses use bus lanes and cars use car lanes. The same for bikes PLEASE.

IT just reallty is stupid and ddangerous for cyclists to demand bike roads and then when they are built, not to use them cos "They aernt smooth or flat enough", so instead they use the car lanes.

Well if you insist on using car lanes,then stop asking for monry to be spent on bike tracks, and for gods sake understand that cars use those exit and entry ramps at 100kmh so give way to them.

If have to stop for a bike on the expressway entry or exit from that speed, -
1- i wont stop in time
2- im going to wear the car/truck behind me.
3- im soo busy looking for the gap on the freeway, i wont see you anyhow. (especially when i there is a bike road alongiside so I expect you to be on it.)

[GreenMachine]

Originally Posted by parawolf

I get to wear my budgie smuggling lycra pants with others that want to as well, and we can do it in private.

I was joking, but I'm glad that you've chosen to take your lycra somewhere out of the sight of the general public!

[parawolf]

Originally Posted by GreenMachine

I was joking, but I'm glad that you've chosen to take your lycra somewhere out of the sight of the general public!

face it, you secretly love it...