Thread: Silent hubs
View Single Post
  #18  
Old March 29th 18, 03:18 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Joerg[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 6,016
Default Silent hubs

On 2018-03-28 12:35, jbeattie wrote:
On Wednesday, March 28, 2018 at 9:10:40 AM UTC-7, Frank Krygowski
wrote:
On 3/28/2018 6:48 AM, Ned Mantei wrote:
On 27-03-18 22:47, Joerg wrote:
Many folks with other freehubs don't need to holler "on your
left" when rolling downhill because you can hear the GRRRR.

How can I get people to holler that here in Switzerland? Or maybe
ring a bell? It's just not customary here, and no one does it.

A couple of weeks ago I was in downtown Zurich, riding on a road
with 2 sets of tram tracks. Approaching a stoplight, I signaled
to the car behind me that I wanted to turn left, and moved to
the left side of my lane. The motorist clearly saw that, so I saw
no need to keep signaling the turn. As the light turned green, I
moved into the intersection to cross the second set of tram
tracks and to turn. Just then another guy on a bike came up from
behind even further to the left (in the lane going against
traffic on the other side of the intersection). I didn't see him
coming, turned into him so that my handlebars caught his, and so
slowly tipped over onto the pavement. Fortunately only a couple
of minor scratches, but could have been a lot worse.


I use an eyeglass mirror. While it's not foolproof, I think it's a
great help and might have prevented your crash. But I doubt you'll
ever get most people to ride competently.

I'm safety chairman for our bike club, and I occasionally say
something about those members who refuse to say "On your left" when
passing.


I don't say "on your left when passing" because half the time, the
rider startles and goes left. Cars don't say "on your left" when
passing. Why should bikes.



Cars happen to have several things most bikes don't: Rear view mirrors,
two outside mirrors and turn signals which are supposed to be activated
when overtaking another vehicle.


... I'd get kicked out of your club.


Then do it like I do. Most of the time I am a club of one, sometimes two.


Some lady gave me a load of crap about not saying "on your left" when
I passed on an ascending bike path about a lane wide.



Then try "alt-left" and she might really blow a gasket :-)


https://www.portlandoregon.gov/share....cfm?id=504349 This
is why I avoid the crowded bike facilities -- endless officious,
dawdling newbie know-it-alls with 8-ball helmets and ringy-bells.

The fact is, riding around here is often pack riding -- and people
should learn to ride in a pack and get used to being passed. In very
close quarters, I will call out -- like passing on the Hawthorne
Bridge where a bump can drop you off the elevated facility onto a
metal deck bridge, but in a wide facility or on the road, I just go
around.

And on group rides, I'm always trying to keep a mental inventory of
who is where. But one guy is amazingly unpredictable. One day, he
snuck up on my right (where the mirror couldn't detect him) and
passed me quite closely. I chewed him out mildly, saying that
first, he probably shouldn't pass on the right; but if it was
really necessary, he should at least call out "On your right."

Within ten minutes, he passed me again, elbow to elbow on my
_left_. As he did he called out "On your right."


You'd certainly hate my cohort -- a bunch of old racers who are
rock-solid in close quarters and content with bumping shoulders.



My wife would want to hear assurances that the team doesn't include
pretty female riders I'd bump shoulders with ...


... I
hate civilian packs because a bump can mean a crash. A candy wrapper
in the road can mean a crash.


Civilian? Y'all carry your DD-214?

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/
Ads
 

Home - Home - Home - Home - Home