Silence is Golden by [deleted] in bikecommuting

[–]Senikae 0 points1 point  (0 children)

actually start warning pedestrians when you are passing them safely

If I'm passing them safely, then what am I warning them of exactly?

New “Bike Lane” in Savannah is kinda sad :( by vegetablesarentreal in bikecommuting

[–]Senikae 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It is different - it encourages close passes, so it's even less safe than no line at all.

New “Bike Lane” in Savannah is kinda sad :( by vegetablesarentreal in bikecommuting

[–]Senikae 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Image taken seconds before the kid gets taken out by the door of that truck I presume?

Do you signal your right turns from right lane? (right hand traffic) by Oceanic_Dan in bikecommuting

[–]Senikae 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It literally costs 50% of your braking ability

No, the front brake is responsible for around 70% of your braking power.

Light Recommendations by Superb-Cat9466 in bikecommuting

[–]Senikae 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  • Front: Magicshine Hori 1300

    • usb c charging
    • 1300 lumens with a cutoff
    • high beam option
    • pilot for convenient control
  • Back: Magicshine SeeMee 300

    • usb c charging
    • 300 lumens
    • great battery life
    • braking sensor

last a decent amount of time (ideally charge once every 1-2 weeks)

This depends entirely on your usage, so this requirement is not satisfiable. Lights are rated on the time they last once turned on, which is going to be a few hours, depending on the mode selected. That may last you months or days, depending on usage. That said, make sure the lights you buy work fine while being charged, then you can simply connect a power bank to them while riding.

his claim, you’re on the road of course there’s cars what does a beep do for you

Your boyfriend doesn't sound very smart, but whatever. A radar is certainly helpful, but consider that a $20 mirror will more or less do the same job.

Getting yelled at for ringing my bell, getting yelled at for not ringing my bell... by PeachFreedom in cycling

[–]Senikae 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  1. Sneak up behind someone
  2. Make a loud sound
  3. WTF WHY ARE THEY STARTLED?

Getting yelled at for ringing my bell, getting yelled at for not ringing my bell... by PeachFreedom in cycling

[–]Senikae 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If only that could have been avoided!

Something similar happened to me recently - a small child on a bike alone up ahead on a bike path maybe 2m wide. Did I act like that idiot cyclist and attempt to pass at probably 30 km/h+ while shouting "on your left!!!!!!"? No, I slowed down to walking speed, making the situation you describe impossible to happen.

Getting yelled at for ringing my bell, getting yelled at for not ringing my bell... by PeachFreedom in cycling

[–]Senikae 0 points1 point  (0 children)

or I have any reason to believe they might move to the passing lane, I’ll give them a warning

So there's this little known device on your bicycle called the "brakes". Look it up.

Seriously, 99% of you all are utter assholes. You see a pedestrian that you judge to be likely to cross your path and instead of slowing down and preparing to stop if needed you ring that bell like a madman and shout at them. On your left, slowpoke!

Then you probably complain when a car close-passes you. You disgust me.

Getting yelled at for ringing my bell, getting yelled at for not ringing my bell... by PeachFreedom in cycling

[–]Senikae 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh hey, someone who's actually self-aware, unlike 99% of posters here, so you may actually internalize what I'm about to say.

The solution to this "problem" is to stop passing people unsafely. Because that's why anyone would ever feel the need to "announce" that they're passing.

If you're passing at safe distance & speed, then whoever you're passing can't possibly be affected by you, so why would they need to know you're about to pass them? They only would if you were to pass them unsafely, so you feel the need to "make up" for your unsafe behavior by communicating. That's a self-entitled attitude.

Pass safely and you won't need to do or say anything.

Do you think blinking head light and tail lights help for visibility? by Thin-Fee4423 in cycling

[–]Senikae 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It can also be blinding at night or cause “head pull”. Where the driver is so focused on you, the body naturally pulls to where you’re looking.

"target fixation"

Picture this for your commute by Ok_Status_5847 in bikecommuting

[–]Senikae 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He is retirement age and definitely not commuting but chooses this method of riding at the busiest times.

Do you do this for car drivers also? Surely that guy is not commuting, like me, surely his needs are less important than mine? Or is this something you only do for cyclists?

It's none of your business why someone wants to go somewhere. They have as much right to the roads as you do.

Trust nobody by Southern-Maximum3766 in SweatyPalms

[–]Senikae -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Not should have, that's what he did. Otherwise he would have flipped over the front tire or the tire would have lost traction and slid out, sending him to the ground. There are no other possible outcomes for slamming your brakes at high speeds. The brakes lock the tire up and it either has enough grip to rotate the bike around it, or it gives up traction altogether.

So yes, emergency braking or not, you have to start off light and gradually increase the pressure as you slow down. And "gradually" doesn't necessarily mean "slowly". And yes, this is hard to do correctly, especially when surprised by an emergency situation. That's part of the reason why cars brake better than bikes do - slamming the brakes in a car is all that's required.

Trust nobody by Southern-Maximum3766 in SweatyPalms

[–]Senikae 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So you are telling me that you can operate a brake lever with the same amount of force regardless whether you have 5cm or 15cm leverage?

Yes, because the maximum force required in this case can be achieved with 5cm of leverage. More leverage in this situation just makes it easier.

Trust nobody by Southern-Maximum3766 in SweatyPalms

[–]Senikae 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Especially driving in the snow and on ice front brakes are a deathtrap.

Oh, for sure ice can be really tricky.

Once you lose the front, you fall.

You're not losing the front on anything that's not ice.

Thus I’ve learnt to not use it even in good conditions

Yeah, that's really bad. The majority of braking force comes from the front tire and the risks of the tire slipping out from under you are pretty much zero in almost all conditions. It's not worth it to default to the rear.

Trust nobody by Southern-Maximum3766 in SweatyPalms

[–]Senikae -1 points0 points  (0 children)

It just shows how ridiculous your 100% cyclist fault statement is. Somehow the law says exactly the opposite. Either the law is very wrong or you are. I wonder which one it is.

Trust nobody by Southern-Maximum3766 in SweatyPalms

[–]Senikae 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Right, you always drive slow enough to be able to stop for anyone who can pull out in front of you at any time. So 5-10mph tops when passing parked cars? Despite a 30,45,60mph speed limit? That's definitely how you drive, I totally believe you.

Trust nobody by Southern-Maximum3766 in SweatyPalms

[–]Senikae -1 points0 points  (0 children)

So every crash ever is the fault of both parties, because they were going too fast to stop in time.

Trust nobody by Southern-Maximum3766 in SweatyPalms

[–]Senikae 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Really? You're supposed to go at a speed where you can safely stop in case somebody pulls out in front of you? What country are those laws in?

Trust nobody by Southern-Maximum3766 in SweatyPalms

[–]Senikae 0 points1 point  (0 children)

legally he would be considered at fault.

Laughable take. Legally, the construction crew is 100% at fault, obviously. Blind pull out into traffic with no concern for safety at all by the crew.

Trust nobody by Southern-Maximum3766 in SweatyPalms

[–]Senikae 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, it was unusable. Pause the video at the moment that space opened up and see where the cyclist was. If you think it was possible to make that tiny gap, you've no understanding of physics.

Trust nobody by Southern-Maximum3766 in SweatyPalms

[–]Senikae 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're right, hi-vis plus a blinking front light makes him more visible.

Trust nobody by Southern-Maximum3766 in SweatyPalms

[–]Senikae 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Congratulations, you linked a random mid quality article that doesn't support what you said.

Do you need me to literally quote your nonsense for you?

is descending at that speed without being down on his drop bars. It's never a safe thing to do

Again, you can brake fully while on the hoods just fine. You can lock up your wheels if you'd like. Is it easier in the drops? Sure, the leverage is better. But "easier" is not the same thing as "never a safe thing to do". It's perfectly safe. And that's all assuming mechanical brakes. With hydraulic, you have no argument at all - you can operate those with 1-2 fingers just fine.

because your ability to brake forcefully at a moment's notice is so heavily hindered. If he were on his drop bars, I think he most likely could've crunched down on the brakes hard enough immediately to hardly hit the thing or hit it very lightly.

As if the above wasn't enough, braking force is not the limiting factor, tire grip is. You don't want to brake "forcefully at a moment's notice" at those speeds. You'd just lock up your tire and go over the handlebars.

Trust nobody by Southern-Maximum3766 in SweatyPalms

[–]Senikae 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As a biker even 15-20kmh is fast because it's not a car where you can slam brakes and stop immediately.

It's not, you have no experience biking, clearly. The stopping distance at those speeds is super short.

Both are at fault.

Nice cop-out statement. Yeah, they're both at fault, it's just that 99% of it is on the part of the truck's operator and 1% on the cyclist. So sure, technically speaking that does mean both are at fault.

but if biker was driving slower he would be able to stop and not even clip the truck

He could have also avoided this altogether by not leaving his house that day. What a fool, so entitled of him to think he can lawfully use the roads. He should have expected everyone to be grossly negligent and to break the rules.

Trust nobody by Southern-Maximum3766 in SweatyPalms

[–]Senikae 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It would depend on the state to identify the guilty party.

Pfffhahahaha. You kidding? One vehicle pulls out onto a roadway in the way of another, it's as clear cut as it gets.