Search found 548 matches

by aesmith
12 Oct 2009, 4:15pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Cycling bans on All Purpose Roads
Replies: 22
Views: 2526

Re: Cycling bans on All Purpose Roads

birkhead wrote:[color=#FFBF00]
More recently at the Balmedie Dualling PLInquiry the chief engineer of Transport Scotland offered 12 miles on a soft sandy beach as an alternative route to the dualled main road

I don't know which exact 12 miles that would have been, but there are quite a few burns to wade through if you walk along the beach both N and S of Balmedie.
by aesmith
8 Oct 2009, 5:22pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Elimination of Diagram 966 signs - and their abuse
Replies: 57
Views: 4926

Re: Elimination of Diagram 966 signs - and their abuse

PRL wrote:The problem seems to be that HAs can use "Cyclist Dismount " ad lib (ad nauseam ?) but require special permission (twenty forms in pentuplicate) to use "cyclists rejoin carriageway" so the default option is predictable. :cry: ISTRC that the consultation was merely about the appearance of the signs and not the rules behind them. :roll:

Why do they have to use either? "Cyclists rejoin .." sounds pretty stupid to me as well, as if they think that we need to be given our instructions all the time or we won't know what to do. Surely what is meant is that the off-road cycle track has come to an end - so why not put up an "End of Cycle Track" sign? I think we can all work out what options are then open to us.

If cycling is no longer permitted, then use a "No Cycling" sign.

In the previous picture, where the cycle track joins the carriageway with "give way" type line markings, surely it self-evident with no need for any sign at all. In any case, most "Cyclist Dismount" signs do not mean the end of the cycle track.
by aesmith
14 Aug 2009, 1:11pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Lights for unlit cycle track
Replies: 32
Views: 1477

Re: Lights for unlit cycle track

A Cateye 530 does it for me. That's on rural roads and tracks, where there's no real light from elsewhere.

Tony S
by aesmith
30 May 2009, 10:25am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Drops: can you get all 4 fingers under your flats?
Replies: 8
Views: 612

Re: Drops: can you get all 4 fingers under your flats?

I have to think about that. Normally I don't grip the bars at all, just rest on them. The heel of my hand is on the outside of the bend on the tops, some fingers hang loosely to the outside of the bar, and my thumb to the inside more-or-less parallel to the bar - thumb and fingers are just at rest, lying where they will. From that normal riding position I can grip with fingers just by clenching them, or I shift my hands a little to grip fully with thumb and fingers opposed. I can squeeze four fingers under, but don't normally use more than two. If I'm gripping hard then I'll be on either the straight part of the top or on the drops. I don't normally ride within reach of the brakes, I need to shift my grip before braking.

This is all too analytical. The point of drops is that there are many different positions to choose from. If you can ride in comfort, can grab hold tight if the need suddenly arises, and can reach the brakes when required .. if you can do all those then who cares whether you hold the bars the same way as anyone else?
by aesmith
30 May 2009, 9:59am
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Restore the Balance
Replies: 16
Views: 1582

Re: Restore the Balance

Happy to put my name to that.
by aesmith
29 May 2009, 8:17pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Aberdeen Berryden Corridor consultation
Replies: 1
Views: 413

Aberdeen Berryden Corridor consultation

Proposals for a bit more urban dual carriageway near the city centre. I don't cycle round there myself so can't really comment.

http://www.aberdeencycleforum.org.uk/?p ... .php&sid=e
by aesmith
29 May 2009, 8:14pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: HELMET SURVEY & COMMENTS REQUEST
Replies: 30
Views: 1833

Re: HELMET SURVEY & COMMENTS REQUEST

1. Do you wear a helmet and why?
- Only at events why it was compulsory, so three times in total and using a borrowed helmet each time (one practice session and two mountain bike races)

2. Do you wear reflective clothing and why?
- At night, usually. No special attention paid during the day, my waterproof jacket had reflective stripes but I wouldn't make any special effort to wear that during the day.

3. Does your helmet fit properly?
- Don't really know, I have recently bought one so I don't have to keep borrowing, but I haven't needed it yet.

4. Does it move and shake too much when you ride?
- Don't know yet. I hope not.

5. What is a good feature of your helmet?
- Low price

6. How much are you willing to pay for one?
- As little as possible. I was tempted by a "Thomas the Tank Engine" helmet on Ebay for £3.99, but they only had children's sizes. I paid under £10, so for as long as helmets are available at that price I wouldn't consider paying more. Remember I am not treating it as a piece of safety equipment, just token compliance with rules that I have to obey but don't agree with.

7. Are they too dark to be seen in (for motorsts) and does this make them more dangerous, do they need reflective panels?
- The helmet? If the rest of the cyclist is visible it doesn't really matter whether or not the helmet is. However a helmet would be a good place for reflective panels.

8. What are your views on motorists? (nothing rude please! :lol: )
- They're people. Some good and some bad (as are cyclists). Sometimes I'm a motorist.

9. What is the most dangerous part of cycling on the road or of your journey in particular?
- The cycle track from Kingswells to Westhill

10a. Importantly - do you use hand signals? . . . .
- Of course

10b. Or are you too afraid in heavy traffic to take your hands of the bars for long periods and turns?
- No

10c. Do you think there could be a better way to signal and would you use it?
- There's no problem as things are. I guess you're hinting at electrical signals, and the last thing we need is compulsion to add that sort of complication. A bike should be something you just get onto and use.
by aesmith
29 May 2009, 7:28pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: CTC and Helmet research
Replies: 178
Views: 12393

Re: CTC and Helmet research

PBA wrote:Yet I still wear a helmet. Mainly because my wife, who doesn't cycle at all, thinks that I should.
That's the crux of the compulsion worry - if it comes about it will be because a bunch of people who don't cycle themselves have decided that they know better than us. Same as the Highway Code consultation where they dismissed the comments from cycling representatives.
by aesmith
17 Apr 2009, 7:35pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Do you wear a helmet?
Replies: 240
Views: 14586

Re: Do you wear a helmet?

hubgearfreak wrote:cycling has a very important role to play both in terms of transport chaos and CO2 emissions.
but to realise it's true potential, there needs to be more people on bikes, for more journeys. it's a safe, normal & everyday activity that all but the seriously unfit can do. to go around with lycra trousers, clicky shoes or plastic hats on leads none cyclists to believe that it's hard work and dangerous. by wearing anything but ordinary everyday clothes (or getting sponsored for a C2C, E2E & etc. holiday) you're doing cycling, congestion and the environment a disservice. that's how it's a matter of principle. 8)
Very well put, and exactly how I'd have liked to express myself.

I would also add that the insistence on showers at work is another factor pigeon-holing cycling as a specialist activity. You don't have to be an athlete to cycle, and you don't have to work hard enough to need a shower for it to be good for your health.
by aesmith
14 Apr 2009, 3:04pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Do you wear a helmet?
Replies: 240
Views: 14586

Re: Do you wear a helmet?

I seem to remember when I took my driving test that the examiners did not wear seat belts, as a matter of policy. There was something in the notes when I booked the test. (Of course that was before seat belts became compulsory).
by aesmith
12 Apr 2009, 8:29pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Bike lights in the daytime
Replies: 62
Views: 3169

Re: Bike lights in the daytime

kwackers wrote:Anyone not having decent lights on the front of their bicycle have in your opinion only themselves to blame should they become an accident statistic.

That's the aspect that concerns me. We're changing bicycles from an ordinary every-day thing that people can use on an impulse, into some sort of expensive and complicated activity that needs special clothing, special safety equipment and lots of expensive bits. Anyone riding an ordinary bike, in ordinary clothes and using ordinary lights just doesn't cut it any more. Its becoming a sport and no longer a means of transport.
by aesmith
10 Apr 2009, 12:52pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Climate change
Replies: 262
Views: 13187

Re: Climate change

swagman wrote:Its all too late...Weve all wasted the great possibility of having a utopian world because of mankinds greed and selfishness.

What's a bit sad was that there was a lot of work on energy conservation in the early to mid '80s. Then the bottom fell out of the energy saving market and everyone lost interest. We could have had a 20 year head start in development. Its still not easy to get domestic heating controls with weather compensation or optimised start/stop, techniques fully developed for commercial buildings by the mid '80s that should surely have filtered down to the domestic market by now.

Same with cars. My wife was a commercial traveller at that time, and her company car (1600cc Diesel) returned nearly 65mpg - real figures because they had to account for fuel and mileage each month. Development since then has focussed mainly on performance with economy very much a poor second.
by aesmith
10 Apr 2009, 12:44pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Folding tyres
Replies: 24
Views: 2592

Re: Folding tyres

I had a properly-inflated folding tyre come off while I was riding once. That was in the days before hooked rims and I've never seen anything to indicate that current folders are anything but 100% secure. The only problem I found was with a large off-road tyre where it was difficult to keep everything in place while fitting and inflating, because the tyre was so floppy. That one might come off more easily after a puncture, but I can't that would matter as the tyre would be totally flat by that time anyway.
by aesmith
9 Apr 2009, 7:49pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Brake cable upgrade
Replies: 12
Views: 600

Re: Brake cable upgrade

I found the Transfil stuff perfectly good, branded "K.ble" on the packaging. Currently £2.45 for two metres of outer, and the inners are £1.71 each. Prices from Wiggle, for Shimano compatible.