Search found 401 matches

by Swizz69
15 Mar 2010, 8:47am
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Hi Viz - What's the story
Replies: 60
Views: 3169

Re: Hi Viz - What's the story

Maybe i'm cycling on another planet, but don't wear hi-viz (unless its chucking it down - yellow aldi waterproof :oops: ) and don't seem to suffer half as many bad experiences some on this thread seem to suffer. Even in black.

What about about behaviour? How you ride? How you position yourself? How well you spot hazards & react to them yourself?

What about all these people you see riding around without mudguards, whose tabards they place so much faith in as an essential piece of safety kit, are so grotty as a result they are anything but hi-viz?
by Swizz69
13 Mar 2010, 10:00am
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: revolution country explorer
Replies: 3
Views: 631

Re: revolution country explorer

The steel frame is new for this year I think Mark.

The old ally framed model seemed to be considered good value - google for reviews & search on here. The only negative point i've read was regarding the disk brakes requiring regular adjustment/pads wearing out when touring.

That said, looks really nice & well worth a nosey at for the money :)
by Swizz69
9 Mar 2010, 12:27pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Hands free ....
Replies: 11
Views: 714

Re: Hands free ....

I once had a bluetooth headset that had an earbud & rubber loop to fit around your ear, that would take a lot to budge it & was water resistant.

Unsure whether using one on a bike would be a good idea. I reckon hands-free's are almost as distracting as a regular phone in a car. Why not just pull over to take a call?
by Swizz69
7 Mar 2010, 8:40pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Rural roads
Replies: 20
Views: 1299

Re: Rural roads

Btw, lest we give any cycling newbies a fear for cycling

Phew, let's hope none of them read most of this thread then. All it's lacking is a few helmet & hi-vis piccys to reinforce the icing on the dangerous cake :shock:
by Swizz69
4 Mar 2010, 10:56pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Worst youtube clip i've seen...
Replies: 137
Views: 10607

Re: Worst youtube clip i've seen...

EdinburghFixed wrote: There is no doubt that by reducing his speed from 15mph to 10mph, or 5mph, magnatom could have ensured that any vehicle barging the roundabout would miss him.

But what if he had joined the roundabout from a different entry point, and just happened to be in the same spot as the idiot driving the truck steamrollered onto the junction?

The clear fact is that whether the truck was bullying, or wasn't paying attention, he had no intention of stopping for anybody. Providing what the rider says is correct (that he did see the truck slowing down & giving the impression he wasn't going to pull out), I don't think our guy did much wrong. When the driver made his split second decision, he wouldn't have left anyone with much time to react, so in avoiding a crash - well done cyclist.
by Swizz69
4 Mar 2010, 5:42pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Worst youtube clip i've seen...
Replies: 137
Views: 10607

Re: Worst youtube clip i've seen...

Meic wrote: Notice when he got stopped in the middle, the cars following the lorry also took priority over the cyclist.

Yep, I couldn't believe that either :evil:
by Swizz69
4 Mar 2010, 5:01pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Sharrows for road positioning
Replies: 11
Views: 2362

Re: Sharrows for road positioning

Cunobelin wrote: You certainly don't seem convinced.

Not completely. The reason is that like a cycle lane, its just paint that puts a cyclist in a certain position on the road that may or may not be right for every occasion. Roads really are chaotic, not in an 'unsafe' way, but in the sense that random things happen - buses stop, cars break down, taxi's drop people off, vans make deliveries, builders skips sit waiting to be filled, and in the outside lanes vehicles often sit waiting to turn right. The best way to travel down one is to take it as you find it and deal with each situation as it happens.

With regards to using them to try & improve poor road features , i'm more in favour of engineering the features better in the first place, and spending money re-engineering existing ones where possible.

Centre islands installed suppose-ably to help pedestrians for example create pinch points. We were in Portugal a few weeks ago & the place is littered with zebra crossings which (despite what people say of Portuguese drivers) approaching vehicles treated with utmost respect. The few around here work almost as well. Considering the usual option, has anyone tried perching on a tiny centre island with a pushchair? Zebra's are better on both counts, and for the artists are a better use of paint imo

Painting pictures of bikes on the road may alert drivers to the fact there may be cyclists about, but the same would result from cyclists being on the roads in the first place...

...I know the question before its asked, "So how do we get more cyclists out there in the first place?" :roll:
by Swizz69
4 Mar 2010, 1:35pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Sharrows for road positioning
Replies: 11
Views: 2362

Re: Sharrows for road positioning

tali42 wrote: In the common case where hell will freeze over before parking is removed to benefit cyclists, sharrows are probably better than nothing, and definitely better than a lane in the door zone. Probably cheaper than trying to educate motorists about the problem of the door zone, from a cyclist's perspective.

I've heard of the term 'better than nothing' being used as an excuse for installing sub-standard cycle lanes :|

The world being the chaotic place that it is, no amount of painted double-yellows/lanes/sharrows or whatever will stop vehicles, skips & other obstructions from needing to be plonked at the side of a road.

Doesn't the argument just boil down to 'paint' vs. 'how the cyclist rides'?

Edited: baaad spelling
by Swizz69
3 Mar 2010, 2:01pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Cyclescheme suspended?
Replies: 17
Views: 2633

Re: Cyclescheme suspended?

Cunobelin wrote:Slightly OT, but....

I had a colleague who "mortgaged to the hilt" and bought a bike, computer, phone, and everything else she could on salary sacrifice.

Then when she retired she found that as these are all "pre-tax" the actua taxable income had declined and it had affected her pension!

It is relevant to the scheme. I was made aware of this implication when buying a bike last year. Your mate has taken salary sacrifice to its extremes by the sound of it. The reality is you don't get something for nothing :roll:
Still a good scheme though and hope the plug hasn't been pulled :)
by Swizz69
2 Mar 2010, 10:51pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Winter woes
Replies: 1
Views: 285

Re: Winter woes

How do people ride without mudguards?

Just think of all the muck that you & your bicycle aren't wearing thanks to your mudguards :)
by Swizz69
27 Feb 2010, 7:31pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: ctc cycling election campaign is not ambitious
Replies: 15
Views: 2144

Re: ctc cycling election campaign is not ambitious

not ambitious

Not in the slightest.

Unless you live somewhere where cycling is already popular, you make a good point that 'double' might not be a lot.

It's achievable if nothing else :|
by Swizz69
25 Feb 2010, 8:17pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: The Decade of Cycling
Replies: 51
Views: 3548

Re: The Decade of Cycling

PS I've just spotted where the NCS went wrong. A majority of the cyclists in the illustrations are not wearing helmets.

OmG! Can I agree discretely without the H-issue taking over the thread? :mrgreen:

In fact, maybe the Active Travel Strategy will go wrong for the same reason :roll:
by Swizz69
25 Feb 2010, 8:13pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: The Decade of Cycling
Replies: 51
Views: 3548

Re: The Decade of Cycling

So why aren't there more utility cyclists?


I'd say because its become so easy to own a car.

As a family we find a car pretty useful, although walking locally as a family, and cycling locally when travelling alone instead of using the car has knocked 4000 miles off what I used to average in ours - about £500 at todays price of petrol. Thats not an earth changing lump of cash spread over a year admittedly, but when you consider wear & tear also the figure may be higher.

One things for sure, for a second car or a main car that only does short journeys, that sum would rise considerably when taking initial outlay/depreciation/tax disk/insurance into account, compared with owning a half decent bike. There's a good case for selling the idea of a utility bike, but its not on the radar of peoples aspirations.

That said, we were amazed at the number of bicycles in York last year though, and last week we were on hols down on the Algarve, a few miles from Tavira. Quite a few of the locals there still use bikes for utility. Many of those that don't, drive because its getting cheaper for them to do so :|
by Swizz69
25 Feb 2010, 6:52pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: The Decade of Cycling
Replies: 51
Views: 3548

Re: The Decade of Cycling

Who mentioned determined cycling enthusiast's or clothing? By 'decent range of gears' i'm talking 18 speed mtb or hybrid which are pretty average. Clothing wise, a trip to the town centre maybe a mile or two away isn't beyond what you could walk there in, and with mudguards even more so. By fitness, take someone who can ride that same bike comfortably avoiding cardiac arrest - a hill ridden up unladen with lower gears to spare is do-able with a few bags of shopping.

For locking up without a bike rack, a lamppost or signpost can be as safe as a bike rack if not safer if its in a more visible location, as can a barrier or other bit of street furniture.

There simply isn't the space amongst buildings, narrow footpaths and cramped highways, street furniture and whatnot to separate bicycles from motor vehicles in most urban areas.

Yes you're right. There simply isn't the space to do so, and neither is there the need.