Speeding Cyclists

redpete

007stuart wrote: »

Sure do, how many bicycles on the market have anything but brake blocks being squeezed against the rim of a wheel?

Depends on your definition of "many years" but even for rim brakes there have been huge improvements due to alloy wheels, brake block material and mechanical improvements to brake mechanisms.

Retrogamer

007stuart wrote: »

Sure do, how many bicycles on the market have anything but brake blocks being squeezed against the rim of a wheel?

Not sure if you're trolling or being serious.
Reason being you state lighter bikes are faster so they should have a lower speed limit.
Lighter bicycles have less weight to stop, so they generally stop quicker.
Vehicles with heavier weights, generally take longer to stop. Cars are now much heavier than they've ever been due to all the safety features and technology on board.

As for bicycles on the market with nothing but brake blocks - i'm guessing you haven't cycled for a while then? A lot of bikes use disc brakes as mentioned above but even if they didn't the brake blocks on my bikes are good enough to put me over the handlebars if i wanted so any improvement on them would be wasted. I gaurantee you at 30mph, i could stop my bicycle in much less distance than a car at the same speed

Elsewhere

They may stop quicker, but they sometimes don't stop in time.

http://m.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/10633437.Woman_remains_in_critical_condition_after_crash_with_cyclist/

I think the situation would be much improved if cyclists had bells fitted to their bikes and weren't shy of using them. I've come very close to being hit by bikes when out walking, for instance on bridleways - I don't hear them coming up behind, then, with a quiet slithery noise, they shoot past me. If I'd taken a step to the side, or reached out an arm at the last minute both of us would have been injured.

nb. from the minutes of our local parish council, where the accident occurred.

"Cyclists in Langton High Street The police had been warned by concerned parishioners and the Council in the past about the problem of speeding cyclists in the village, but they have so far taken no action in the matter. Following the recent serious accident where a cyclist collided with a pedestrian, the Council asked DCC Highways for assistance, and they have supplied two temporary signs to warn cyclists to be aware of pedestrians"

hugheskevi

I'm confused? Surely if we slowed cyclists down, they would hold up cars even more?

I wish we could speed cars up around here.

Over my 8 mile commute they constantly hold me up, with their large, slow carcasses chugging along in long queues belching out fumes, reminiscent of a line of pensioners inching forward in a Post Office or rail ticket queue. Every week I lose at least an hour or two having to go around them.

Every now and again a small space opens up and there is a mad dash forward. All rationality goes out the window for those precious few seconds, and blind optimism that London's roads have become devoid of traffic dwarves the inevitable reality that 100 metres down the road they will be back in first or second gear if they are moving at all. But in those magic few seconds cyclists 'hold them up.'

Cyclists must be passed during these magic seconds, regardless of the danger involved. Presumably as another vehicle might sneak out of a side road and leave them 5 metres back in the queue. If there are pinch-points or pedestrian crossing they are an annoyance, but no reason to hold back - you never know when someone might be approaching from a side road and get out ahead of you, taking those crucial 5 metres.

Still, the main reason cycling here is much better than other areas of the city is precisely because the significant minority of pathetic drivers on the roads can't go at an average speed much above 5mph over any distance, and it is fairly rare they get to 30 mph so it is probably for the best

sdavies13

Speed limits for cyclists are unenforcable until a law comes in making speedometers compulsory for all cyclists!

My commuter has hydraulic disc brakes with 180mm rotors and they generally outbrake the tyres, especially in the wet.

Haven't hit a pedestrian yet, though have come close a few times. Generally if I'm cycling along somewhere where a pedestrian might step in front I will slow down (and unclip, especially along Lombard Street where few pedestrians realise it is a two way street for cyclists (one way for motorised traffic)) so I have more chance of avoiding conflict.

Still amazing the number of people who look in my direction, hesitate then still step out in front just as I come up to them. Would they do such with a car or motorbike?

Mind other week had a man step out in front of me as I was cycling along Fenchurch Street, start walking across then quickly turn around leap in front of me and start screaming and waving his arms about! Still managed to avoid hitting him but why do what he did?

Nebulous2

Elsewhere wrote: »

They may stop quicker, but they sometimes don't stop in time.

http://m.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/10633437.Woman_remains_in_critical_condition_after_crash_with_cyclist/

I think the situation would be much improved if cyclists had bells fitted to their bikes and weren't shy of using them. I've come very close to being hit by bikes when out walking, for instance on bridleways - I don't hear them coming up behind, then, with a quiet slithery noise, they shoot past me. If I'd taken a step to the side, or reached out an arm at the last minute both of us would have been injured.

nb. from the minutes of our local parish council, where the accident occurred.

"Cyclists in Langton High Street The police had been warned by concerned parishioners and the Council in the past about the problem of speeding cyclists in the village, but they have so far taken no action in the matter. Following the recent serious accident where a cyclist collided with a pedestrian, the Council asked DCC Highways for assistance, and they have supplied two temporary signs to warn cyclists to be aware of pedestrians"

This is a very good example of the 'tribal mentality' referred to in the BBC news article linked in one of the posts above.

Nothing about how the accident happened. Maybe the pedestrian stepped off the pavement in front of the cyclist who didn't have time to stop?

Yet it is used to show that cyclists are going too fast.

The parish council warned the police?

007stuart

Elsewhere wrote: »

They may stop quicker, but they sometimes don't stop in time.

http://m.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/10633437.Woman_remains_in_critical_condition_after_crash_with_cyclist/

I think the situation would be much improved if cyclists had bells fitted to their bikes and weren't shy of using them. I've come very close to being hit by bikes when out walking, for instance on bridleways - I don't hear them coming up behind, then, with a quiet slithery noise, they shoot past me. If I'd taken a step to the side, or reached out an arm at the last minute both of us would have been injured.

nb. from the minutes of our local parish council, where the accident occurred.

"Cyclists in Langton High Street The police had been warned by concerned parishioners and the Council in the past about the problem of speeding cyclists in the village, but they have so far taken no action in the matter. Following the recent serious accident where a cyclist collided with a pedestrian, the Council asked DCC Highways for assistance, and they have supplied two temporary signs to warn cyclists to be aware of pedestrians"

Here's something else to ponder


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-27746410


except the cyclist died this time, now I don't know if speed was to blame here but certainly anything that leads to loss of life requires investigation.

Kernel_Sanders

I find V brakes to be highly efficient, and they come on almost instantly. As Brat points out, it's a different story in the wet but I have a useful setup by having a hub brake at the rear.

Nebulous2

007stuart wrote: »

Sure do, how many bicycles on the market have anything but brake blocks being squeezed against the rim of a wheel?

It's really baffling why you start a controversial post about a subject, when you have that degree of ignorance about it.

I've been cycling seriously for almost 4 years now and have done a lot of miles on 4 different bikes.

A 1980s 'racer' with side pull calipers and chrome rims
A modern touring bike with cantilever brakes
A modern roadbike with dual pivot calipers and alloy rims
A modern cross bike with disc brakes

All of them were capable of braking pretty quickly but they all had different characteristics.

The 80s bike still has the original brake blocks and stops pretty well, except in the wet when it is quite scary.

The touring bike was probably the worst in normal conditions.

The other two modern bikes had little to choose between them and could stop faster than most other road vehicles if they had to.

The secret to using the road is not to have to though. That applies to cars and motorbikes as well. Watch other people, anticipate their behaviour and leave gaps so you can see and avoid or stop if you have to.

007stuart

liz545 wrote: »

You're absolutely right that we should work hard to make our roads safer. Do you have any statistics on how many serious injuries and fatalities have been caused by cyclists? You may find this helpful.

Thank you for the link, here is a comment from the article that shows we in GB are again behind the curve


"In Germany cyclists are ruthlessly fined (including the cycle confiscated if they can't produce ID), if they break the highway code - anything from cycling the wrong way on a one-way street through jumping red to cycling on the pavement.
Everyone (including cyclists) considers it normal, and I haven't seen it deter people from cycling, if anything, it helps them to be considered vehicles by cars"