adamedwards
Member
- Joined
- 4 Apr 2016
- Messages
- 796
I started cycling in lockdown and have been involved in two fairly serious collisions.
One was a car driving into the side of me on a roundabout, the other involved my bike getting somewhat munched by a double decker.
Yeah, do Deliveroo part-time, usually earn about £12/13 an hour so not bad for me as a student. Flexible working hours too so there is no need to work if you don't want to.Yeah, i used to walk to work and as soon as i started work got really sweaty. Was thinking of doing that Deliveroo thong for some cash? Anyone done it?
When a cyclist should be riding at least 0.75m out from the kerb, their handlebars are typically 0.6m wide so 0.3m each side, you should overtake with 1.5m clearance and a typical car is 2m wide, how wide does the road have to be for you to overtake a lone cyclist without going into the next lane? How many roads in the UK are that wide?There are roads where you could overtake one cyclist at 1.5m and stay on your side of the road, but with two you can't.
I think the idea is you're supposed to go into the other lane when the opportunity becomes available. Else, you should remain behind the cyclist until there is opportunity to pass safely. The cyclist may need to suddenly swerve to avoid a pothole, etc and as a vulnerable road user could very easily be killed by a car trying to overtake too closely.When a cyclist should be riding at least 0.75m out from the kerb, their handlebars are typically 0.6m wide so 0.3m each side, you should overtake with 1.5m clearance and a typical car is 2m wide, how wide does the road have to be for you to overtake a lone cyclist without going into the next lane? How many roads in the UK are that wide?
I think the idea is you're supposed to go into the other lane when the opportunity becomes available. Else, you should remain behind the cyclist until there is opportunity to pass safely. The cyclist may need to suddenly swerve to avoid a pothole, etc and as a vulnerable road user could very easily be killed by a car trying to overtake too closely.
When a cyclist should be riding at least 0.75m out from the kerb, their handlebars are typically 0.6m wide so 0.3m each side, you should overtake with 1.5m clearance and a typical car is 2m wide, how wide does the road have to be for you to overtake a lone cyclist without going into the next lane? How many roads in the UK are that wide?
There are almost no such A roads now. The few with dangerously wide 5+m lanes have almost all been given wide shoulders and centre hatch markings on repainting. Please change lanes to overtake. Even when it's not absolutely necessary, it's still nicer.Unless the road is wide enough for you to overtake without crossing into the other lane, such as an A road
There are almost no such A roads now.
The few with dangerously wide 5+m lanes have almost all been given wide shoulders and centre hatch markings on repainting
Please change lanes to overtake. Even when it's not absolutely necessary, it's still nicer.
There are almost no such A roads now. The few with dangerously wide 5+m lanes have almost all been given wide shoulders and centre hatch markings on repainting. Please change lanes to overtake. Even when it's not absolutely necessary, it's still nicer.
Only one example specific enough. Here is a Google Earth of what looks widest on the A5 between Shrewesbury and Oswestry. Comparing with 2m wide car, the lanes do not look much over 4m and probably not even the 4.55m required if everyone has perfett positioning and leaving no margin for error.There are absolutely loads of them. I posted some examples.
Only one example specific enough. Here is a Google Earth of what looks widest on the A5 between Shrewesbury and Oswestry. Comparing with 2m wide car, the lanes do not look much over 4m and probably not even the 4.55m required if everyone has perfett positioning and leaving no margin for error.
There are very few roads with wide enough lanes. Far fewer than how many bad drivers think as they forze their way past.
That looks like plenty of room.
Idk what you're talking about
Generally speaking the way people use that bit of the A5 (and similar roads - the Wendover bypass is another one I can think of) is that an overtaking car, whether of a bicycle or another car[1], will run slightly over the line and oncoming drivers will accommodate it. Given the pence that they will have saved in not just dualling it when they built it, it is a bit of a nuisance and does cause accidents when oncoming vehicles don't move in.
[1] Because when overtaking a bicycle you treat it pretty much as if it was a car, imagining it as if the bicycle was sat on the handbrake. That is easier than trying to figure out what 1.5m is.
There are very few roads with wide enough lanes. Far fewer than how many bad drivers think as they forze their way past.
It was force, misspelt. I mean when a driver overtakes without proper clearance, typically when attempting to overtake without changing lanes.What do you mean by "forze"? It's good practice to accelerate quickly when overtaking cyclists, to minimise the time spent on the oncoming lane.
Far too many pedestrians seem to think that a bike has better brakes than a car although I have seen plenty of cyclists who ride as if they have ABS as well.I have learnt to expect the unexpected; always be alert. An elderly woman decided to cross the road on my way to work last week, but I was able to see what she was doing and stopped in time. If I had not been alert, we would have collided.
My hydraulic disc breaks do come in handy at timesFar too many pedestrians seem to think that a bike has better brakes than a car ...
I saw "ABS feature" bike brake pads in a shop yesterday! Brand was XLC. No idea how/if they work.Far too many pedestrians seem to think that a bike has better brakes than a car although I have seen plenty of cyclists who ride as if they have ABS as well.
My hydraulic disc breaks do come in handy at times
I think they cost more than some people spend on a budget bike, but well worth the cost, in my opinion.
Hydraulic disc brakes on bikes aren't 'power assisted', but they are self adjusting, - and because of that they can be set closer to the disk, so the brake lever can be set for a higher mechanical advantage.Are the hydraulic bike brakes assisted like car brakes?
Having said that, my mountain bike has cable disk brakes, and I haven't had many issues stopping, even on some demanding trails.
How do you do that? I thought mechanical advantage was calculated from the bar length and pivot position, so can you move the bar across the pivot somehow? That sounds more fragile.Hydraulic disc brakes on bikes aren't 'power assisted', but they are self adjusting, - and because of that they can be set closer to the disk, so the brake lever can be set for a higher mechanical advantage.
How do you do that? I thought mechanical advantage was calculated from the bar length and pivot position, so can you move the bar across the pivot somehow? That sounds more fragile.
So you change the pistons to set it to something different? And does this not have another name in English to differentiate it from the mechanics of the lever?The same as the way the used to do it for cars before power assist was a thing. Basically you have a narrow, long piston at the brake handle (master cylinder) and a wide, short piston at the brake pad end (slave cylinder). The master cylinder therefore moves a long distance with a low force to move the slave cylinder a short distance with a high force. It basically works the same as gearing.
No, caliper assembly, hose and lever comes as a system which is matched to the range of mechanical advantage that normal riders expect to use.So you change the pistons to set it to something different?
No it doesn't need any different name, the mechanical system is a human hand squeezing the brake lever with a certain force over a certain distance, which results in the brake cylinder piston pushing the pad forward a different distance with a different pressure. So if the human hand has to move the lever 50mm to make the pad move 2mm, the force as the pad meets the resistance of the disc is 25 times that required to pull the lever, (minus the force required to overcome any resistance in the mechanical lever, friction in both cylinders and expansion of the hydraulic pipes under pressure).And does this not have another name in English to differentiate it from the mechanics of the lever?