Ask a Bicycle Question - Part 5

[Jay Bee]

How to negotiate for space on road? I always have some fears.

1. Just before slip road, how to safely go straight while fast moving vehicles behind or beside is cutting leftwards?

2. How to safely move to the far right lane to make a right turn? Do we behave like motorcyclists to take a lane at the cross junction?

3. How to safely switch to faster lane when the buses in front stops at the bus stop? I also not sure when will the first bus starts moving.

Sent from Xiaomi MI 4I using GAGT

1) this one LTA & TP refuse to reply me, i posted my email and their reply back in this thread..... say like nv say... actually nv say at all

2) if no car, i just change lane then take up the entire turn lane. if too busy, i use the pedestrian crossing

3) i always stop behind bus. u overtake, later he overtake u back is lppl..... unless u are super fast and he nv see you again. I just hide behind bus and use it to block wind

personally, i think getting rammed, directly from the back is safer then side swipe.

if u are traveling 30kmh, the car ram you ( assuming he is not speeding) is an acceleration force of 40kmh. most likely u land backwards onto the bonnet, then side off at ( car velocity - your forward momentum )

If you kenna side swipe, its 30kmh + 40kmh radial acceleration. the car will move away.

If you are extremely unlucky, your handle bar turn too much (45degrees), it will be 50kmh of angular acceleration. potentially falling at 50kmh to the tarmac.

If that doesnt kill you, on coming cars are coming

 

[Sadisticnoob]

Well, for me, there's no need to reach my destination sooner. My nbr one priority is safety and will always be. Nbr 2 priority is enjoying the process. My challenge is always myself, setting my own target and speed/pace, and not challenging or trying to keep up with others.

abit different for me, whenever i go out to ride (unless social ride) i wanna finish what i have to do and get home to rest, normally i like to push myself by going for a harder than usual ride, so far im quite happy with my peformance. I used to be a relatively slow rider, now im a little faster now. I used to run red lights but recently i stopped doing it. as for speed and pacing, i try to keep average speed within a certain range, but I like riding fast, you see things and appreciate things differently

 

[Sadisticnoob]

How to negotiate for space on road? I always have some fears.

1. Just before slip road, how to safely go straight while fast moving vehicles behind or beside is cutting leftwards?

2. How to safely move to the far right lane to make a right turn? Do we behave like motorcyclists to take a lane at the cross junction?

3. How to safely switch to faster lane when the buses in front stops at the bus stop? I also not sure when will the first bus starts moving.

Sent from Xiaomi MI 4I using GAGT

1. take the lane but when you reach centre of the slip road move abit to the right and let the car overtake you on the left.

2. signal use hand to the direction you want and turn your head and see if the car give way, if car give way just go in and say thank you. if scared wait till traffic clear then turn.

3. i normally start check clear with around 250-400m then start filtering out but i filter till abit out of the bus lane

 

[-nzy90]

You answered it.

What if the bike simply simply can't fit well due to shorter cockpit length as in the case of the aleoca folding bicycle?

That can happen to any folding bike. If the bike doesn't fit, it isn't comfortable. Maybe I am lucky but I have no problem with the foldies from aleoca in terms of fit.

Sent from Samsung SM-N910G using GAGT

 

[erwinrommel]

How to negotiate for space on road? I always have some fears.

1. Just before slip road, how to safely go straight while fast moving vehicles behind or beside is cutting leftwards?

2. How to safely move to the far right lane to make a right turn? Do we behave like motorcyclists to take a lane at the cross junction?

3. How to safely switch to faster lane when the buses in front stops at the bus stop? I also not sure when will the first bus starts moving.

I normally don't go on roads when I am alone.

In a small group, things get a bit tricky.

1. Before i reach a slip road/do a lane change, I will tilt my head to check out for any vehicles planning to cut in. Normally they will see us and slow down. But for taxis, its another story.

2. This is the most challenging part for a big peloton that is spread wide. The lead rider should reduce the speed before reaching the junction to make sure the peloton gets compact to allow slower riders to catch up. Then the sweeper will shout lane change to the right once the traffic is clear and safe to go. The rest will echo and make lane change accordingly.

The right turn is the most difficult to execute in a large group, especially for busy roads. Good luck.

3. Its easy for me. Its the same procedure as step 1, except i have a 1800 lumens headlight. I will flash it to gain attention and use hand signal to acknowledge the driver and so far, almost all of them will acknowledge and wave back to indicate they have spotted us.

Some other rules i use when cycling in a group:

1) always ride close together to make use of drafting to save energy and increase speed

2) When speed is increased even higher, simple stuffs like cycling on double yellow lines will reduce friction and make the wheels spin faster

3) Always echo pothole when one is spotted. Point if possible without endangering safety.

4) Use hand signals to indicate single file or double, direction turns or slowing. Echo short simple instructions like "Car left, car right car back" to warn people of the direction of oncoming cars. Best if some experienced cyclist blows whistle.

 

[erwinrommel]

That can happen to any folding bike. If the bike doesn't fit, it isn't comfortable. Maybe I am lucky but I have no problem with the foldies from aleoca in terms of fit.

You are real lucky.

One of my friend suffered a severe cramp with this aleoca folding bike at about 8km.

I dunno who will ride this bike with such a short cockpit length.

 

[Jay Bee]

You are real lucky.

One of my friend suffered a severe cramp with this aleoca folding bike at about 8km.

I dunno who will ride this bike with such a short cockpit length.

chewren.... moi buibui no chance to ride that bike

 

[DigDub]

is 60 revs a minute an optimum way to cycle?
cos i dont do that

cycle at a cadence that's comfortable to you. I prefer a lower cadence while my friends cycle at a higher cadence and we all can keep at about the same speed. if I cycle at higher cadence, my legs tend to cramp more easily.

 

[azz909]

Today at old thomson road passed by this uncle ard 40plus-50 on mtb. I rode quite fast til sembawang road where there's a long uphill slope until the junction at mandai road. Realized someone was behind me, I turned around and saw him! Was like wtf how can he keep up with me on a mtb. After another uphill he was still behind me. Let him overtake as I was already turning to yishun. Noticed he's quite fit type and using slick tires. But still impressive at that age and the bike he used.

 

[BuShuang]

Thinking of getting parts from CRC to zhng my old foldie. If i bring more than 10 parts to a LBS for them to help me install, will have any problem or not huh? Will they face black black and quote me chop carrot price for the work?

 

[azz909]

Can try scootz if you live near them. Last time brought parts to change whole drivetrain. They ok to do.

 

[kuniyo_keiji]

i need to get my foldie for servicing real soon. any recommandations?

 

[IronMac]

is 60 revs a minute an optimum way to cycle?
cos i dont do that

It will depend on the situation but play around with the gears to try to achieve that. In my post this was with a flat road. Of course, it's impossible to achieve this going up Mt. Faber unless you have incredibly low gearing and fit.

Over time, you will settle into what works for you and your biking style.

People have to remember that this one thread has roadies, mtbers, casual cyclists, tourers, etc.

 

[IronMac]

i need to get my foldie for servicing real soon. any recommandations?

What sort of servicing? I haven't brought my foldie in since I got it 5 five years ago! All work done by myself but it was built with low maintenance in mind.

 

[erwinrommel]

What sort of servicing? I haven't brought my foldie in since I got it 5 five years ago! All work done by myself but it was built with low maintenance in mind.

Your Rohloff hub may work against you when climbing slopes.

Convenient and maintenance free, yes... but when climbing slopes, it is at a disadvantage compared to a proper derailleur cassette system.

 

[IronMac]

Your Rohloff hub may work against you when climbing slopes.

Convenient and maintenance free, yes... but when climbing slopes, it is at a disadvantage compared to a proper derailleur cassette system.

I don't think so. I was in a group of 16 folding bikes...two of them were Birdys with Rohloffs. I beat all of them to the top of Mt. Faber one night. The rest never made it.

 

[Broadwalk]

I don't think so. I was in a group of 16 folding bikes...two of them were Birdys with Rohloffs. I beat all of them to the top of Mt. Faber one night. The rest never made it.

Do you reckon a normal dahon boardwalk or a simple tern or a crius performance on the Mt faber? What do you think?

 

[erwinrommel]

I don't think so. I was in a group of 16 folding bikes...two of them were Birdys with Rohloffs. I beat all of them to the top of Mt. Faber one night. The rest never made it.

You must be a very strong rider.

I climbed mount faber with my IGH (before mod) and cassette derailleur system (after mod). Way easier to climb with the latter.

 

[BuShuang]

Can try scootz if you live near them. Last time brought parts to change whole drivetrain. They ok to do.

That's good to know. Any idea what's the typical cost?

 

[IronMac]

Do you reckon a normal dahon boardwalk or a simple tern or a crius performance on the Mt faber? What do you think?

I don't know. A lot depends on the rider too.