John Doucette

312 reputation

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	312 reputation	bio	website		visits	member for	1 year, 7 months
27 badges		location			seen	2 days ago

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34 Comments

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Apr 10	comment	How can I determine whether rust has made my bike unsafe? I guessed as much on the catastrophic failure point, but it's good to get some confirmation.
Mar 7	comment	Folding bike vs mountain bike I commuted this way for several months. After the first couple of weeks, I could reliably get the bike unfolded and going in less time than it would've taken to reach the station's bike racks - let alone unlock the bike and check that it's no worse for having been left outside. In city riding conditions, I was rarely doing more than 20 or 25km/h anyway, so I'm sceptical that a full size bike would have offered much.
Mar 7	comment	Folding bike vs mountain bike +1, great answer. One possible thing to add as an advantage is that the low frame and wheels tend to make falling off a non-issue: you can safely slide yourself off the seat and not worry about hitting delicate bits on a top tube or wheel during an emergency stop. Came in handy a couple of times on icy roads!
Feb 27	comment	What subtle factors affect performance in unsubtle ways? Good question! Regarding the wind, drag is proportionate to the square of the difference between your speed and the wind. Tail winds don't help much because as you bike faster, that distance gets small very quickly. Also why doubling head wind speeds actually quadruples the apparent effects.
Oct 23	comment	How do you shift your weight when leaning on a turn? @BenediktBauer Fair point!
Oct 23	comment	How do you shift your weight when leaning on a turn? +1 for never break + turn. Really good answer!
Oct 23	comment	How do you shift your weight when leaning on a turn? @BenediktBauer As mikezs says above, it's the airbreaking that's going to change things, and at 75kmph, even a small increase in your drag profile is going to have a major effect!
Oct 4	comment	Is it safe to Cycle with an Umbrella? Thanks for your view on the safety, but I really must disagree on the point about getting wet. It most certainly does keep you dry. That's why people around here are doing it. My attempts have verified this as well.
Oct 1	comment	Is it safe to Cycle with an Umbrella? @Unsliced fair enough. My earlier comment was a hasty and surprised reaction. This is a real question. I really want to know the answer, and I believe it does have one. So, when I returned to discover it was downvoted (without explanation?) and people had left comments suggesting it was a nutty idea, or something only a clown would do, I was rather upset. The reason for wanting an umbrella is that, keeping an umbrella in one's pack 24/7 is easy and unencumbering. In contrast, keeping a raincoat and hat around just in case is not feasible.
Oct 1	comment	Is it safe to Cycle with an Umbrella? @GordonM Rereading your answer, I feel I should apologize. The comments below the question primed me to look at your response as being yet more unhelpful mockery. You have offered a useful opinion, and although I think some of your points are questionable, I am grateful for your efforts.
Oct 1	comment	Is it safe to Cycle with an Umbrella? @Unsliced I ask the question because most people here also do not wear helmets (which is 100% legal here). This is doubtless a "dangerous" activity, at least there are certainly people who would insist that it was extremely foolish. Nevertheless, many people do it, because in their view, the risks are outweighed by the benefits. For example, while I would certainly not go out in the countryside doing 35 or 40km/h without a helmet, I routinely travel at city speeds to the store an back without one. What I want to know is: how dangerous is biking with an umbrella compared with, say, no helmet.
Oct 1	comment	Is it safe to Cycle with an Umbrella? Not useful. How much more dangerous is it? Loads of people do this. I would guess it's perhaps 1 in 10 cyclists in the city I'm biking in when it rains. I have done it, and can see just fine. Also, if you read the question, I explicitly state that I'm interested in a scenario with 15km/h speeds, not 30mph! 30mph is actually 60% above the posted speed limit for the city!
Oct 1	comment	Is it safe to Cycle with an Umbrella? @Kibbee, WTHarper, and Daniel R Hicks: Thank you for your snide comments and failure to read the question beyond its title. This is a regular, normal activity that I observe many other commuters doing in the city I currently live in. It is not a clown trick or a "hare-brained idea". I have done it without major trouble several times now, having fallen only when I tried to do a U-turn while starting the bike (traveling at <5km/h). I can only infer that you must never have actually seen someone do this.
Sep 30	comment	Is it safe to Cycle with an Umbrella? @cmannett85 Also, as a regular commuter and general road rider, riding next to cars in a city with proper bike lanes, traffic signals, and bike boxes, even one handed, is pretty much the norm and seems very safe. It's the sail that worries me. :)
Sep 30	comment	Is it safe to Cycle with an Umbrella? @cmannett85, Absolutely agree that it would be safe_r_. The question is how much? Think about it this way: if my normal accident risk is say, 0.5 serious injuries/deaths per lifetime spent cycling (which is a pretty high estimate!), and riding with the umbrella makes that 0.55, no problem. It's pretty fun, and it's very convenient. On the other hand, if it makes it 5 serious injuries/deaths per lifetime, then it's not worth it!
May 4	comment	Is it normal to have some soreness in your knees after cycling with SPD? To quantify things a bit more, it hurts a bit to walk up stairs for about 2-3 hours afterwards.
May 4	comment	Is it normal to have some soreness in your knees after cycling with SPD? Unfortunately my cheapo cyclocomputer doesn't have a way of measuring my cadence. I'd guesstimate it somewhere between 70 and 90 rpm.
Mar 26	comment	Evidence on “Uglify Your Bike: Effective Theft Deterrent?” Categories 1 and 2 (and to a lesser extent 3) fall into what I've heard called the "Junkie stole my bike" domain. An interesting deterrent for these is to make your bike hard for an ordinary person to ride. Attach SPD pedals. Take the front wheel or seat indoors with you. Disengage the chain from the chain rings. De-tension calliper breaks if you have a lever for that purpose. Essentially, anything that will make it hard to just 'ride off' with your bike can act as a deterrent.
Mar 15	comment	How can I be visible in the dark when I'm signalling a turn? @MartinBeckett That's not true everywhere. In cities with a strong cycling culture, drivers almost always yield to my hand signals. I've even had a couple of them roll down their windows afterwards at intersections and thank me for using them!
Mar 15	comment	Where are the Online Bike Databases? The Internet Bike Database seems the better of the two, but not being able to break down by type makes neither of them very useful.