41
I use a sort of wave, raising my hand but with no movement in it (so not a 'Hey buddy' or 'I need help' side to side movement).... it works on my bicycle, on my motorcycle, and while driving a vehicle. It's got somewhat of a dual purpose: acknowledgement that I did something wrong, and/or 'thanks for letting me in' gratitude gesture.
The motorcycle I find a ...
30
The simple, short answer is practice. Simply riding around at moderate to slow speeds, practicing starting off, braking, stopping and negotiating tight turns will help build balance, confidence and control of the bike. Do this in a quiet spot away from people and cars if you can. If you are worried about falling do it on grass.
The most useful foundational ...
25
You're talking about a "bunny hop" and it can be done at speed on a loaded bike but it's high risk. You'd almost certainly be better off jumping off the bike and rolling. US Bike Trials call it a "side hop", but in anglonesia I've mostly heard it called a bunny hop.
Here's a photo of the 2006 Cycle Messenger World Champion doing more or less that at about ...
20
In my experience, no. The problem is that however polite you try to be you're taking the lane so you're in their way.
My commute takes me over a narrow one-lane-each-way bridge that's a bit of a choke point, so it's busy. It's also a raised bridge, so sight lines are very poor. Since I ride it twice a day I've had the chance to experiment with some ...
19
It is all subjective, but I would say that a public place is better (as I have previously answered to a similar question).
Most bike thefts are opportunistic; unless you've got an especially desirable bike the theft is not about your bike, it's about stealing any bike. So the key is to reducing the opportunity to steal your bike:
as you point out, ...
17
The vibrations will be hard on it. The result will not be instantaneous failure, but an increasing likelihood of failure after perhaps several hundred hours of riding.
The likelihood of damage can be greatly reduced with a resilient, shock-absorbing mount of some sort (I assume most commercial mounts include some shock-absorbing function).
Most important ...
15
The last one. As already mentioned, you're describing a bunny hop.
Allowing the rear to hit the curb - even if there is relatively little weight over it - will increase the risk of pinch punctures, potential rim damage, and it will slow you down considerably more than a clean bunny hop.
Hops are weird. Once you can do them you will never understand why you ...
14
Whatever you do, don't be a prick. Noone likes a cyclist who reinforces the bad stereotypes.
Do Share The Road Even though you're in the right, there's no need to be offensive.
Personally I find bells lazy, most cyclists have a good loud voice and a "Hi there, just gonna pass on your left" is far nicer than "ringring"
Absolutely never try to scare ...
12
I suggest following a short course in some martial arts class where you can learn to fall correctly (Judo would be my suggestion)
there is nothing you can read that will prepare you for a fall and that will suppress the reflex to stick out your arm to catch yourself (and possibly break it); only practice will have you instead tuck in that arm provide a ...
11
I would at least put road tires on your mountain bike - they really improve your efficiency on pavement.
If your commute is urban w/ lots of stops & traffic navigation, the mountain bike handlebar setup can be more maneuverable for tight situations than a road/touring bike. I do miss the maneuverability of my mountain bike since switching to a road bike....
11
In the end it might matter more WHO is around the rack (policemen, guards, janitors, public workers, parking lot workers, hot-dog stand owners, etc.) than HOW MANY people.
I'd rather, when available, leave my bike under one lonely ever-present alert pair of eyes than in a crowd of anonymous passers-by.
11
There's not much more to say than: tuck your head, protect your face with your arms, relax, and wait for it to be over.
Realistically, though, you're not going to remember the contents of this post the next time shit hits the fan and you find yourself tumbling on the asphalt. But if you can manage any of these things, you'll hopefully minimize the chance of ...
11
I have had my phone attached to the handlebars in a little sleeve made of gaffer tape and some clear plastic I got out of the recycle bin and it's been good for a few years (I've replaced the sleeve thingy a few times as it disintegrated). For protection it's got a strip of high density foam at the back of it so that it doesn't clunk on the gooseneck when I ...
11
For a city commuter bike, don't bother with disk brakes - go for simple rim brakes. You'll want the reliability over all else. You don't need disks for most types of road cycling, as the limiting factor for grip is likely to be your tyre anyway.
As regards shifters, go with whatever is comfortable for you. I like the combination of brakes and gear levers in ...
11
Short answer: yes, there is a way to do it. I fully support Mσᶎ's answer and have more to say than will fit in comments.
Firstly, regarding the original premise.
You happen to look over your shoulder (or in your mirror) and see a vehicle approaching from behind, either fully in the bike lane, or close enough that they can't safely pass.
If I'm riding a ...
11
The "trick" you're looking for is a side hop. It's really a variation on a bunny hop.
Basically, you perform a standard bunny hop but when the handlebars and front wheel reach their zenith, you pull the front end over the obstacle while pushing them forward. The forward motion pulls the rear wheel up, as with a standard bunny hop. However, you additionally ...
10
I have seen and used a sheepish wave and a shoulder shrug or head bow, never had someone try to beat me up after that.
10
In the UK there is a national training scheme targeting child cyclists, often organized through schools. It claims to have trained about 2.5 million children to date. It has been running under different names for a long time - I took part in it back in the 1950s! Go to https://bikeability.org.uk/. "Level 1" is mainly about controlling the bike. Levels 2 and ...
9
To some extent, you can actually "learn" to fall. The problem is that the learning has to be "motor learning" and not just thinking about it.
In other words, you have to train your nervous system to do it through practice.
Some of the best bike handling I've ever seen has been from people who ride single track (mountain biking). This type of riding ...
9
Some tips I've gathered from being on both sides of the fence. Since you're specifically asking riding safely and minimizing motorist antagonism, there are some which will work but might not appeal to your sense of justice/fairness:
Even higher visibility. One way of antagonising drivers is to appear at the last moment, since they won't have time to plan ...
9
There is a lot of discussion about this topic (i.e. a lot of anecdotes) because pedals are a very personal matter (cf. LondonCyclist or Zach Gallardo). However, I think that you're over-thinking this in some way: The "safest" pedal is the pedal you're most used to and comfortable with.
Consider, for example, a hypothetical case where clipless pedals have ...
9
I agree with the advice to practice.
There's a book, Effective Cycling by John Forester, which covers everything--the physiology of cycling, bike maintenance, interacting with traffic, etc. Some of the advice on bike maintenance is outdated at this point, and I think some of what he wrote about physiology has been superseded by improved scientific ...
8
I've seen videos showing people stealing bikes amidst a crowd of onlookers while no one intervenes. Locking in a crowded place isn't necessarily going to save your bike. On the other hand, lots of bikes are stolen from locked garages.
I'm not aware of any statistics about what storage method is safer. I've never had a bike stolen, but from what I've heard ...
8
In my experience, things happen so fast it is practically impossible to react with some kind of plan. I have fallen over when I couldn't unclip fast enough (in other words, when the bike was stopped at a light or similar), and those were the only times where I knew I was falling and could actually spend a fraction of a second looking for something to grab, ...
8
Yes, it can.
I had my HTC One (M8) mounted to my handlebars and after only ONE RIDE the camera broke. The focus element of the camera was a moving part that just couldn't stand up to the shock. The phone still worked fine, but phones w/o cameras suck so I had to get a new one.
8
You can't really burn "tummy fat." Your body has an order that it will store fat in and it will lose fat in the reverse order. You can lose bodyfat, but it goes away in the reverse order that you put it on. You can make it appear that you've proportionally lost more weight in your tummy by building up the muscles there.
8
Answer (tl;dr) Find another route.
I checked around using google street view to get the image in the question. Some observations...
There are no cyclists visible anywhere. There are also no motorcyclists I noticed.
The lighting is poor and patchy
Many of the vehicles travelling the lower deck do not have lights on.
The road surface is patchy and ...
7
I would try to avoid rim brakes for a low-maintenance commuter bike, because they're not low maintenance. And they don't work very well in the rain. They're also not much cheaper than cheap disk brakes. It's not worth the price difference.
In my experience the roller brakes are less effective than disks or drums. The roller brakes don't bite, they're very ...
7
You have a few options. One that has been marketed to cyclists has been the totobo mask which is from what I gather a re-usable N95 mask (although uncertified by any agency) with replaceable filter peices. It's cheap to try, at only $25 or so.
The Respro is another option. It seems like a bit more customizable, and looks like the neoprene would ...
7
1- Disc brakes perform better in wet weather. If you choose rim brakes, aluminum rims offer a better braking surface than carbon rims. Hidraulic brakes adjust for pad wear and both pads move inwards to press against the disc surface. Mechanical brakes push one pad (usually the outer one) onto the disc, and the disc has to flex to touch the other pad.
2.- "...
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