If FEMA had the bicycles, would it fund Hustler's manlet bib?
12-13-2013, 08:05 PM
#762
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Got doored on the way home tonight on 31st. Passenger in the back of a Merc SUV decided that halfway between 5th & Broadway would be a good place to hop out of the back of the vehicle without looking behind him. No broken bones, but pretty sore on the left shoulder and thigh where I came down.
Fortunately, as the temps have been in the 20s lately, I was wearing a thick leather jacket, denim jeans, and my cold-weather M/C gloves. So no road rash. That wreck would have sucked a lot more in the summertime.
And yet I still see people riding in this city without a lid. Amazing...
Fortunately, as the temps have been in the 20s lately, I was wearing a thick leather jacket, denim jeans, and my cold-weather M/C gloves. So no road rash. That wreck would have sucked a lot more in the summertime.
And yet I still see people riding in this city without a lid. Amazing...
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12-13-2013, 08:22 PM
#763
Wow dude, sorry to hear. So glad you're not bent. The thread title has proven more prophetic than satirical :(
I have never been doored but had a few close calls. I always leave as much room as possible between me and cars to act as a reaction time buffer, tough or impossible to do in narrow city lanes though. I also check over my shoulder for swinging room and swing wide if I see a head in the drivers seat or in face in the side mirror, even if there are no other signs a door may be opening. More than once I've seen something reflective in the side view mirror out of the corner of my eye as I passed, checked behind and swerved quickly as a reaction even though the door didn't open. Perhaps overly vigilant but as your crash shows, it's easy to justify being hyper alert.
Over the years riding with other people, a few times I've seen heads in driver seats that the rider in front of me missed, shouted "door!", rider looks up, swerves just as the door begins to open. This tells me the rider in front didn't see the head in the drivers seat or reflection in the mirror. Of course many vehicles have obstructed views of interior.
I have never been doored but had a few close calls. I always leave as much room as possible between me and cars to act as a reaction time buffer, tough or impossible to do in narrow city lanes though. I also check over my shoulder for swinging room and swing wide if I see a head in the drivers seat or in face in the side mirror, even if there are no other signs a door may be opening. More than once I've seen something reflective in the side view mirror out of the corner of my eye as I passed, checked behind and swerved quickly as a reaction even though the door didn't open. Perhaps overly vigilant but as your crash shows, it's easy to justify being hyper alert.
Over the years riding with other people, a few times I've seen heads in driver seats that the rider in front of me missed, shouted "door!", rider looks up, swerves just as the door begins to open. This tells me the rider in front didn't see the head in the drivers seat or reflection in the mirror. Of course many vehicles have obstructed views of interior.
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12-13-2013, 08:49 PM
#764
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Hahaha. Yeah, that has occurred to me. I think I may change it to something else and attempt to lift this curse.
Really no way to avoid this one, though.
The cross-streets (those which run east-west) in Manhattan are extremely narrow, typically with cars parked along both sides and one lane of moving traffic in the middle.
Cyclists in NYC generally ride on the left (nearly all streets here are one-way), which reduces the probability of getting doored by a parked car- you're always on the passenger's side of the parked cars. And I tend to hug the moving traffic, and keep some distance from the parked traffic on the side of the road.
This wasn't a parked car, however, it was a passenger hopping out of the back seat of a vehicle that was stopped in the regular traffic lane in typical 6pm Manhattan gridlock.
Ah, well. On the plus side, I now know that the basket on the front of a Citibike is built like a battering ram. When it impacts the trailing edge of a just-opened Mercedes door, not only does the bicycle sustain no damage at all, but it puts a fairly expensive-looking crease into the Merc.
Really no way to avoid this one, though.
The cross-streets (those which run east-west) in Manhattan are extremely narrow, typically with cars parked along both sides and one lane of moving traffic in the middle.
Cyclists in NYC generally ride on the left (nearly all streets here are one-way), which reduces the probability of getting doored by a parked car- you're always on the passenger's side of the parked cars. And I tend to hug the moving traffic, and keep some distance from the parked traffic on the side of the road.
This wasn't a parked car, however, it was a passenger hopping out of the back seat of a vehicle that was stopped in the regular traffic lane in typical 6pm Manhattan gridlock.
Ah, well. On the plus side, I now know that the basket on the front of a Citibike is built like a battering ram. When it impacts the trailing edge of a just-opened Mercedes door, not only does the bicycle sustain no damage at all, but it puts a fairly expensive-looking crease into the Merc.
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12-15-2013, 04:19 PM
#769
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Sidebar: Michelin Pilot City tires aren't especially well-suited to use in snow and ice. They're ok in the wet, but they don't deal well with deep slush and actual hard ice.
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12-15-2013, 07:14 PM
#770
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I did it as a kid with the cheap bikes i destroyed then...
I know 99% of us wont do it even though i mentioned it.
to be honest though, i did it this summer with my vintage skinny tire bike to be able putting off new pads to see if the bike needed anything else before i spent more on it.... since I was trying to build a bike for as cheaply as I could.
I rode the bike all summer with about $100 in it with new tires, tubes, chain, cables and bottle cage.... the tires i didnt cheap out on.
Since the snow has been flying i more than doubled my investment with all new braking (handles, premium cables and dual pivots with meh pads) and an ultegra shifter. i dont recomend doing cheap **** like wd40... i almost drove into things a few times when the wd40 treatment wore off LOL.
I know 99% of us wont do it even though i mentioned it.
to be honest though, i did it this summer with my vintage skinny tire bike to be able putting off new pads to see if the bike needed anything else before i spent more on it.... since I was trying to build a bike for as cheaply as I could.
I rode the bike all summer with about $100 in it with new tires, tubes, chain, cables and bottle cage.... the tires i didnt cheap out on.
Since the snow has been flying i more than doubled my investment with all new braking (handles, premium cables and dual pivots with meh pads) and an ultegra shifter. i dont recomend doing cheap **** like wd40... i almost drove into things a few times when the wd40 treatment wore off LOL.
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12-16-2013, 02:35 PM
#774
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Yeah, I noticed that. Most of the higher-end "aftermarket" systems support regen, with a couple of caveats:
1: You can't use regen with a geared motor. Geared motors are *vastly* superior to direct-drive motors in two key ways- they have much greater torque, and they freewheel when you are peddling in non-electric mode.
2: In actual practice, the amount of energy recouped from regen tends to be extremely small. Bicycles have a much greater ratio of aerodynamic drag to mass than cars, so while regen technology works well on a 3,500 lb 4-wheeler, a 50 lb bike just doesn't have a lot of momentum to spare.
Knowing now that it's a direct-drive, I believe I'd pass on it. Looks like yet another design that's put style and gadgets over performance.
1: You can't use regen with a geared motor. Geared motors are *vastly* superior to direct-drive motors in two key ways- they have much greater torque, and they freewheel when you are peddling in non-electric mode.
2: In actual practice, the amount of energy recouped from regen tends to be extremely small. Bicycles have a much greater ratio of aerodynamic drag to mass than cars, so while regen technology works well on a 3,500 lb 4-wheeler, a 50 lb bike just doesn't have a lot of momentum to spare.
Knowing now that it's a direct-drive, I believe I'd pass on it. Looks like yet another design that's put style and gadgets over performance.
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12-16-2013, 02:40 PM
#775
Yeah, I noticed that. Most of the higher-end "aftermarket" systems support regen, with a couple of caveats:
1: You can't use regen with a geared motor. Geared motors are *vastly* superior to direct-drive motors in two key ways- they have much greater torque, and they freewheel when you are peddling in non-electric mode.
2: In actual practice, the amount of energy recouped from regen tends to be extremely small. Bicycles have a much greater ratio of aerodynamic drag to mass than cars, so while regen technology works well on a 3,500 lb 4-wheeler, a 50 lb bike just doesn't have a lot of momentum to spare.
1: You can't use regen with a geared motor. Geared motors are *vastly* superior to direct-drive motors in two key ways- they have much greater torque, and they freewheel when you are peddling in non-electric mode.
2: In actual practice, the amount of energy recouped from regen tends to be extremely small. Bicycles have a much greater ratio of aerodynamic drag to mass than cars, so while regen technology works well on a 3,500 lb 4-wheeler, a 50 lb bike just doesn't have a lot of momentum to spare.
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12-16-2013, 04:08 PM
#776
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You can see an extremely trivial example of this by spinning a PC case fan with your finger. You'll note that as it coasts down, it starts to exhibit a "notchy" behavior. Multiply this by several thousand (the ratio of the masses of the magnets inside a tiny case fan vs. those in a bicycle hub motor) and you start to get some idea.
Basically, pedaling a bike with a direct-drive motor feels a bit like riding with a flat tire. Ideal if you're trying to maximize your workout experience by adding resistance, but less desirable for the commuter.
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12-17-2013, 07:35 PM
#777
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Protip: no brake pad can really be effective when the levers and calipers are locked solid under a thick coating of ice.
It's starting to make sense to me why very few bikes were parked near the stairs to the platform today, and most of them were huddled around the covered bike posts nearer the terminal building.
It's starting to make sense to me why very few bikes were parked near the stairs to the platform today, and most of them were huddled around the covered bike posts nearer the terminal building.
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