@K It's when you're on the front going full gas, on the rivet, etc and you can hear the freewheeling freehub of the guy sitting on your wheel taking it nice and easy that they're at their most "anti-social"... ;o)
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Commuting
Seriously fed up
(74 posts)-
Posted 12 years ago #
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@PS that's why I have a near-silent freehub ;)
Posted 12 years ago # -
It's like The Longest Day when I'm riding on the NEP... ;o)
Surely more like 'A Bridge Too Far'?* That scene where the US paratroopers have little plastic 'clickers' to identify friend/foe. Alas the Germans cocking their rifles was mistaken for the 'click-click' sound.....click-click-BANG! You're dead.
* - WW2 movies 'R' us. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Longest_Day_(film)
Posted 12 years ago # -
The old six speed freewheel on my 'audax' Raleigh is pretty much silent. The only noise the bike makes when freewheeling is the hum of the tyres, unless I have dynamo engaged, in which case there is a high pitched whine as the rubber wheel spins on the sidewall.
You can't beat a nice bell as far as I'm concerned. A well timed 'ching-ching' (or two) helps avoid a lot of confusion and potential grief. A badly timed one can send dogs and their owners the wrong way, ie. into your path...
Posted 12 years ago # -
@crowriver Ah, you are quite correct. Since I took up cycling, any bank holiday I take has involved going out for a ride rather than sitting at home watching WW2 films. It's been too long. ;o)
Posted 12 years ago # -
@PS, actually you were right the first time, it was in 'The Longest Day', I just checked. Haven't seen it since maybe the 1980s so must have misremembered which film it was in.....definitely US airborne troops mind you.
Posted 12 years ago # -
@crowriver Awww, I backed down too easily there. Which is a relief, or I'd have been stricken with self-doubt at my next pub quiz.
Anyway, I'm going to have watch both of those films again to renew my familiarity... :D
Posted 12 years ago # -
Annoyed by freehubs ...... I've heard it all now. That's the best annoyance I've heard since my mum's next door neighbour complained about her microwave pinging too loud.. ;-)
Posted 12 years ago # -
Remember the loud pipes save lives thing for motorbikes?? No??
http://www.signsbypost.com/lg_images/LOUD-PIPES-SAVE-LIVES-9100.jpg
Loud freehubs alert pedestrians..... No?
I'll get my coat .
Posted 12 years ago # -
I was surprised (and slightly horrified) by the first chap, who seemed to be cycling by Braille or echo-location (or perhaps he had image-intensifying goggles). The second one was just annoying.
Best watched on Youtube in HD if you want any chance of making sense of what's happening.
http://www.naden.de/blog/bbvideo-bbpress-video-plugin -->[+] Embed the video | http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juInQo7kDY0" target="_blank">Video Download Get the Flash Videos P.S. I'm interested and slightly concerned by the cone of illumination that my front light produces. There's definitely no cut-off at the top of the beam.
Posted 12 years ago # -
I walked along the canal yesterday for the first time in forever*, at around 5.20pm. On my way to collect the bike from the vet's, so I had the lights and shinies to make the return trip.
I was wearing my new white windproof (although I kept my brickie's vest in the bag) but since my night vision never got a chance to get going because of all the cyclists, I fished my light out and set it to Walk mode so I could see the verge easier. I'm ever so slightly wary of the canal edge now. Oh, and the asterisk earlier is in reference to the actual last time I walked along the canal, but it doesn't count in this context since it was 4am, deserted and I can't really remember anything but wetness, blood, blurred vision and misery. I got into the habit of pointing the light at my feet, partly so I could be sure of where the edge was, partly so it was immediately obvious I was a pedestrian, and partly because even on Walk mode, my light was brighter than most of the cyclists heading into town, judging by how much of the path it illuminated.
Aside from two arguable exceptions, every other pedestrian was dressed in photon-munching fabric weaved from the very threads of deepest ebon night. Even as a pedestrian, they jumped out the gloom from an unsettlingly close distance, and the joggers were worse still.
The two exceptions were technically dressed darkly too, but one was a jogger with plenty of reflective trim, the other was carrying a white shopping bag. I saw them from far enough away that I'd have comfortable time to plan how to pass them on the bike.
With regard to cyclist lighting I'd say it was pretty good except:
- Two needed to point their lights down in power or angle or both
- Three had those really slow blink patterns that make it hard to work out their speed and direction when riding places less smooth and straight.
- One was entirely unlit.
- One had no front and a red blinky I'd score at 25.
- One had the weakest front light I'd ever seen and no reflectives on. I saw her from an okay distance, but I was making a conscious effort to observe lights.I think I was 300 metres along when I concluded there was no way I could be bothered using the canal to ride home. Just too many ninjas.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Since the clocks went back, I've really only had a problem with one cyclist's lights who cycles from Red Bridge to Fiveways around 5pm. Aside from having a blindingly strong light, he also has it flashing, to the point that if I see him again tomorrow, I'm going to stop in the middle of the path with my hand up blocking the light to make it crystal clear that he's causing problems.
Soft blinking lights are ok. Ultra-strong lights I will put up with. Both together means you're a douchebag. Maybe he doesn't realise what a menace he is.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Le Bumpe.
I don't like front blinkies unless they're so weak as to be inoffensive, but that puts them in the niche of a secondary light, typically mounted on rider or helmet so that drivers can see you out their back mirrors when your main light is obscured.
I don't find blinky rear lights problematic for some reason. Maybe it's because any time I can see them I'm already going in much the same direction as them and therefore don't have to work out their vector as urgently.
That said I still don't use the setting where all the LEDs are off any any given time. My eyes seem to consider that kind of blinky a solid unit for the purposes of vectoring, and on the assumption I'm not a really rubbish-powered member of the X-Men, that's good enough for me to save batteries.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Here's another thought about flashing lights - what happens if they're off during the driver's glance?
The focused gaze can be quite short without extra care (as taught to fighter pilots!), so if flash frequency is sufficiently low, there's a pretty high chance of looking and seeing no light at all.
Of course, the chances reduce further where a driver takes a second look, but how many do that?
Robert
Full disclosure - my last RTC as a driver was almost certainly due to the assumption the lane was clear. Fortunately it was a metal box I hit, rather than a squidgy person...
Posted 12 years ago #
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