Re: Signalling?

[Elisa Francesca Roselli]

Jeremy Parker wrote:

> Elisa pointed out herself, when she was turning left, that her postition
> in the road indicated that she was about to turn. The question is, how
> did she get to that position. I hope she looked before moving from the
> edge of the road to the middle.

No, I can no more hold my balance while looking behind me than I can lift a
hand off the bars. I have ordered one of those Third Eye helmet-mounted
mirrors on the Internet and am waiting for it to arrive. I look, and signal
vigorously, whenever I am stationary. Traffic light halts are useful for
this. For the rest, I ride the middle of my lane, not the edge (unless I'm
planning to turn right), so moving is a matter of middle to left rather than
right to middle.

> I would recommend a book, long out of print, but perhaps a Parisian
> library might have it: Jaques Faizant, "Albina et la bicyclette",
> Calmann-Levy press, 1968. It's all about the joys of cycle touring
> exemplified by Albina, American grad' student living in Paris, as she
> discovers it. Learning to ride. no hands, in the bois de Boulogne, was
> about her lesson 2.

I'll check out Albina. But I doubt she'd have chosen the Bois de Boulogne
today. It is the International Market Center for South American transsexual
hookers. While I have no objection to these, I strongly prefer to avoid
their customers.

Elisa Roselli
Paris, France

[Michael]

Elisa Francesca Roselli wrote:
>
> Okay, so about 2 weeks ago I started trying to ride on the road. Now
> I've graduated to doing _most_ of the short (1.6 km) trip to work by
> bike, but I still don't feel at all "road safe".
>
> One of my biggest current bugbears is signalling. I just CAN'T! If I
> take my hands off the handlebars for so much as a blink, I lose control
> of the steering and start keeling over sideways. Even just the
> concentration to shift gears or sound the bell perturbs me.
(SNIP)
> Is there any special _knack_ to this signalling, or is it just a matter
> of having a really sure seat on a bike? I know with coasting it was a
> matter of shifting consciousness from pedalling to balancing. But I
> tried a number of times to lift a hand from the steering while
> practicing in the parking lot yesterday and I can't get it at all.
>
> Thanks for your patience, everyone. It's like at this stage, every
> little thing is a hurdle.

I can empathize, Elisa. I'm back in the saddle just 2 weeks now after
letting my 1980 vintage 10-speed rest for about 12 years, and I'm having
troubles too (sit bones is the biggie!!). Most of my riding is in town,
so I feel I must signal ... a lot ... and I wobble too when signaling.
Not as much now as 2 weeks ago, but wobble nonetheless. I can tell,
though, that by this time next month I'll get it right. Constant
practice must be the key.

When I was a kid (1960's), I *lived* on a bike and moved with much more
grace on a bike than when walking. But my two bikes back then were an
old J.C. Higgins coaster and an "English racer", a 60's vintage 3-speed
made in Great Britain. Both of those must have had more rake in their
front tubes because even a granny could have ridden them no-hands. My
current bike seems to have much less rake, and therein lies my wobble
problem (I think): very little steering input translates to *big*
sideways movement.

The best thing I did (just last weekend) was move the front brake cable
from the left hand to the right hand. At least now I can signal and
brake simultaneously. Whoever decided that U.S. bikes should have front
brake control on the left hand was an idiot.

Keep practicing. You'll get it, I am sure.

Michael

[Bill Davidson]

On Tue, 15 Jul 2003 14:59:16 GMT in rec.bicycles.misc, > wrote:
>The best thing I did (just last weekend) was move the front brake cable
>from the left hand to the right hand. At least now I can signal and
>brake simultaneously. Whoever decided that U.S. bikes should have front
>brake control on the left hand was an idiot.

Dennis P. Harris wrote:
> wrong! you want to use the *rear* brake, not the front one! if
> you lock the rear wheel, you might skid. if you lock the front
> one, you go over the handlebars. i rarely use the front brake
> unless i'm using both brakes to stop quickly, and then the rear
> one always goes on first.

Just when you thought the word was out on this, someone puts out the
conventional (wrong) wisdom again.

Please read:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brakturn.html

While you're at it here's some more good articles for you.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/beginners/index.html

The front brake is the way to go. Joseba Beloki is looking at multiple
surgeries and a year before racing again because he forgot and locked
up his rear brake. As Sheldon says, it works in theory and in practice.

--Bill Davidson
--
Please remove ".nospam" from my address for email replies.

I'm a 17 year veteran of usenet -- you'd think I'd be over it by now

[Just zis Guy, you know?]

On Tue, 15 Jul 2003 23:41:59 -0800,
(Dennis P. Harris) wrote:

>wrong! you want to use the *rear* brake, not the front one!

Absolutely - how else are you going to ensure your helmet gets a
workout?

Guy
===
** WARNING ** This posting may contain traces of irony.
http://www.chapmancentral.com
[currently offline awaiting ADSL transfer to new ISP]

[Chris B.]

On Wed, 16 Jul 2003 21:33:17 -0700, "Dr. Rev. Chuck, M.D. P.A."
> wrote:

>Chris B. wrote:
>>
>> On Tue, 15 Jul 2003 23:41:59 -0800,
>> (Dennis P. Harris) wrote:
>>
>> >On Tue, 15 Jul 2003 14:59:16 GMT in rec.bicycles.misc, Michael
>> > wrote:
>> >
>> >> The best thing I did (just last weekend) was move the front brake cable
>> >> from the left hand to the right hand. At least now I can signal and
>> >> brake simultaneously. Whoever decided that U.S. bikes should have front
>> >> brake control on the left hand was an idiot.
>> >>
>> >wrong! you want to use the *rear* brake, not the front one! if
>> >you lock the rear wheel, you might skid. if you lock the front
>> >one, you go over the handlebars. i rarely use the front brake
>> >unless i'm using both brakes to stop quickly, and then the rear
>> >one always goes on first.
>>
>> Hmm, the moron who abuses others he deems "anti helmet" is riding at a
>> beginner level; unable to stop his bike as quickly as possible
>> reflexively and avoiding getting in accidents in the first place.
>>
>> Suddenly the nonsense makes a lot more sense.
>>
>> Chris Bird

>Signalling isn't an issue at speed. Neither is braking. Steering and
>acceleration are.

I already had the sample of nonsense I needed but thanks anyway.

Chris Bird

[Dr. Rev. Chuck, M.D. P.A.]

Chris B. wrote:
>
> On Tue, 15 Jul 2003 23:41:59 -0800,
> (Dennis P. Harris) wrote:
>
> >On Tue, 15 Jul 2003 14:59:16 GMT in rec.bicycles.misc, Michael
> > wrote:
> >
> >> The best thing I did (just last weekend) was move the front brake cable
> >> from the left hand to the right hand. At least now I can signal and
> >> brake simultaneously. Whoever decided that U.S. bikes should have front
> >> brake control on the left hand was an idiot.
> >>
> >wrong! you want to use the *rear* brake, not the front one! if
> >you lock the rear wheel, you might skid. if you lock the front
> >one, you go over the handlebars. i rarely use the front brake
> >unless i'm using both brakes to stop quickly, and then the rear
> >one always goes on first.
>
> Hmm, the moron who abuses others he deems "anti helmet" is riding at a
> beginner level; unable to stop his bike as quickly as possible
> reflexively and avoiding getting in accidents in the first place.
>
> Suddenly the nonsense makes a lot more sense.
>
> Chris Bird

Signalling isn't an issue at speed. Neither is braking. Steering and
acceleration are.

To hell with signalling when you're travelling at or above the posted
limit.

[Bill Davidson]

Kevan Smith wrote:
> I can't see in the video how Beloki applied his brakes. Has he said what
> happened exactly, yet?

Lance was right behind him and said Beloki locked up his rear wheel.
That's a good enough indicator for me; that and the way he slid and
the point in the turn that he slid. Oh, and Sheldon's analysis that
agrees with me helps.

--Bill Davidson
--
Please remove ".nospam" from my address for email replies.

I'm a 17 year veteran of usenet -- you'd think I'd be over it by now

[Tom Sherman]

"Dennis P. Harris" wrote:
>
> wrong! you want to use the *rear* brake, not the front one! if
> you lock the rear wheel, you might skid. if you lock the front
> one, you go over the handlebars. i rarely use the front brake
> unless i'm using both brakes to stop quickly, and then the rear
> one always goes on first.

Using just the rear brake will allow you to skid the rear wheel while
crashing into whatever you were trying to avoid, since the braking
effect is marginal. [1]

[1] There are some exceptions to the rule - my long wheelbase recumbent
has respectable braking using the rear brake only, but its weight
distribution is approximately 30%/70% Front/Rear.

Tom Sherman - Near the confluence of the Mississippi and Rock Rivers