AirZound

Quoted message said:

I'm thinking of buying an AirZound. I was wondering when people used
theirs?

They are really usefull for when a motorist is about to cut you up, or
is going to side swipe you to turn into a corner.

Quoted message said:

I was cycling in slow moving trafic. Usually a car is parked too far
to the left for me to pass but I expect them to make an effort to
shift over. Today I was stuck behind a BMW that insisted on rolling
along in the gutter and I eventually had to pass on the right.

When overtaking queuing traffic, you should try to do it on the right [1].
If the cars have all pulled over into the gutter, then move to the right
of them, there should be plenty of room.
They only time you should use an AirZound in these circumstances is when
a car overtakes, then immediately pulls into the gutter.
Using a horn for queuing cars is IMHO similar to cars tooting you for
taking the primary position at junctions, which I find unacceptable (the
tooting that is).

[1] I admit I routinely ignore this advice though.

Response to

Quoted message said:

I'm thinking of buying an AirZound. I was wondering when people used
theirs?

I was cycling in slow moving trafic. Usually a car is parked too far
to the left for me to pass but I expect them to make an effort to
shift over. Today I was stuck behind a BMW that insisted on rolling
along in the gutter and I eventually had to pass on the right. I wish
I could have gave a blast of my AirZound to let them know I was
there...

Difficult to tell from your description, but it sounds as if you'd have
been unjustified in using a horn at all. If it's safe to overtake, then
overtake; if it isn't, then don't. In general, a car in front is no
more obliged to move over for your convenience than you are obliged to
move over for his. In any case, I'd *very* rarely pass anything on the
left, particularly in moving traffic.

I've had Airzounds mounted both on the commuting bike and the trike;
there were so very few occasions when it would have been appropriate to
use one that I ended up taking them off. YMMV; my commute is
disgracefully short and pretty trouble-free.

--
Mark, UK
"It is one of the happiest characteristics of this glorious country that
official utterances are invariably regarded as unanswerable."

Mark McNeill said:

Response to

Quoted message said:

I've had Airzounds mounted both on the commuting bike and the trike;
there were so very few occasions when it would have been appropriate to
use one that I ended up taking them off. YMMV; my commute is
disgracefully short and pretty trouble-free.

Same here. When I had an AirZound I found that the few times I felt I
might have used it I was too busy braking and steering to bother.

Iain

In message <[email hidden]>

Mark McNeill said:

there were so very few occasions when it would have been appropriate to
use one that I ended up taking them off.

I fitted one (a Mark2) and had the most satisfaction from using it as
an expletive when I was left-hooked and just managed to avoid
collision.

But it would have been more useful to have kept my head and remembered
to take the motorist's number instead. It is OTT when the voice is
more personal. I may take it off.

(The Brompton standard tinger is a bit over-subtle.)

(11 mile each way commute, mainly on the A24 to/from London Bridge;
but not since retirement in September 07)

--
Charles
Brompton P6R-Plus; CarryFreedom -YL, in Motspur Park
LCC; CTC.

Quoted message said:

I'm thinking of buying an AirZound. I was wondering when people used
theirs?

When:
* an oik on a "bike" charges off the pavement in front of me without
even looking.
* yoof think it's funny to wander into the road "for kicks". use of
the AirZond has to be accompanied by frantic peddaling straight at the
culprits.
* it is necessary to alert a motor vehicle driver of one's presence.

PhilD

--
<><

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm thinking of buying an AirZound. I was wondering when people used
theirs?

I have an Airzound but found it always croaked at the critical moment. I
have bought one of those American Bike Cop sirens reported in the weekly CTC
emailed news. Very pleased with it as one can give it a quick blip and it
sounds just like a patrol car trying to get attention and it runs off a PP9!
http://www.biketac.com/

Ken.

Quoted message said:

I'm thinking of buying an AirZound. I was wondering when people used
theirs?

Typically when I see a motorist edging out of a junction surrounded by
high walls or bushes, or reversing out of a drive, with little real
chance of seeing traffic on the road he's turning or reversing into. I
will also obviously prepare to stop if the motorist continues with the
manoeuvre, but so far the AirZound has *always* stopped the motorist
from pulling out.

This evening I used it when a women in a parked car indicated right and
started pulling out /before/ checking over her shoulder for traffic
(which in this case was me) coming from behind.

It also gets used occasionally on peds or cyclists who don't seem to
have been alerted to my presence by my bell, typically either groups of
teenagers who are too wrapped up in conversation with their mates to
take any notice of anything going on around them, or individuals whose
MP3 players are turned up too loud to hear a bell.

And it can be useful to clear the path of the occasional loose dog,
squirrel or pigeon.

Quoted message said:

I was cycling in slow moving trafic. Usually a car is parked too far
to the left for me to pass but I expect them to make an effort to
shift over. Today I was stuck behind a BMW that insisted on rolling
along in the gutter and I eventually had to pass on the right. I wish
I could have gave a blast of my AirZound to let them know I was
there...

Unless the BMW was behind a queue of traffic waiting to turn right, your
mistake was trying to pass on the left. I always prefer to pass on the
right, except when passing right-turning traffic.

--
Danny Colyer <http://www.redpedals.co.uk>
Reply address is valid, but that on my website is checked more often
"The plural of anecdote is not data" - Frank Kotsonis

iarocu said:

Mark McNeill said:

Response to

Quoted message said:

I've had Airzounds mounted both on the commuting bike and the trike;
there were so very few occasions when it would have been appropriate to
use one that I ended up taking them off. YMMV; my commute is
disgracefully short and pretty trouble-free.

Same here. When I had an AirZound I found that the few times I felt I
might have used it I was too busy braking and steering to bother.

quite often the same in cars i find, by the time you can use the horn
it's all over.

Quoted message said:

Iain

roger
--
www.rogermerriman.com

Quoted message said:

.. Today I was stuck behind a BMW that insisted on rolling
along in the gutter and I eventually had to pass on the right.

Um, is this something you routinely do? You know the drivers blind spot
is much bigger on that side, don't you? You know they don't expect
anything to overtake on the inside, don't you?

--
Mike
Van Tuyl titanium Dura ace 10
Fausto Coppi aluminium Ultegra 10
Raleigh Record sprint mongrel
Huissoon project bike (in bits, natch)

My Air Zound was a waste of £20.
As stated previously by the time you get to it-its to late!!.
Pedestrians-in my experience-do nt even flinch!!.
Usefull when a car backed out tho.
My motor bike pal carries a ball ended hammer
for tapping out the front and rear light lenses of cars that cut him up.
Not really an option for us tho.
Tam

mb said:

Quoted message said:

.. Today I was stuck behind a BMW that insisted on rolling
along in the gutter and I eventually had to pass on the right.

Um, is this something you routinely do? You know the drivers blind spot
is much bigger on that side, don't you? You know they don't expect
anything to overtake on the inside, don't you?

To be honest, yes. I understand what you're saying. But traffic is
unpredictable and whilst I'm overtaking lights may change to green and
suddenly the slow moving trafic isn't slow any more and I might be
stuck between two lanes of traffic going in different directions.

But it's probably not a reason to use a horn, no.

Quoted message said:

To be honest, yes. I understand what you're saying. But traffic is
unpredictable and whilst I'm overtaking lights may change to green and
suddenly the slow moving trafic isn't slow any more and I might be

It's not _that_ sudden. Lights go red+amber, front car moves off,
following cars start to move off one by one as the gap in front of each
grows. It's perfectly possible - and safe, and sensible - to watch for
this and ease back into the traffic lane (signal!) when the vehicle on
your left is moving at about your speed. Just don't leave it too late,
is all.

Yes, it does feel a bit weird the first time, but you rapidly get used
to it. As the actress said to the bishop ...

-dan

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

To be honest, yes. I understand what you're saying. But traffic is
unpredictable and whilst I'm overtaking lights may change to green and
suddenly the slow moving trafic isn't slow any more and I might be

It's not _that_ sudden. Lights go red+amber, front car moves off,
following cars start to move off one by one as the gap in front of each
grows. It's perfectly possible - and safe, and sensible - to watch for
this and ease back into the traffic lane (signal!) when the vehicle on
your left is moving at about your speed. Just don't leave it too late,
is all.

Yes, it does feel a bit weird the first time, but you rapidly get used
to it. As the actress said to the bishop ...

I find that drivers can be confused by this - they pull away without
looking, suddenly realise that there's a cyclist beside them and often
as not think they have to hang back while he overtakes, when he's
actually waiting for them to accelerate so he can drop in behind them
without decelerating himself. It's rarely a problem unless there's a
car from the opposite direction pulled over to turn right, and even then
it just means he might get stranded in the middle of the road with
faster traffic to the left - the opposing car can't proceed until
there's a gap anyway.

tam said:

My Air Zound was a waste of £20.
As stated previously by the time you get to it-its to late!!.

If you're really watching the road ahead, very often you will know a few
seconds in advance that a motorist is likely to need alerting to your
presence. Not always, of course, but then getting to the horn in a
fraction of a second is really a matter of positioning.

As others have pointed out here in the past, it may not be possible to
fit an AirZound to a drop-handlebarred bike in such a way that it can be
reached easily while braking. With either a USS recumbent or a flat-bar
on a wedgie, OTOH, it's a trivial matter to position the AirZound so
that it can be operated instantly with the left hand at the same time as
applying the front brake with the right.

They're notoriously fragile, of course. Far from being a waste of £20,
however, I find them useful enough that I don't object /too/ much to
paying £20 every couple of years for a replacement. I've been using
AirZounds for 10 years now. I'm either on my 4th or 5th. I'm getting
better at not breaking them.

Quoted message said:

Pedestrians-in my experience-do nt even flinch!!.

Are you *sure* it was an AirZound that you used? Perhaps you only used
it on one ped and he happened to be deaf.

Quoted message said:

Usefull when a car backed out tho.

That's one of my most common uses for my AirZound.

--
Danny Colyer <http://www.redpedals.co.uk>
Reply address is valid, but that on my website is checked more often
"The plural of anecdote is not data" - Frank Kotsonis

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Pedestrians-in my experience-do nt even flinch!!.

Are you *sure* it was an AirZound that you used? Perhaps you only used it
on one ped and he happened to be deaf.

I specifically bought it to clear the "off this planet" tourists from cycle
paths in Berlin.
They are beyond understanding-especially the Japanese.
They stand on the bike paths snapping/filming/digitising away oblivious to
the endless number of bike scything down on them.
They stand in the road--crazy.
So I fitted the Air Zound fully inflated so to speak-----------forget it-
blast away-no response-day after day.
Glad you have had success tho.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Usefull when a car backed out tho.

That's one of my most common uses for my AirZound.

Tam

"tam" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I specifically bought it to clear the "off this planet" tourists from
cycle paths in Berlin.
They are beyond understanding-especially the Japanese.
They stand on the bike paths snapping/filming/digitising away oblivious to
the endless number of bike scything down on them.

I thought bike paths were great?

People don't stand in normal roads...

cheers,
clive

tam said:

I specifically bought it to clear the "off this planet" tourists from cycle
paths in Berlin.
They are beyond understanding-especially the Japanese.
They stand on the bike paths snapping/filming/digitising away oblivious to
the endless number of bike scything down on them.

You need a traditional ding-a-ling type bell for the Japs, they are
programmed to respond to them. (There was a utube vid posted a few
months ago demonstrating this).

Tam said:

Quoted message said:

I specifically bought it to clear the "off this planet" tourists from
cycle paths in Berlin.

and Clive George responded:

Quoted message said:

People don't stand in normal roads...

I take it you've never been to Bath, then.

--
Danny Colyer <http://www.redpedals.co.uk>
Reply address is valid, but that on my website is checked more often
"The plural of anecdote is not data" - Frank Kotsonis

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I specifically bought it to clear the "off this planet" tourists from
cycle paths in Berlin.
They are beyond understanding-especially the Japanese.
They stand on the bike paths snapping/filming/digitising away oblivious
to the endless number of bike scything down on them.

I thought bike paths were great?

European ones are- I think you can forget the UK "paint pot" ones tho.

Quoted message said:

People don't stand in normal roads...

You need to come up to Edinburgh then.

When punters are on holiday something
seems to happen to their brain their survival
instincts seem to be suspended.
Its a big problem around the Potsdam Platz and the Zoo station in Berlin.
Tam