Question for cyclists...

DaveB wrote:

Oh my gawd, aliens have abducted LotteBum and replaced her with a
cyclist that is non-violent. A pacifist with a shottie, that I want to see.

Don't get the wrong idea, Dave. Read what I said again... it's a whole different story if they happen to break the law and I don't like it (ie. they cut me off). That's when I reach for the shotty.

LotteWithTheShotty

LotteBum said:

DaveB wrote:

Oh my gawd, aliens have abducted LotteBum and replaced her with a
cyclist that is non-violent. A pacifist with a shottie, that I want to
see.

Don't get the wrong idea, Dave. Read what I said again... it's a whole
different story if they happen to *break the* *law and I don't like it*
(ie. they cut me off). That's when I reach for the shotty.

LotteWithTheShotty

My faith has been restored.

DaveB

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

Quoted message said:

LotteBum said:

I think Bully's question is valid - a lot of cyclists pass traffic only
to force traffic to pass them shortly after. This, in most - but not
all - cases, is not necessary and it is usually, in my opinion, safer
to sit behind the last car in the cue (in the middle of the lane) and
ride with traffic until it is safe to move further left. That's how I
ride.... not others.

It seems to me Vicroads is encouraging the pass on the left and then block
off the head of the traffic method. On the multi-lane roads I ride along
with marked bike lanes, when I get to traffic lights there is usually a
box with a bike outline sitting across the front of the left lane. I'll
take what VicRoads want me to do with a grain of salt but that is telling
me, ride along the bike lane and when you get to the front of the traffic,
move to the centre of the car lane (I'm assuming to minimise the risk of
being hit by left turn traffic).

The other point with those lanes is that they're frequently on roads where
the left lane also functions as car parking spots. The left lane is
therefore often wide enough for a cyclist to just neatly stay out of the
door zone, but not wide enough for a car. In other words, cars shouldn't be
even trying to use that lane (not that it stops them). Oh, and Bully, before
you flog the dead horse again and announce that your good self DOESN'T DRIVE
A CAR, exercise those stupendous riding skills and magic motorbike warp
speed accelleration and...CHANGE LANES! Failing that, see my other comments
about what to do with the license if you find the whole exercise beyond you.

Uncle Bully said:

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

Quoted message said:

Uncle Bully said:

Go out on a track sometime and watch how much deeper into a corner even a
standard Mitsi Mirage can get compared to a sportsbike .
You clearly have no experience with this.

NRMA test figures for standard Mirage braking performance

http://motoring.racv.com.au/racvm/fsearch_show.cfm?id=88763AB7-A3E2-11D4-B8010000E8961DD1

Braking distance from 100 kph 45.9 metres

In a test of HS ABS systems .. the NON ABS sportsbikes managed 34.6 metres
from 100 kph
http://jw4u.com/vehicles/automobile/abs/realtest.htm

Less than I would have thought but what do I know?

You clearly don't know the difference between manufacturer published figures
and professional racers on race bikes, with reaction time not taken into
account.
Even an R1 which is *the* performance bike has a braking distance @ 100km/h
closer to 40m. (still better than a Mirage I admit, but an R1 is hardly
average)

Ummm these were claimed measured distances. Sheesh I am a computer tech
and I dont know how to distinguish manufacturers claims?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

In a study by the International Motorcycle Safety Conference in 2001
http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:sd3dGhYnhLYJ:www.uem-online.org/html2/tourism/rs/ecker_pap02.pdf++motorcycle+vs+car+braking+distances&hl=en
they showed that a bike with ABS can fractionally outbrake a car (typical
passenger car) with ABS.. (By about 8 metres from 100 kph) and various non
ABS equiped bikes and riders lost to the ABS car ( average about 20
metres which is more than I would have guessed) There was no nonABS car
in this comparism.

Um, a BMW K1200 LT is not a sportsbike by any means and is a little
misleading to use this particular bike when, in the exact same study, the
test bikes and rider's own bike perfoming a lot worse. Also pretty much no
bikes have ABS outside of BMW.

Ummmm all I ever said was that theroetically a bike can outbrake a car.
(I should have added that only at speeds where braking hasnt a large
aerodynamic component )

If ABS lets the bike do it then clearly ABS gets the thing closer to its
theoretical max. It probably aint the other bikes performing worse but
the riders. WHich is what I said when I said the theory doesnt work in
the real world.

If were building a killer ABS braking machine I would start with
something a lot lighter and smaller than a K1200 LT. Maybe a monster....

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Of course this is braking only not braking and cornering.. which is
obviously something cars do better than bikes but then thats what we
started of talking about. Dont really see the mirage humiliating the
sportsbike here tho.

Ok the Mirage may have been exaggerating to make a point, but that doesn't
change the fact that cars generally outbrake bikes.

In the real world. As I said.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Ohh and I think I might have been to a racetrack or two in my time..
Sa what was that place in Kent called Rands Satch or something?

No?
Winton? Granite Park? Avalon? Sandown? Calder? THe Thunderdrome?
Phillip Island? Templestowe Hillclimb?

Just the ones I have actually driven on.. that instantly come to mind.

Quoted message said:

Never been there, but I know my std Commodore brakes better than my standard
CBR.

Well then I must be wrong

Uncle Bully said:

Quoted message said:

So how long before the Veloflex Carbon Tubular Road Tire
track on his forehead faded out? ;-Þ

Dude, this is the second time you used veiled threats like this in the
newsgroup posting implying that if we were all sitting around in a
restaurant discussing this that you'd want to win the argument by physical
intimidation.

Yeah Helen you just settle down. No more beating people to death with
your bicycle
🙂

LotteBum said:

all - cases, is not necessary and it is usually, in my opinion, safer
to sit behind the last car in the cue (in the middle of the lane)

If I sit behind the cue I'll be pretty well snookered ;-)

Cheers
Peter
-who just had to put that in.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>> "DaveB" == DaveB <[email hidden]> writes:

DaveB> It seems to me Vicroads is encouraging the pass on the left
DaveB> and then block off the head of the traffic method. On the
DaveB> multi-lane roads I ride along with marked bike lanes, when I
DaveB> get to traffic lights there is usually a box with a bike
DaveB> outline sitting across the front of the left lane.

VicRoads calls it a storage box. I think the idea of it is that it give
a space on the road for many cyclists who are then presumably supposed
to set off in single file if it's busy (not mandatory but advised by
VicRoads) or riding in pairs as is allowed by law.

That's my take on it anyway. If the lane's wide enough for me to pedal
off and allow undertaken motorists to pass on the left then that's well
and good. If the road's not wide enough for that then I'll have claimed
the lane and be cycling as part of traffic. I find it's the safest and
most predictable thing to do which makes it easier for everyone. Of
course I probably hold up traffic *more* doing that if I'm a few cars
back than I would if I'd lane split but that's the trade off of my
safety against others' convenience.
--
Cheers | ~~ __@
Euan | ~~ _-\<,
Melbourne, Australia | ~ (*)/ (*)

Peter Signorini said:

"LotteBum" wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

all - cases, is not necessary and it is usually, in my opinion, safer
to sit behind the last car in the cue (in the middle of the lane)

Quoted message said:

If I sit behind the cue I'll be pretty well snookered ;-)
-who just had to put that in.

I managed to avoid that by tying my hands behind my back :-)

Theo

On 2005-08-20, Zebee Johnstone (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

In aus.bicycle on Sat, 20 Aug 2005 16:40:05 +1000

Ray said:

BUILD A BRIDGE, GET OVER IT, AND LEARN TO BE TOLERANT

shouldn't that be get under it?

although that might mean the entire population of aus.bicycles are
goats....

Geez, I hope I don't submit my paper tomorrow, and hence go out for a
celebration with various collegues, and hence don't get to have a
goat, man.

--
TimC
Kleeneness is next to Godelness.

On 2005-08-21, dave (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

HellenWheels said:

On Sun, 21 Aug 2005 13:16:15 +1000, dave <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

HellenWheels wrote:
>On Sun, 21 Aug 2005 12:23:15 +1000, dave <[email hidden]>
>wrote:
>>Had a near miss once.. in glenferrie rd hawthorn when the mini I was
>>beside pulled straight in the bike lane without looking.. I braked hard
>>and he came across just in front of me, overtook a half dozen cars.. on
>>the left and then turned left
>>
>>Unluckily for him he was one of my work collegues.
>
>Hope you were diplomatic, rather than, uh 'ballistic'. ;-D

You clearly dont know me 🙂

So how long before the Veloflex Carbon Tubular Road Tire
track on his forehead faded out? ;-Þ

Oh he had a nervous breakdown and left..

Oooh. I need to learn me how to arrange that.

--
TimC
load "linux",8,1

TimC said:

On 2005-08-20, Zebee Johnstone (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

although that might mean the entire population of aus.bicycles are
goats....

Geez, I hope I don't submit my paper tomorrow, and hence go out for a
celebration with various collegues, and hence don't get to have a
goat, man.

I thought your name was Tim, not Jim. (Sorry ... bit of a newsgroup
crossover here.)

--
My Usenet From: address now expires after two weeks. If you email me, and
the mail bounces, try changing the bit before the "@ to usenet".