Speeding...

So it can happen after all. Speaking of reaction times, I'm sure you slowed down very slow with the copper's bumper 3 inches behind you.

cydewaze said:

Back to the topic at hand, yes - I was stopped this summer for 38 in a 25 on my bike by a Park Police officer. It was not a park road, but a back road with almost no traffic (often I only see a car every 2-3 times I do this ride). The road is slightly downhill, and slightly twisty. In a car you have to go slow because the lane is narrow and you have to follow the road closely, but on a bike you can pretty much ride in a straight line and not go out of your lane.

No ticket or anything, just a silly lecture. The annoying part was him following 3" behind me then blasting his siren. "WHOOP WHOOP". Just about gave me a coronary. Speaking of coronaries, the cop was around 5'9 and 300 lbs.

that cop was real smart. driving that close behind a rider at that speed. what if you grabbed your brakes from being startled by the siren?

velomanct said:

that cop was real smart. driving that close behind a rider at that speed. what if you grabbed your brakes from being startled by the siren?

I guess I'd be thinner. It was a Crown Vic. I think they're close to 4000 lbs.

Roadrash Dunc said:

Forget the whole drivers liscene thing ok - you wont get points on it for going down a hill at even 80mph on a bike on one wheel with your eyes closed.You might get arrested , but it wont have anything to do with your liscence to drive a car.

Velo - houses line the road - its residential - kids might be about you cant see.If there are houses there , its a big risk , not to mention someone could open a car door on you and whack , dead Velo.
Kids tend not to be seen and can do really unpredictable things like step out into a road whilst unsighted - they wont even see or hear you coming.

I know youre only 19 but listen , dont be a [censored].Doing 60 down a steep hill in a 30 residential zone with houses is stupid for you and pedestrians.

Use your brakes - its perfectly safe , trust me , even if its a 20% gradient.What do you think pros do when bombing down an Alpe at 70 approaching a hairpin? They use their brakes.

Find a non-residential area to practise with the speed-tuck , cyclists get a bad enough name for jumping reds , god only knows what your neighbourhood will think of them if a kid gets run over by one at 60.

About the brakes bit......hes both right and wrong. Although you can use your brakes on such a slope, braking hard at all will send you flying. Brake easily then brake harder as you slow down.

However, it dont matter what your on, speed limits are there for a reason.........to make money from fast drivers. Although you can get away with it on a cycle, I wont do next to suicidal speeds going through busy residential areas like that other poster did. However doing 60 on a long clear strait is fine........but its suicidal if he was in a very built up area.

bikeguy said:

Veloflash, 62 mph in any built up area on a bicycle is extreme risk taking. Bike brakes are [censored] compared to car brakes, and on a 12% hill I imagine a car would take quite some more time to stop than normal (like 80-100 m). I was going down a 2% gradient at 52 km/hr and my rear brake levers ripped right off when I attempted to brake hard (granted brakes not in the best condition!) At 62 mph down a 12% gradient, you couldn't stop period, or even slow down. If you keep on doing it you pray somebody doesn't step out in front of you because most pedestrians severely underestimate the speed of bicycles. I know, I've hit one and nearly missed 4 others at 40-50 km/hr.

Bike stopping distances have little to do with how [censored] the brakes are (within reason). If you slam on at high speed you will come off. The 2 thin tyres on bikes cannot hold the road so well like 4 fat tyres on a car...whats more you have to worry about balance. If you start to slide on 2 wheels your almost guaranteed to lose it.

Claud, yes the 4 wide tires at 20-24 cm width 30 psi have a much better contact patch then a 2 bicyle tires at 100+ psi and 20-25 mm width even much better relatively considering the weight difference.. or I should say kinetic energy difference.. but car brakes can lock up fast at 80 km/hr and locked wheels are the fastest way to stop in dry conditions. A bicyle cannot lock up at 80 km/hr at all.. and you risk endoing just as you said, an added bonus and something that's happened to me as well.

bikeguy said:

Claud, yes the 4 wide tires at 20-24 cm width 30 psi have a much better contact patch then a 2 bicyle tires at 100+ psi and 20-25 mm width even much better relatively considering the weight difference.. or I should say kinetic energy difference.. but car brakes can lock up fast at 80 km/hr and locked wheels are the fastest way to stop in dry conditions. A bicyle cannot lock up at 80 km/hr at all.. and you risk endoing just as you said, an added bonus and something that's happened to me as well.

Every year during Het Volk the fixed speed cameras in Oostende photograph the bunch and as each rider can be identified by their race number, it would be easy to prove.

No fines are issued though....unlike the time Mario was caught motorpacing on the autostrada behind a Smart!

l1ncs said:

this may sound silly but could you get any points on your drivers licence if you got caught speeding on a bike, even though obviously you dont need a licence to ride a bike?

you get done for dangerous driving or driving erratically. Court summons, but no points or bans 🙂 small fine and a slap on the hands

jon_stewart said:

I largely agree with your ire, but I wonder just how residential the area is... Speeding limits are often inappropriate to the way the road is used. Some are too fast, and some are too slow.

Anyway, whats the difference in having a speed limit when a lot of car drivers are half asleep in their armchairs with eyes and concentration locked onto the cars immediately in front, to the detriment of everything else.

My personal rant is cyclists who don't obay traffic lights of raod markings / lane discipline.

That would be me at 4.00am traffic lights, looks clear and on occassions close eyes and hope its safe to continue.

traffic lights are for cars and motorcycles, and people on racers with drop or scoop bars, these rules don't apply to me when i'm on my mtb, since riding like a maniac on roads pavements, grass verges is the nearest i get to mountains.

As for traffic cameras, cars passing traffic cameras when a cyclist passes and causes the camera to flash, would it not be the car driver that gets in trouble.

bikeguy said:

Claud, yes the 4 wide tires at 20-24 cm width 30 psi have a much better contact patch then a 2 bicyle tires at 100+ psi and 20-25 mm width even much better relatively considering the weight difference.. or I should say kinetic energy difference.. but car brakes can lock up fast at 80 km/hr and locked wheels are the fastest way to stop in dry conditions. A bicyle cannot lock up at 80 km/hr at all.. and you risk endoing just as you said, an added bonus and something that's happened to me as well.

Sorry Bike Guy but you are wrong atleast once in this post. Locking the brakes is definitely not the fastest way to stop.....have u ever wondered why cars have anti lock brakes (ABS). Also it seems to be common belief amongst the posters, that fatter tyres have more grip. This isn't necessarily the case. The downward force effects the grip a lot more than the size of the contact patch. Obviously a car has much higher weight than a bike so is applying more downward force and thus gaining more traction allowing it to slow down as quick or quicker than a bike. Bicycles are also limited by the imbalance caused by applying the brakes suddenly as opposed to having inadequate brakes. I can confidently apply my brakes so that my back wheel is on the verge of lifting off the ground. this is about as efficient as a bike can get under brakes whereas a car has enough weight to maintain stability at all braking forces. Hopefully this helps everyones understanding of this somewhat controversial topic. I am currently looking for written evidence to support my reckoning that downforce effects traction more than contact patch (i learnt this at school in engineering class but someone is certain to want written proof)

BTW I have been stopped for speeding. doing 130km/h in a 110km/h zone. double demerits and $150 odd fine! i was in a Holden Commodore.