Cyclists - your experiences on the road

[JohnMcL7]

What kind of bell, ring and how far away were you when it was first sounded?

Just the standard bells that came with the bikes and started sounding the bell a reasonable distance away so it wasn't too loud.

 

[AM9]

Just the standard bells that came with the bikes and started sounding the bell a reasonable distance away so it wasn't too loud.

I would use a first single 'ping' about 50-100m away (depending on ambient noise levels including the wind and its direction). It would take a really paranoid person to be startled from that distance, and an equally irrational person to shout multiple times at people for giving them a fright.

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

Drrr-rr-ring ding is much better than a single ping, most people know the former means 'cycle'. You just have to practice ringing it fairly quietly. And slow down, and be prepared to stop, of course.

 

[SCH117X]

IME whatever you do at least one pedestrian will ignore or complain. Had a bell striker break just as I joined a heavilly walked narrow road so I cycled slowly upto pedestrians and politely asked to be let pass. It did not take long for one to grumble why wan't I using the bell. Then of couse you have the pedestrians who on hearing the bell cram themselves unneeccessarily as far as possible to side of the road and look at you as if you are the devil.

 

[biko]

It is indeed quite difficult to warn pedestrians in a subtle way. My current method is to apply my brakes a little because they squeak pretty strongly (I have drum brakes). So before I am at a distance where people could hear my bell, they have already noticed me.

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

Singing while cycling might be worth a try, I often find myself doing that, thinking I am alone.

Just been out in the bright sunshine cleaning my cycle, almost as enjoyable as riding it.

I wonder if this shall be the year when the tipping point is reached, and €bike$ take over. Certainly hope not.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I wonder if this shall be the year when the tipping point is reached, and €bike$ take over. Certainly hope not.

I don't understand your hatred for e-bikes. If you don't want to ride one, don't. I don't want one so I didn't buy one. I don't see how others deciding to buy one is in any way to my disadvantage. They're not a threat to you any more than someone riding a fast road bike, as the assistance drops out at about 15mph.

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

I don't understand your hatred for e-bikes. If you don't want to ride one, don't. I don't want one so I didn't buy one. I don't see how others deciding to buy one is in any way to my disadvantage. They're not a threat to you any more than someone riding a fast road bike, as the assistance drops out at about 15mph.

They are big and heavy and wide (e-delivery bikes) and fast. I do not want to meet them on the inadequate narrow bumpy cycle ways I use, where even only 15 mph (relative 30 mph!) is much too fast. Meeting a herd of €biker$ going the other way is quite scary.

Come to think of it, as a keen cyclist I do not advocate "more cycling!" Not where I live at least. "Less motoring" is something different, but I do hope those driving less do not cycle more instead, not in my semi-rural situation, and not on cramped city streets. Traveling less, driving less is enough.

 

[Haywain]

the assistance drops out at about 15mph.

Unfortunately, there are many in use that have been tampered so that is not the case. I have also noticed that there seem to be an increasing number that don't, apparently, need anything more than absolutley minimal pedalling by the rider.

 

[SCH117X]

Theres an interesting thread on the cyclechat forum started by someone who knows an owner of an overpowered ebike who has rqeuests for work on it rejected by two LBSs on the grounds it is illegal; needlesss to say the LBSs have been praised for their stance.

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

Theres an interesting thread on the cyclechat forum started by someone who knows an owner of an overpowered ebike who has rqeuests for work on it rejected by two LBSs on the grounds it is illegal; needlesss to say the LBSs have been praised for their stance.

LBS = local bike shop. I hope they have informed the police.

 

[Techniquest]

Hear hear, those silly people will soon be getting a knock on the door. I cannot understand why anyone would want to put themselves in such a dangerous position!

 

[JohnMcL7]

Theres an interesting thread on the cyclechat forum started by someone who knows an owner of an overpowered ebike who has rqeuests for work on it rejected by two LBSs on the grounds it is illegal; needlesss to say the LBSs have been praised for their stance.

This article on e-scooter modification was an interesting one too:

E-scooter speed restriction hacks 'should be illegal'

Mechanics were able to increase e-scooter speed limits from 15.5mph to more than 21mph.

www.bbc.co.uk

The legality is clearly different here since the e-bike is legal with the limits in place whereas the e-scooter is illegal regardless but I did wonder if the ones who will remove the limits on e-scooters would do the same for bikes. That said although there's been a sharp rise in ebike use in my local area it's rare to see illegal e-bike use, there's two only two I've seen one of which is a £10K 50mph e-bike with a supposed road limiter that wasn't being used and the other which appeared to be a home conversion. Although I don't use an e-bike myself it's good to see more cyclists instead of cars.

 

[Bletchleyite]

To be fair electric motorcycles (which is what an unrestricted e-bike is) are better than cars too, but they need helmet, insurance etc and are to be ridden on the road only, not on cycle paths.

 

[Bikeman78]

This article on e-scooter modification was an interesting one too:

E-scooter speed restriction hacks 'should be illegal'

Mechanics were able to increase e-scooter speed limits from 15.5mph to more than 21mph.

www.bbc.co.uk

The legality is clearly different here since the e-bike is legal with the limits in place whereas the e-scooter is illegal regardless but I did wonder if the ones who will remove the limits on e-scooters would do the same for bikes. That said although there's been a sharp rise in ebike use in my local area it's rare to see illegal e-bike use, there's two only two I've seen one of which is a £10K 50mph e-bike with a supposed road limiter that wasn't being used and the other which appeared to be a home conversion. Although I don't use an e-bike myself it's good to see more cyclists instead of cars.

21 mph is hardly the land speed record. I can easily get to 20 mph on the flat on a pedal cycle and 30 mph downhill. That said, some of the e-bikes I've seen are clearly doing a lot more than 21 mph on the flat.

 

[Bletchleyite]

21 mph is hardly the land speed record. I can easily get to 20 mph on the flat on a pedal cycle and 30 mph downhill. That said, some of the e-bikes I've seen are clearly doing a lot more than 21 mph on the flat.

You can pedal them to any speed your fitness allows. You just lose the assistance.

 

[Haywain]

I can easily get to 20 mph on the flat on a pedal cycle

You might but it is not the sort of speed that the vast majority of cyclists will achieve without assistance.

 

[Bald Rick]

You might but it is not the sort of speed that the vast majority of cyclists will achieve without assistance.

I’d disagree with that, for adult cyclists at least.

 

[Bikeman78]

You might but it is not the sort of speed that the vast majority of cyclists will achieve without assistance.

My point is, why is anyone concerned about e-bikes being modified to go at 21 mph? It's not that fast in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Bletchleyite]

My point is, why is anyone concerned about e-bikes being modified to go at 21 mph? It's not that fast in the grand scheme of things.

I'm not quite sure. I could actually see the benefit of allowing "e-Bromfietsen" on cycle facilities, i.e. e-bikes up to 30km/h that don't require pedalling.

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

I am earnestly concerned about anything that increases speed, especially power assistance, and breaking the law of course. 21 mph is crazy on a narrow winding path shared with walkers, even worse with groups of motorized cyclists.

Perhaps cyclists could choose between (1) using paths sometimes shared with walkers and (2) sharing roads with motorists.

Maybe ebike$ could be upgraded to 21 mph plus, then they could be required to use the road with other motor vehicles.

Seems an interesting philosophical problem: is an €bike a pedal cycle, a motorbike, both, neither?

 

[Bletchleyite]

I am earnestly concerned about anything that increases speed, especially power assistance, and breaking the law of course. 21 mph is crazy on a narrow winding path shared with walkers, even worse with groups of motorized cyclists.

My car is capable of 120mph. It has never been driven at that speed.

Seems an interesting philosophical problem: is an €bike a pedal cycle, a motorbike, both, neither?

It is an electrically assisted pedal cycle. What it offers is to take away hills, often cited as a key reason hillier countries don't have Netherlands style levels of cycling.

 

[Haywain]

I’d disagree with that, for adult cyclists at least.

Some adult cyclists may achieve that speed but they will be in the minority, which is what I said previously.

 

[Bald Rick]

Some adult cyclists may achieve that speed but they will be in the minority, which is what I said previously.

This maybe me being pedantic.

you said “it’s not the speed that the vast majority would achieve without assistance”, and it was the ’vast majority’ bit I disagreed with.

20mph on a level road in windless conditions is straightforward for almost any adult to achieve. I could do it when I was 11, and I was by no means athletic back then (Nor now!). My teenage daughter did it last time she used a bike, and she uses one roughly every three years.

Sustaining 20mph for more than a few minutes is rather harder of course, but many people do it.

it would be fair to say that the vast majority of cyclists will not achieve a sustained 20mph without assistance (power, wind, gravity). But it’s also true that most (if not all) cyclists will achieve 20mph at times, particularly when assisted by the wind or gravity, and those factors can apply on bike lanes just as easily as on the open road.

 

[Magdalia]

Your right to speed is your ability to stop.

That rule applies to every mode of transport, including cycles, not just to trains.

I ride an e-bike: I've been out on it this morning and the battery is being recharged as I write. I'm now old and feeble, and the e-bike means that I can get up bridges and hills without having to get off and push. I also have panniers enabling me to carry more shopping.

The motor and battery make an e-bike more heavy and cumbersome than a pedal cycle. When braking that makes a big difference. From my experience with my e-bike, I think it is right that any cycle that provides power at speeds above 15 mph is a motorbike, requiring the rider to pass a test, wear a helmet, and use roads not cycle paths.

I only go above 15 mph when descending bridges. Anyone who wants to cycle faster than 15 mph on the level will be better with a pedal bike because it is much lighter. But in urban use, where there are pedestrians and other cyclists, going faster than 15 mph shows a lack of consideration for others.

Some of you will know that there have been 2 fatalities on the Cambridge Guided Busway, a cyclist and a pedestrian. Both fell into the path of a bus while avoiding a collision on the adjacent cycle track. That section of the Busway is now closed to buses. I have cycled that section of the busway: it is the fast moving cyclists that cause the danger, not the buses.

 

[stuu]

Some adult cyclists may achieve that speed but they will be in the minority, which is what I said previously.

I don't pay much attention to speeds when cycling so I tested this hypothesis this morning, being of average fitness and riding a fairly cheap hybrid bike which is what most utility cyclists I see use... on a flat road 17-18mph was normal speed with not much effort, getting to 20mph was easy but a bit much effort to maintain comfortably for long distances

 

[JohnMcL7]

21 mph is hardly the land speed record. I can easily get to 20 mph on the flat on a pedal cycle and 30 mph downhill. That said, some of the e-bikes I've seen are clearly doing a lot more than 21 mph on the flat.

My reference to the article was more regarding the limiter being removed not the specific speed, the two illegal e-bikes I've seen locally were going much faster. According to the manufacturer one is capable of 50mph and the other one was doing just over 35mph and both are capable of very high acceleration which is quite noticeable when they're easily out accelerating cars. As I said above though it's very rare to see ebikes like that.

 

[Bikeman78]

I am earnestly concerned about anything that increases speed, especially power assistance, and breaking the law of course. 21 mph is crazy on a narrow winding path shared with walkers, even worse with groups of motorized cyclists.

I still don't get it. I can ride my pedal bike at 15-20 mph on flat ground. In theory I could ride like a nutter along the joint use pavement at that speed, or along the Taff Trail for that matter. I don't, instead I ride in the adjacent bus lane.

My reference to the article was more regarding the limiter being removed not the specific speed, the two illegal e-bikes I've seen locally were going much faster. According to the manufacturer one is capable of 50mph and the other one was doing just over 35mph and both are capable of very high acceleration which is quite noticeable when they're easily out accelerating cars. As I said above though it's very rare to see ebikes like that.

Fair enough, I wouldn't want to go that fast on a bike, certainly not for long periods. Like you, I've seen the odd one going very fast, even uphill.

 

[Techniquest]

I’d disagree with that, for adult cyclists at least.

I disagree as well, I'm reasonably fit so hitting 20 on flat terrain is not super difficult. I don't do that speed for too long, in most cases, and my fastest logged on the Fitbit (when it worked properly) I seem to recall was between 32 and 36.5mph. I don't have the exact amount, and that was going down Fromes Hill towards Hereford. Most of you will not be aware, but that hill has a gradient of 16-17% and is on the A4103 between Hereford and Worcester. It's a nasty one, let me tell you that much for sure, and at the bottom is a crossroads.

Safe to say I've only ever done it once, going downhill, and that was scary. To think there are people happily out there putting themselves in serious danger doing that on the streets, oh no that is ridiculous!

 

[Haywain]

I disagree as well, I'm reasonably fit so hitting 20 on flat terrain is not super difficult. I don't do that speed for too long, in most cases, and my fastest logged on the Fitbit (when it worked properly) I seem to recall was between 32 and 36.5mph. I don't have the exact amount, and that was going down Fromes Hill towards Hereford. Most of you will not be aware, but that hill has a gradient of 16-17% and is on the A4103 between Hereford and Worcester. It's a nasty one, let me tell you that much for sure, and at the bottom is a crossroads.

And I’ll say it again, the vast majority don’t, regardless of the fact that some can.