CJ – I’m a fan of flared drop bars. I’ve taken a car jack to regular steel bars and spread them out; it’s a very, very comfortable feel. It does require a rise on the stem, though.
on red lights, the best bet, if there is no traffic, is to make a right turn, do a U turn (providing it’s legal) then make another right turn on the other side. As for lights that don’t trip, report them to the city/town/village.
Ok, I live in Idaho where there actually is a separate law for cyclists which says that if I come to a red light and it is safe to proceed because there is no oncoming through traffic I may. it also says that if I come to a stop sign I may proceed without stopping if there is no cross traffic. it is the law and it makes life easier even if it might annoy the occasional motorist. I do have to remember the difference when i am riding in nearby Utah, however.
That’s awesome! Do you know if those laws exist in the state of Washington? I’ve tried to find bike-related laws on our gov’t's page, but I don’t really get detailed info.
Alan:
Unfortunately, Washington’s laws tend to be a little less cyclist friendly. You can get links to the bicycle related traffic laws of any state at bikecommuters.com under commuter tools.
Ryan…. Bars bent like that are susceptible to sudden and catastrophic failure. I urge you to not modify your handlebars with brute force. Manufactured flared drop bars are available, just hard to find. The wonders of the interwebs shall provide. At this time I would like to add that they are a wonderful handlebar.
I’ll eventually run a red light when it becomes obvious it isn’t being triggered by my bike breaking the ring. I don’t ride through one and I avoid roads with lots of stop signs. I don’t ‘run’ stop signs, but if clear I sure don’t come to the ‘complete stop’ if you include putting a foot down in the definition… I can usually time my roll approaching or track stand a stop light most of the time rather than unclipping. I’d prefer that stop signs were allowed to be treated as yeild signs legally in most spots.
I don’t let drivers next to me at lights anymore… I take the center of the lane. No more right turn of death.
I agree with tandemman – a longer stem and regular drops. I had to do that to my bike ‘cos of arthritis; the wrists couldn’t take the crouch for a while (plus older backs don’t like to bend for long periods!).
In the Netherlands, many main road crossings have a push button for cyclists (OK, probably on a sidewalk-level bikepath, not on the normal carriageway.)
I was sitting on my bike at a red light the other day when an SUV didn’t-quite-stop across the intersection and went through the red light. He had his windows down so I yelled at him: “Even I’m not doing that!”
At some intersections if you put your wheel directly over the loop wire it will trip the traffic light. I’m convinced at some loops the difference between being able to trip the light and not depends on positioning the front wheel with the valve stem perfectly at top dead center. This puts the rim plug (or whatever it’s called) close to the wire.
CJ – I’m a fan of flared drop bars. I’ve taken a car jack to regular steel bars and spread them out; it’s a very, very comfortable feel. It does require a rise on the stem, though.
http://www.63xc.com/mattc/midge.htm
on red lights, the best bet, if there is no traffic, is to make a right turn, do a U turn (providing it’s legal) then make another right turn on the other side. As for lights that don’t trip, report them to the city/town/village.
Ok, I live in Idaho where there actually is a separate law for cyclists which says that if I come to a red light and it is safe to proceed because there is no oncoming through traffic I may. it also says that if I come to a stop sign I may proceed without stopping if there is no cross traffic. it is the law and it makes life easier even if it might annoy the occasional motorist. I do have to remember the difference when i am riding in nearby Utah, however.
Neodymium magnet(s) on your bottom bracket will cause the sensors you sometimes see under the road to trigger a green light faster.
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/828731/trigger_green_traffic_lights/
I do the same thing as Anthony. I find it’s especially comfortable with cork grips.
To Idaho laws:
That’s awesome! Do you know if those laws exist in the state of Washington? I’ve tried to find bike-related laws on our gov’t's page, but I don’t really get detailed info.
Thanks,
Alan
Alan:
Unfortunately, Washington’s laws tend to be a little less cyclist friendly. You can get links to the bicycle related traffic laws of any state at bikecommuters.com under commuter tools.
Ryan…. Bars bent like that are susceptible to sudden and catastrophic failure. I urge you to not modify your handlebars with brute force. Manufactured flared drop bars are available, just hard to find. The wonders of the interwebs shall provide. At this time I would like to add that they are a wonderful handlebar.
micro:
http://www.on-one.co.uk do a flared bar
Washington Bike laws here…
http://www.bicyclealliance.org/safety/rcwlaw.html
I’ll eventually run a red light when it becomes obvious it isn’t being triggered by my bike breaking the ring. I don’t ride through one and I avoid roads with lots of stop signs. I don’t ‘run’ stop signs, but if clear I sure don’t come to the ‘complete stop’ if you include putting a foot down in the definition… I can usually time my roll approaching or track stand a stop light most of the time rather than unclipping. I’d prefer that stop signs were allowed to be treated as yeild signs legally in most spots.
I don’t let drivers next to me at lights anymore… I take the center of the lane. No more right turn of death.
I agree with tandemman – a longer stem and regular drops. I had to do that to my bike ‘cos of arthritis; the wrists couldn’t take the crouch for a while (plus older backs don’t like to bend for long periods!).
In the Netherlands, many main road crossings have a push button for cyclists (OK, probably on a sidewalk-level bikepath, not on the normal carriageway.)
I was sitting on my bike at a red light the other day when an SUV didn’t-quite-stop across the intersection and went through the red light. He had his windows down so I yelled at him: “Even I’m not doing that!”
At some intersections if you put your wheel directly over the loop wire it will trip the traffic light. I’m convinced at some loops the difference between being able to trip the light and not depends on positioning the front wheel with the valve stem perfectly at top dead center. This puts the rim plug (or whatever it’s called) close to the wire.