It Doesn't Take Much...

[John the Monkey]

...to make some drivers angry.

A couple of interesting commutes today - snapped a spoke on the way in (non drive side, so replaced that over lunch hour at work) and then had a p* on the way home (fitted my spare tube to find that was holey, so had to go to spare 2).

The last bit of the Manchester leg of my commute ends in Wilmslow Station car park. I entered the car park, and noticed lots of folk leaving the offices at the side of it (they have a give way junction with the car park entrance, the bit of traffic I'm in has priority). I'm watching what they're doing, so when a dozy so and so in a green fiesta pulls out, I'm ready, swerving away and slowing down. I look at the driver, to make sure I've been seen (and check they're actually not going to continue across my path) and she goes bonkers, throwing her hands up and rolling her eyes, as though I needed to give way. Very odd.

 

[goo_mason]

Some people just refuse to accept they're in the wrong and will always blame others for their stupidity; she sounds like one of them.

Sorry to hear about your mechanical woes though. Do you still have the Alex DA22's on the SCR2 ? Once one goes, that's it. A spoke every few days now....

...to make some drivers angry.

A couple of interesting commutes today - snapped a spoke on the way in (non drive side, so replaced that over lunch hour at work) and then had a p* on the way home (fitted my spare tube to find that was holey, so had to go to spare 2).

The last bit of the Manchester leg of my commute ends in Wilmslow Station car park. I entered the car park, and noticed lots of folk leaving the offices at the side of it (they have a give way junction with the car park entrance, the bit of traffic I'm in has priority). I'm watching what they're doing, so when a dozy so and so in a green fiesta pulls out, I'm ready, swerving away and slowing down. I look at the driver, to make sure I've been seen (and check they're actually not going to continue across my path) and she goes bonkers, throwing her hands up and rolling her eyes, as though I needed to give way. Very odd.

 

[yenrod]

The whole system of the car driver is king is well and truly bloody wrong.

Its time the easily injured ie US get the upper hand.

Legally, financially - the works.

Then things will change.

Till then WE tolerate self-gratification artists...and more!

 

[John the Monkey]

Some people just refuse to accept they're in the wrong and will always blame others for their stupidity; she sounds like one of them.

Yup. Her car was covered in dents on the front, which is a bit worrying to see on a vehicle that might be going to cross your path abruptly!

Sorry to hear about your mechanical woes though. Do you still have the Alex DA22's on the SCR2 ? Once one goes, that's it. A spoke every few days now....

Yup, but I am a svelte racing snake, so I'm hoping they won't be snapping as often as that I've had two go on the drive side, and one (the last one) on the non drive side. I was rather hoping to make the rims last a bit longer, and then get a set built up (or build myself) for commuting. I really don't want to ride my lovely Aksiums in the wet

 

[John the Monkey]

The whole system of the car driver is king is well and truly bloody wrong.

Its time the easily injured ie US get the upper hand.

Legally, financially - the works.

Then things will change.

I'd tend to agree Yenrod - the problem with just plopping bits of infrastructure here and there is that the new cyclist has to leave it all at some point - and the culture of the roads hasn't changed to accommodate that. Strict liability in insurance claims, and actual enforcement of traffic law (as opposed to the jokey, "Oh dear, been a bit naughty haven't we sir?" approach that seems current) has to be the way forward.

 

[Maz]

...snapped a spoke on the way in (non drive side, so replaced that over lunch hour at work)...

Daft question coming up:
How did you manage to snap a spoke? Did you hit something?
Did the fact it was on the non-drive side make the replacement easier?

 

[John the Monkey]

Daft question coming up:
How did you manage to snap a spoke? Did you hit something?

Very probably a pothole - the combination of Wilmslow's roads and the DA22 wheels on the Giant does not always make for a happy time.

Did the fact it was on the non-drive side make the replacement easier?

Yeah - to replace a drive side spoke you have to take the cassette off (I don't carry the tools to do this, or have them at work). I think some people manage to thread them through somehow, but I've never managed it. The non drive side is radially spoked (as opposed to cross two on the drive side) which makes things slightly easier as well.

 

[02GF74]

I'd tend to agree Yenrod - the problem with just plopping bits of infrastructure here and there is that the new cyclist has to leave it all at some point - and the culture of the roads hasn't changed to accommodate that. Strict liability in insurance claims, and actual enforcement of traffic law (as opposed to the jokey, "Oh dear, been a bit naughty haven't we sir?" approach that seems current) has to be the way forward.

yep - should be system that I beleive operates in Holland - where the car driver is always deemed to be at fault if there is an cyclist - car accident.

someone mnore knowledgeabubble or with time to google will confirm if this is the case or not.

 

[Maz]

Thanks for the clear answers, JtM. Cassette removal never occurred to me w.r.t. spoke replacement.

 

[Bollo]

I had a cracker the other day - I was in a short queue of traffic waiting for the lights to change (please lets not turn this into an RLJ thread). When they change, I take off and keep up with the car in front. Its slightly downhill and the traffic can only hit around 20mph here, so no real problems. But, as I set off, I hear the inevitable revving engine behind........and then by the side of me. A fellow road user, lets call him tw@tface, has automatically assumed he will overtake me. But there's nowhere to overtake to! I'm right behind the car in front. An am integrated with the traffic. I am......not in the way! So does tw@tface back off and go behind? Noooooo! He sits by my side sounding his horn until oncoming traffic forces him to pull in. And then I don't see him again because, surprise surprise, the weight of traffic means I can go quicker than him.

Its a pretty standard 'Commuting' story, but I think its USP is that its the first time I've been dissed for completely integrating with the traffic and not causing ANY delay to the driver.

 

[spindrift]

Christ.


Bishopsgate, cycle lane, car ahead of me slows and lets a car out of a junction on my left. The driver doesn't see me, pulls out, I slam the brakes on
and she looks at me, and shakes her head!

WTF?


You pulled out without looking you dozy cow!

 

[caesar]

I think this is why I usually shout, to make sure they know I think it's their fault!

A lot of people seem to have an instant, aggressive reaction to blame other people. Perhaps it's flight or flight kicking in, or just the standard modern lack of responsibility. I wondered for a while whether I was the same so I was pleased that when I hit a car and it definitely was my fault (chain jumped off the ring when overtaking traffic jam on Battersea Bridge), I stopped, apologised and gave the driver my insurance details.

Hopefully the drivers that people have written about above will reflect on the incidents later and realise that it was their fault. Magnetic stickers that you could throw on a car with the appropriate section of the Highway Code would help though

 

[Cyclista]

The non drive side is radially spoked (as opposed to cross two on the drive side) which makes things slightly easier as well.

Just out of interest John, how are you getting on with the radial spoking on the rear wheel. I thought that it took some of the strength out of the wheel compared to a conventional 3 cross?

 

[caesar]

Thanks for the clear answers, JtM. Cassette removal never occurred to me w.r.t. spoke replacement.

I broke a drive side spoke on my Pompino a few weeks ago. Had to order a specific removal tool for the ACS freewheel and ride with the rear brake disconnected until that turned up. When it arrived I found that it wouldn't fit over the locknut on the hub, so the teeth of the tool were nowhere near engaging the notches on the freewheel. I couldn't remove the locknut because the freewheel was in the way of the flats (locknut is a deep cone shape on this hub), so in the end I had to jam a screwdriver into the drive side locknut flats, remove the non-drive side nut and 'persuade' the axle out with a massive hammer! Finally got it off, replaced the spoke, noticed that the freewheel had a broken tooth and decided that I didn't want to go through all that again, so I put a cog on instead and am now riding fixed!

 

[Nigeyy]

Bollo, that is just classic, I mean really classic idiot car driver behaviour. They see a cyclist, and some drivers think that only means one thing regardless of speed, road conditions, speed limit, common sense etc, etc -THEY MUST OVERTAKE YOU -AT WHATEVER COST!

I really wish I could just talk to a car driver who does that to me one day and ask what they gain by doing this. I just can't fathom why some people are just like this -completely devoid of logical thought and cognitive skills.

I had a cracker the other day...