Oft-heard cycling phrases that get on your nerves

[Racing roadkill]

There is no ambiguity. Right is right and left is left. The use of NDS is like saying "my car is a non-automatic. A negative shouldn't be used to indicate the norm.
I think DS and NDS is BS and pompous.

If you regularly work on the threaded parts of a bike (cranks, chainrings, BB's and pedals), then you will soon start to see the issue.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

If you regularly work on the threaded parts of a bike (cranks, chainrings, BB's and pedals), then you will soon start to see the issue.

I do regularly work on those parts and I've never had an issue. Give me one example. I ran a workshop with 11 mechanics, 1 storeman and two cashiers once and none of us have ever been confused by right and left. Right is right and DS is wrong.

 

[Jody]

No it doesn't. Your right hand drive car remains a right hand drive car no matter which way you turn and look at it. You can even look at it in a mirror if you like.

Why does the car trade use near side and off side if its so simple to say left and right? As R.R stated it removes any ambiguity.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Why does the car trade use near side and off side if its so simple to say left and right? As R.R stated it removes any ambiguity.

To confuse me. I always have to think which is which.

 

[BrumJim]

Why does the car trade use near side and off side if its so simple to say left and right? As R.R stated it removes any ambiguity.

Its dreadfully parochial. When I was at Longbridge, a car definitely had a right and left side. DS and NDS were not used as they didn't make sense when you had RH and LH drive cars going down the line at the same time.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Oh, and how can one not get annoyed at the use of the term "alloy" when talking about aluminium. I'll deal with the abhorrent US nomenclature in a separate rant.

 

[jay clock]

Why does the car trade use near side and off side if its so simple to say left and right? As R.R stated it removes any ambiguity.

calling cars by near side and offside is an excellent example of why Left and Right are the ideal words. As I found when I took my French registered car to a UK garage and he got himself mighty confused about which was the nearside

 

[speccy1]

When I do ride with a group, the shortening of place names drives me nuts, for example we have Merrivale which has a killer of a climb. When I am out and I here phrases like "shall we do Merri?" or similar, I get seriously hacked off. It`s MERRIVALE FFS

A silly thing, but irritates me all the same...........

 

[speccy1]

When I do ride with a group, the shortening of place names drives me nuts, for example we have Merrivale which has a killer of a climb. When I am out and I here phrases like "shall we do Merri?" or similar, I get seriously hacked off. It`s MERRIVALE FFS

A silly thing, but irritates me all the same...........

I can`t spell, it should be "hear"

 

[jay clock]

If you regularly work on the threaded parts of a bike (cranks, chainrings, BB's and pedals), then you will soon start to see the issue.

I cannot see any circumstances in which anyone would be confused by "please remove the left hand pedal" unless they were either obtuse, autistic in some way or related to Mr Logic http://viz.co.uk/category/mr-logic/

 

[youngoldbloke]

As long as you know the convention is L and R as when looking from the back of the bike, or as when riding the bike
edit: IMHO 'drive side' removes any confusion - I've always understood that it referred to the drive-train side

 

[Piemaster]

I work on a ship. To avoid confusion I will now be referring to the 'Port' and 'Starboard' sides of the bike from now on.

 

[andyfraser]

When I do ride with a group, the shortening of place names drives me nuts, for example we have Merrivale which has a killer of a climb. When I am out and I here phrases like "shall we do Merri?" or similar, I get seriously hacked off. It`s MERRIVALE FFS

A silly thing, but irritates me all the same...........

You'd love living round here then. Everyone insists on calling Cirencester "Ciren". It drives me nuts, inwardly of course.

I'm not a fan of any shortening though. One that used to really annoy me (because I have way too much time on my hands) was shortening "laptop" to "lappy", both in written and spoken communication. Written down it only saves 1 character and spoken it saves no syllables! Thankfully I haven't seen or heard it in a while.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

As long as you know the convention is L and R as when looking from the back of the bike, or as when riding the bike
edit: IMHO 'drive side' removes any confusion - I've always understood that it referred to the drive-train side

Let me help you out here. Is your car's steering wheel on the left or right? You can answer that one without asking me from which position I'm viewing the car, and I'll understand without any ambiguity. My only assumption is that you live in the UK. On a bicycle you need to know nothing else other than whether you're referring to the left or the right. Any confusion is imagined.

 

[Turbo Rider]

Let me help you out here. Is your car's steering wheel on the left or right? You can answer that one without asking me from which position I'm viewing the car, and I'll understand without any ambiguity. My only assumption is that you live in the UK. On a bicycle you need to know nothing else other than whether you're referring to the left or the right. Any confusion is imagined.

depends which side you view it from...sideways on, its at the front or back