Pulling away wobbles

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
So, this has happened a couple of times...

I stop at the redlights in an ASL in central London, along with 10 other cyclists. As they are all converging from either sides of the lane, some pull up close alongside but are not always then poitning directly ahead. When the lights chnage, I've nearly been knocked into other cyclsists by the wobble of someone who had stopped very close to me and pulled away at a funny angle or wobbling into me.

Is this a 'thing' or have I just been unlucky?
 

Pauluk

Senior Member
Location
Leicester
There are quite a number of ignorant cyclists as well as motorists mark. Afraid you just have to grin and bear it.
 

I like Skol

A Minging Manc...
I think if I was first a the lights and everyone was stopping too close to me then after a few days of this I would get pushy with my elbows and set off badly. Once a few of them end up on the floor they might rethink their stratagey!
 

Miquel In De Rain

No Longer Posting
I think it's all for one and one for all sometimes.I cycled back tonight from Waterloo to Leytonstone via Stratford and saw many cyclists with no lights,rljers and some cyclists that alarmed me for their safety,but im not perfect myself and make mistakes.Rather have those wobblers than some idiot in a metal box.

A particular point of alarmist was a female cyclist who had me worried about her cycling with the people carrier behind her where the driver was on the phone.I even shouted get off the fkin phone.That was at Mile End.I have it on camera but as it's an imported MUVI im not sure how good the coverage is.

Ok yes,I know im not perfect.
 

slowmotion

Quite dreadful
Location
lost somewhere
Commuter cyclists are , by and large, rude , inconsiderate and aggressive , particularly when they swarm and get all competitive near a set of traffic lights . Some are very stupid too.
A few will be taken out when they jump the next set of lights. The gene pool may be faintly thinned, but meanwhile, stay at the back and watch them make complete tits of themselves. Their time will come:thumbsup:
 

thefollen

Veteran
Can be a bit of a scrum in London's ASL zones. Tips I have (if you're a roadie or quicker than most):

When entering:
- Try to leave 0.5m gap around you wherever you position yourself, someone may position themselves directly behind but I've not found this a problem.
- Enter slowly, calmly and predictably if the path in is clear
- Be patient and don't be afraid to hang back a little if the ASL is looking overly congested

When leaving:
- Relax, don't try to bomb off like a crazy person. Wobblies and non-clipless often overtake or try to squeeze past. If cyclists are at weird angles, going slowly will allow all to find their equilibrium. If Wobblies head to go past on the right, just let them, there'll be a gap soon enough. Recommend starting slow and smoothly, engage the clip.
- Patience is the key- when you're clipped in maintain the distance gap with the bike in front. Right shoulder check as many times as necessary to ensure a clear path- watch out for other people overtaking. Smoothly accelerate past the slower cyclists, give them at least 1m to you left (if possible).
- Soon as the coast is clear.... hit the hammer!

Of course you do get total numpties that get too close or do silly things. A bit of patience usually fixes the situation, but if you do have to exchange words, do so in a calm and informative fashion. Nothing makes a numpty more of a numpty than an adrenalin spike ;)

As one of the above chaps said: Grin and bear it.... then when safe to do so, scalp the lot of 'em!
 

gaz

Cycle Camera TV
Location
South Croydon
I've had my front wheel nearly taken out countless times by some idiot that comes from the right hand side of the asl and straight away moves to the left without checking.
 
I can generally pick my position at stop line so there's room for me or them to wobble, if somebody there and there's not enough space I hold back but occasionally you get somebody who slots into that space in that case I usually hold back let them through (the pushy cnuts) read the situation (traffic etc) and shoot passed them. Hopefully, they then realise the futility of their move but I doubt it :rolleyes:
 
When I first started commuting through London (2008), it was the scrum I couldn't handle. I was a bit wobbly on take off. One notable day heading south from London Bridge, I was in an ASL, hemmed in by so many other cyclists, I thought "I can't handle this", got off my bike and walked off down the footpath.

A few seconds later, I heard an almighty crash: one of the cyclists had lost their balance, and there was just a pile of bikes and cycles in the ASL.

Sometimes other cyclists seem like the biggest threat on the roads.
 
Top Bottom