cnqdfu

Two of my Chinese riding friends lost their young lives in recent two years.

One is a 21 year old girl, college freshman. She died when riding alone to Tibet. She toally lost control of the bike at a downhill “S” road, then the bike hit the rail of road, bike stayed on road at last, but she was thrown out into the Yanzi river because of inertia. At last, only her headlight was found, she was missed.

The other is a 34 year old Chinese guy, having a beautiful family before he died. He drunk lots of beer at lunch, totally drank but still riding. He then lost control on a swing corner, and was riding into a deep valley. Already dead when ambulance comes. (Picture attached of this accident)

Nowadays, the new, fancy MTB and road bikes are becoming popular. Some guys are not riding fans any more, they are becoming ridingaholic. They are always thinking about how to reach the riding extrems, but totally forgetting about riding safety. Some of them may even do not have BASIC RIDING KNOWLEDGE AND SENSE OF SECURITY .

Some tips that I know on how to avoid accidents, welcome guys to add:
1) How fancy your bike is, it is still the weakest on road. Riding is fun, but also DANGEROUS
2) Wearing Helmets and Cycling Gloves are totally necessary
3) Safety NO.1, Bike No.2, Speed No.3
4) Putting the seat lower to make the center of gravity lower when riding down hill
5) Do not exceed 25kms when riding downhill
6) NO DRINKING BEFORE RIDING

Cyclaholic

I'm sorry for your loss, but on point #4 "Putting the seat lower to make the center of gravity lower when riding down hill" ...that is total nonsense.

cnqdfu

the other point I just thought of is "Try to avoid riding parrallel with other autos, in front of them or behind them."

meanwhile

Indeed.

To the OP: It's good to see a concern with safety but this isn't a good safety checklist. You might want to order and read The Art Of Urban Cycling, Cyclecraft, or Effective Cycling and summarize the most important lessons in Chinese on a website.

meanwhile

That is a big one. Take a look at https://bicyclesafe.com/

cnqdfu

Hey, good point. I will do this in near future.

cnqdfu

Hi, Cyclaholic. What I mean is to make the center of gravity back off and lower. Have a look at this picture

meanwhile

Dropping your saddle and moving back on your saddle is a technique mountain bikers use for descending steep inclines, but it really shouldn't be necessary on any sane road. Nor should a 25kmph limit for descents be needed with a decent bike. I did messenger work in San Francisco - trust me, I know from hills. Shifting your weight back on the saddle if you have to do emergency braking is as far as you should have to go.

ItsJustMe

"Don't be stupid" covers a lot of that.

I agree with the center of gravity thing. FYI, bicycles are LESS STABLE the lower the center of gravity. The only time lowering the center of gravity helps is if you're really pushing the envelope for maneuvering quickly in sketchy situations (and therefore you want LESS stability, which equals more maneuverability. If you're in that situation, you've already decided to sacrifice some safety for speed/fun.

fordmanvt

Convert from rim brakes to discs if you plan on any long steep descents.

Santaria

Sorry that you lost two people.

Rule no. 6 - Beer is your friend. Do not hate the beer sir, do NOT hate the beer. In moderation. With a helmet.

DX-MAN

Fatal bike mishaps are ALWAYS bad, moreso when it's close to home and/or someone we know.

But your checklist would only accomplish one thing -- keeping MORE people off bikes.

Bikes are only dangerous if, like everything else, you take it lightly. Learn to handle the thing, and never take it for granted; it's not a casual thing.