opinion on stop signs?
 

Do you think you should do a complete stop and put your feet on the ground at each stop sign? My problem is sometimes my shorts get hanged up on the seat when I get back on my bike at a stop sign showing my underwear and but crack. Do tight fitting bike shorts get hanged up on the seat when you get back on it? I dont have bike shorts but the shorts I have are loose and baggy.

When you get back on your bike are you suppose to moved the pedal back till you can put your foot on it then get on the seat from that pedal?

I can stop and put a foot down without getting off the seat, even on a mountain bike with a high bottom bracket and 2.4" tires. Is your bike abnormally high off the ground?

I got 2 inch clearance for standover height so I dont think its "abnormal"

If no one else is at the intersection, I just do a rolling stop (or Idaho stop). If there's other traffic at the intersection, then I put a foot down. Just plan ahead and arrange your pedals as you need them. And I wear baggy jeans and baggy shorts exclusively when biking, and never manage to pull my pants down. Maybe practice standing on your forward pedal as you remount, to get your waist clear of your saddle as you lift yourself back onto the bike.

I think you're right, most people ride with a saddle height that is taller than their standing pubic bone height.

I hate to sound all preachy and law-abiding here, but there isn't any question about this. if we're going to scream about being legitimate vehicles and having all the rights of cars, we have to follow the rules they do. Stop at the damn stop sign. Get some shorts that fit. Learn to spell "butt" and figure out the difference between "hanged up" and "hung up." And realize that nobody cares about your crack.

You may hate to sound preachy, but you sure seem to relish sounding like a pedantic ass. He just asked a question, no need to berate the dude's fashion sense. And good luck with that one man war on proper spelling and grammar. I'm sure that you'll single-handledly make the internet a much more intelligible place.

Ok, try touching the ground with one foot then. Like this:

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...on_daytime.jpg

The only time I have to get off the saddle at a stoplight or stop sign, is when I'm test-riding someone else's super-tall bike after completing a repair. Any of my four bikes, I just put my right foot down, as shown.

I can sympathize with your annoyance at the saddle nose snagging your shorts. If you ever shop for a new saddle, and are looking at the mid-to-upper price range, consider a WTB SST, whose shape is designed to minimize shorts snag.

http://wtb.com/files/2009/12/sst-520x500.jpg

Trackstand!:D...It's much easier and less risky if you gear down first, much easier to get rolling if for some reason you begin to lose balance. I stop, no rolling.;)

I can stop like that. I thought you were talking about both feet being flat on the ground when sitting on the saddle. Is that the proper way to stop?

I dont see any videos showing people sitting on the saddle when stopping and going.

time to take up trackstands, bro!

Ill look that up.

You should stop, even if its brief enough so you don't have to put your foot down. If you're on a decline then it's another story, just remember always turn right!

...but what about this, you're riding in a group that comes to a stop, you slow down so that when they start back up you can keep rolling through the stop with them. Does the group stop count as your stop as well even if you don't stop? I'm leaning towards yes on this one.

Somebody pass the popcorn! ZING!

May not be videos but happens all the time in real life.

The correct thing to do is come to a full stop.

In reality, rolling stops are pretty common just like they are for cars. They're even codified as legal for bicycles in some places.

If you elect not to stop fully, you should at least slow down enough to confirm that there's nobody coming through the intersection, and so you can stop safely if needed.

I try not to take my foot out of the clip unless it's necessary. (which is seconds after a full stop)
I fell like a sitting duck when unclipped.
Can't accelerate with only one leg, can't get much traction with a bike shoe on the road.

With me it's situational.

If there is no other traffic visible I roll through the stop sign.

If there are cars about I attempt a track stand while making eye contact with the other drivers. At least 90% of the time, cross traffic drivers will signal me to pass through the intersection ahead of them. In return, I give them a full five fingered wave.

If there is a line of cars at the stop sign, I unclip and wait my turn in line.

What do you do if the stop sign is at a big hill and its hard to start back?

Well, that ain't necessarily so. A couple years ago, I was stopped by an officer and given a ticket for not stopping at a stop sign. I thought that I had stopped, but possibly I had just gotten careless and slowed down to 1-2 mph and gone. So I got to wondering..... and I started observing other drivers when they came to a stop sign and there was no other traffic. I did this for a couple of weeks and I saw people slow way down, but not one came to a complete stop. I hear the line all the time that cyclists should always stop at stop signs. Bikes are different than cars. Cyclists are generally higher up and can see better. Also cyclists are approaching the stop sign and can safely yield to cross traffic without coming to a complete stop. And as I just mentioned, you can watch drivers for days and not see a single one come to a stop unless they have to wait for cross traffic.

If I could reach the ground flat-footed from my saddle, my saddle height would be far too low.

As someone else mentioned, it's possible to stop momentarily without putting a foot down, but sometimes you'll have to remain stopped, at which point you need to have Plan B. The way shown in the photo is the "Plan B" method I suggest, if you don't want to get off the saddle, snag your shorts, etc.

In that case, I just camp there for the night.


...but seriously, what do you think? ;) If you're going uphill and you'll be stopping, downshift before you stop, so you're ready when it's time to roll out again. If I can do it on a mountain bike loaded with 40 pounds of groceries, you can do it too. Man up ;)

Stopping at all stop signs and signals while riding for transportation will make you a stronger, better cyclist. I have been in many road/group rides where we did not stop for signs or lights. I didn't think it was right or wrong, just safe or unsafe. If the leader/fore did not know how to clear an intersection then I would try to avoid riding in that manner with that person again.

It is possible to do safely, just not legally. A group gives some justification of sorts especially if they clear their intersections as a team. Singly, unless it is completely, utterly clear for a hundred yards or more you look like a doosh blowing signs or signals.

Still not right or wrong if done safely, but doochiness is subjective except I refuse to be the subject.

I live at a corner with a 4-way stop and let me tell ya, plenty of motorized vehicles do one of those "Idaho" stops. When the cops get behind on their ticket quotas they can always make it up by parking in front of my house and tagging the cars that roll right through.

In my area I pretty much follow all of the laws. Exceptions to that include cutting through parking lots occasionally, and I tend to roll through stop signs if there is no traffic around, and will go through a red light if there are no vehicles that will trip the light for me. Whenever I do either of those, though, I always make sure I am not violating the right of way of other vehicles. I've done this in front of cops (not on purpose, mind you), and they've let me slide thus far.

I figure stop signs are "traffic control devices". If there is no traffic, there is no need for control. Ergo, stopping is strictly optional.
LEGAL WARNING: This most useful outlook was developed when I was a practicing attorney, in particular, when I decided that most inconvenient laws didn't apply to me. Life has been so much better ever since. bk