Why does cruisers oscillate so much?
07-19-12, 12:25 AM
#1
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Why does cruisers oscillate so much?
I was trying to overtake a cruiser that was coasting. There was about 1.5 meters between the wheels on my bike and the cruiser. When my hip was about even with the rear axle on the cruiser, the lady started pedaling and the cruiser swerved causing the two of us to collide. Up until the the lady started pedaling, the cruiser was going in the straight line. Why does a cruiser deviate so much from a straight line when someone starts pedaling?
I know my bike oscillates sometimes when going up steep hills, but the oscillation is not 1.5m.
I know my bike oscillates sometimes when going up steep hills, but the oscillation is not 1.5m.
07-19-12, 12:46 AM
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07-19-12, 01:43 AM
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After a few beers, the oscillation range expands! 
07-19-12, 05:31 AM
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Don't approach so closely. She may have been freaked out or something. You may have scared her. Plus, most casual riders are completely unfamiliar with the concept of holding one's line.
07-19-12, 07:08 AM
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I never pass close without announcing. And I announce early enough that they can look back at me if they so desire and I can still stop if they deviate. You never know what someone is going to do when spooked.
One thing I notice with cruisers, is usually the seat is so low, they are almost bringing knees to chest when peddling, making it very hard to accelerate. Not sure I could keep it straight if my seat were this low
One thing I notice with cruisers, is usually the seat is so low, they are almost bringing knees to chest when peddling, making it very hard to accelerate. Not sure I could keep it straight if my seat were this low
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07-19-12, 07:17 AM
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07-19-12, 08:40 AM
#7
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There was 1.5m between the wheels. Without crossing the double yellow line, I could not have given her any more space.
07-19-12, 08:51 AM
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It's not the bike.
07-19-12, 08:54 AM
#10
Pedaled too far.
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Holding a straight line while pedaling is a learned skill. Think about it. If you walk and move your legs, what do your arms do? They move. Uneducated riders do this unconsciously. Road bikes because of their design, tend to do this less, but bikes like recumbents and cruisers, where you do not tend to ride stiff armed as you do on a road bike, there is more of a tendency for leg motion to extend to the arms. The slightest twitches of your biceps translate into steering motion.
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Last edited by Artkansas; 07-19-12 at 03:09 PM.
07-19-12, 09:05 AM
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I never pass close without announcing. And I announce early enough that they can look back at me if they so desire and I can still stop if they deviate. You never know what someone is going to do when spooked.
One thing I notice with cruisers, is usually the seat is so low, they are almost bringing knees to chest when peddling, making it very hard to accelerate. Not sure I could keep it straight if my seat were this low
One thing I notice with cruisers, is usually the seat is so low, they are almost bringing knees to chest when peddling, making it very hard to accelerate. Not sure I could keep it straight if my seat were this low
07-19-12, 09:35 AM
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Then wait, and cross the double yellow when it's safe. Some riders are more wobbly than others and you need more room to pass.
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Last edited by Homebrew01; 07-19-12 at 10:17 AM.
07-19-12, 01:18 PM
#14
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Were there ipods or walkman radios involved? earphone induced oblivious?
Last edited by fietsbob; 07-19-12 at 01:21 PM.
07-19-12, 05:15 PM
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07-19-12, 06:08 PM
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Were you racing?
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07-19-12, 07:52 PM
#17
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How much space does I need to overtake someone? 1.5m is a lot of space; it would have been about 1m between the ends of the bars.
Last edited by jsdavis; 07-19-12 at 07:56 PM.
07-19-12, 07:54 PM
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07-19-12, 08:30 PM
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Depends on the person. In a race with experienced riders, a few inches is fine. On public roads with people who can barely ride a bike, seems 4 feet is not enough !!
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07-19-12, 08:34 PM
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07-19-12, 09:57 PM
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Some of the riders I see on my commute on the bike path need the whole path and even thats not enough to hold the line! The fact that the seat is so low and sprung along with the mp3 player tuning out the world means these riders see and hear nothing. Put lack of skill on top of that and its best to find the widest safest place possible to get past. that or sit behind and ring the bell until they see you - no chance of being heard over the earphones.
07-20-12, 10:35 AM
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Cruiser riders are often casual/novice/inexperienced riders. Expect them to wobble and be easily startled.
Did you warn her far enough in advance that you were passing?
Last edited by njkayaker; 07-20-12 at 10:38 AM.
07-20-12, 11:00 AM
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I have bad depth perception, I only see out of one eye at a time, I can't use both of them together, never have been able to since I was a baby. So I can't judge distances as well as others. Because of this, I give more room than normal when riding.
You better not ride too close to me at times. Not my fault if you insist on riding on my wheel and you hit me. I do wobble once in a while.
Unless you know the riders you are with, you shouldn't tuck in closely.
You better not ride too close to me at times. Not my fault if you insist on riding on my wheel and you hit me. I do wobble once in a while.
Unless you know the riders you are with, you shouldn't tuck in closely.
07-20-12, 11:54 AM
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It ain't just the crusiers, I have roadies do it as well. Few months back I had two female riders on my wheel, I went wide, about 6 feet to pass another rider. I go wide so the riders behind me can se what's going on.
I also rang my bell 10 yards back, then 5, then right as we began the pass. This dude looked right at me, seemed ok then swerved into me bumping my elbow. WTF!
Then as we began the pass he blocked our pass by sticking along side my wife. WTF! Then he decided he was fast so he sprinted away. So catching somebody from a mile behind means they are fast I guess cause some dopey riders will feel the need to show they are fast. I say if you were any kind of fast, we would have never caught you at our cruising speed.
So another mile down the road we encounter the faded rider once again. He pulled the same carp so I shouted at him "why don't you just let us pass safely?".
Then he said well if you were fast I wouldn't be around you. WTF! We were holding our pace and not racing the moron. Wasn't our fault he kept fading but his pride made him feel that he needed to stay ahead of 2 women. He eventually faded and fell back....like we knew he would.
I had it the encounter on video an posted it last year. I deleted it at the end of the year but that was one that I should have kept.
I can't agree that is the "crusiers". I've seen some well disciplined crusiers and some crappy roadies as well as crappy cruisers and well disciplined roadies. That goes for young children as well. I've seen some great riders at 4 and 5 years old where I've seen some crappy adults.
I also rang my bell 10 yards back, then 5, then right as we began the pass. This dude looked right at me, seemed ok then swerved into me bumping my elbow. WTF!
Then as we began the pass he blocked our pass by sticking along side my wife. WTF! Then he decided he was fast so he sprinted away. So catching somebody from a mile behind means they are fast I guess cause some dopey riders will feel the need to show they are fast. I say if you were any kind of fast, we would have never caught you at our cruising speed.
So another mile down the road we encounter the faded rider once again. He pulled the same carp so I shouted at him "why don't you just let us pass safely?".
Then he said well if you were fast I wouldn't be around you. WTF! We were holding our pace and not racing the moron. Wasn't our fault he kept fading but his pride made him feel that he needed to stay ahead of 2 women. He eventually faded and fell back....like we knew he would.
I had it the encounter on video an posted it last year. I deleted it at the end of the year but that was one that I should have kept.
I can't agree that is the "crusiers". I've seen some well disciplined crusiers and some crappy roadies as well as crappy cruisers and well disciplined roadies. That goes for young children as well. I've seen some great riders at 4 and 5 years old where I've seen some crappy adults.
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