acoldspoon

We need more rational threads like this one. You guys have the right attitudes. Kudos! I've been known to apply personal leeway to the Big Apple's traffic suggestions from time to time, but I also take responsibility for my actions when I do so. Plus, I am careful not to antagonize drivers when I do. All part of sharing the road. Fact is, the closest I've come to being hit this month was by another cyclist. Unsafe cyclists seem to somehow manage to outnumber unsafe drivers in this town.

cc700

i agree with you that i should have stopped, but i was not certain that i could have stopped safely.
you may interpret that however you'd like, but i was faced with a yellow light and tried to make it through. once you're in the intersection(rear wheel passing the line that indicates an intersection), it doesn't matter what color the light is, you make all due haste to vacate and clear the intersection.

yellow means do not enter the intersection if you can stop yourself safely... my brakes probably could have stopped me safely but i wasn't sure of it and ended up being hit.

trust me, i didn't mean to put myself in a dangerous situation, but i knew the full implications of my actions and trusted others to yield, which they didn't.

dutret

If you can't stop before getting in the intersection and can't make it through then you need to get better brakes.

cc700

i'm in complete agreement with you there... my brakes on that bike are OLD diacompe single-pivots and have very old pads... not to mention old style road levers that have lines that come out the top. i can stop in 2/3rds the distance on my fixed gear, which is equipped with new nashbar jailbrake dual pivots and sakae levers.

all the same, a buick with old drum brakes does not have to yield right of way to a porsche with six piston slotted and drilled 14" rotors.
but i digress(i love using that phrase) -- it's nice to have good equipment but collisions can happen anywhere with anything; being smart, aware, and observant is what's most important.

helloamerican

ok guys, cmon- skids arn't the only way to stop on a fixie, christ.

acoldspoon

I run nice Conti sew-ups on my fixed gear. Skids aren't even part of my equation.

abeabe

my skip stop is pretty great, and dropping a bike is a pretty crucial thing to know how to do.

theetruscan

If the cyclist entered the intersection on a yellow light and was going straight, he had the right of way even if the car also entered on the yellow light.

If the cyclist entered on a yellow, and the car entered after the light turned red, the cyclist had the right of way and the driver committed another traffic violation.

cc700 had the right of way, he may not have been being cautious enough, but he had the right of way.

Seven Sane

I hope you don't consider drunk driving a responsible way of operating your vehicles.

Gordiep

Indeed not, but what small cycling wisdom I have has been earned primarily through abrupt and forceful impacts with the ground, or similarly obstinate materials. I haven't ridden drunk (bike or car) for a very long time, but I try to always remember my stupidest moments, so I don't emulate them in the future.

Everyone acts like an idiot once in a while-- I object to those who refuse to change their ways once their foolishness is apparent...or even worse, act with the intention of being reckless.

Seven Sane

I know and I was being largely facetious. I too have learned too well that riding drunk isn't a good idea, but again, it was always on my own, on a dark and lonely road.

helloamerican

don't i know it
i'm just saying a combination of pops and skids as well as switching up which foot your skidding on can provide a pretty excellent stop, also sitting down after you've gotten a skid going is a majorly effective way to slow down.

andre nickatina

better yet, just do the whole skid sitting down, while leaning / turning the bars. that's my preferred and most used method, but skip stops come up more often for me in order to more evenly distribute the tire wear. the best way to do it is press your back thigh against the toptube for leverage.

Seven Sane

Man, I've been out practicing trackstands and things of this nature, and I cannot figure out skidding for the life of me. I've seen it done a million times but I just can't get it. I mean, I have a brake so I don't need it, but still, it would be sweet to whip out once in a while.

SkyeC

I ride SF and Oakland mostly but also have ridden back home in Seattle fixed and brakeless... I think it's more about riding smart and riding within your limits than what kind of bike you're riding. A brake won't save your ass if you're hauling down Pine at 30-35mph and a car jumps out right in front of you, you're still going down. I ride at a speed I can stop comfortably from and look way ahead of me, not down at my tire, which is where I think a lot of people make mistakes early on in their city riding "career."

The only time I've ever been in scary situations is when I was being a knucklehead and not paying attention, nobody to blame but myself. And no, I've never ran into a parked car, what the hell is that?

EMT

that article was interesting---thanks. where are these states that let bicycles treat stop signs as yield signs? do they also allow treating red lights as yellows?

Kol.klink

i have to say i ride like a bloody fool alot of the time i've been lucky, the brakes get take'n off and put back on but i think they might be back to stay as soon as i get a Cross lever