Originally Posted by teiaperigosa
ietrats...
while I have no idea of where your location is, and what city you're talking about....if you've been riding in the city for 10 years and think that your shoulder width is the most relevant in squeezing through cars, then we ride very differently...
mostly the body of cars (down low) and their rear view mirrors ( again, down low) are the determining obstacles for me...if any body part, the width of my hips are most relevant in my experience...
and even whith larger vehicles with protruding mirrors and the like....I find that I am able to move my upper body around (ie...twist my shoulders, or do some boxing stick and move **** with my head) to avoid hitting anything
while you've never hit anything with those bars, I bet you I get through tighter gaps than you...'s all a matter of how you ride
-signed,
uptown
I forgot that I replied to this thread.
I'm of the XY persuasion, and my shoulders are wider than my hips, even with my winter hibernation layer and baggy pants. I'm also taller than average and ride a taller than average bike, so my hips are usually higher than the bodies of cars.
I don't twist and shout through tight spots though - maybe a little bit of English on the bike to sway a bit, but I wouldn't normally try to ride through any spot I couldn't walk through without pivoting my shoulders. Then again, I don't ride that fast either, and I don't take chances riding in traffic unless it violates rule number one of piloting a vehicle on public roads, which is "Just go."
Different strokes and all. I didn't mean to sound hostile or anything; I think I was mostly railing against the moron I know who rides 8" wide bars and no handbrake with a loose stem and headset on a spanking new sparkling pista (and has already been hit a half a dozen times). I'm sure that's not you, unless you happen to live with my buddy Eric.