jyl

Adjust your brakes so that only a slight pull of the lever is needed to get the pads to touch the rims. There will usually be a knurled adjuster around the cable right at the lever. Refer to Sheldon for details.

Squealing brakes can usually be fixed by adjusting the pads to be toe-in.

If the pads are glazed, you can dress them (lightly rough the surface) with a file, even a nail file, or sandpaper. This can improve braking a bit. If the pads are old and hard, replace them. If you ride in rain, KoolStop "salmon" color pads are the best.

Yes, practice braking in a parking lot. At first, don't use the rear at all, just practice with the front. You'll be surprised at how quickly you can stop as long as long as your speed isn't too high.

Mumonkan

get the magicshine knockoff, put that ****er on strobe and try to get used to traffic scenarios. the more you commute the easier it will be to spot potential hazard zones or situations and avoid them. granted some things cant be avoided but like others have said, assume they dont know youre there or care about your livelihood.

evasive action is also usually better than just grabbing a fistfull of lever, sometimes turning away while still going fast would be better than trying to stop and keeping your line (which could be directly into the flames)

cplager

I used to go with HEY! but now I prefer a horn (I've got an Air Zound on one bike and a Hornit for my other bike).

Now that I'm used to having a horn, I feel naked on a bike that doesn't have one.

Lieren

[QUOTE Im going from Overbrook to Woodland Ave. I really wish that I could avoid everything between 63rd and Masters and the intersection at Baltimore Ave where the parkway really begins. The park area itself seems to make cutting that out also impossible. [/QUOTE]

Well, one route you could try is heading south on 64th, and grabbing the diagonal path where 64th ends at the park. This is the very northern point of the bike path and was not resurfaced when the city resurfaced the rest. But you only have to put up with the crappy surface until Market, where the plush part begins. You can then stay on the bike path all the way until Florence, where you can use the signal to turn left and drop to 58th. I run and (recreationally) bike this stretch all the time and it has gotten really nice in the past few years. There is a section south of Baltimore where you are in the woods, all by yourself--I've never encountered anyone scary there but you might want to try it with a friend the first time to make sure you are comfortable (I have seen deer, blue herons, foxes, and the occasional West Philly cowboy there). Also, that section features a pretty steep hill. This route would be slightly longer than just getting on 57th/58th (I think in Overbrook the lane might be on 57th?), but it is really pretty and keeps you away from cars except at a few key intersections.

jowilson

HAHAHAHAHAHA... I could not stop laughing at this!

I must practice my yelling of random words more often.

Stryver

Much good advice. Sorry your intro to commuting had to start so scary. Hopefully things settle down.

Just to provide a little dissent, I run a bright solid headlight. I find the blinking ones aesthetically displeasing, and have seen research suggesting that there are pros and cons to solid and blinking (blinking: easier to notice. solid: easier to identify distance/speed). I use it all the time. My route includes some heavily treed areas that are always shady and a tunnel or two, and I think it's a little helpful even in bright sunlight. I use two taillights, one solid and one on blink, all the time.

But, as others have said, get some kind of headlight and tail light, even if you'll put better ones on later.

Practice. Sometimes it feels stupid, but practice until you are comfortable and don't have to think about it. An old swordfighter told me you had to practice different swings until you didn't have to think about how to do them at all before you could ever step up to someone else. When you need to brake to avoid a car, your brain can't be spending time thinking about how to brake.

Be vigilant.

Oh, yeah... I usually yell something that might be spelled HEY, but hopefully is just loud. Although, last fall, I did smack the hood of a truck with my hand. He gave me a little more space after that.

wphamilton

Vests and lights and reflectors are great, but they aren't really going to protect you from drivers not paying attention at intersections. If you follow reports of bicycle accidents and look up injury stats like I do (I know, it's a little morbid) you'll see a pretty stark pattern. Injuries, especially fatalities, occur frequently at intersections and probably the right hook is even more dangerous. Even with all the lights and reflective gear you can load your bike up with you don't reduce that danger by much. The bright side of this is that when you do eliminate the danger of intersections you've cut your overall danger in cycling by at least half, probably more.

The key, more valuable than any safety gear you can buy, is to habitually anticipate the driver's maneuver based on his position and prior movements. Part of that is never, ever, stop on the right side of a bus or truck at the front of the line. Don't ride through the intersection beside them either (or other vehicles if you can help it).

dennyd

When I am riding in traffic, I think it is kind of a metaphysical game of trying to read the motorists minds. ALL OF THEM. Keep track of EVERY car on the road, and try to guess what they are thinking (or not thinking), and what they are going to do next. As someone else said, pretending you are invisible is a good strategy. In fact, I believe that middle aged women driving SUV's cannot see bicyclists on the road, even when looking directly at them (YOU). You have to assume you are invisible. Do distract yourself with music, worries of the day, etc. when in traffic. Only when the road is clear to front and behind can you let your mind wander.

Be aware of every driver in sight, and read their minds. Do not let yourself be surprised.

By the same token, do not do ANYTHING unusual or unexpected in traffic. The "vehicular riding" folks have a good point on this issue.

PAY ATTENTION.

Baytree

Lights are a necessity for dusk/dark riding, but I have to disagree with the super-bright flashing recommendations. Blinding other people is not your goal, and I personally find bright flashing lights to be distracting and dangerous... I've been momentarily blinded by headlights while driving and biking, and it's a scary experience. Get a headlight that's bright enough to illuminate the road in front of you for a reasonable distance (100 feet or so), then use it on a steady setting and angled slightly down so the beam points at the road a ways ahead of you. It'll help you see where you're going and help other people see you.

For taillights, blinky or steady and make sure it's attached to your bike so that drivers can see it from way down the street. You can also get little clip-on spoke lights for a few bucks each, which make you MUCH more visible from the sides.

cplager

There's a very large difference between the brights of a car and a bike light. I do agree that bike lights should be angled slightly down (car brights are not).

As far a blinking/steady, take a look at this article about being seen.

For night, you don't want your only headlight to be blinking as you need to see where you're going. Have a strong solid light and a not-as strong blinking light are a good option. I'd recommend the same for the back as well.

loky1179

You got it - blurted the first thing that came out of my mouth. As I recall, something like "hey , Hey HEY!!!“. Very thankful it worked in this instance.

loky1179

Interesting link. That was prety much my intuition, that a flashing strobe will catch a drivers attention much the way movement would. In this particular situation, we we waiting for the green light for over a minute, in the crosswalk, and the woman in the car that nearly hit us was the first car on the other side of road, also waiting for the light. So even though there was plenty of TIME for the driver to see us, there was no motion to catch her attention.

I've since come to the conclusion, based on this and many other incidents, that a crosswalk is about the most dangerous place to be - for pedestrians as well as cyclists.

buzzman

Yep. Agreed. Make yourself as visible as possible and ride like no one can see you- even in the bright of day when they are looking right at you.

And no excuses for no lights. Be creative, if need be, and tape an old flashlight to your handlebars.