I posted this on a Regional forum and was questioned why so here is the question for the community at large... Interesting responses thus far.


What is the general consensus in the cycling community?
When you pass someone on your bike do you let them know before you do so? With a bell or verbally?
Do you expect others to let you know when they are passing?
Does it annoy you when you are passed without warning or do you not care?

I ride with a mirror, and most of the time I know when someone is going to pass me. Unless I'm not holding my line, I find it annoying when someone announces that they're passing me (regardless of whether I saw them in the mirror first).

No need to announce yourself to me. I likely have a mirror, so know that you're there. If you're fast enough to pass me, then "good on ya".




Now, if you want to draft off of the back of me, please let's talk first. I can understand your goals and you can know my concerns. Then, we're good.

When you pass someone on your bike do you let them know before you do so? With a bell or verbally?

It depends if we are talking about a narrow path or an open road. Open road, no. Narrow path, yes.

Do you expect others to let you know when they are passing?

See above.

Does it annoy you when you are passed without warning or do you not care?

No.

I think when anyone does anything be it professional or recreational safety should be top priority. I believe when others dont conceive whats around them and take responsible approaches, safety gets jeopordised all the way around.

If I am approaching people, I will ring my bell regardless of if they possess the same mirror I have, what type of road/trail we are on etc because there is no guarantee they are looking in their mirror or even playing music as I am approaching. I dont over ring it, just enough so they "hear" me coming and in my view if they not only "hear" me but "see" me as well from that wonderful mirror then in fact they are twice as safe imo....

Ive learned in life never to expect anything from anyone when it comes to outside the box lol..I like others use my mirror accordingly but there are times I dont see the Lance wannabees coming. And when they are approaching that quick in that zone, lol, holding that line , in that box so to speak lol im sorry Etiquette is thrown right out the window imo so no I dont expect that in return...

But it doesnt annoy me because I realize there are three groups of riders....1) Recreationalists, 2) Cyclists, 3)Hybrids...

Each holds their own level of ettiqutte, Each holds their own destiny...

The only consensus is there is no consensus.
If they are holding a steady line? No. If they are hogging the trail or walking/running/biking in an unpredictable manner? Yes. I prefer bell, but my voice works fine on bikes that don't have one. If I pass someone on the road, I generally let them know, but that is such a rare occurrence for my riding I don't really have a set procedure.
Nope. I can generally hear people before they get to me, and I hold a steady line so there is no reason.
Not at all. I ride faster than most recreational riders, if you're passing me, you are probably training for something, don't waste your energy talking.

Yes, I call out, but it seems it has to be done at the exact right time: If I call out too early (happened once or twice), a surprised rider may nervously jerk his head to the side/rear, so I try not to startle anyone. If I get the sense that I may alarm them, I'll refrain, at least until they have noticed me, visually.
If a rider passes me, I am more dis-appointed than anything else: (I just wish she could have said hi before she dusted my broom). I always look for the cameraderie in anything I do.

I gave my opinion in the other thread, except for:

What is the general consensus in the cycling community?

The consensus among the casual MUP rider here is that announcing yourself is serious business. The consensus among more experienced riders is that it's unnecessary unless you're passing the casual MUP rider.

When you pass someone on your bike do you let them know before you do so? With a bell or verbally?
Yes, either with a bell or verbally or both
Do you expect others to let you know when they are passing?
That would be nice.
Does it annoy you when you are passed without warning or do you not care?
It annoys me when people are impolite to others.

I ride primarily MUP's. Ride alone or with a couple friends. 25 mile a day commute plus 35-45 miles on Saturday or Sunday. Commuting on old steel MTB.

It's usually a rule on a path or a sidewalk to warn before passing. There is no such rule on the road-- a vehicle is not required to warn before passing another vehicle. I only warn if the rider I'm about to pass is riding unpredictably. Still, some people expect it. On one ride, I passed a rider who was riding in the shoulder. I went all the way to the centerline to pass. And it was a wide lane, too. He still got upset at the lack of warning and yelled at me. Oh Well!

My policy is to ring my bell whenever I'm passing someone who's walking or on a bike, unless they're way over on the other side of the street or whatever. I think on a narrow path it's just good manners. When I do it I'm not saying, "Hey, get out of my way!" but rather "Hey, I'm back here and plan on passing you."

There are no rules, everything is a situation.

Whether I let them know or not depends on the situation. In the road with plenty of room to pass someone who was holding his line well enough as I approached, I don't see a need to bother, or bother him. On an MUP, or when then I might, again depending on the situation.

Keep in mind that passing someone on a bike isn't something that comes up suddenly. You have time as you approach to read the cyclist and conditions and decide how and when you'll pass.

Any NO, I'm not bothered by an unannounced pass except if it's done at a particularly inopportune time.

I announce myself and then say, "Ha-Ha!!"

I am passing them, after all...

In Wisconsin, it's not just etiquette to give an audible warning when overtaking someone; it's the law:

https://wisconsindot.gov/Documents/sa...e/bikelaws.pdf

Here is a simple rule I follow:

Rule 1 of 1: If I think "it" is the right thing to do, I do it.

Definition of "It": "It" refers to whatever action seems to exhibit the most of the following traits: the safest, most logical, simplest, most courteous or most selfless thing to do in the "situation".

Scenario: Narrow path, old lady walking her foofoo dog on leash. Bike rider is coming up behind lady with dog.

Options:
a) Do nothing and pass
b) Announce and pass
c) Go around

Correct response for me: in that situation is "c" go around. I would not want to startle the dog or the lady. Either "a" or "b" could have a bad outcome for the old lady.

Every situation is different. I make my mind up based on what I see and take in.

I've had mixed experience with bells, particularly involving pedestrians. A good number of pedestrians on the path are either listening to music or using their phone, so ringing a bell has absolutely no effect. Another large chunk react dangerously to the ringing of a bell, by either pivoting to the left directly into my path to see what that strange sound was, or abruptly jump directly into my path assuming the ring meant an imminent collision. So when it comes to pedestrians I just slow down instead and typically only ring for people with dogs and seniors as they tend to not freak out.

Not usually, unless they're in my way.
No.
Not at all.

When I drive, I usually don't honk at cars I pass either.

When you pass someone on your bike do you let them know before you do so? With a bell or verbally?

If they seem to be reasonably consistent in their path I usually will pass at a safe distance without calling out. If they are wandering a bit, I will slow and announce by voice or bell. If I see that their ears are connected to a device, I don't bother.

Do you expect others to let you know when they are passing?

Not unless they do it in a way that crowds me or have way more speed.

Does it annoy you when you are passed without warning or do you not care?

I am not annoyed by a pass, but I may be annoyed by the manner the passer is riding

1) Only if the person doesn't look like they know what they are doing. If the person looks like they know what they are doing on the bicycle, I just pass them and I might say "hi" as I go by. But if they are wobbling all over the place and not focusing and look like this might be their first day on the bicycle, then I'll warn them I'm passing because I don't want to be taken out by a sudden wobble.

2) No ... because I look like I know what I'm doing. But if they want to warn me, that's fine too. And sometimes it can be nice if they say "hi" as they pass.

3) No it does not annoy me when people pass without warning. I expect people to pass without warning.

It depends on the situation, like others above have said, on whether or not I'll announce I'm passing.
I usually don't though. When I do, its done verbally.

I don't expect others to let me know when they're passing. I use a mirror, keep my line, and stay aware of whats around me.

No, I don't find it annoying when they don't announce they're passing ^.

There isn't a consensus. Some people will expect to be notified, others will be startled, and if you say "on your left" some people will misunderstand and move left. Use your judgement when you pass people (watch them beforehand, are they holding their line or swerving to and fro?) and expect cyclists to pass you without notice sometimes.

What Machka said.

I always announce well before I pass. And then thank them as I pass.

I HATE it when other riders pass me without announcing, or announcing too late.

I have bee startled a number of times, risking a crash.

Even if I am riding steady, I never know when I may need to swerve to avoid rocks, potholes, horse droppings, or other obstacles. I hope no one is trying to pass me under these circumstances.

H.

That cycling is great and cool people cycle.

On paths yes, on the road it depends on how much space there is, how wobbly they are riding, if they're an adult or a kid, and more.
No one passes me.
See above