Now what could cause something like that in the mind of Halldor you may ask, and following are a few answers to that question.
Squeaky chains... what could possibly make someone ride around with a chain that is so dry that I can hear it across two lanes of traffic? Honestly, not only is the sound of a squeaky chain unbearable, but have you ever ridden a bike with a completely dry chain? It's horrible, slow and wrong. It destroys your drive train in record time, and it annoys the hell out of your fellow commuters.
If I so much as hear my chain, not squeaking just whirring, I lube it up, and if I hear the slightest squeak I feel really embarrassed and bad about not taking care of my bike. So for you crazy people out there with your squeaky chains, go to a bike shop and have them lube you're chain. Please?! They don't even charge you for it.
Low tire pressures...people riding with REALLY low tire pressures are up there with the squeaky chain crowd. It wears your tires out, it's slow and inefficient and the fix is, AGAIN, free. Go to your bike shop, pump the tires up and be more efficient.
Bad setup...Don't ride a bike that's way to small for you or too big. It looks silly, it's bad for your body and it ruins the whole experience. Same goes for seat height. Sadly, I see sooo many people riding with their saddle way too low. You can also see a few of the over-extenders out there and their easy to spot because their hips are rocking from side to side. Some people insist that they're not "getting the full extension" when their test riding our bikes and we've set up their saddle for them. But the thing is that you shouldn't have full extension. there should be a slight bend in your knee at the bottom of the pedal stroke, or about 30 degrees. If you're having pain at the front of your knees, the saddle is probably too low, and if you're having pain at the back (hamstrings) then it's probably too high. A bike fit will do wonders for people who are uncomfortable on their bike.
Helmets...First of all I'd like to mention helmets on the handlebars. What is up with that?! If you've got a helmet, and you even take it out with you on your ride, why on earth don't you store it on your noggin? That's where it is designed to sit, not on your bar. The Helmet's lest annoying place is on your head, not dangling from your bars, getting in the way of shifting and breaking etc. Another worthy point here is that you're no more legal in Victoria riding with your helmet on the bars than just riding without a helmet altogether.
Helmet positioning. I see a lot of people, kid's especially, riding with their helmet tipped way backwards so that its basically not covering any of the forehead. That's bad news. If you ride like that and take a spill you're more than likely to crack you're head on the pavement where there's no helmet. This can be solved with the "The two finger rule:" Place helmet level on head, so that it sits about one to two finger widths above the eyebrow of the wearer. Simple as that.
To those that think they're too cool to ride with a helmet I ask: Have you aver seen a person with brain injury? Not very cool, and the protection costs $40 bucks. Don't be stupid.
There are other things that bug me but I thing these are the ones that bug me the most...But in spite of all my pet peeves about bicycle etiquette, I still love seeing all the cyclists out there, warts and all.
If I so much as hear my chain, not squeaking just whirring, I lube it up, and if I hear the slightest squeak I feel really embarrassed and bad about not taking care of my bike. So for you crazy people out there with your squeaky chains, go to a bike shop and have them lube you're chain. Please?! They don't even charge you for it.
Low tire pressures...people riding with REALLY low tire pressures are up there with the squeaky chain crowd. It wears your tires out, it's slow and inefficient and the fix is, AGAIN, free. Go to your bike shop, pump the tires up and be more efficient.
Bad setup...Don't ride a bike that's way to small for you or too big. It looks silly, it's bad for your body and it ruins the whole experience. Same goes for seat height. Sadly, I see sooo many people riding with their saddle way too low. You can also see a few of the over-extenders out there and their easy to spot because their hips are rocking from side to side. Some people insist that they're not "getting the full extension" when their test riding our bikes and we've set up their saddle for them. But the thing is that you shouldn't have full extension. there should be a slight bend in your knee at the bottom of the pedal stroke, or about 30 degrees. If you're having pain at the front of your knees, the saddle is probably too low, and if you're having pain at the back (hamstrings) then it's probably too high. A bike fit will do wonders for people who are uncomfortable on their bike.
Helmets...First of all I'd like to mention helmets on the handlebars. What is up with that?! If you've got a helmet, and you even take it out with you on your ride, why on earth don't you store it on your noggin? That's where it is designed to sit, not on your bar. The Helmet's lest annoying place is on your head, not dangling from your bars, getting in the way of shifting and breaking etc. Another worthy point here is that you're no more legal in Victoria riding with your helmet on the bars than just riding without a helmet altogether.
Helmet positioning. I see a lot of people, kid's especially, riding with their helmet tipped way backwards so that its basically not covering any of the forehead. That's bad news. If you ride like that and take a spill you're more than likely to crack you're head on the pavement where there's no helmet. This can be solved with the "The two finger rule:" Place helmet level on head, so that it sits about one to two finger widths above the eyebrow of the wearer. Simple as that.
To those that think they're too cool to ride with a helmet I ask: Have you aver seen a person with brain injury? Not very cool, and the protection costs $40 bucks. Don't be stupid.
There are other things that bug me but I thing these are the ones that bug me the most...But in spite of all my pet peeves about bicycle etiquette, I still love seeing all the cyclists out there, warts and all.
Posts
Halldor, you're almost as angry as me. And that's pretty angry.
ReplyDeletei feel bad at the bike-rage/confusion i get toward fellow cyclists. but squeaky chain and the helmet things are big peeves of mine too.
ReplyDeletepurple fixed..have i seen this bike around uvic and drooled looking at it?
yes Tyler, it's rage but it is for the greater good. Just trying to get a point across. and Amanda, nope you would not have seen my bike at UVIC. I ride a beat up black Bianchi.
ReplyDeleteActually, the one that's been getting me lately is cyclists riding 2-3 abreast on West Saanich road and refuse to move over. Or what's worse is the ones that are riding single file, until they get to a hill, at which point one of them darts out into the middle of the lane and tries to pass his friends. I pass with a lot of room but I've had people almost hit the side of the truck with this move. They're so stupid, and it's going to take someone's death for them to realize it.
ReplyDelete