Safe Speed Forums

I have to disagree about the braking ability of all bikes. OK mine's a carbon fibre racer with Ultegra groupset but I can lock the rear wheel on a dry road at 20 mph as has happened with panic braking when a pedestrian walked out in front of me without looking.

30 mph on the flat is pretty fast - more like the speed the professional racers ride at (averaging 25 mph during anything other than a mountain stage). Most drivers will not be expecting a cyclist to be travelling at this speed except downhill and a lot of them won't see you, just like they don't see motorcyclists.

Although locking the rear wheel is a bad idea and does nothing to scrub off speed. Nearly all of the braking on a road bike is done with the front wheel - forget that old wives tales of going over the handlebars, as when the rider moves their weight back in th ecorrect way that is impossible. Tour de France riders will do most braking with the fronts coming down a mountain pass. The rear brake is likely to skip the bike out and have you off.
Regarding riding in traffic most bikes will jink between the traffic something a car cant do and so they are ridden in a manner bearing that in mind.

Hey malcolm!

Do you have a bike hire place near you? Why not commit to taking a bike out over the summer. You would be unlikely to get up to 30 on the flat, but should do down hill.

Afterwards, it would be great to hear your views about what it's like to ride on the roads. (oh, and about the braking performance of a bike)

I was comparing the brakes to those found on mountain bikes. On the drops the brakes are great, but when on the hoods you do need more hand strength. I still find them adequate.

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"would go faster if it wasn't for the cars blocking the roads"

CW STAR Letter





Paul W e-mails CW that he could believe what he was reading in the “Waily” and asks if Nigel feels better for “getting his rant off his chest”





(Um… Paul W - we know of at least two sites and one prolific poster who makes Nigel look tame.. and in any case – in Havers’ defence – he’s voicing an opinion held by many as evidenced by the calls to the R2 plug for the “StopatRed” campaign)










But let’s look at a couple of these.

The clip from the wheel arch of a lorry. You hold back and do not undertake or ride in the blind spot of a long vehicle (see Franklin's Cycle Craft - page 85 - where it give sound advice :




And page 69 - there's a decent diagram spelling out the potential danger and suggests



A pity this book is not more widely read by some cyclists out there. The paragraphs regarding obeying traffic lights and adhering to basic road rules should be paid particular attention by some

As for the moron – hanging out of the car.. passenger and such incidents should be reported. We may not be able to take action as young thugs would deny it.. but we can use the information and intelligence given to try to cop them at it or at least deter a repeat performance.

Problem is - all they get is a mildly slapped wrist....though

Mobile use? No secret what I think about using these and if copped around here – we are not as discretionary as we may be in –cough – other matters!


From his initial outburst he comes across as tarring all drivers with same brush . However, he continues …



Amen to that then – CW does attract the more reasonable readership.




Per the other thread – and the tabloids on Tuesday – government plan to spend £15m on cycle lanes to school and proficiency tests This sum will not go very far – nor would even £45m bring UK cycle lanes to EU standards. The other problem is how the schools would accommodate given the rather rigid demands of the National Curriculum and we also need people capable of giving this essential training. Primary and secondary school teachers may be experts in academia - but they are not experts in road safety. Sure - our Liaison Officers could be placed in charge of delivering this along with Green Cross and the occasional talks on the dangers of drug taking – but all schools share these officers. They do not have one specifically assigned to them. But even so – the cash pledged is just inadequate to deliver and I know this comment should be on Wildy’s other thread on the topic


He finishes by telling Nigel to get his bike out of that shed and start riding again as he’d enjoy it!

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