Safety advice

Frank Krygowski

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Jul 10, 2019, 6:46:25 PM7/10/19

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Here's what a certain law firm says about bike safety. Listen up, y'all!

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There are steps that a cyclist can take to help keep safe while they are riding. According to the League of American Bicyclists, one of the most important things cyclists can do is to make sure their bike is properly maintained. Before embarking on any ride, cyclists should always check to make sure that the brake system of the bike is working properly. The air in the tires should also be checked, as well as making sure all chains and cranks are well lubricated and securely attached to the bike.

Cyclists should also always wear the proper riding gear in order to help minimize injury if they are in an accident. This gear includes a certified safety helmet, closed toed shoes, long sleeves and pants to help protect against road burns, and gloves to help keep a better grip on the bike.

Once a cyclist begins their ride, the following safety tips should always be adhered to:

Cyclists should always be aware of the bike laws in the area they are riding in.
Cyclists should always be careful when riding on gravel roads.
Cyclists should always make eye contact with drivers in vehicles that are around them in order to make sure the drivers see them.
Cyclists should always ride on the right side of the road, along with the traffic.
Cyclists should always signal when taking turns.
Cyclists should always stay off unmarked and dangerous trails.
Cyclists should always yield to traffic when crossing streets and when riding in busy lanes.

Contact Our Firm Today

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So in addition to the funny hat, you must now wear long sleeves and long pants.
Ditch those cycling sandals! And don't ever ride bare-handed!

Be careful on gravel roads? Um, OK. So can I be reckless on paved ones?

Make eye contact with ALL drivers? That's tough! There are so many of them! And
craning my neck to look at the ones behind will be hard!

What "marks" are necessary on a trail before I can ride it? Perhaps a mark that
says "This trail is not dangerous"?

And _always_ yield to traffic when crossing streets and riding in busy lanes?
Even when I have the right of way? Damn. I don't think I'm going to be able to
get anywhere around here until after midnight.

If I ever do have to contact a law firm, I'll pick one that actually knows
something about bicycling, other than how to compose platitudes.

- Frank Krygowski

jbeattie

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Jul 10, 2019, 6:53:44 PM7/10/19

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On Wednesday, July 10, 2019 at 3:46:25 PM UTC-7, Frank Krygowski wrote:
> Here's what a certain law firm says about bike safety. Listen up, y'all!
>
> --------------------------------------
>
> There are steps that a cyclist can take to help keep safe while they are riding. According to the League of American Bicyclists, one of the most important things cyclists can do is to make sure their bike is properly maintained. Before embarking on any ride, cyclists should always check to make sure that the brake system of the bike is working properly. The air in the tires should also be checked, as well as making sure all chains and cranks are well lubricated and securely attached to the bike.
>
> Cyclists should also always wear the proper riding gear in order to help minimize injury if they are in an accident. This gear includes a certified safety helmet, closed toed shoes, long sleeves and pants to help protect against road burns, and gloves to help keep a better grip on the bike.
>
> Once a cyclist begins their ride, the following safety tips should always be adhered to:
>
> Cyclists should always be aware of the bike laws in the area they are riding in.
> Cyclists should always be careful when riding on gravel roads.
> Cyclists should always make eye contact with drivers in vehicles that are around them in order to make sure the drivers see them.
> Cyclists should always ride on the right side of the road, along with the traffic.
> Cyclists should always signal when taking turns.
> Cyclists should always stay off unmarked and dangerous trails.
> Cyclists should always yield to traffic when crossing streets and when riding in busy lanes.
>
> Contact Our Firm Today
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------
>
> So in addition to the funny hat, you must now wear long sleeves and long pants.
> Ditch those cycling sandals! And don't ever ride bare-handed!
>
> Be careful on gravel roads? Um, OK. So can I be reckless on paved ones?
>
> Make eye contact with ALL drivers? That's tough! There are so many of them! And
> craning my neck to look at the ones behind will be hard!

Hell, with all the blacked-out windows, I can't make eye contact. Window tinting has gotten ridiculous. I can see into about one of every ten cars.

-- Jay Beattie.

Tom Kunich

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Jul 10, 2019, 7:00:38 PM7/10/19

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On Wednesday, July 10, 2019 at 3:46:25 PM UTC-7, Frank Krygowski wrote:

How do they treat bicyclist that don't come to a foot down stop at 4-ways? I just happened to do that one the rare occasion when a local 4-way was full. But I usually ride through if I have right-of-way. The one occasion I was hit by someone rolling the stop sign and driving right into the side of me. I just discovered yesterday that the noise coming from my chain is because the rear derailleur hanger is slightly crooked. Since it is part of the frame with will be a bitch to fix. You have to have something that will hold the dropout straight while using the threaded straightening bar to put the mount back into alignment - hopefully without breaking it off. Most frame makers use their jig to do this and no one around here builds frames anymore.

Frank Krygowski

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Jul 10, 2019, 7:50:47 PM7/10/19

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What's the frame material?

My wife once bent the derailleur hanger on her aluminum Cannondale touring bike, maybe
ten degrees or so. I have no idea how. This frame doesn't have a replaceable
hanger, but I figured I had nothing to lose.

I just put an adjustable wrench on it and bent it back. I don't think I used
any other tool - but these old Cannondales are solid as rocks. It worked fine,
and has worked fine ever since.

However, if there were a repeat, I wouldn't be surprised to see a crack.

- Frank Krygowski

jbeattie

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Jul 10, 2019, 7:58:16 PM7/10/19

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WTF? https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51%2B30Zps0mL._SL1080_.jpg I have one and just used it on my wife's Buzz Bike (steel). The hanger was horribly bent from getting knocked over in the garage. It's an easy process that any decent shop can do.

-- Jay Beattie.

Tom Kunich

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Jul 12, 2019, 5:36:00 PM7/12/19

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This bike was my steel Pinarello. Your Cannondale straightened because it was mild aluminum. Only the tubes were the higher grades. Otherwise; 1. You wouldn't have bent it falling over and 2. Straightening it could crack it.

Cannondale people weren't born yesterday and know very well what they're doing.

John B.

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Jul 12, 2019, 8:46:02 PM7/12/19

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https://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=28143
"The first road frame from Cannondale was produced in 1983. It sold
for $350 and included the frame and fork. The fork was steel with
helical reinforcement ribs inside the steel steering tube. The frame
was instantly recognized for the oversized down tube and enlarged head
tube. The seat-stays and chain-stays were ovalized to reduce flex.
Unlike steel frames, there were no lugs; the aluminum tubes were
mitered, hand welded and then heat treated."

>Cannondale people weren't born yesterday and know very well what they're doing.

--
cheers,

John B.

John B.

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Jul 12, 2019, 8:49:57 PM7/12/19

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On Fri, 12 Jul 2019 14:35:58 -0700 (PDT), Tom Kunich

https://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=28143
The first road frame from Cannondale was produced in 1983. It sold for
$350 and included the frame and fork. The fork was steel with helical
reinforcement ribs inside the steel steering tube. The frame was
instantly recognized for the oversized down tube and enlarged head
tube. The seat-stays and chain-stays were ovalized to reduce flex.
Unlike steel frames, there were no lugs; the aluminum tubes were
mitered, hand welded and then heat treated.

>Cannondale people weren't born yesterday and know very well what they're doing.

--
cheers,

John B.

jbeattie

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Jul 13, 2019, 12:49:08 AM7/13/19

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I owned one, bought in '84 as a quick replacement for a cracked custom steel racing frame. I previously raced on the SJBC which was sponsored by Gary Klein (among others), so fat tubes were old news and suited me just fine in a 63cm frame. It was cheap, too -- and looked cheap with its cottage cheese welds. And speaking of derailleur hangers, I got something stuck in my rear wheel, it pulled the derailleur into the spokes and ripped off the hanger. I got a free replacement in 1986, no questions asked. I rode that replacement for almost 20 years until it fell apart. I did straighten the hanger a couple of times on that bike and even cold set the stays, which was nearly impossible. I think I moved them 2mm, which was close enough for a very tight 130mm hub.

-- Jay Beattie.

Frank Krygowski

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Jul 13, 2019, 10:43:16 AM7/13/19

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Wow. I'm impressed you managed to cold set an early Cannnondale's stays. I
imagine that required a hydraulic jack, at least.

- Frank Krygowski

jbeattie

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Jul 13, 2019, 11:25:25 AM7/13/19

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Of sorts -- I had threaded rod, nuts and washers that I used as a headset press before I got a real headset press. I just used that thing in reverse. To get the stays to take a permanent set, I had to move them a lot, and then they still didn't set much. And I couldn't really fine tune by running strings and yanking on one stay or the other. https://www.sheldonbrown.com/frame-spacing.html (early string theory). I have dropout alignment tools, so I did get the faces parallel.

That frame did not break at the stays, either. It developed a crack that propagated 3/4 the way around the DT just above the shift-lever boss hole. I was climbing up through the cemetery when my front end got really swampy feeling. I stopped to check for a flat and saw that my frame was falling apart. I still made it home the last few miles. It was the only frame Cannondale would not warranty. The local rep said that it just "wore out." That's when I bought the predecessor of my current CAADX and made the switch to mechanical discs. When that broke -- at the chain stays near the BB -- I did get a warranty replacement. Most of my Cannondale failures have been at the stays, none of which I ever cold-set.

-- Jay Beattie.