silly season

itboffin

Folks its that time of year again, those of us that have been on here and or commuting for a while will know what I mean but for the noobs, its this time of year when accident numbers go through the roof.

Be safe, don't race don't take any risks and get thee signed up to atleast silver BC membership or equivalent.

My advice for London riding is assume no one has or can see
you and your right of way means nothing.

Good luck all.

veronese68

Indeed, let's be careful out there folks.

itboffin

Jzed down tonight BTW, he says he's okay but the bike has taken a bashing.

jzed

I ride the f*ck up that is CS2 daily - in hindsight, unfortunately, it was only a matter of time. And tonight it was that time for me and another cyclist.

Riding along in a clear lane 1 when a car in lane 2, darts across in front of us with no signal or warning, trying to make a last second left into a retail park. I had a split second to brake and shed all of 1 mph, before a 22mph impact, and fortunately being flung clear of the car. The rider behind me had no time to stop either but faired a bit better.

Very sore and stiff, with a few cuts and bruises, but luckily pretty much intact. Bike front wheel is knackered (and need to get it checked over) which made for a slow 10 miles home to make a birthing class.

I spend my whole time complaining about my route, so with a kid on the way, it might just be time to jack this commuting lark in.

itboffin

glad to hear youre okay mate i mean if you bite the bullet who will i have left to shame in the mountains?

oh wait Greg66 & Attica but really theres only so much care in the community one man can do ............. :roll:

if you die btw can i have the wheels your havent fuck3d?

veronese68

Hope you're not too sore this morning Jzed. Glad it wasn't worse.

EKE_38BPM

JZed wrote:

I spend my whole time complaining about my route, so with a kid on the way, it might just be time to jack this commuting lark in.

Glad you are OK.
Remember the statistics, you are more likely to live longer if you cycle than if you don't etc.

jzed

Bike is a write off - seat stay is snapped. Going to be a tough ask to find a replacement for the CR1 SL. Have to temporarily bring the Planet X out of retirement.

I'm not stopping cycling, just considering stopping commuting. CS2 statistics don't make good reading.

gabriel959

I am commuting by bike more than when I did not have kids. Have you got the details of the driver? You should be able to get the money for your bike back!

You just have to take it easier, and do the things itboffin says. It is also recommended to ride a more sensible bike in the winter which takes wider tyres, full mudguards, etc...

hegyestomi

JZed wrote:

Bike is a write off - seat stay is snapped. Going to be a tough ask to find a replacement for the CR1 SL. Have to temporarily bring the Planet X out of retirement.

I'm not stopping cycling, just considering stopping commuting. CS2 statistics don't make good reading.

Don't give up commuting on bike, you will go mad using PT!
After I got taken out the second time on CS3 I started to roll with the cars on the main road and haven't touched CS routes again (except when it coincides with the main traffic).
Hope you get better soon!

vermin

Bad luck JZed. GWS. Do the sensible thing, whatever that is (probably whatever the missus tells you). Enjoy shopping the sales when you get the payout from the muppet's insurance.

Initialised

Definitely agree I went over a few times in my first couple of winters.

They call it Fall on the other side of the pond for a reason.

Most of mine were cornering to hard or swerving.

Once the roads, paths get slippery take a cautious approach whenever a vehicle is close or you have to make a turn.

@JZed, heal up quick and get back out there.

supersonic

My advice for London riding is assume no one has or can see

Good advice anywhere I'd say!

meanredspider

Yup - GWS

And, yes, please be careful out there - don't want anybody adding to the stats

roger_merriman

JZed wrote:

Bike is a write off - seat stay is snapped. Going to be a tough ask to find a replacement for the CR1 SL. Have to temporarily bring the Planet X out of retirement.

I'm not stopping cycling, just considering stopping commuting. CS2 statistics don't make good reading.

Owch!

Maybe cut the CS2 out?

dyrlac

Wish I had realised this sooner this sooner. c.8700km without incident, including all of last winter, I've come off twice in the past week. Second crash resulted in a broken thumb, putting me out to pasture for a bit.

rubertoe

I had my off in October this year...(left hook at low speed) Get it out of the way early and have a trouble free dark winter.

MrSweary

Ouch JZed. Hope you heal up quickly. It took me a few weeks to feel comfortable back on the bike after my own right hook experience last year.

Riding in this rain this year has made me realise how much I want disc brakes.

Kieran_Burns

MrSweary wrote:

Ouch JZed. Hope you heal up quickly. It took me a few weeks to feel comfortable back on the bike after my own right hook experience last year.

Riding in this rain this year has made me realise how much I want disc brakes.

They're not the be all and end all... it does take a (very) short time to scrub off the water on very wet days and their effectiveness when they do grip can be disconcerting if you are in a low friction environment

roger_merriman

Kieran_Burns wrote:

MrSweary wrote:

Ouch JZed. Hope you heal up quickly. It took me a few weeks to feel comfortable back on the bike after my own right hook experience last year.

Riding in this rain this year has made me realise how much I want disc brakes.

They're not the be all and end all... it does take a (very) short time to scrub off the water on very wet days and their effectiveness when they do grip can be disconcerting if you are in a low friction environment

I've not had problems with snatching, this said my go to/commute bike is my old MTB, with compered to CX let alone road bike, far fatter tyres (55mm vs 35-25) far softer compounds at lower pressure etc.

MrSweary

Kieran_Burns wrote:

MrSweary wrote:

Ouch JZed. Hope you heal up quickly. It took me a few weeks to feel comfortable back on the bike after my own right hook experience last year.

Riding in this rain this year has made me realise how much I want disc brakes.

They're not the be all and end all... it does take a (very) short time to scrub off the water on very wet days and their effectiveness when they do grip can be disconcerting if you are in a low friction environment

Better than rim brakes though surely.. even with Koolstop salmons and ultegra brakes things get decidedly hairy on occasion.

cjcp

Zoiks!

How are you feeling today?

You seen the sticky in Commuting General about crashes?

Kieran_Burns

Oh yeah... WAY better. As said: my mate refuses to cycle behind me on wet rides as a gentle tap on my brakes will have him sailing past screaming as he goes and hands gripping his levers with all his might.

Just not perfect.

MrSweary

Kieran_Burns wrote:

...sailing past screaming as he goes and hands gripping his levers with all his might.

Yup - that sounds like my downhill in the wet braking maneuver.

roger_merriman

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Oh yeah... WAY better. As said: my mate refuses to cycle behind me on wet rides as a gentle tap on my brakes will have him sailing past screaming as he goes and hands gripping his levers with all his might.

Just not perfect.

before I switched to the old MTB my goto bike was a fast SS even a low speeds following my wife though the park, her hybrid with it's disk brakes could easily outbrake me. wasn't too bad when she had cable ones but her latest bike has decent hydraulic ones, even with hard M+'s she could out brake me on the SS.

iPete

Currently running an old Ultegra brake and Koolstop pads on my fixed, will there be any benefit to going for 6800 or even dura-ace if the pads aren't biting or are there better pads for cold wet days?

veronese68

iPete wrote:

Currently running an old Ultegra brake and Koolstop pads on my fixed, will there be any benefit to going for 6800 or even dura-ace if the pads aren't biting or are there better pads for cold wet days?

This is what you need.

vermin

iPete wrote:

Currently running an old Ultegra brake and Koolstop pads on my fixed, will there be any benefit to going for 6800 or even dura-ace if the pads aren't biting or are there better pads for cold wet days?

Marginal gains, innit.

Running on the same crummy R501 rims and with the same bog standard shimano pads, I was very impressed by the upgrade from 5700 to 6800 brakes. I would best describe the difference as feeling like having servo-assist - because the pads and rims are the same, the brakes will stop you just the same, but the effort required is reduced for 6800 and modulation feels much better.

I've never tried koolstops, but have tried shimano, swissstop greens and swissstop blues. Blue>green>shimano. Blue seems to stop the commuter quite effectively in all conditions so far.

il_principe

iPete wrote:

Currently running an old Ultegra brake and Koolstop pads on my fixed, will there be any benefit to going for 6800 or even dura-ace if the pads aren't biting or are there better pads for cold wet days?

Are you keeping your rims clean and pads nicely aligned? I hear the new 6800 brakes are excellent.

I swear by Swisstop Green pads btw.

asprilla

Il Principe wrote:

iPete wrote:

Currently running an old Ultegra brake and Koolstop pads on my fixed, will there be any benefit to going for 6800 or even dura-ace if the pads aren't biting or are there better pads for cold wet days?

Are you keeping your rims clean and pads nicely aligned? I hear the new 6800 brakes are excellent.

I swear by Swisstop Green pads btw.

6800 rim brakes are the shizzle. I run mine with Swiss stop blues. Very stoppy.

itboffin

Yep swissstop all round for me although my country commuter is wearing very thin, time for a swap to the full winter commuter me thinks.