What are your biggest annoyances?

jamgray

Hey guys. We are a group of students currently working to improve the lives of bikers and innovate in your community.

We are doing some preliminary research and would love to know your gripes with biking, biking accessories, etc. We would love to know any problems we can solve or anything you feel is missing in your biking life.

Thanks!

surfercyclist

What always gets me going is stopping to let a car or tractor etc to pass on a narrow lane and the miserable wankers never say thanks.

sloppyschleckonds

SurferCyclist wrote:

What always gets me going is stopping to let a car or tractor etc to pass on a narrow lane and the miserable wankers never say thanks.

Oh come on, everyone knows drafting a tractor is a surefire way to take KOMs on those wanky Strava segments

surfercyclist

Hard to draft if they are heading towards you....

cooldad

Students joining with no idea of what they want, followed by a rubbish survey.

ps. If you actually rode it would be 'our' community, not 'your' community.

I also hate pedantic pricks.

And grumpy old men.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

oxoman wrote:

Educate local authorities that providing cycle paths a few metres long is pointless.

But I've been mastering bunny hops between these patches of cycle lane for years.

surfercyclist

cooldad wrote:

And grumpy old men.

That's me fecked then.

jgsi

I revel in being a total fuckn grump.
Students .. dump smokin weed and do a proper sport like cycling not rugger buggers or hockey and you might just FCKIN GROW up to be useful.

neeb

Right bunch of miserable gits on here!

Technology wise I'd like to see material scientists develop something that could be used to make a solid tyre that was just as good as a pneumatic tyre for road feel and rolling resistance. Punctures and clinchers done away with at a single stroke (they would be glued on like tubulars obviously).

I'd also like to see a return to more research on making bikes lighter (without compromising performance, durability and safety). Too much focus these days on disc brakes, gravel bikes, endurance bikes, ebikes etc by the industry and too much pandering to the needs of fatties and commuters. Proper use of graphene etc. should be able to get road bikes down to under 4kg or something.. I'm probably in a minority on this issue.

Another personal gripe - I'd like to see more cycling clubs organise club runs and other events in the afternoons and evenings instead of early mornings. It's bad enough being a night owl metabolically and having to get up early for work every day of the week, I don't want to do it on weekends too. I want to relax on my weekend mornings, read the papers and perfect my espresso technique, maybe have a nice lunch and THEN go cycling. In the summer (in Scotland at least) it's light until past 10pm, why the hell organise club runs for 9am?? The roads are just as quiet or quieter in the late evenings too.

I'd like to see bikes become more colourful again - sick to death of matt black so-called stealth bikes (and even worse, black bikes with fluro accents..). It should be possible now to develop paints that don't weigh too much.

Oh, and ban cars completely from cities, except for the elderly and disabled who could use narrow single-seater electric vehicles. A limited number of these would also be available for hire by the rest of us from Boris-bike-like stations, but with use limited to occasional needs such as transporting luggage and heavy shopping. Build a network of major cycling, roller-skating and walking arteries as enclosed transparent tubes with artificial tailwinds, as well as an extensive electric bus/tram network operating like the London metro except above ground (stops quite far apart and routes completely unobstructed to allow fast speeds, except without the need to waste time going down stairs and escalators). With cars done away with there should be enough room to use half of the current roads for this and the other half for bikes / skates / walking / narrow electric vehicles).

mfin

I'd like to see a device you can easily attach to your chain which makes people realise that all religion is complete böllocks.

cougie

A rear light that makes you appear wider than you actually are.

lettingthedaysgoby

mfin wrote:

I'd like to see a device you can easily attach to your chain which makes people realise that all religion is complete böllocks.

8)

lettingthedaysgoby

Lycra that hides my waistline, rather than emphasising it

sloppyschleckonds

SurferCyclist wrote:

Hard to draft if they are heading towards you....

Then why should they thank you when its equal responsibility to give way

neeb

mfin wrote:

I'd like to see a device you can easily attach to your chain which makes people realise that all religion is complete böllocks.

Campagnolo invented this 50 years ago, but unfortunately the patent and prototypes were bought up by the catholic church who keep them locked away in a secret Vatican dungeon, along with the suppressed gospels that prove that Jesus was gay and was betrayed by Judas after he dumped him for a hunky fisherman.

flycop2000

SurferCyclist wrote:

What always gets me going is stopping to let a car or tractor etc to pass on a narrow lane and the miserable wankers never say thanks.

That really annoys me too 8)

StillGoing

BMW 1 & 3 series and Audi drivers.

Horse riders who when they're pulling their boxes don't afford the same room cyclists give to horse riders.

Idiots that overtake in cars only to pull up waiting to turn into a side junction just a few meters ahead or are going slower than me.

People on cycling forums that insist on dragging Brexit/politics into threads.

Tree huggers.

Students.

Litter throwers and dog owners that don't pick up the dog crap.

DeVlaeminck

Noisy bottom brackets and drivetrain.

navrig2

Badly packed dishwashers.

neeb

philthy3 wrote:

Tree huggers.

Students.

Surprised you didn't add "cyclists" to the list!

StillGoing

neeb wrote:

philthy3 wrote:

Tree huggers.

Students.

Surprised you didn't add "cyclists" to the list!

Not all cyclists are obsessed tree huggers, otherwise I wouldn't be one.

imafatman

People.

shimanobottombracket

jamgray wrote:

Hey guys. We are a group of students currently working to improve the lives of bikers and innovate in your community.

We are doing some preliminary research and would love to know your gripes with biking, biking accessories, etc. We would love to know any problems we can solve or anything you feel is missing in your biking life.

Thanks!

Fundamentally, other people. Most frustrations are "other people" related. For example I may find the speed limit annoying, but I can simply ignore it. What I cant ignore is a copper, and coppers fall into the category of "other people".

Specific to my cycling:

Creaking or other undesired noises coming from my bikes.
Yobs
People who dont look where they are going/phone zombies.
Cycling thro Neptune's atmosphere, even tho according to forecasts, the wind speeds are only 15mph or so in England.
Lack of decent bike techies in the area I live.
People that won't F' off.
Insects and birds flying around in front of me.
Gates and barriers on cycle paths.

WheelMeals

There is a gap in the market for an app that gives Turn by Turn audio navigation of road cycling routes (Google Maps does for Cycle routes that take you off road, Strava has the data but doesn't shout it out (or make it clear even)

I'd pay good money for this.

arthur_scrimshaw

cooldad wrote:

Students joining with no idea of what they want, followed by a rubbish survey.

ps. If you actually rode it would be 'our' community, not 'your' community.

I also hate pedantic pricks.

And grumpy old men.

Another classic cooldad retort - grumpy - yes, self aware - most definitely.

Mr _Tibbs

neeb wrote:

Right bunch of miserable gits on here!

Technology wise I'd like to see material scientists develop something that could be used to make a solid tyre that was just as good as a pneumatic tyre for road feel and rolling resistance. Punctures and clinchers done away with at a single stroke (they would be glued on like tubulars obviously).

Tannus have the material technology down on solid tyres with near perfect ride feel and nominal resistance, like 1kph

The turn off is practicality, replacing spokes, wear on rims without the car mooing pressure of nature "pulling" everything together.

All minor worries though and not enough to stop me fitting a pair on my SS commuter.

Myhooose

Most people.