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Skid lids

03.31.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 17 Comments

I recently bought a new helmet, because I wanted to get away from the discount store helmet I had. I simply didn’t like its looks. I wanted something more contemporary, more “cyclist,” less “family-man-on-a-hybrid-cruising-the-park’s-bike-trails-with-the-kids.” It was pretty dorky.

The Giro Indicator.
The Giro Indicator.

I got the Giro Indicator helmet. You could call this a discount helmet, too, except that it’s not sold in discount stores. This one is the inexpensive choice in bike stores, next to the $100+ race-style helmets. I paid about $32 plus tax for it, at a local Performance bike shop.

Giro is actually a subsidiary of Bell, so it’s not surprising that they offer what is essentially the same model. The Indicator is the same helmet as the Bell Solar, with one difference: the Giro comes with a snap-on visor.

I don’t like the look of snap-on visors. Especially black ones, on a white helmet, which is what I got. The first thing I did was snap off the visor. Now it looks exactly like Mrs. Noob’s Bell Solar.

The Bell Solar.
The Bell Solar.

Except for one thing: Three small holes appear along the bottom edge of the helmet, where the visor used to be.

Oh, well. I suppose 99 out of 100 bikers who see it won’t even notice.

I got it in white, because I think it’s important that the helmet is visible. It’s a safety thing with me, and I’m willing to pass up the multiple color combinations available on most helmets these days. In fact, plain white seems to be hard to find on a lot of models.

I wanted lots of vents, which this helmet has. It’s definitely cooler than the helmet it replaced, which was kinda stingy with vents.

But as it turns out, I might have traded safety for looks.

The Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute researches helmet safety issues and reviews helmets. I was surprised by one of their conclusions. They maintain that the safest bike helmets are ones that are “smooth, hard, round and slick.” The Institute says aero tails on helmets are bad for safety, because they can be jammed to the side during a crash, and leave part of the head unprotected.

My old discount store helmet was smooth, hard, round, and slick. It didn’t have anywhere near the aero tail most helmets today have. But it was pretty dorky.

So, I guess as a class, bicyclists have decided looks are the top priority when getting helmets. I have. Have you?

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Categories // Accessories, Safety Tags // helmets

Those dicey right turn lanes

03.15.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 3 Comments

A fact of biking life is contending with right turn lanes that cross in front of your bike.  I cross such a lane frequently in my neighborhood.  It lets right-turning motorists bypass a stoplight, and merge quickly into cross-street traffic (which is usually heavy at this intersection).

Bikers are supposed to “take the lane”– that is, stay in their own lane, crossing over the right turn lane to continue onward. In theory, that works.  But when the right turn lane bypasses the stoplight, cars tend to hit it at higher speeds, and that can sometimes lead to a potentially dangerous confrontation between car and bike.

The other day, I approached such an intersection.  I could hear a car approaching from behind.  I pulled to the left edge of the bike lane, and kept going on to the stoplight, which had turned red.  Then I heard it.

The sound of a car engine, coming up behind me fast, on the left, but slowing.  He was obviously going to head into the right turn lane.  He pulled even with me.  It was a big SUV, a Ford Explorer.  He couldn’t let a lousy bicycle keep him from hitting his lane, but he was hesitant.  Should he punch it, and cut into the lane in front of me?  Or should he hit the brakes and wait until I’d passed across his front before he made his turn?  

Although he hesitated, I didn’t.  I kept ownership of the lane, and kept moving at a steady pace.  He realized he couldn’t cut me off (much as I’m sure he would have liked to).  He braked hard, and made his turn after I’d cleared the turn lane.

This afternoon, same intersection, same situation.  But this time the car was a BMW sedan, one of the bigger ones.  He gunned it as I eased over to the left edge of the bike lane, preparing to cross over the right turn lane.  No hesitation on his part. The black car shot ahead, crossed in front, and merged into the cross traffic from the right turn lane.

The League of American Bicyclists, whose Road I course I took last spring, says, If your lane turns into a right turn only lane, change lanes before the intersection.  But that’s if you’re riding in a traffic lane.  I was in a bike lane, a lane that ended when it turned into a right turn lane, then resumed before the stoplight.  So my course of action was to stay in my lane, which I did.  Again, the League: Avoid riding in lanes that position you on the right side of a right turn lane.  By hugging the left edge of the bike lane, I was ready to cross the right turn lane quickly and get out of the way of any turning vehicles.

It’s that move, getting out of the bike lane and crossing the right turn lane, that seems to cause drivers the most consternation.  Since they’re turning anyway, it seems to me the logical thing to do would be to slow, ease in behind me, and in the two to three seconds it takes me to get out of their way, they can finish their turn.  Biker’s logic, I suppose.  Once people get behind the wheel of their cars, another mindset kicks in.

Be careful out there.

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Categories // Safety Tags // Safety

Stiff winds cause trouble

02.01.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 6 Comments

I’ve had a question or two from readers about the name of the blog — Bike Noob. Since I’ve been riding for well over a year, is it realistic to still consider myself a newbie? But I still manage to come up with newbie questions, and I’ve got one for you today. First, some background.

I had a great ride today. The weather turned out to be even nicer than had been forecast. I took off for Southwest Parkway, because I wanted to get in a hillier ride than I have been lately.

But I wound up cutting the ride short. I had planned to go about five miles farther, but I was bothered by one factor: the wind.

It came out of the southeast, at a steady 10 mph. But the gusts were much higher, maybe even 30. I’ve noticed on several recent rides in strong wind that I start feeling uneasy when I’m going downhill in a stiff crosswind or a quartering wind. The bike starts to feel unstable.

There’s no good reason for this. I do the ABC Quick Check before each ride, so I know my tires are at optimum pressure, the quick releases are tight, and the wheels are rolling true. So I don’t think it’s the bike.

I used to look forward to downhills. I’d pedal like mad to see how fast I could crank up the bike. Today though, I coasted, and even feathered the brakes to keep the speed in what I felt would be a controllable zone. My top speed was 32 mph, and under other circumstances I could have topped 35 or 36 along these same stretches of road.

This is a different sensation than getting hit by a stiff crosswind gust that threatens to knock you over. Today, I got the sensation that the bike would go out of control before I was knocked over.

Finally, on a nice downhill stretch heading west, the sensation got to be too much. The wind was hitting me on the left side. I got that uneasy feeling, and decided to bag it.

By the way, I still considered this a good ride. The hills made me work hard, and physically, I felt good throughout and afterward.

I wonder if this feeling is left over from my crashes last fall, which led to some less aggressive riding than I typically did before the crashes. I’ve been riding with a bit more verve in the past couple of weeks, attacking corners and building speed. It’s just the downhills in the wind that are getting to me.

So, loyal Bike Noob readers: Any suggestions on coping with a stiff cross wind? My inquiring mind wants to know.

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Categories // Safety, Technique Tags // Safety, Technique, wind

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