Icycling

My final note: When the law is passed which is bound to be very soon - the 1.5m law - and a cyclist is hit on a solid line on a road narrower than 3.5m and the motorist is caught or even stops to apologize - yes that sometimes does happen. I hope a lot of publicity is brought to the new rules of the road when passing cyclist and the motorist get more than just a slap on the wrist!

Big H a bike is almost .5 m wide - handlebars are already up 46cm! Plus 1.5m safe passing a cyclist takes up 2m of a road. I think it is safe to assume all cars are more than 1.5m in wide. So you work it out on a 3.5m wide road with a solid barrier line a motorist legally and safely cannot overtake a single cyclist. Your post should be motorist behaving badly or motorist not showing any tolerance towards cyclist! The strange thing about people behind a steering wheel is that for a cyclist it seems way to difficult to rotate that steering wheel and slowing down to allow for a safe overtaking. But these same motorist normally if they see a dog, cat or baboon wonder into a road are more than happy to slow down and pass with a lot of caution. Sometimes it really is a dogs life - because a cyclist you must be always aware that you a target!

Big H you seem to love falling into a trap here. You always take pics where their is a solid line! So: 1. If a motorist wants to pass a cyclist, be it 1 cyclist or 10 cyclist, and by doing so with leaving enough room i.e. 1.5m (proposed legislation) between his car and the cyclist, he crosses the solid white line with 2 wheels of his car - the motorist is illegal! Not the cyclist or cyclists. 2. This road seems not that wide so even if it was just 1 cyclist I would think a legal motorist would have to slow down and wait till their is no solid white line to make a legal safe passing! 3. So even if they are riding 4 abreast, and the cyclist all on the left of the solid white line, should it matter? A legal safe motorist would sill have to wait regardless of it been 1 or 4 cyclists! Maybe it time to find some areas where motorist are allowed to overtake if you looking to have a go at cyclist for riding 2 (proposed legislation that cyclist may ride legally 2 abreast - and not just when passing) or more abreast!

The strongest would be Spinergy Xaero lite, The spokes are 8 times stronger than steel, so if you a heavy rider they definitely the best. They come with white or black spokes Campy or Shimano R4495 in RSA which is a better price direct from manufacturer in the USA. More info www.spinergy.com

BAT - ass R1695.00 as per this post at the bottom! Guys if your LBS cannot match these prices tell them to get hold of me! These prices should remain the same while the rand is under 12 to the euro and 8.25 to the US$! Let try and get the local economy going again before we export it! Read second post! These are my offers for this month and while stocks last. All items are in Cape Town. The groupsets are the traditional 8 pcs groupsets - no hubs / headsets / seat pillars and pedals. I have only 172.5mm or 175mm crank and some variance in cassette from depending on the groupsets. The MTB groupsets are with gear shift levers and brake levers. I also have some road frames - not 2009 - which if purchased discounts will be offered on the road groupset prices per frame. Please do NOT go to my Icycling website as it is way out of date and in active. Shimano: Ultegra 6700 (2010) R7995.00 Dura Ace 7900 R15 995.00 XT R6495.00 XTR R12 995.00 Campy: Super Record 11 sp R18 995.00 SRAM: Red R12995.00 Force R7995.00 Fulcrum Red Metal MTB wheel sets: Zero R8895.00 One's R5295.00 Carbon R26 495.00 (Sold) Spinergy Wheel sets, go to www.spinergy.com for more info: Road Xaero white or black spokes R4495.00 Stealth white or black spokes R7595.00 Stealth full carbon Clincher R12 595.00 Steallt full carbon tubular R11 495.00 MTB Xcyclone R4495.00 Xcyclone disc R5295.00 Spares: Q rings - Rotar rings 53/40 R1095.00 Campy Super Record cassette R2695.00 XTR Pedals R895.00 XT Pedals R595.00 (sold out) XT Cranks with BB R1695.00 XT Cassette R595.00 These prices are for Southern Africa only. You guys know - are they comparable to CRC cycles? Please email special request to icycling1@gmail.com . Next order from my suppliers will close on 28/08/2009. Should arrive by 15/09/2009. I will match or better CRC (Chain reaction cycles) prices on items I can get. I can get spares for almost all Shimano and Champy - Sram I can only get groupsets, no spare parts at this stage. Sram MTB groupsets will be available before year end. Dealers may apply for dealer discount.

Would this be a fair comment: If I can get my prices within a range 7% to 14% of CRC ex Cape Town Vat included it is basically the same price as ordering from CRC - without the hassle of not knowing if customs will be "losing" the goods for weeks? Their seems to be a fair chance that VAT need to be paid on goods coming from CRC

What I have read above is correct. So if it is an old 4 spoke - game over. But lets face it the 4 spoked wheel has probably given excellent service over the past 8 years plus!

If it was the M3 heading towards Constantia - the cyclist should not have been on the road at all as it is a freeway from the Wynberg off ramp at the top of the hill. But as he was riding down a hill at speed inside the yellow line where you find or the grit etc that can puncture tires is also dangerous esp. if it turn out to be a fast front wheel puncture which can result in loss of control of your bike!

FYI and when the 1.5m law come into RSA I know of one cycling body that is willing to spend money on prosecuting motorists for not giving cyclists enough space when passing, in order to illustrate safe passing distance from cyclists News US brings in new cycle safety law Jonathon Harker May 13 2009, 5:48pm Road cyclists in Colorado receive extra legal measures Cyclists in Colorado will be given more protection from car users from August 5th, as reported by DailyCamera. The Bicycle Safety Bill, signed this week, has been created by the state to safeguard cyclists with a wide range of measures. Drivers will be required by law to give cyclists three feet of space when passing, or risk being given a $110 fine. Other measures included in the law will formally give cyclists the right to ride side-by-side ? unless they?re impeding the ?normal and reasonable movement of traffic?. Cyclists will be required to ride as close to the pavement as is safe to do so. The law goes further in protecting cyclists with an ?anti-harassment? measure. Throwing an object at a cyclist or driving at cyclists in a threatening manner will also be made offences. Colorado Governor Bill Ritter said: "One of the great things about Colorado is that so many people love to bike. "But it also means that cyclists and motorists alike must take extra precautions so that we can share the road safely. This new law will enhance safety for everyone." Local bike organisation Bicycle Colorado?s executive director Dan Grunig welcomed the law: ?The hope is that is creates safer roads. The law takes into account a lot of common sense, share-the-road practices that people do every day, and legalises them.?

I am starting to think our society has become so use to crime, we have even forgotten what crime is! Ever got a speeding fine? Why speeding is also a crime! If you guys feel that only murder is a crime what has society come too - a lawless country - the wild west! Ever heard of white collared crime - yes it also crime, which normally directly only involves paper / money or bank transfers! Maybe your definition of crime and my definition of crime are to completely things!

And if you did not no what the crime stats were about then go and get a back dated news paper or a recorded version of Carte Blanche! It deals with about 15 different aspects of crime from petty shoplifting to murder.

Porky / Big - H. I think the next post by Gasping indicates how we have to ride. The last time I looked driving drunk was a crime! And been hit and maybe killed by a drunk drive point 2 was even a bigger crime.

Ultimately I suppose cycling on SA road and staying upright - as a cyclist you have to have a "passive aggressive" behavior style! i.e. staying away from those parked car - which may irritate motorist as you now making them change their line but been closed enough that the motorist does change his line and not hit you. Claiming the piece of the tarmac which is rightfully yours at that moment in time and then defending it if need be - which as a cyclist we hope does not happen!

Yup but too much! But I like the "Staying outside of the door zone; when passing a motor vehicle that is parked parallel to the road, no closer than the width of the door." How often have a seen a cyclist falling because a motorist did not look in the mirror and the cyclist was too close the the parked car?

Scooterza - read my post and how many time I have used the word considerate or inconsiderate! I personally feel car should slow when overtaking cyclist esp those traveling at 120km/h in 60km/h or 80km/h zone. Yup it happens! The speed differential is then just too high and is thus dangerous for the cyclist! Car should also change their line when over taking a cyclist - yup in turn that means using an indicator which thus gives some warning to motorist behind! Would motorist change their line for a dog? I do for that matter any animal! But these comments are all for the educated population who probably would not chose to mow down a cyclist for at the least fear of damage to their car. It the less educated and inconsiderate population which quite a large portion of these are driver motor car legally or illegally in this country which concerns me.

Don't talk with your mouth full of cake!!!!!

Joe Low - you are so right about cyclist normally behaving nicely & normally. Unless provoked. Hubber's - Out of interest when their is more than 1 of you in a car does the passenger sit on the back seat? Great way to have a conversation! If their is only one person in the car - that's just selfish taking up all that road space isn't it?

SwissVan - you so right about Zug and other educated non barbaric societies been a parades for cycling. After 2 days in Zug I even decided it was not necessary to wear a helmet - something I have been wearing while cycling in RSA for at least 20 years - and would not leave home without it! I Suppose it all comes down to crime and the lack of respect many South Africans have for human life and the current crime stats are not doing very well in RSA.

SwissVan to me it looks like a blind rise on a bend. So I think world regulations would suggest a solid white line! You so lucky living in Switzerland - it so nice to cycle their! I spent 10 days training near Zug about 6 weeks ago, amazingly enough in those 10 days I had 1 car hoot at me and more a friendly hoot, where as in Cape Town I will be lucky to get 10km without been hooted at - yes for no reason. Just a differently level of consideration towards other and possibly education.

Big H - I see you have turned to code so I am not sure if your comment is now directed at me! If it is I have done 26 Cape Argus cycle tour (I am only 36 years old so started quite young) of which 3 have been under 2h30 which requires quite a lot of road time! Yes I have spent many hundreds of thousands of hours training on public roads in RSA. I do ride in a manor which is safest to myself - so If I feel a road is to narrow for overtaking I ride in the middle. Surely fundamentally speaking all road rules should have safety as a primary objective? Safety involves considerate towards others. How many cyclist have killed motorists - and visa versa? The sooner motorist start obeying all the rules of the road the safer the roads will become to all - including fellow motorist! And yes cyclist are traffic.

And finally the the 1.5m law of overtaking has been brought up which probably means on most roads in RSA when overtaking in a 4 wheels vehicle with a solid barrier line one of two laws will be broken when overtaking and that is either 2 wheels will be over the barrier line or you will be passing to close i.e. less than 1.5m, be it a cyclist or another vehicle. Cyclist are traffic!

jmaccelari - you are quite correct and technically you have to have 2 wheels over the barrier line to get busted! I love this bumper sticker: Cyclist are traffic

cat - i I live in Cape Town and don't have a MTB bike - you sponsoring all?

Get fiter, train with a faster person who you can sit behind! Or even better still sit behind a motor car / truck!

Big H the symptom is the fact that a lot of people are just straight inconsiderate as highlighted in my post just above. Generally speaking nobody says anything and they get away with it and thus become even more inconsiderate!