Just a few years again I made a video with Terry Barentsen about my emotions regarding helmets:
One level I attempted to make relating to staying secure on the bikes is that, whereas something can occur on the market, there’s additionally loads over which he have an excessive amount of management. You could not agree with my option to forego a helmet more often than not, however I do hope you agree that there’s a lot we will and will do to significantly scale back our threat of falling off the bike within the first place, and that any security gear we could select to don in your trip needs to be a final line of protection after first exercising due care. Within the heyday of the fixie I’d usually see helmeted riders on observe bikes with no brakes, and it at all times struck me that should you had been going to decide on between a helmet and a brake you’d be higher off with the latter–not solely from a security perspective, but in addition from a conceit perspective, since I believe helmets look far dorkier than brakes. [smileyface]
Now I’m not going to lie and say I by no means take pointless dangers whist bicycling; whether or not it’s rolling a lightweight to avoid wasting a handful of meaningless seconds or ready a little bit longer to begin braking on a descent, once in a while I too succumb to the momentum that is without doubt one of the most seductive features of biking. Nonetheless, each time I trip, I do a minimum of attempt to preserve the potential penalties of my selections in thoughts always. Throughout World Conflict II, they used to ask folks to think about whether or not their journey was in reality needed:
Equally, if I encounter, say, a rocky part of path, I ask myself if it’s actually needed to try to trip it:
I’ll determine to trip it or I’ll determine to stroll it, however the vital half is a minimum of being conscious that I’ve acquired full management over whether or not or not I determine to threat weeks off the bike as a result of an harm simply because I didn’t wish to undergo the indignity of dismounting.
Driving within the metropolis requires related selections, however the calculus is extra difficult as a result of the truth that, when you can management your personal habits, you’ll be able to’t management the habits of others. You could select to do one thing dangerous on the bike within the metropolis and get away with it since you’re a quick rider or a skillful bike handler, but when another person additionally chooses that very same second to interrupt a legislation or take a threat the probabilities of it ending in catastrophe enhance exponentially. Think about the rider who decides to get a soar on the inexperienced solely to satisfy the motive force who decides to beat out the pink. Individually every might need pulled it off simply high quality, however after they achieve this concurrently it in catastrophe.
Because it occurs, Terry just lately uploaded a video which illustrates this phenomenon completely, and regardless of how sensible or skilled you assume you’re I believe it’s helpful to see it in motion:
First, he runs a pink gentle, which definitely an skilled city bike owner can do a thousand occasions and emerge on the different aspect of the intersection unscathed–particularly somebody like Terry who runs pink lights professionally:
However then you definitely’ve acquired the truck driver unloading within the crosswalk:
This obstructs the view of the bike lane, and specifically the Electrical Scooter Salmon touring in it:
Alas, Terry doesn’t see him till its too late:
And so they collide:
Unleashing a number of gallons of tire sealant within the course of:
Thankfully, no person is injured, and Terry takes the destruction of his wheel in stride:
May you look ahead to the inexperienced gentle like a very good citizen and nonetheless wind up in a head-on collision with an Electrical Scooter Salmon? Actually–that is New York Metropolis in spite of everything. Nonetheless, you’d more than likely be in a greater place to maneuver because you’re not additionally targeted on beating out the oncoming site visitors.
The purpose right here is to not chastise Terry, or the truck driver, and even the Electrical Scooter Salmon. We’re all people making our method by way of a giant metropolis, and all of us behave selfishly within the course of. The purpose is merely that we’d all do nicely to take into account that in the case of crashing it usually takes two to tango, and whenever you throw in a 3rd you get a full-on clusterfuck.
As for aluminum rims versus carbon and tubeless versus tubes, that’s a dialogue for an additional day.