A couple of years again I made a video with Terry Barentsen about my emotions regarding helmets:
One level I attempted to make concerning staying protected on the bikes is that, whereas something can occur on the market, there’s additionally quite a bit 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 are able to and will do to significantly cut back our danger of falling off the bike within the first place, and that any security gear we might select to don to your trip ought to be a final line of protection after first exercising due care. Within the heyday of the fixie I’d typically see helmeted riders on monitor bikes with no brakes, and it at all times struck me that for those who have 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 additionally from an arrogance perspective, since I feel 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, occasionally I too succumb to the momentum that is without doubt one of the most seductive elements of biking. Nevertheless, at any time when I trip, I do at the very least attempt to hold the potential penalties of my decisions in thoughts always. Throughout World Battle II, they used to ask individuals to think about whether or not their journey was in reality essential:
Equally, if I encounter, say, a rocky part of path, I ask myself if it’s actually essential to aim to trip it:
I’ll resolve to trip it or I’ll resolve to stroll it, however the essential half is at the very least being conscious that I’ve received full management over whether or not or not I resolve to danger weeks off the bike on account of an harm simply because I didn’t need to undergo the indignity of dismounting.
Using within the metropolis requires comparable decisions, however the calculus is extra difficult on account of the truth that, when you can management your personal habits, you may’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 danger the probabilities of it ending in catastrophe improve exponentially. Take into account the rider who decides to get a bounce on the inexperienced solely to satisfy the motive force who decides to beat out the crimson. Individually every may need pulled it off simply high-quality, however once they accomplish that concurrently it in catastrophe.
Because it occurs, Terry just lately uploaded a video which illustrates this phenomenon completely, and irrespective of how good or skilled you assume you might be I feel it’s helpful to see it in motion:
First, he runs a crimson mild, which actually an skilled city bike owner can do a thousand occasions and emerge on the different facet of the intersection unscathed–particularly somebody like Terry who runs crimson lights professionally:
However then you definitely’ve received 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:
They usually collide:
Unleashing a number of gallons of tire sealant within the course of:
Luckily, no person is injured, and Terry takes the destruction of his wheel in stride:
Might you look forward to the inexperienced mild 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. Nevertheless, you’d most probably 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 means via an enormous metropolis, and all of us behave selfishly within the course of. The purpose is merely that we’d all do effectively to understand that in terms of crashing it typically takes two to tango, and if 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.
