This past weekend I did a test ride biking to the train and back home to see if I could by pass having to take the bus that’s has inconsistent timing. Surprisingly only took me 15 minutes at max pedal assist cause I wouldn’t want to be getting sweaty Omw to school. However the road is super sketchy since it runs parallel to a highway as an exit through way. I’m also still scared to ride by cars after a major accident just last year.
by Comet1O
26 Comments
I’m not sure I’d call it unsafe, but certainly far from the safest thing. Somewhat depends on how bike conscious the local drivers are.
I’d definitely by running multiple tail lights on that route. One constant, one flashing.
The big issue is the guy who’s going 10 over on the highway, and suddenly” decides they need to exit right now, cutting across a bunch of lanes to the far right without thinking to look for a bike.
It’s a completely separate road from the highway and not one car comes down it in this video.
I’m not sure what you’re hoping for, a rainbow padded with marshmallows on the sides and fairies acting as crossing guards?
Do cars exit off the hwy onto this road? What speed are they going at?
We can’t tell because nothing goes by you in the video. If cars take that road going faster than like 25mph I’d probably not ride it, since there’s no separated shoulder.
Im not trying to be rude, but thats about as good as it gets except for a recreational bike path/trail
It’s no worse a road surface than the roads I cycle on, and it’s actually better in places. Also, no cars! Wonderful.
Is that a solid tire?
If so, yeah, it is sketchy at that speed, on that surface.
The air in pneumatic tires dampen a significant amount of impact even if your frame is limited to 25mm tires. For the use case shown the advantages of running pneumatic tires would strongly outweigh the disadvantages.
The primary advantage to suspension is control, comfort is an ancillary benefit, if that tire is what I think it is then the choice was made to sacrifice control for the ultimate puncture protection. On a well maintained urban bike lane traveling at low speed an argument could be made, but this isn’t that.
Just get some sturdy tyres and you’ll be fine
looks fine, but I wouldn’t ride that close to the far right edge. That’s where all the trash lives, plus all those sewer manhole covers and such. I would be riding more like ~6 feet out from the curb, at least.
Yes, just get some large volume, lower pressure, tires. Those look like hell
I would definitely ride with blinking lights on this road. And keep your head on a swivel. But it’s probably as safe as you’ll get without finding an alternate route.
Separated road? Can’t ask for more. Get some fatter tires.
I’d ride further left and avoid all that bumpy nonsense but that’s just me.
The road will definitely be smoother to the left side, but I understand why you probably don’t want to be there. Maybe consider getting a mirror, or just keep an eye out behind you.
what kind of tires are those? i would get some wider ones, say 32mm, to help dampen the bumps of the poor road surface. you can run them at much lower pressure. those look like 23mm tires pumped up to 100psi based on how narrow they look and how much vibration gets passed through to the camera.
It does have a lot of cracks and potholes but with fatter tires you could eat those up
Looks completely safe.
You could lay down and have a nap on the road there and you’d still be safe 🙂
Is that one of those indoor trainer tires? If so, that is definitely not safe for use out on the road.
We should normalize sweatiness as bike commuters. Honestly, skinny cardio-centric people stink so much less anyways. It’s also good for you to sweat. In some places, they give us EOJ facilities to change/shower in. The more you do it, the less you sweat. Proper riding gear lets you breath better too.
If you took pedal assist off and put more personal effort into the ride, you would notice the cars less (not picking on you, that’s just how it feels to ride analog bikes at speed sometimes). That roads pretty safe as far as American roads go. That’s almost a shared-use path that’s protected from higher speed traffic. The only concern I see on roads like that is debris like broken glass and metal. Those gutters you can see from far away, and the road is nearly defect free, albeit not very new or pretty looking.
i’d do it but with fatter tires
It should be better but we are years away from biking being the dominant form of transportation.
I thought this was some brutal gravel on r/bicyclingcirclejerk.
I’m confused by the question. You’re in your own lane, so what’s the problem?
Yes.
looks good to me. certainly i’ve done worse in LA.
It wouldn’t be what I would call ‘relaxing’ – a car / truck exiting onto that road has a good chance of not thinking about a bike being there. Then there are the ruts, manholes and generally crap road surfaces to deal with.
I don’t know where you are coming from but have you tried the aqueduct trail that’s west of there? Might be a little longer but might be better for your overall health. Google maps with cycle routes on may suggest better/safer choices.
Good luck!
Get some lights and mirrors. Watch for exiting cars and you’ll be ok