[andyp]

Afternoon all.

 

So, I’m slowly getting back onto the bike after a couple of years of not being able to ride (or walk) after some pretty hefty surgery. Aside from a serious lack of fitness and balance, one thing really concerning me is how I now go about indicating for a turn or pass/ overtake etc.

My left arm is, to all intents and purposes, buggered. I *can* signal left, but arm angle is  proably approx 45% from vertical rather than a nice obvious perpendicular. But, hey, it’s a left turn anyway. The main problem is with the right turns. My right arm is fine, but I really struggle with taking the right off the bars, as it means controlling the bike with the gimpy left. So far I’ve been keeping the right hand on the bars and doing some kind of comedy waggle of the elbow, trying to make lots of eye contact etc in an attempt to make my intentions unambiguous.

 

It’s a whole different problem in the dark. An ‘elbow wiggle’ doesn’t show very well, and nobody is looking for that anyway.

 

The simplest solution is to stop riding, or at least stop riding in the dark, but I’m on the comeback trail and I don’t want to consider this as an option. Anyone found themsleves in a similar position having to adapt? Or are there any gadgets out there which could help? Until they broke I loved my Tacx Lumos, but they were very much a backup – no driver is looking for a tiny flashing amber light at the bottom of the drops, they’re looking for a strong obvious arm signal.

For the moment I’ve bought some of these http://www.wiggle.co.uk/lifeline-arm-band-safety-light/ to try to draw more attention to whatever movement my right arm might end up doing, but is there a better alternative?

 

What to do…?? Thanks tonnes in advance for any thoughts.

Topic

[andyp]

Big thanks to everyone who

Big thanks to everyone who took the time to respond. Much appreciated. I’ve received my lifeline bands today, I’ll give them a try tomorrow and save some of those options for the moment, if I’m still struggling then there are some good suggestions there. I agree that the position is the main thing, and a lot of that will be down to my confidence coming back.

 

cheers all 🙂

 

[Crippledbiker]

I have a similar situation to
I have a similar situation to you; I’m a handcyclist, and at times cannot indicate due to the need to use my hands to pedal.

I’ve got a Lumos helmet, which has nice big indicators front and back with a control cluster on my grips. Works really well in the dark.

It’s also got lights fore and aft, so it really helps with general visibility as well.

[Canyon48]

First off, I’d say that

First off, I’d say that keeping in proper control of your bike is by far the most important thing.

Second, your road position is very important – road users should be able to predict what you are doing by your position on the road.

I’ve seen one of these helmets out in the wild before and I was incredibly impressed by how noticeable it is.

https://lumoshelmet.co/

[srchar]

Stick an Audi badge on your

Stick an Audi badge on your bike. Nobody will expect you to indicate.

[Anonymous]

First and foremost be in

First and foremost be in control of your vehicle, THAT is the singularly most important aspect. Road position as others have said is a great and accepted part of communicating intention. I know for some it might seem scary but actually it resolves so many more issues and is less likely to put you in harms way.

for instance, coming up to a right turn, over shoulder check well in advance, like really early. Observe what the traffic (if any) is doing, gauge its speed and if you have enough time to get into a the position you need to be in. if room to move over without signal, do so, being in control and position is more important. If this is 75, 100 metres before the turn and is safe to do so then do it.

It might piss some people off but you are now in the correct psotion for you. If the road is not wide enough for another vehicle to come past safely do not ride right on the dividing line, control the lane, if this means 10 seconds delay for them (It really isn’t any delay anyway), so what. Your safety is more important.

Encouraging an undertake is not what you want and what they do is totally out of your control. Make the motorist/other road users think they cannot just bully past especially at speed.

Don’t increase your speed for others, that just means less control on approach to the turn itself, you’d be braking harder from a faster speed and encouraging motors to go faster to match your speed and be right up your trumpet with a reduced braking time for them.

If you can’t get across early without a signal, slow down, think if you have enough time to repeat the shoulder check/moving over without signal and if that is likely and/or safely pratical ahead of your turn. Again this comes to your judgement of following traffic and your original road position (secondary or primary. If unsure, pull over. it’s not ideal but it’s better than not being in control properly with your gyppy arm.

GL.

 

[ktache]

Mate, if you cannot signal

Mate, if you cannot signal then don’t, be aware of what is going on around you and don’t make sudden unpredictable movements.

I realise that we shouldn’t always compare ourselves to motorists, but many seem physically incapable of using their finger to move that little stalk attached to the steering column.

Myself, I like to signal, but will not when it is safer to not do.  Sometimes it’s better to be covering those brakes and being prepared to steer out of trouble.

[VeloUSA]

Check around for bicylce turn

Check around for bicylce turn signals like this image

 

 

[Mungecrundle]

Road position itself is quite
Road position itself is quite a good indication of intent to other road users, but I know what you mean about being able to back that up sometimes with an unambiguous arm signal.

[alansmurphy]

 

 

http://www.lightinthebox.com/safety-lights-led-cycling-remote-control-remote-controlled-backlight-lumens-usb-yellow-warm-white-cycling-bike_p5600050.html?currency=GBP&litb_from=paid_adwords_shopping&sku=1_45&country_code=uk&utm_source=google_shopping&utm_medium=cpc&adword_mt=&adword_ct=216748040529&adword_kw=&adword_pos=1o2&adword_pl=&adword_net=g&adword_tar=&adw_src_id=3516490533_864971965_46416722780_pla-349145947653&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-8abyrWn1gIV77XtCh1QWgl2EAQYAiABEgLiWfD_BwE

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/aokur-Automatic-Signal-Rechargeable-Waterproof/dp/B073TS8596/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1505486421&sr=8-15&keywords=bicycle+indicator+lights

 

These would help in the dark 🙂

 

[sergius]

Tricky,

Tricky,

 

I can think of a few places where I won’t indicate (high speed, poor road surfaces etc), where I refuse to take a hand off the bars.  Indicating is optional – when safe to do so.

 

I don’t really ride many very busy roads I’ll admit (due to the times of day and choice of routes); but in most cases waiting for a gap and then pulling into position to turn right is pretty obvious.  I do tend to signal properly in these cases though…

 

I believe there are some gloves etc with reflectors or even LEDs to make it obvious that you are signalling which may be worth looking into.

[Author]

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