how close to the curb?

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iLB

Hello there
Location
LONDON
not new to cycling but recently got my first road bike, just wondering how close u tend to cycle to the curb as i am afraid of catching my foot and breaking the bike or myself, also worried about hitting drains and miscellaneous pot holes which are often near the curb.
 

Blue

Squire
Location
N Ireland
ilovebikes said:
drains and miscellaneous pot holes which are often near the curb.

Add to that list all the 'P' causing, and wheel deflecting, junk that tends to lie there and you can understand why I always stay 3' or more out from the kerb!
 

marinyork

Resting in suspended Animation
Location
Logopolis
You are rightly worried. I cycle about a metre or 3 feet out as default. This is called secondary or strong secondary. If a road is 20ft wide (fairly standard), Primary in the middle is about 5-7ft from the kerb. I cycle in primary sometimes but vary it to conditions. If you can get hold of it read a book called Cyclecraft. It is in some libraries.

If you cycle too close to a kerb you will end up injuring yourself. If you cycle further out you'll still have irate motorists behind you reving and honking but that's tough cheddars, they should only pass when it is safe to do so.
 

Angelfishsolo

A Velocipedian
+1. As for the horns I quite often use one of the many universal signs designed to show my disapproval.

marinyork said:
You are rightly worried. I cycle about a metre or 3 feet out as default. This is called secondary or strong secondary. If a road is 20ft wide (fairly standard), Primary in the middle is about 5-7ft from the kerb. I cycle in primary sometimes but vary it to conditions. If you can get hold of it read a book called Cyclecraft. It is in some libraries.

If you cycle too close to a kerb you will end up injuring yourself. If you cycle further out you'll still have irate motorists behind you reving and honking but that's tough cheddars, they should only pass when it is safe to do so.
 

byegad

Legendary Member
Location
NE England
There should be no chance of your clipping a pedal on the kerb! That's way too close in and you have no room to the left if a motorist passes too close. I'd go further and say you should ride far enough out to comfortably avoid the drainage grates and any roadside rubbish without needing to pull to the right to go round them. You have a right to use the road and riding too far to the left is a good way of having an accident.
 

wafflycat

New Member
You need to be away from the kerb. At least 1m to 1.5m out from the kerb. Invest in some up-to-date cycle training for adults or at the very least, get yourself a copy of Cyclecraft, as it refelcts what is taught in adult cycle training to the national cycle training standards "Bikeability" You will be taught the skills to cycle assertively (not aggressively) and as safely as possible.
 

Angelfishsolo

A Velocipedian
+1
byegad said:
There should be no chance of your clipping a pedal on the kerb! That's way too close in and you have no room to the left if a motorist passes too close. I'd go further and say you should ride far enough out to comfortably avoid the drainage grates and any roadside rubbish without needing to pull to the right to go round them. You have a right to use the road and riding too far to the left is a good way of having an accident.
 

Radius

SHREDDER
Location
London
byegad said:
There should be no chance of your clipping a pedal on the kerb! That's way too close in and you have no room to the left if a motorist passes too close. I'd go further and say you should ride far enough out to comfortably avoid the drainage grates and any roadside rubbish without needing to pull to the right to go round them. You have a right to use the road and riding too far to the left is a good way of having an accident.

That's exactly what I was going to say. If you're hitting your pedal on the kerb, then you're in trouble. Something else to think about is that motorists tend to find it easier / better to deal with a cyclist in primary / strong secondary who cycles confidently and makes it perfectly clear what they're doing rather than someone going quite slow in the gutter who could pull out or is wobbling around to avoid dodgy gutter demons (:blush:).
 

Willow

Senior Member
Location
Surrey
I find there is a position where I feel it is natural to ride, I don't feel too close to the kerb, do not find myself in drains etc etc.
 

Angelfishsolo

A Velocipedian
I agree. As with driving a car, when cycling, with experience will come a natural feeling of what is right and what is wrong. Also with experience comes knowledge, comes confidence.
Willow said:
I find there is a position where I feel it is natural to ride, I don't feel too close to the kerb, do not find myself in drains etc etc.
 

HF2300

Insanity Prawn Boy
Add another to all those saying if you're likely to hit the kerb, you're way too close.

I normally find I'm tending to ride roughly where the cars' left wheels run. This is pretty much 3' (1 m) out from the kerb on average. It keeps you on a cleaner part of the road and out of the worst surface debris and defects, and gives you room in case of close passes, wobbles etc.
 

BentMikey

Rider of Seolferwulf
Location
South London
There are a few very ropey definitions of secondary/primary on this topic! Primary is the middle of the flow of traffic, and does not necessarily correspond with either lane markings or the curb (such as when going around parked cars). Secondary is about 1m from the left of the moving traffic lane.

Two tips you may have read before:
Be very careful about being next to HGVs (lorrys). These interactions kill the most cyclists in London.
Never ride in the door zone. Being doored by a careless motorist causes the most killed or seriously injured cyclists counted together.
 

briank

New Member
Ever watch the breakaways going round the Champs Elysees on the final stage of the Tour? Though the main carriageway is cobbled, there's a smooth, paved gutter- beside a 6 in high kerb!
Impressive - and it scares the shoot out of me just to watch it. On reflection though, at least the Champs is swept for the big day and free from potholes and other traffic.
So I think the OP is probaly scarier!

+1 for 3 ft.
With minimum swerving HOLD YOUR LINE!
Worth checking, on regular single carriageways that is, for oncoming traffic. If there's nothing approaching from in front, then anything coming up behind you has the whole of the road to get past.
(Worth remembering that the faster you're travelling the more your swerve around the pothole/debris will be straightened out.)
Sometimes, with traffic both directions and no room on the inside of the problem, you just have to take your weight off your bum and hands even if you cant bunny-hop the problem.
AND HOLD YOUR LINE.
Though, there will always be the occasional long vehicle which will take you into the kerb when it's half way past.
And that's when you need the 3 ft.
 
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