road or mountain bike?......based solely on fear!

[flyingfish]

I had similar thoughts about what type of bike. Bought a hybrid & go where I like :-)
Pete

 

[Cycleops]

I wear lycra on my MTB, I don't see any downside

Maybe only people seeing your backside!

 

[Steady]

It really isn't that bad out there.

Women typically find it harder to get road confident so the view/concern of the gf is normal, and for a long time I felt that way to. I was a riding a flat bar heavy beast of a dual sus as a road bike and I was slow, and passes always felt close. Converting to a road bike has actually made me more confident (when I feared the opposite), allowing me the speed to carry out the maneuvers neccessary to get where I want to get in traffic.

The more I cycle the more I find a lot of drivers are very patient, there are some unmentionables amongst them but I find myself thanking drivers far more than I do silently cursing them.

Personally I had to stop myself from watching those videos on YouTube they just served to give me a negative view of cycling, a negative view of drivers, and generally feel anxious about cycling when really the approach to cycling has to be completely neutral and a little forgiving sometimes.


Besides, off road shared use paths with invisible leads and staggering people can be far more dangerous

 

[Nigelnaturist]

Personally I had to stop myself from watching those videos on YouTube they just served to give me a negative view of cycling, a negative view of drivers, and generally feel anxious about cycling when really the cycling the approach has to be completely neutral and a little forgiving sometimes.

Its how we should be in life, and on the whole most people are, as most are on the road.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

Or it may inflict rotational injuries which may lead to you 'being fed pureed food via a spoon for life' which can be avoided by not wearing a helmet.

Possibly, but I can't recall seeing (or hearing of) one..... at our Hospital - can't answer for others

 

[Torvi]

I personally think that road rages and stuff are 50/50 created by cyclist and car drivers. Many people no matter if in car, bike or motorbike don't care about driving codex and they drive as they please and this is attracting troubles. I myself catch myself on breaking some of road rules eg cycling wrong way to cut some corners etc

Rule no 1 on road, be nice to others, others will be nice to you too.

 

[Gravity Aided]

Road rage is pretty rare in the part of the US where I am at, at least in my experience. I had one nephew claim I saw little road rage because I looked like I could tear a wheel off a car, though.

 

[paul04]

I've been cycling on the road for 2 years now, ride to work on my road bike or if the weather is bad my MTB. You do get the odd idiot driver, I don't bother with them any more,
I Just laugh at there stupidity.
The more you ride your bike the more confident you become, follow the rules of the road and you will be fine.
Whatever bike you choose, you will enjoy it

 

[Easytigers]

I started off with similar thoughts...MTB or road bike. I was too worried about getting a road bike (mainly being uncomfortable) so opted for a MTB. It never really came out of the shed. A year or so later I bought a hybrid (again worried about the comfort of a road bike)...I loved it!!! Commuted on it for about 18 months...but...I was always looking at the road bikes wondering...anyway, in the end I bought a cheap(ish) road bike and after a week or so of feeling uncomfortable, my body got used to it and now I'd never go back. The hybrid and the MTB ended up being sold as they never got used. Guess it took me a few years to build up the confidence but wish I'd have gone for it at the beginning.

 

[Globalti]

Or it may inflict rotational injuries which may lead to you 'being fed pureed food via a spoon for life' which can be avoided by not wearing a helmet.

This is a silly prejudice to air, especially when the thread is about confidence in beginners. The few accidents I have witnessed and suffered have all involved damage to the crash helmet, with a hard enough impact to leave the texture of the road surface embedded on the shell. This presumably means that in every case the helmet has saved me or the other cyclist from a nasty bang at the very least. The extra width of a helmet also takes up space between head and road and reduces the distance the head moves, reducing whiplash. Yes, of course a helmet can exert extra rotational force on the head but it would have to be a freak accident to achieve that; usually the hard shell of the helmet will skid on a road surface rather than grab and rotate. How many cases can you cite of a cyclist being killed by a helmet causing the head to rotate?

The relative fragility of the human brain combined with the kinds of speeds a cyclist can achieve means that any shock absorbing material between head and road must be better than nothing at all.

 

[brand]

I personally think that road rages and stuff are 50/50 created by cyclist and car drivers. Many people no matter if in car, bike or motorbike don't care about driving codex and they drive as they please and this is attracting troubles. I myself catch myself on breaking some of road rules eg cycling wrong way to cut some corners etc

Rule no 1 on road, be nice to others, others will be nice to you too.

Be nice to others and they will be nice to you? A touch hopeful? If you ride badly on a bike you are putting your life at risk while if a car driver drives badly around you he is putting your life at risk although there is a risk of him scratching his car!

 

[brand]

The few accidents I have witnessed and suffered have all involved damage to the crash helmet, with a hard enough impact to leave the texture of the road surface embedded on the shell. This presumably means that in every case the helmet has saved me or the other cyclist from a nasty bang at the very least. The extra width of a helmet also takes up space between head and road and reduces the distance the head moves, reducing whiplash.

The relative fragility of the human brain combined with the kinds of speeds a cyclist can achieve means that any shock absorbing material between had and road must be better than nothing at all.

See my helmet the green one.

http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/can-somebody-summarise-helmet-gate-for-me-please.160026/page-5

 

[byegad]

Like any bad news, road rage against cyclists travels fast and gets repeated in forums over and over again. My experience in County Durham over 14years of riding is that I've never been raged at. This includes commuting 12 miles and later 16 miles each way into Darlington and then Stockton on Tees. Ride considerately and acknowledge drivers who do the right thing with a cheery wave, this reinforces good behaviour towards you personally and cyclists in general.

Roadcraft and Cyclecraft are must reads for a cyclist in my opinion, the first was used by many a Police Force in driver training so gives you an insight into the 'other side'. Cyclecraft is full of practical day to day advice.
I'd add some comments of my own:-
1.DON'T treat the roads as a race track, too many cyclists do and IMHO cause themselves, and the rest of us cyclists, no end of trouble.
2. Wear a helmet if you want, but some research does exist that suggests that drivers give helmet wearing cyclist less room as they pass.
3. Start with a mirror mounted on the right of the bike so you are constantly aware of overtaking traffic.
4. Develop the 'professional commuter's wobble'. IF a vehicle is approaching and shows little inclination to move out to give you a little more room a self induced wobble timed to finish before the vehicle is alongside does wonders with the amount of room you get. Looking less than capable induces more caution in the driver.

Finally. Enjoy your road riding, I'm retired now and love getting out on the road. Traffic holds no fears for me and I find that 99%, or more, of drivers are happy to share the road with you and appreciate clear signals, decisive use of the road when you are executing a turn. Cyclecraft will give you so many tips on this and my copy is rather dog eared as I keep going back to it.

 

[brand]

Only 99%?
The other 1% is a considerable high number of actual vehicles who are not happy yo share the road with you.​

 

[shouldbeinbed]

so.....I'm still waiting to purchase my first bike in 20 years, I really like the idea of getting on the road and getting fit while enjoying myself and seeing the sites of Yorkshire, but. After watching a few tips videos on you tube, I foolishly watched a couple of videos involving road rage and violence towards cyclists. This is maybe making me think of taking the mountain bike option ( biking trials away from the road ) rather than my original decision of buying a road bike. Even my girlfriend is terrified of me cycling to work..............IS IT REALLY THAT BAD OUT THERE???

bad news sells more papers than good. If you were considering flying for the first time in 20 years after the last few weeks news you be trebling your life insurance and telling the children you love them 20 times before boarding.

It is one of the huge red herrings of cycling that every day is a terrifying ordeal running the gauntlet of verbal abuse and near death experiences at the hands of angry, disrespectful or blind drivers. Ride with confidence. & in an asserrtive manner, signal your intentions clearly, position yourself so you are managing the space around you particularly if the spider senses do start to tingle at e.g. an imminent left turn junction - there are some out there you don't want around you for long so get them by and on their way or keep them back as it suits you.

if you're not confident or to reassure the GF, find a beginners/returners cycle course to get you out on a guided ride with an experienced instructor to tweak your technique. Most councils offer them or can link to organisations that do.