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Hard-Drive
Original Poster
1,802 posts
98 months
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Almost flattened some idiot cyclist the other day with my Land Rover when he basically rolled out in front of me. As I turned to advise him gently that he may wish to be careful if he wanted to see his twenties, I was gob smacked to see that he had NO brakes on his bike at all.
This wasn't someone on a fixie with no front caliper...this was an old MTB, freewheeling, derailleur geared, with bare mounting posts where the V-brakes used to live. The guy was riding on the road, and dragging his foot along the floor to stop.
My initial thoughts were how could he be so selfish as to almost certainly get wiped out in the imminent future, yet not give a stuff about how the unlucky person who might be driving will get to sleep at night. This was quickly replaced by feeling of Darwinism, and that if he's that bloody dumb then perhaps his almost certain imminent demise might actually benefit the human race as a whole.
More and more I see kids out on MTBs with V brake noodles not connected...why do parents let young kids out on death trap bikes, and why on earth do people ride with no brakes?
Retards. Rant over.
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davepoth
19,927 posts
68 months
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Hard-Drive said: More and more I see kids out on MTBs with V brake noodles not connected...why do parents let young kids out on death trap bikes, and why on earth do people ride with no brakes? 2/10. Not enough f  ks. I like to blame this on hipsters.
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WeirdNeville
4,213 posts
84 months
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1) nicked wheel on the bike: Brakes/wheels no longer fit. Disconnect noodle. Sorted.
2) It's an offence under construction and use. A bike must have 2 independant braking systems, and a fixed rear wheel counts as one thus even a fixie must have a front brake of some kind to be 'road legal' in the UK.
On one memorable occasion a bike I seized off of a suspect had the V-brake blocks turned through 90 degs so that they acted on the side of the tyre! It was an MTB with 700c wheels on it.
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julianm
260 posts
70 months
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Most kids around here have removed the brakes from their BMX bikes so they are like the guys in the Olympic events and are FASTER.
`Braking` is achieved by rubbing the rear wheel with the sole of their trainer. Some are worn through to the socks ..
I did try & offer some advice about this to a couple of them but `Dad says it`s OK` - I give up.
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Dizeee
11,903 posts
75 months
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WeirdNeville said: 1) nicked wheel on the bike: Brakes/wheels no longer fit. Disconnect noodle. Sorted.
2) It's an offence under construction and use. A bike must have 2 independant braking systems, and a fixed rear wheel counts as one thus even a fixie must have a front brake of some kind to be 'road legal' in the UK.
On one memorable occasion a bike I seized off of a suspect had the V-brake blocks turned through 90 degs so that they acted on the side of the tyre! It was an MTB with 700c wheels on it. Eh? Road legal pushbike? So what's the offence of riding a unicycle on the road? Or using roller skates which don't have brakes?
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WeirdNeville
4,213 posts
84 months
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They're not bicycles are they.
A bicycle must have a braking system of some sort acting on each wheel.
A unicycle brakes in exactly the same way as a fixie: You resist the pedals turning (and alter your balance accordingly I suppose).
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daz3210
5,000 posts
109 months
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I thought the two brakes was only on wheels over a certain size
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Dizeee
11,903 posts
75 months
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WeirdNeville said: They're not bicycles are they.
A bicycle must have a braking system of some sort acting on each wheel.
A unicycle brakes in exactly the same way as a fixie: You resist the pedals turning (and alter your balance accordingly I suppose).
They may not be bicycles, but they are wheeled non motor powered vehicles, just like a bicycle is.
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WeirdNeville
4,213 posts
84 months
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But the law relates to bicycles. It even defines them.
It's like me saying 'A ship needs certain lighting' and then you saying 'so why don't planes have the same lighting?'.
They're not ships are they?!
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paranoid airbag
1,309 posts
28 months
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I know people who did similar as a student...
No mechanical competence at all, and naturally too broke to pay a mechanic. So when the brakes develop a problem (rubbing on a bent wheel, cables seized), off the noodle goes. I believe the motto was 'Intelligent, not practical'.
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Smitters
530 posts
26 months
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Darwin will take care of them...
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chrisga
949 posts
56 months
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graphene
887 posts
24 months
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Smitters said: Darwin will take care of them... We shipping the rascals to Oz?
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Caesar9
115 posts
30 months
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Alot of bmxers and dirt jumpers have no brakes or just the one to help them with spins etc mid air. I don't think I've ever seen someone on the road without them apart from the local scrote/smackhead on a nicked bike.
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Dizeee
11,903 posts
75 months
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WeirdNeville said: But the law relates to bicycles. It even defines them. Are you sure? News to me as well as everyone I work with.Please fon't tell me you prosecute cyclists for having a defective V break???
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IroningMan
5,815 posts
115 months
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Dizeee said: Are you sure? News to me as well as everyone I work with.Please fon't tell me you prosecute cyclists for having a defective V break??? Much less for their poor spelling.
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Dizeee
11,903 posts
75 months
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IroningMan said: Much less for their poor spelling. Typing on a phone with predictive text isn't easy when your eating with the other hand.
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GadgeS3C
1,955 posts
33 months
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WeirdNeville said: But the law relates to bicycles. It even defines them.
It's like me saying 'A ship needs certain lighting' and then you saying 'so why don't planes have the same lighting?'.
They're not ships are they?! I believe the law now includes unicyles, at least since 1994.
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daz3210
5,000 posts
109 months
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GadgeS3C said: WeirdNeville said: But the law relates to bicycles. It even defines them.
It's like me saying 'A ship needs certain lighting' and then you saying 'so why don't planes have the same lighting?'.
They're not ships are they?! I believe the law now includes unicyles, at least since 1994. How can you have two brakes on a vehicle with one wheel?
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Dizeee
11,903 posts
75 months
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daz3210 said: How can you have two brakes on a vehicle with one wheel? You can't. Construction and Use offences apply to mechanically propelled motor vehicles, not pushbikes!
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