Road Biking v.s Motorcycling

[VaSteve]

Since we have a lot of motorcycling threads this week, I wanted to throw this one out. Since I know Todd is recooperating, I will address this to him, but anyone else with some perspective is free to jump in.

Todd (and anyone else):

Since you both ride a road (pedal) bike (assumedly in the road) and a motorcycle, which do you feel more inherantly dangerous?

With a pedal bike you come up on stuff slower but are usually forced to ride on the edge of the road, and there's always a lot of trash and debris there. I always get a little uneasy about the big trucks passing inches from me! That and the fact that I'm probably nearly invisible and have only a nice thin layer of spandex (?) on.

Granted, I wouldn't ride my Cannondale on the interstate, but those good old boys in the pick-em-up trucks scare me on the back roads. I finally got a mirror after years of riding on the road.

[nostatic]

Motorcycle hands down more dangerous. On a bicycle I always wear a helmet and a really bright jersey. Speeds are lower, and you have a much smaller profile. You are more maneuverable, and can bunny hop things in a pinch. And if you happen to go down, having a 20lb bike land on you is better than a 400lb bike.

[Dantilla]

I commute by road bike occasionally.

My wife is okay with me racing a 944, flying airplanes, and riding my bike, but freaks out at the thought of motorcycles.

A road bike is not truely mixing it up in traffic. Off on the shoulder, acting more like a pedestrian than a car. I'm comfortable with trucks passing within inches. I'm uncomfortable on a motorcycle if I'm being tailgated.

[HardDrive]

I don't think there is really a comparison here.

If you can pedal your road bike 120mph........well then we'll talk.

[VincentVega]

Maybe it's just me, but I try to avoid busy road on the road bike. Cars in the burbs just dont want to give your any space.

One thing about the motorcycle is you have much better brakes and the ability to accelerate out of some ones way. Hoever, you are really 'in there' with cars, think 495.

[Victor]

Either way, please stop riding down the center lane to get pole position at the lights unless you are going to take off like a bat outta hell when things go green..........

[Porsche-O-Phile]

How aprospro. . . I just did a nice 40-miler on my road bike this afternoon (down to Huntington Beach and back).

Honestly I feel more vulnerable on my road bike than I do on the motorcycle. Granted if I crash the motorcycle, there are likely to be higher speeds involved and consequently greater likelihood of injury (so one would think). However I honestly think you're more likely to get pasted at a regular old intersection doing maybe 35-40 than cruising on the freeway at 70 or 80. Todd's accident was an exception. Certainly such things can happen, but I think they're the exception rather than the rule. Most motorcycle accidents happen at considerably lower speeds.

Also consider that on a motorcycle I wear a protective jacket with reinforcing (pads), gloves, a full-face helmet and usually boots. Out cycling I've got on shorts, a cycling jersey and a bicycle helmet. That's about it. You can also get trucking along pretty good on a road bike (speeds >25 mph are common for me). Not THAT much different from motorcycle speeds for "around town" type riding.

Cars are horribly inconsiderate and unaware of either. At least on my road bike I'm 99.9% likely to be riding during daylight hours - on the motorcycle the ability to ride at night (and the fact I do sometimes) adds to the degree of risk that some inattentive cell-phone yammering bozo won't see me. So there's another point in favor of road cycling. Also consider that I can do a lot of riding on the bike paths around here, free of automotive traffic. They're not perfect and you do need to do some street riding to get to them and to fill in the "gaps" where they don't connect, but it's still possible to get a good 50 or 60 mile ride in and spend 90% of the time on paths.

Best advice for road biking is to "hog" the right lane. I had a good friend of mine get a car door flung open in front of him as he was doing intervals a few years ago. He was being "nice" and riding about 2'-3' from the parked cars and ended up getting launched about 20 feet, losing four front teeth and demolishing his new Softride bike - all because of one idiot. I'd just assume hog the right lane (and you're legally within your rights to do it) and piss off a few cars than take the risk of them not seeing you or having a car door flung open in front of me (or worse, a "warp speed" pull out of a parallel spot or driveway). A pissed off/irritated driver is one that's at least aware of you. Good enough.

[MichiganMat]

Man, youy road-bike guys are nuts, thats all I have to say. Give me an open fire-road with some bombing downhill any day of the week, but no way Im riding around with cars coming up behind me, no way. Whats the rush about it all anyways? You climb and climb only to go down on smooth paved road, only to climb again... {snore}. I like to put my life and health on the line over some gnarly jumps of my own choosing, not over letting some pimple-face run me off the the pavement because his Mustang is too wide to fit in the lane. Nuts, all of you.

[nostatic]

you have to know the right roads. And real men like climbing, because it's where you punish the wimps

[dd74]

First of all, they don't compare - cycling is a different animal from motorcycle riding. The motorcycle, because it has a motor, has the ability to accelerate out of situations much faster than a bicycle. When cycling, much of whether you crash is contingent on how developed a rider you are, and how well you pay attention to your surroundings. Because of the slower speeds in cycling, it would seem more accidents occur as the fault of the cyclist not watching for cars that might pull out in front of him/her and car doors opening as they pass.

Ascending hills is its own science as by hearing alone, a cyclist, while also concentrating on their ride, has to gauge by sound how quickly and closely an approaching vehile is coming to them .

Descending hills is much of the same as riding on the flats; except increase the speed two or three fold, and one has to be aware of cars, road conditions, and crosswinds as they descend.

Given a motorcyclist doesn't need to worry about approaching cars while climbing and crosswinds and road divots while descending, a motorcycle definitely has those advantages sewn up.

[VaSteve]

Originally posted by Victor
Either way, please stop riding down the center lane to get pole position at the lights unless you are going to take off like a bat outta hell when things go green..........

It's more for visability. You never know what the 4th car back is going to do.

[VaSteve]

Originally posted by dd74
First of all, they don't compare - cycling is a different animal from motorcycle riding.

Of course. I was curious to know from riders of both whether they thought the environment was more or less dangerous on a bike vs. a motorcycle assuming your skills are comparable on both machines. Cars don't watch for bikes (for sure) and the heckle the slow riders. I understand they don't watch for motorcycles as well, but I figure with the lights, size and protective gear, you might be somewhat "safer" on a motorcycle.

My labored breathing on the bike is louder than Screaming Eagles

[klaucke]

It all depends on how and where you choose to do your riding. Obviously you can choose dangerous roads for both the motorcycle and bicycle. I feel the motorcycle is more visible to traffic, etc, at all times. Other drivers treat it as another motor vehicle. Not so w/ a bicycle.

Just as drivers are looking for a car and not a motorcycle when attempting a traffic maneuver, many car drivers who might see a motorcycle will not see a bicycle-- they just aren't paying that much attention.

On a bicycle, it is uneconomical to wear a full face helmet and leathers. I realize speeds are "lower" on a bicycle, but these significantly add to the safety of a motorbike, IMHO. I routinely go 45mph+ (downhill) on my road bike while trying to make good time. I am cautious, but to go down at that speed w/ just 1 layer of clothing is going to leave nothing but hamburger on your limbs.

I should note I might be jaded-- although I've had a few close encounters on my motorcycles (and they weren't even that close), I was near mortally wounded on my roadie when a driver made an illegal left and drove on the wrong side of the road. I still ride, but I am overly cautious.

[turbo6bar]

Originally posted by klaucke
On a bicycle, it is uneconomical to wear a full face helmet and leathers.

The cost is not what stops me from wearing a full face helmet and leathers. Heat stroke is what stops me from wearing leathers while pedaling a bicycle. Egads, are you a masochist?

[singpilot]

I overheard a guy telling another guy at a stoplight in Redondo the other day that he was going to have to stop wearing the 'read my nuts' spandex pants while biking in town anymore. Said they attract the wrong kind of attention. Said he almost never gets hit or close to it unless he is wearing those.

Geez, get a clue. If you had seen this guy, he had no business wearing them.

I am a hundred times more safe on the motorcycle than the bike. Can match speeds, people pretend motorcycles are vehicles sometimes.

Bikes on the street are simply obstacles to get past as closely as possible. I now only ride the bike paths.

[turbo6bar]

The fact is motorcyclist are labeled organ donors. Bicyclists are labeled homos. Pick your pain.

I was jonesing for a motorcycle this fall, but lotsastatic's crash changed my mind.

[VaSteve]

Originally posted by turbo6bar
Bicyclists are labeled homos. Pick your pain.

I always laugh about this when the rednecks pass me and make nasty comments. If I could catch up I would tell them that their favorite NASCAR driver (after I consult my list comparing number stickers to names) pisses his pants during the race.

[serge944]

Originally posted by Chris Martin
Maybe it's just me, but I try to avoid busy road on the road bike.

I wish more road bikers had the same outlook. I've been on busy single lane roads where bikers just ride down the damn middle with cars bunched up behind them, without a care in the world. "Share the road" - exactly - share.

Just what I need is for one of those tools to run into me on the road and set my life up for eternal debt and problems.

[jyl]

Been commuting on the bicycle recently.

Have found these keys to feeling safer. (1) Don't take the main roads that you use in the car, take side streets that have light traffic. The incessant stop signs that drive you nuts in the car are fine on the bicycle. (2) Look through the rear window of every parked car that you are approaching. If someone's in the car, give a wide berth to that door. (3) Take advantage of your ability to switch between vehicle and pedestrian. If a left turn is too hairy, just ride to the x-walk, wait for the light change, and cross like a ped. (4) Control your speed. A bicycle at 15 mph is agile, can stop and swerve on a dime. A bicycle at 30 mph is a missile with pathetic brakes and tiny tire contact patches. Bombing through busy intersections or along rows of parked cars at 30 mph is as silly as blasting through town at 100 mph on your motorcycle.

I do wish someone made a well ventilated full face bicycle helmet. My bicycle helmet treats my face and base of my skull as expendable, and oddly enough I don't agree.

[gatotom]

speaking of bike helmets....yrs ago I watched a track event where a biker blew his front tire at full speed, he went head first over the bars and the helmet blew up in pieces. He got up from the fall like nothing happened. As a road biker, I went out and actually got a helmet and started wearing it after watching that video.

Yrs ago the biggest thrill I ever got on a bike was coming down a mountain pass and get lucky and grab the rear wheel of a semi truck, it sucks you right in and before you know it you are going its speed, you just have to be ready to hit the brakes fast or you could end up under its wheels.

Out here in WA the drivers have gotten much friendlier to us roadies, I rarely get a encounter with a car anymore, can't remember when come to think of it.

With the increase of cars now on the roads, you have to pick the time of day to ride, if you have that luxury, ride single file and if the event happens and you do go down, know how to fall.

In my eyes road biking is far safer than motor donoring.