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Article NHK article on brakeless fixies this morning.

hunches over in the road, brushing the gutter. Asking for trouble.

"52% of traffic violations by bicycle riders" (were faulty brakes).

Nope have to agree with this one.... remember they are grouping all the stats together so the faulty brakes will also include all the Mamachari out their and I bet 52% of all bikes you test will have faulty brakes.
 
Yeah, I have never broken the law in front of a rozzer (and generally keep things cool when I am out in a muggle-thick area). I have ridden behind police cars pretty close, in the middle of the road, but never over the speed limit, and never too close to be done for dangerous riding. They didn't mind that at all. Bit of friendly eye contact in the rear view mirror, and perhaps a quick raise of the hand and they generally become my drafting support car for a bit. I like to think they enjoy it!

Not dealing with Mama-Charis is my biggest gripe, but as those of you on my Facebook will have read, this has been pretty cool recently, round my neck of the woods.

Banning non-braked fixed bikes is silly though, but it will not be the rozzers who decided that. They just get told what to enforce.

It's the Man, man.
 
Nope have to agree with this one.... remember they are grouping all the stats together so the faulty brakes will also include all the Mamachari out their and I bet 52% of all bikes you test will have faulty brakes.

Yes, OK, but the way I read that, was that they were insinuating 52% of all bike felony is a faulty brake violation, when we know that this is the tip of the iceberg.

I think it would have been better to say, "of all the stuff we have nicked people for, the main thing we got to stick was a dodgy brake"
 
Well I know for a fact that any accident that involves a bike the first thing they check are the brakes.

My neice got hit by a guy on a BMX and the first thing they did was check the brakes and then check theair pressure of the front tire. :cool:

Both the brakes and tire were fine and as my neice was not injured the rider was not deemed responsible for the accident as she had ran out in front of him and they let him go after taking his details.
 
Thing is, I'm not opposed to bicycles on the sidewalks in Japanese cities at this time, per se.

Allow me to present my case...
I think you put forward a nice case. But, I'm not really convinced this is as intractable as taking two generations to resolve. Japan is glacial, but it needn't take so long.

I think Japan is alone amongst G7/developed countries in turning a blind eye to cycling on the pavement. It's therefore unique but not in a good way. Just imagine if the police were actually forced to implement the law, and backed it up with compulsory training for miscreants or the alternative option of a hefty fine. This would gradually enforce compliance. Couple this to a bike test for all school pupils and you could sort it out in 5 years. All it takes is a big push to get the police enforcing and publicising the laws.

As they seem to be data driven and the stats are suggesting that there are more accidents on the pavement over the past 10 years, maybe they'll do something eventually. They've jumped on the fixie/no brakes chaps quickly enough.

Anyway, as I tend to walk around a lot, I'd much prefer them on the road (with the exception of very young children and, perhaps, the over 80s). As an international standard this is where they belong; Japan doesn't need to be any different.

As someone else said though, I wouldn't hold my breath. Hopefully I'll be out of here by then anyway.
 
Joke!

Well I know for a fact that any accident that involves a bike the first thing they check are the brakes.

What a huge cop-out! (Pun intended).
Of course they're going to "blame the brakes" - The only other alternative is for the Japanese to admit that their socially accepted practice of "not fu@king LOOKING" is to blame.
 
But, I'm not really convinced this is as intractable as taking two generations to resolve. Japan is glacial, but it needn't take so long.
When I think of every kid that spends his early years on the back or front of his mom's mamachari as she glides along the sidewalk chatting on her phone and then parking right outside the door of the shop she wants to pop into, blocking the sidewalk for everybody else... that becomes normal, acceptable behavior to the child. It's going to take a lot of re-education to re-programme him sufficiently for him to pass it on.

Couple this to a bike test for all school pupils and you could sort it out in 5 years.

As far as I know there is nothing in Japan even close to the UK's "Bikeability" program. (In my day, the "Cycling Proficiency Test".) Who would do something like that here? The JCA? Who would fund it? That plus the re-education of drivers to give a toss.

The only education kids get is generally one day in 3rd or 4th grade from their homeroom teacher, and/or from their parents who are rarely shining examples.

Anyway, as I tend to walk around a lot, I'd much prefer them on the road
Isn't that interesting. So much depends on our point of view. I hardly walk at all. The furthest I've walked in recent memory was 30 laps of the inside of a large hospital, waiting for my appointment with the ortho!
 
Well I know for a fact that any accident that involves a bike the first thing they check are the brakes.

Oh yeah? How? Are you Omnipresent now?

:rolleyes: Oh good. The reasonably mature discussion has slumped into bickering. You should know I can be very possessive and protective of threads to which I have contributed.

James, that was an outrageous statement. I imagine that the police always check the brakes. But not always first.

Owen, try not to pick on him. He can't help it. Despite the surgeons' best efforts there's still a small particle of brain left in his skull. :p

Now you two kiss and make up, and look at kittens.

kittens.jpg
 
I'm sorry James.

And I am sorry, Mike. Feels weird calling you 'Mike' when you spent all those years insisting I can you 'Dad'.

'Dad' still feels weird though. Hope you understand.

Shame you and Mum never worked it through...
 
James, that was an outrageous statement. I imagine that the police always ]

Ok let me explain when my niece was hit by the bike (It was her fault not the cyclists as she ran out in to the road. I got chatting to the team that came down to investigate and they explained that they always check brakes and tire pressure on any accident that involves a cyclist hitting a pedestrian......it's simple logic if your brakes don't work you aren't going stop. The tire pressure is for maneuvering if you front tire is under inflated you can't turn to quickly enough to avoid a collision again this is basic bike stuff.

Nope I'm not omnipresent but I do have friends in the police force local and in Tokyo and when we meet for drinks this kind of thing crop up in conversation.
 
I can't imagine why anyone would want to ride around city streets without brakes? I have frequent use for my brakes in a city that is as narrow and crowded as Tokyo.
 
Maybe.

Thing is, I'm not opposed to bicycles on the sidewalks in Japanese cities at this time, per se.

Allow me to present my case...

I`m with you Mike. I don`t have a problem per se with people riding on the pavement, just as you pointed out, the inconsiderate and dangerous way some people do it. Unsafe speed, charging round blind corners, hugging the shop side of the pavement (so as you as you step out of a shop you are cannon fodder), no margin for error should a pedestrian suddenly change direction, the attitude that the cyclist `owns` the pavement etc.

If I`m on a road that is too narrow (and busy) and riding forces cars to cross over the lane divider/centre line, then I will go on the pavement, as much safer. Likewise, if there is a traffic light and the cars have blocked my route, I will use the pavement.

We passed a family on Saturday out on their bikes on one of the main roads out of Kochi with a steady stream of traffic and whilst the youngest kid had a helmet on, her steering was all over the place. I just thought, please ride on the pavement (there wasn`t one that side, so they would have to cross over) or take a side route.

Anyway, general driver/cyclist/pedestrian behaviour is less selfish that what I find in England. There, many people do think the road belongs to them and anyone else be damned.

I think Japan is alone amongst G7/developed countries in turning a blind eye to cycling on the pavement. It's therefore unique but not in a good way.

Actually, there are some countries in `Europe` ;) where cycling on the pavement is acceptable, maybe not officially legal, but turned a blind eye to.
 
"52% of traffic violations by bicycle riders" (were faulty brakes).

-Utter UTTER UTTER bollo*ks.

...and this little gem...

Nope have to agree with this one.... remember they are grouping all the stats together so the faulty brakes will also include all the Mamachari out their and I bet 52% of all bikes you test will have faulty brakes.

Guys, you are forgetting the golden rule that 69.3% of all statistics are made up on the spot.
 
I don't know I just remember reading about it on Bike Radar.
 
It is now illegal to supply or ride a bike without a "Pie Dish" in the US, Cannondale had to recall thousands of highend road bikes that were supplied without it.

This can't be nationwide. Really?

I don't know I just remember reading about it on Bike Radar.

FarEast is referring to this 2009 recall of Cannondale bikes thanks to the US Product Safety Commission. Apparently
The bicycles fail to meet the federal safety standard for bicycles. Spoke protector discs, required on bicycles to prevent the bicycle chain from interfering or suddenly stopping the wheel, are missing from these bicycles. This poses a fall hazard to the rider.​

It's here, in 1512.9(b)

Derailleur guard. Derailleurs shall be guarded to prevent the drive chain from interfering with or stopping the rotation of the wheel through improper adjustments or damage.​

Fascinating.
 
Actually, there are some countries in `Europe` ;) where cycling on the pavement is acceptable, maybe not officially legal, but turned a blind eye to.

As we're learning with the Euro, there is a good Europe and a bad Europe.;)
 
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