god damn my free fuzz bell is fucking HUGE!
someone’s gotta post a pic of ‘the fuzz’ bell.
for those concerned about how these bells will effect their hipster rankings, perhaps MKS have the answer
<a href=http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/MKS_Titanium_Racing_Bell/5360043405/ >MKS Bell</a>
Titanium is no good man.
STEEL all the way!
Not for a bell, it’s all about damping coefficient.
Brass is where it’s at.
Install it on the front hub barrel, as racers in the '70s and '80s did. When stopped and asked if you have a functional bell, reach through the spokes, go ‘ding, ding’ and smile.
this idea wins at life…
The thing that shits me the most about this sort of “campaign” are the stats in isolation.
Here are some more stats from a couple of years ago:
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/pedal-power-pays-as-bike-account-interest-rises/2007/10/16/1192300771163.html
A copy of the account obtained by The Age shows:
■ Cyclists account for 8 per cent of all trips in the morning peak, up from 4 per cent last year.
■ On-road cycling increased by 10 per cent and off-road by 20 per cent.
■ Cyclists make up 22 per cent of traffic on St Kilda Road.
The number of cycling accidents is also decreasing. In 2005, there were 155 crashes, dropping to 146 in 2006. In the year so far, only 46 road crashes have been recorded.
And from my recent trips to Melbourne, its clear the growth has only continued over the last couple of years.
So… accidents as a TOTAL have been going down, we now have a small uptick of 10% from a previous low, but that is still in the context of a MASSIVE increase in bike usage which was encouraged!!!. Even if there was a 100% increase in accidents, it would be average.
I hate the Orwellian Doublespeak that passes for health and safety campaigns like this.
-JB
UPDATE:
The latest Bicycle Account from 2008 is here
https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/rsrc/PDFs/WalkingSkatingCycling/Melbourne_Bicycle_2008.pdf
Stats in the latest version include a further 43% increase in morning commutes.
Also a drop of about 50% in accidents last year. So the base for the 10% jump is the lowest recorded and not the 2007 number which is the governments “baseline from which to measure our future success in decreasing cycling accidents in our municipality.” Nice one!
The following is a snip from the 2008 account:
The City of Melbourne aims to decrease cycling accidents by a
minimum of 10 per cent every year, relative to the numbers of
cyclists.
So its clear they understand the numbers game - when they want to take the credit!
Oh, and finally to put it all in context, a 10% jump from 88 accidents is exactly how many more injuries, boys and girls?
What about some fucking perspective?
From the age online today…
Police patrols to target cyclists THOMAS HUNTER
October 1, 2009 - 12:56PM .
Police to crackdown on cyclists who they say are wearing inappropriate clothing and the 5 per cent who break the road rules.
If you ride a bike in Victoria there’s a good chance you’ll be stopped by police this month, with Victoria Police planning to have a quiet chat with 30,000 cyclists about road safety during October.
With an increasing number of people choosing bikes over other forms of transport, police say it is important to ensure everyone was aware of the road rules.
“Every year there is around 15,000 collisions involving cyclists and many of these could be prevented,” Sergeant Arty Lavos said.
"Road safety is the responsibility of every road user, whether they are a cyclist, vehicle driver or pedestrian.
“It is important that both cyclists and motorists understand the road rules so they can share the road as cooperatively as possible.”
A police spokeswoman said patrols would actively target cyclists to discuss safety issues such as visibility, stopping at red lights, riding predictably and maintaining a safe bike, and would not hesitate to issue fines if riders or bikes fail to conform with relevant laws.
There were nine cyclists killed on Victorian roads last year. Four riders have died so far in 2009, three as a result of a collision with a vehicle.
Who deems it inappropriate clothing?
this needs more attention.
From the age online today…
Police patrols to make some easy cash because they can’t be fucked doing any real work IAN HUMAN
October 1, 2009 - 13:02PM .
Police to crackdown on cyclists who they say are the easiest targets in an attempt to fill their infringement notice quotas each month.
If you ride a bike in Victoria there’s a good chance you’ll be stopped by police this month, with Victoria Police planning to issue 30,000 cyclists totally unwarranted fines for pathetic misdemeanors during October.
With an increasing number of people choosing bikes over other forms of transport, police say it has become a largely popular way to make it look like they are caring for people’s welfare, all the while lining the pockets of the state government.
“Every year there is around 15,000 collisions involving cyclists and many of these could be used as opportunities to make some more money,” Sergeant Arty Lavos said.
A police spokeswoman said patrols would actively target cyclists under the guise of discussing safety issues such as visibility, stopping at red lights, riding predictably and maintaining a safe bike, though the main intention is to issue fines if riders or bikes fail to conform with ridiculously over-bearing and out-dated laws.
obviously this is a joint effort by vicpol and the fashion police.
No Coppers gonna make me wear a vest, nyaa see!
A full team kit, on a commuter on a crappy hybrid with a rusty chain, is inappropriate.
Is that you Captain?
If by crappy hybrid you mean awesome Cotic, maybe.
this is starting to change from being an isolated one week crackdown, to an organised ramping up of fines. first they went after helmets and bells, and everyone got helmets and bells, now they can’t get enough results with that, so they’ve found something else to pick on. where is BV on this, and why haven’t they released any statements? getting more people cycling more often is fine, but they should be supporting all the people who are cycling as well.
Harry is too busy pandering to RACV / Subaru?
Ride to work day soon… the State Governments Coffers are going to get a mighty good top up.
A.C.A.C.
The fuzz, the filth, the distinguished and wise gentlemans, whatever you like to call them, they’re doing a brisk business on St Kilda Rd today.
The officer who ticketed me was nice enough to let me know that over the next 2 months they’ll be coming down hard along St Kilda Rd.
Out of interest i asked him if they’d be ticketing the pedestrians who trigger those irritating ped red lights and then jaywalk anyway. he said yes they would be, which was nice
[oh, nice word replacement!]