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Old 07-21-22, 01:09 AM
  #21  
Sardines
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Originally Posted by greatbasin
You're an experienced commuter as you wrote. So you know to check behind you (do you have a mirror?) and signal or do whatever is necessary to make your impending left swerve clear to oncoming traffic. Repeatedly moving out of the way again results in repeated swerving to the left. You've apparently managed this for some time, except that we didn't hear exactly how the last bicycle got, "destroyed in an accident (everything bent, everything damaged)."

You're repeatedly expecting drivers to understand your intentions to move into traffic, and a driver failing this can be anticipated with foreboding. You and your bike will be safer if you take the lane and keep out of the gutter. Do let the cars pass, but put the onus on them to pass when it is safe instead of hopping curbs or riding into ditches to let them pass and then popping back out into traffic.
This! Regardless of what bike you have, jumping curbs and going in and out of the main road gives drivers the chance to lose sight of you. We all know that keeping the driver's attention means being consistent on the road and making intentions clear. Signal early and give wide berth, but make sure you stay on the road. Sidewalk riding may be legal but many drivers zone out sidewalk happenings on auto pilot, especially if there are bushes etc to obscure the driver seeing you. Then there's the pedestrians to think about. That's why places like NYC ban sidewalk riding in undesignated zones.
Please don't take this the wrong way, acroy . I certainly am not discouraging you to ride however you want. A full suspension bike will certainly give you a better ride over rough stuff, curbs, stairs etc. There will be loss of efficiency in the paved stretches on your commute. Wide tires and under gearing will slow you down quite a bit on the good roads. That's one of the reasons I commute with a Pinion gearbox, so I have the range to climb hills and go fast on flat road. I saved 8-12 mins on my commute (18 miles, with 150m elevation climbs) with the Pinion range and fast road tires. Going tubeless, and lower pressures gave me the comfort I wanted, along with carbon seatpost, seat rail, handlebar, fork and wheels on a Ti custom bike. I use a trunk bag on my rack instead of a backpack, because I don't like the stickiness in the heat, and the discomfort of my stuff bouncing when I just go over rough surfaces.
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