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Poles on my bike

Old 06-29-21, 04:36 AM
  #51  
canklecat
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Of all the nopes I've seen this week, that PVC pipe is one of them.

And even a frame pump is of limited use. In the 1970s I used my full length Zefal frame pump to whack a genuinely vicious dog that had nipped my leg once before during my cycle commute. Bent the pump but the dog got the message and didn't chase me again. Nowadays I carry pepper gel spray, which works very well. Most dogs I encounter aren't chasing me with bad intent, just giving me a noisy escort or parade past their property boundaries. In the past six years I've pepper sprayed a dog only once, and that was while I was walking, not cycling.

Self defense doodads are restricted in some areas. That may include collapsible batons, even pepper spray. (And in some places, like Texas, pretty much anything goes, although I still seldom see obvious weapons on my cycling acquaintances.)

However a whip can be made from a short length of flexible steel cable, the same stuff used to lock up bikes. You can buy these whips ready made, but that might run afoul of some laws. They can inflict serious pain with only a light or moderate strike.

However if you're permitted to use a cable lock, you already have a makeshift defensive tool. Choose a flexible stranded steel cable just stiff enough to be whippy but not floppy. Cut it to a shortish length, roughly the length of your forearm. This would still be long enough to lock the top tube to a sign pole or fence, so it's still credible as a locking device rather than a weapon. A full service hardware store that cuts chains and cables to length for customers should also have a crimping tool to re-make the missing eye-end of the cable, so the end product looks exactly like a utilitarian cable for locking your bike. But short and whippy enough to double as a defensive deterrent against... whatever. Loop it around your waist, velcro it to the top tube, whatever suits you.

I've seen some folks, including bike messengers, carry heavy duty linked chains to serve double duty as locks and defensive tools, but those are heavier and trickier to use.
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Old 06-30-21, 06:32 AM
  #52  
mstateglfr 
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OP- your contraption can double as a joust for some fun weekend games.
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Old 06-30-21, 01:23 PM
  #53  
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I honestly don't see myself having the wherewithal to deploy a stick, pump, water bottle, spray or anything else while I'm sprinting to outrun a dog - both hands are fully occupied. I basically make the decision, based on the gradient and my own condition, to outrun the dog or stop abruptly and hop off, to defuse the dog's chase instinct. Most times, that's enough to make the dog lose interest. They might hang around for a minute to satisfy honor, but once they've shown me who's boss, they trot off home. I've never had to face more than one dog at a time in this manner, and only once did a dog stick around and keep the menace up long enough for me to start getting worried. I'm considering a small pepper spray to live in my jersey pocket, with the garage remote and the minipump, as a last resort in the event that a dog just won't back off. Very much a last resort, and probably more useful for the reassurance than for actual use. In ~45 years on the road, I've never actually needed such a thing.
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