Loud hubs scare hikers....

ellbiddy

Active Member
I was mashing away at the hills at Round Valley today and I whipped out the FS bike again with my hope pro II hubs and man when I'd bomb down the hills the hikers ahead would scatter like a good 100 feet before I got close :getsome: so eventually I would purposely coast whenever I passed someone to let them know I was coming. To make up for the fright I would always pass with a big smile and lots of hellos. People seem to respond well to that :)

I wish I had a camera, one chick was there with her BF/Friend and she literally ran off the trail, I was barely moving at that point but the noise scared her I guess I stopped and wanted to say sorry about the fright but she was just laughing hysterically at that point. Overall fun ride. I cut it short a bit because my knee was acting up but RV is going to be my new stomping grounds. A couple months of this and I'll be mashing up hills everywhere with no trouble.
 

walter

Fourth Party
I dont think its the hubs but more of you "bombing" past them. All the smiles and hellos in the world aren't going to fix that feeling of being almost run down.

Equate it to this, if you are driving on the road and someone cuts you but they give you that "hey Im sorry" wave does it make it better?
 

ellbiddy

Active Member
Like I said, I bombing down the hill well before where they were and would slow as I passed them but the racket my hub made during my run down the hill would startle them :cool:

Edit: Speaking of almost being mowed down, I almost got nailed at one of those maintenance trail crossings by a guy collecting trash in a pickup from the campgrounds. It was mostly my fault as I took it for granted that they're usually empty, but it sure did wake me up.
 
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The Kalmyk

Well-Known Member
I whipped out the FS bike again with my hope pro II hubs and man when I'd bomb down the hills the hikers ahead would scatter like a good 100 feet before I got close :getsome: so eventually I would purposely coast whenever I passed


:rofl::rofl::rofl:...."Purposely Coast" I love it:D
 
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Frank

Sasquatch
I bet the point that everyone is trying to make here is that we MUST yield to everyone on the trails.
 

MMuller

Well-Known Member
Yea, I was dissapointed when, after I pulled over and let a couple walking their dog go by, they said "thanks, you're the first biker to do that."
 

ellbiddy

Active Member
:rolleyes:, I really think you guys are being a little overly critical of me here. I'm more than happy to hop off my bike when hikers are being passed in either direction when it's a tight single track (6MR/CR/etc). The point I was making was that I was passing people on wide fireroads that could easily fit 5 bikes across and a couple of hikers (all those super wide parts coming from the boat launch) and when I would come up behind them I would spook them with my hub since it's silent till I stop pedaling and then it's loud as all hell (could almost pass for a rattle snake ;p). Or if I was going down a hill a good ways off I'd coast and they'd all just kind of pile out of the way because they weren't sure what was coming behind them and wanted to get a look at what was making that ruckus. Anyone that's ridden with me knows I'm not the type to mow down anyone ;)

It's my fault in that I used some words that conveyed I was pulling hikers out of my spokes (bombing/scattering). But really, I think anyone would chuckle if they saw a couple hikers scurry off when you were no where near them because of the noise your bike makes.
 
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J-7

Active Member
I think it's always best to play it very conservative around hikers and people walkind dog. I slow down to a crawl and even dismount sometimes. I don't ever want to surprise someone from behind and cause an injury or run into someones dog. With all the friction that exists between the user groups, we should try to take the high road.

J
 

Frank

Sasquatch
Your initial description of your trail experience "led me down the wrong path" I guess. I did not mean to be critical but we must all understand that our user group is under constant scrutiny. Too many complaints about bikers and we have land managers knocking at our doors.
 

ellbiddy

Active Member
Yeah, I forget who linked the picture of what hikers think of us, but it was like this big muscular dude on a mtb barreling down while hikers were running in every direction (cartoonish drawing). I'm all for mountain bike diplomacy, even if I have to step in horse poop to be accommodating (well, maybe, but you get the idea...horse poop stinks ;) )
 

Cyclopath

Shop Owner / Employee
Shop Keep
:rolleyes:, I really think you guys are being a little overly critical of me here.

I don't think anyone is being critical.
I think you sparked a really good discussion on sharing the trail.
To a hiker surrounded by quiet, we sound like we're bombing down regardless of our speed. It's good to be reminded of that.

And it really is funny to see people scatter. Not because we're horrid people, or because we intend to test out their pace-makers, but because... it's just funny. Heck, I've even scared the crap out of myself with my own squealing brakes.

Between the squealing and the grinding, I imagine we can sound like some demon rising from hell to an unwitting pedestrian, horse or dog. Thanks for reminding us to think of them.
 
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lmckee

New Member
If this kind of thing bothers you guys you should see what I do to joggers hogging the trails with their ipods on...
 

lmckee

New Member
im in suspense here, do tell. lol.

After saying excuse me a few hundred times with no response, I realize that they are to busy listening to john mayer at full blast to pay attention to their surroundings. I usually then start screaming random words or making animal sounds behind them. If that doesn't work (which it usually doesn't) I drop back to get some speed and watch them pinch a turd off in their shorts when I buzz by them at a high rate of speed. I usually follow proper trail etiquette but for some reason the whole jogger with the ipod thing really pisses me off.
 

MEAN IRISH GUY

Horse-faced space dog
hahahahaha intense! yeah i hate seeing people riding and or jogging/ hiking etc with headphones on. it definetly makes it dangerous for that person as well as the folks around them. kinda like having the stereo blasting in the car and you can hear cops or firetrucks, etc. TURN IT DOWN and be aware of whats going on!
 

don

Well-Known Member
hahahahaha intense! yeah i hate seeing people riding and or jogging/ hiking etc with headphones on. it definetly makes it dangerous for that person as well as the folks around them. kinda like having the stereo blasting in the car and you can hear cops or firetrucks, etc. TURN IT DOWN and be aware of whats going on!

So very true. We had a pro rider at our dirt jump trails years ago using the headphones. He almost caused an accident - one of the locals had to send his bike to get out of it.

Maybe I'm getting old, but the only time I really listen to music is when driving - I haven't had anything with headphones in years.

For riding, there is nothing better than hearing the freewheel sound and knobbies on flowy stuff. For climbs when things slow down, I'll usually just go with whatever song is in my head - funny the more stupid the song is the better.
 
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