- This topic has 11 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 1 month ago by Munch.
How to beat stop lights on your bike
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February 12, 2009 at 2:05 am #2533LokiParticipant
We all know for some reason bikers get stuck up front in stop light areas. Well my good old friend (i dont really know him but like his stuff) found out how to avoid and prevent being stuck at a stop light for minutes on end.
Check out his video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GAacxGiV4A&eurl=http://kipkay.com/
I learned a good deal and will try this.
What about you?February 12, 2009 at 3:00 am #16428megaspazParticipantyup. i had a post around here a long time ago explaining the same thing. i heard there was some kind of policy change to upgrade from induction to motion sensing, although, i haven’t seen a whole lot of motion sensing lights still.
February 13, 2009 at 6:31 am #16475smokeizfireParticipantis that legal. When there’s no HOV lane, and there is a signal to enter the free way, I always get stuck and end up running the light. Woooow, I might have to try that.
February 19, 2009 at 4:30 am #16593RabParticipantIt doesn’t actually make the lights change to green immediately for you.
It just means that the traffic light sensor “knows” that your bike’s there so that you’ll “get a turn”. If it doesn’t “sense” that there’s any traffic at your light, then it won’t change the lights at all (so you’ll be stuck at red until a car comes up behind you).
There are a few commercial products available, but they’re basically (expensive) strong magnets.
E.g. http://www.cyclegadgets.com/Products/product.asp?Item=GLTRIG
It is possible to get a box of tricks like the fire trucks use, that actually does change the lights immediately to green for you, but it almost certainly would be illegal for the general public to use such a device.
February 19, 2009 at 4:50 am #16595SantaCruzRiderParticipantThe few times I’ve been stuck, I can usually trigger the light by putting the kickstand down on the wire. Of course what’s REALLY embarrassing is when you miss one light, put the kickstand down to trigger the next and then forget to put the kickstand back up — which on my bike triggers a kill switch when you release the clutch — DOOOHHHH!
February 19, 2009 at 7:48 am #16596SunyJimParticipantthe real trick even with the magnets is to ride quickly up the cut in the pavement and stop suddenly at the end. It’s not just the position of the bike on the induction loop, but the movement over it that creates the electric field. If it is a sideways 8 pattern cut in the pavement ride up the middle, if it’s just a large circle go up one side of it. Just keep the speed up until the last second.
It’s true it doesn’t change the light immediately, but at least where I am, if you look on the cross street, you will see the walk, don’t walk start to flash, that always happens before the light goes red.If you ride the lines, you won’t need the magnets, I ripped quite a few from old hard-drives and came up with some wickedly strong magnets, but the real test was to go out, park the bike and just try to trigger the loop with the magnets, and it doesn’t work.
Even the commercial version of the magnets, explains all about the loops and advises you to ride the line of the loop and keep the speed up.
So at least from my experiments the magnets really don’t do anything, but i just don’t get stuck anymore either.February 21, 2009 at 12:35 am #16635SantaCruzRiderParticipantDo you find your bike veering towards manhole covers or your suspension bottoming out when you cross railroad tracks?
Actually, it might be a very efective method for keeping nails and screws out of your back tire. LOL
February 23, 2009 at 1:43 pm #16657MunchParticipantLOL….make sure to leave the camera on when you try that theory. I want to hear the OH $#1T!
February 28, 2009 at 6:25 pm #16800LokiParticipantIt is possible to get a box of tricks like the fire trucks use, that actually does change the lights immediately to green for you, but it almost certainly would be illegal for the general public to use such a device.
-Tell me about this Santa…
March 1, 2009 at 7:55 pm #16804megaspazParticipantThose are illegal to use here in cali-land. I can’t imagine them being legal to use anywhere else either…
March 1, 2009 at 11:22 pm #16824MunchParticipantDon’t have to worry about it here where I live. All the lights are timed. No weight pads, no induction loops. There are a couple of older lights outside of town that use weight, but LEO tells you that if it goes twice for everyone else and not you, you can legally run it.
March 6, 2009 at 9:55 pm #16760BouncingRadicalParticipantI’ve been trying out the kickstand little trick and and it has worked pretty good so far. Except on the lights that have moved the wire so much you have no idea which one is the right one, then its a guessing game heh. On ones that have only one it works like a charm.
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