A rule for group rides carved in stone
30 October 2023
Many cycling clubs ban from group rides people who ride:
• time-trial or triathlon bikes, or bikes with attached aerobars,
• flat-bar or other bikes with wide handlebars,
• fixed-gear bikes without at least a front brake;
• time-trial or triathlon bikes, or bikes with attached aerobars,
• flat-bar or other bikes with wide handlebars,
• fixed-gear bikes without at least a front brake;
• bikes with potential or actual significant malfunctions,
• without working front and back lights (in the dark, dusk or dawn),
• without a helmet (whether mandatory or not, by the law).
At DBB, we are trying to be more inclusive, and — provided you are subjectively a good bike handler — won’t ask you to leave in those cases. However, there is a rule — which is formulated below, after an explanation of why it is in place.
• without working front and back lights (in the dark, dusk or dawn),
• without a helmet (whether mandatory or not, by the law).
At DBB, we are trying to be more inclusive, and — provided you are subjectively a good bike handler — won’t ask you to leave in those cases. However, there is a rule — which is formulated below, after an explanation of why it is in place.
First, you just don’t come to funerals wearing red sweatpants. If you are Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, or Elizabeth Holmes, you may have your own notorious reason for always wearing a grey t-shirt or black turtlenecks, even in a boardroom — but still there are situations where you dress more appropriately. If one ignores the social rules, he or she better be able to afford it.
More importantly, every above bullet point has safety concerns behind it.
Drop-bar bikes, by design, have narrow handlebars that allow cyclists to ride close to each other — two abreast or when passing over. Moreover, in case of a bunch crash the pointy bar ends are not sticking out sideways or to the front — hence, the risk of piercing another human being with those is greatly reduced. Which is not the case with mtb or tt bikes.
(Same also goes for selfie sticks mounted onto the bike — they are not safety-approved for group rides.)
Drop-bar bikes, by design, have narrow handlebars that allow cyclists to ride close to each other — two abreast or when passing over. Moreover, in case of a bunch crash the pointy bar ends are not sticking out sideways or to the front — hence, the risk of piercing another human being with those is greatly reduced. Which is not the case with mtb or tt bikes.
(Same also goes for selfie sticks mounted onto the bike — they are not safety-approved for group rides.)
Next, while the danger to the others of riding without effectively functioning brakes — or lights in limited-visibility conditions — is obvious, not wearing a helmet also requires explanation.
When you ride alone (and provided a helmet is not mandatory by the law — such as where we live) your safety is your choice. However, if anything happens to a group member, well, that could become a problem for the others. Starting from medical help to an unconscious person, all the way to possible legal responsibility resulting from a crash with a head injury. No one wants anything of that.
When you ride alone (and provided a helmet is not mandatory by the law — such as where we live) your safety is your choice. However, if anything happens to a group member, well, that could become a problem for the others. Starting from medical help to an unconscious person, all the way to possible legal responsibility resulting from a crash with a head injury. No one wants anything of that.
I’ve been riding in all sorts of groups for years, and to date never happened to be in a serious crash involving another cyclist. However, better be safe than sorry — so here’s the DBB club rule:
Rule No. 1: If one crashes while riding an improper bike or without a properly fitting helmet, we will presume his or her sole responsibility — for both potential injuries and material damage — even if the crash was accidentally caused by another group member.
Btw, this is the helmet of one of our club members who was in a crash with a couple of others. The incident was serious enough to cause a broken collarbone, but her head was okay — no visible injuries and no concussion diagnosed.
Last but not least, don’t be afraid to ride in a group — if you are careful and work on your bike handling skills, the risks are not graver than with any other physical activity. Especially those where helmets are standard equipment :)
Last but not least, don’t be afraid to ride in a group — if you are careful and work on your bike handling skills, the risks are not graver than with any other physical activity. Especially those where helmets are standard equipment :)
© 2023–2024 Alexander Baranchikov of DBB™. No cookies are used on this website. By submitting your email you agree with the privacy policy. Legal: dbb@baranchikov.com
15-second Privacy Policy
When you submit any information via this website, the data that you have provided in the Name, Email, Address, City & Postcode, Country, Phone, or any other fields (hereinafter — the Personal Data) is transmitted by our Website Provider to a technical email address at our Email Provider.
The data transmitted from you to the Website Provider is encrypted with TLS. Our Website Provider is:
Tilda Publishing Ltd. (Ireland)
Privacy Policy: tilda.cc/privacy
Terms of Service: tilda.cc/terms
The data delivered to us by the Email Provider is encrypted with PGP. Our Email Provider is:
Proton Technologies AG (Switzerland)
Privacy Policy: protonmail.com/privacy-policy
Terms of Service: protonmail.com/terms-and-conditions
By providing the Personal Data to us you give us your consent for storing, processing, and using it for the purposes of:
• contacting you for the reason said in the submission form via phone, sms, email, messaging platforms where your details are recognised;
• delivering parcels to the address you have provided via post, express mail, courier services operating in your location.
For those purposes we may have to transmit the Personal Data to third persons: telecommunication and email providers; messaging platform operators; postal, mailing, courier, delivery services. We will use due diligence in doing so but cannot accept responsibility for the Personal Data out of our possession.
The data collected by us is only stored in an accessible way for as long as necessary for the respective purpose for which a particular piece of data has been collected. After you have subscribed to the blog, you can always use the "unsubscribe" link in the end of any regular email. In any case, you can write to a@dbb.rs that we must delete your Personal data.
The data transmitted from you to the Website Provider is encrypted with TLS. Our Website Provider is:
Tilda Publishing Ltd. (Ireland)
Privacy Policy: tilda.cc/privacy
Terms of Service: tilda.cc/terms
The data delivered to us by the Email Provider is encrypted with PGP. Our Email Provider is:
Proton Technologies AG (Switzerland)
Privacy Policy: protonmail.com/privacy-policy
Terms of Service: protonmail.com/terms-and-conditions
By providing the Personal Data to us you give us your consent for storing, processing, and using it for the purposes of:
• contacting you for the reason said in the submission form via phone, sms, email, messaging platforms where your details are recognised;
• delivering parcels to the address you have provided via post, express mail, courier services operating in your location.
For those purposes we may have to transmit the Personal Data to third persons: telecommunication and email providers; messaging platform operators; postal, mailing, courier, delivery services. We will use due diligence in doing so but cannot accept responsibility for the Personal Data out of our possession.
The data collected by us is only stored in an accessible way for as long as necessary for the respective purpose for which a particular piece of data has been collected. After you have subscribed to the blog, you can always use the "unsubscribe" link in the end of any regular email. In any case, you can write to a@dbb.rs that we must delete your Personal data.