Four 4x4's/SUV'S on a forty mile ride

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
andrewk
Posts: 354
Joined: 20 May 2011, 3:19pm
Location: SW London

Re: Four 4x4's/SUV'S on a forty mile ride

Post by andrewk »

DaveGos wrote:80 percent of incidents and aggression I experience towards me as a cyclist are 4 by 4

In practical terms my personal experience and understanding is that if you truly need better grip etc get good tyres , chains in snow and or lower your tyre pressure , far more effective than a 4 by 4

I drove the whole West Falklands on muddy dirt roads using a 4 by 4 that you have to get out and manually engage , never got near to engaging it and they are not good roads, also saw plenty of 4 by 4 s get stuck in the bogs there



Forget chains, messy, inconvenient and restrict you to low speeds on snow. Winter tyres, otherwise known as snow tyres perform far better. A two wheel drive car on snow tyres will beat a 4x4 on normal tyres over snow. Having spent 10 years as an expat in E Europe I have had plenty of experience of driving on snow.
In the UK most serious 4x4s (discovery, landcruiser, 4x4 pick up) run on M&S tyres whilst most soft roaders run on normal tyres. Whilst M&S tyres do perform better than regular tyres over snow their performance is inferior to proper snow tyres. None of the above grip on ice.
AlaninWales
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Joined: 26 Oct 2012, 1:47pm

Re: Four 4x4's/SUV'S on a forty mile ride

Post by AlaninWales »

We wouldn't be able to drive safely down into the neighbour's woodland with a 2-wheel drive, let alone up again. Of course I could walk, but not carrying any tools I may need and I'd not be able to give the disabled owner of the horses down there a lift ...
The same vehicle gets used for occasional local run-about duties: So shoot me?
Flinders
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Re: Four 4x4's on a forty mile ride

Post by Flinders »

The Mechanic wrote:Living in the north east of Scotland we have a lot of 4x4 vehicles. I have not noticed any particular discourtesy shown by them than other vehicles. Unlike other posters, I do not claim this as a fact, only my observation but it seems to me that, generally speaking, drivers are a bit more considerate up here than they reportedly are in Englandshire.

I'd make a guess that this is because most people up there both need them and know how to drive them properly, because they have to be able to to get around in bad weather on narrow roads. Unfortunately that's not the case in many other places. Some people (and I stress the 'some' as I've had many positive experiences with 4x4 drivers as well) have 4x4s- especially the bigger ones- as status symbols, and drive accordingly, i.e., in an 'I'm important, me first' sort of way. They're so worried about getting any dirty mud on their shiny clean tyres and bodywork that they wont go 2" onto a verge on a narrow road to let a small car/bike/pedestrian cross alongside safely. I've had one drive me into nettles, and then reverse after me at speed when I objected.
MikeF
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Location: On the borders of the four South East Counties

Re: Four 4x4's/SUV'S on a forty mile ride

Post by MikeF »

There are some who pass close but I don't think you can generalise about the vehicle - it's the driver that's the problem. It's some elderly drivers in small cars, not large car type vehicles, that often give me cause for concern.

Two cases here, but I have encountered more.

Recently I was approaching this roundabout (20mph zone) http://goo.gl/maps/WkagSin primary position to enable me to turn right. Any following driver should have seen me for 300yds or more. There weren't any parked vehicles, but slightly more traffic at the r/a than in the Google view. As I was at the start of the hatched centre lines I was aware of a lone vehicle starting to overtake on the wrong side of the cross hatching. The driver then realises that there's not enough room to avoid the island so loud blast on the horn :roll: :roll: , but I didn't vaporise. He then passes me on the inside but instead of giving way to traffic from the right as I did he continues straight on causing traffic on the r/a to brake.

Another recent instance. I was standing with bike at edge of minor road on outskirts of Tunbridge Wells. A driver passed me rather closely in my view so when he pulled and stopped a little way further on I said to him that he had passed rather close. Of course he then had his say about cyclists to which I patiently listened eg they cycle in the middle of the road, they hold up cars, they cause traffic to crawl, they shouldn't be on the roads, but cycling on the pavement, they don't pay road tax etc. I did point out I wasn't actually cycling when he passed and that I also drive a car and pay "road tax" and have driven other vehicles besides cars as also do some other cyclists. However his attitude was if you're not in a motor vehicle on a road then you can expect to be hit. I did note a disabled sticker on the back window, but I don't think that was for him.
"It takes a genius to spot the obvious" - my old physics master.
I don't peddle bikes.
Edwards
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Re: Four 4x4's/SUV'S on a forty mile ride

Post by Edwards »

What has happened to the Audi drivers? :twisted:

Have they had a mention yet?
Keith Edwards
I do not care about spelling and grammar
reohn2
Posts: 45158
Joined: 26 Jun 2009, 8:21pm

Re: Four 4x4's/SUV'S on a forty mile ride

Post by reohn2 »

MikeF
I too get grief from other vehicles but single out 4x4/SUV's as proportionally worse, which obviously is down to the drivers, one has to ask why that is?
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reohn2
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Re: Four 4x4's/SUV'S on a forty mile ride

Post by reohn2 »

Edwards wrote:What has happened to the Audi drivers? :twisted:

Have they had a mention yet?

Quite bit actually,I mentioned them in the first post
-----------------------------------------------------------
"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
kwackers
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Location: Warrington

Re: Four 4x4's/SUV'S on a forty mile ride

Post by kwackers »

reohn2 wrote:
Edwards wrote:What has happened to the Audi drivers? :twisted:

Have they had a mention yet?

Quite bit actually,I mentioned them in the first post

You've ruined it for him! He thought he was having a dig at me... :wink:
kwackers wrote:TBH I can't say I have much issue with 4x4's over (say) Audi's which I do seem to have issues with.
Edwards
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Re: Four 4x4's/SUV'S on a forty mile ride

Post by Edwards »

I was only trying to inject some humour, just pick any car you do not like.
Keith Edwards
I do not care about spelling and grammar
kwackers
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Joined: 4 Jun 2008, 9:29pm
Location: Warrington

Re: Four 4x4's/SUV'S on a forty mile ride

Post by kwackers »

Edwards wrote:I was only trying to inject some humour, just pick any car you do not like.

Your comment made me laugh - so it worked!

I like most cars tbh. Bizarrely I even like big 4x4's in that I appreciate them for what they are, I simply don't think there's a place for them on our roads.
I generally find Audi's a bit boring (I used to have one), I think their interiors (and BMW's) are a bit unimaginative. And BMW exteriors are very unimaginative! However if there were a way to justify it I'd buy an R8 and live with the Audi tag...

My favourite at the moment is the Renault Twizy. One came past me the other day and I thought it looked great, just a shame about the cost of batteries.
reohn2
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Joined: 26 Jun 2009, 8:21pm

Re: Four 4x4's/SUV'S on a forty mile ride

Post by reohn2 »

Edwards wrote:I was only trying to inject some humour, just pick any car you do not like.


I did :wink:

And I hate Renault Twizzy's :mrgreen:
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"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
kwackers
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Re: Four 4x4's/SUV'S on a forty mile ride

Post by kwackers »

reohn2 wrote:And I hate Renault Twizzy's :mrgreen:

Gerrof! The Twizy is almost the perfect city car!
reohn2
Posts: 45158
Joined: 26 Jun 2009, 8:21pm

Re: Four 4x4's/SUV'S on a forty mile ride

Post by reohn2 »

kwackers wrote:
reohn2 wrote:And I hate Renault Twizzy's :mrgreen:

Gerrof! The Twizy is almost the perfect city car!

I agree,they look great,I was only winding you up :mrgreen:
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"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
LondonBikeCommuter
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Joined: 21 Apr 2013, 4:10pm
Location: Swindon

Re: Four 4x4's on a forty mile ride

Post by LondonBikeCommuter »

james01 wrote:
lisap wrote:I live in a very hilly place, my 4x4 is covered in mud from being on the farm every day AND when it snows I wouldn't get off my property without it.

:D


You could try walking :D . I'm being slightly facetious but the description of a farm or village being cut off is now used in the press simply when motor vehicles can't get through. It used to mean when people on foot couldn't get through - now that's what I call being really cut off :D .


Your being horribly horribly judgemental. We have friends that live on a 100ish acre barely viable farm (Organic just about keeps it afloat) that's around 4 miles from the nearest shop 6 to the nearest town. Should they walk an 8 mile round trip every time they need the shop? or maybe have a line of pack mules for the monthly shop in town?

There seems to me to be this increasing view that people judge others based on there own circumstances so its " I don't need a 4x4 so why should anyone else?"

Lisap ........ don't apologise and don't let anyone make you feel bad if you need it then you use it!!
Flinders
Posts: 3023
Joined: 10 Mar 2009, 6:47pm

Re: Four 4x4's on a forty mile ride

Post by Flinders »

LondonBikeCommuter wrote:
There seems to me to be this increasing view that people judge others based on there own circumstances so its " I don't need a 4x4 so why should anyone else?"

Lisap ........ don't apologise and don't let anyone make you feel bad if you need it then you use it!!


You seem to have completely missed the smileys in james01's post and the bit about being facetious. :cry:
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