How to Not Die While Bike Commuting 🪦 

"You're on a bicycle. You already look dorky." Me: putting on my helmet

this is why i always ride in the middle, i don't give a shit if they keep honking at me 😂😂😂

american city planning is terrifying 6:38

I'm glad you acknowledged that we live in a car dependent society in North America, as well as other places. The biggest danger to cyclists is cars. Cycling isn't dangerous, cars are dangerous, which means we should do our best to separate the two, and/or start to reduce the space and power that cars have over public roads.

My best commuting tip is get the most obnoxiously bright lights you can find.

Hey. Seriously, this video is far more better than GCN.

Wow man… it’s likely you’ve had a thousand RU-vid comments saying: “Great Video, blah blah blah.” But you really nailed it with a maturity & wisdom that your channel has developed over some time. Extremely important content and education. Well done.

Merge out of the bike lane, behind cars, or get in front of them, never side-by-side at busy intersections. In the parts of the world where people drive on the right side of the road, a car turning right over a cyclist going straight/ right, is the most common accident scenario.

Make eye contact, look at their mirrors and when passing cars that are not moving notice the direction of their front wheels to know where they want to go.

6:42 The pedestrians in the park aren't an annoyance to us, we are an annoyance to them. Always remember that all spaces should logically belong to people. Even cyclists and cars on roads are taking space that logically belongs to people, the space has simply been yielded to vehicles. The space is not being yielded in a park, it is being shared, and you should respect that. People being in the park is why I love riding through parks.

I fear we are never getting fixie points back

At my university I was pampered by protected bike lanes, I could wear my airpods go helmetless and be chilling. But now I'm home in a city that has spots with painted bike lanes, no bike lanes, converted railroad trails, and the rare "protected bike lane" (it has the flimsy plastic/thin metal poles). Getting around on my bike has such a confusing paranoia-inducing struggle

My best tip is to behave like a car. When stopped in a line sit in the middle behind the car in front. Don't pass on the right at each light just to make the cars pas you again one block later.Move over before you turn left and make it clear what you are doing. Keep a line away from the curb and parked cars. If there is another parked car ahead don't give up a lane. Allow some room to react and trust your instincts if you sense danger. Communicate when possible but act when necessary. Avoid interaction with angry aggressive drivers. Most bullies are cowards but some are not. I had bubba in a pick up honk at me on a side street when he had to wait. Nearly took out an oncoming car passing me then stopped at the next 4 way stop and stand up half out of his truck swearing at me. As soon as he passed I slowed down to put some distance between us and waited for him to move on. Just let him look the idiot he was. The best way to annoy angry people is to be nice to them. Wave then wish them a good day. It will ruin their morning and keep you calm. Otherwise, cooperate when you can. At a 4 way stop, suggest the other person to go so you don't have to stop completely. Be decisive and make it clear what you are doing, then do it. Finally, do a reality check regularly. Aggressive riding can intimidate others but you are not super man. You will get squished like a bug if things go wrong. Live reasonably dangerously, but not mindlessly. I have lived over 50 years in a city of now 400 000 plus people with poor planning and little good cycling spaces. I ride where most people will not. Once commuting for over 10 years daily in all weather, including snow in winter, on the main road north/south. The intersection nearest to me has more traffic and accidents than most. I still enjoy riding fixed gear bikes and most days are uneventful.

I commute everyday in a city that has no infrastructure for bikes. I’ve carved out the safest routes that I can take, ALWAYS wear a helmet, and day and night I’ve got the brightest blinking lights I could find running whenever I’m on the bike. I’m in Indiana now, and I’ve found living in CO, TN and KS as well, that as long as I’m hauling ass and not just lollygagging on down the road like I’m on the beach or something people tend to be pretty cool on the road. I’ll have to say that the two times I’ve been hit I was on a sidewalk crossing an intersection once and on an urban paved trail that came up to a large intersection the second. Not doing that again!

I’m about to purchase my first non-Walmart bike next week! I’m so excited to start commuting once I get my stamina up. I’m hoping I can find a better route to work because the most easily accessible one is on a 60mph road. A little nervous about that tbh!

Great indepth tips!

1. have brakes

very nice video, I 100% agree on all points, especially on finding paths and roads that are safer instead of using stupid google map, those navigation routing algorithm are designed for cars and they have no idea how dangerous they could be for bike commute,

My favorite thing about riding is finding interesting safe routes to new places. I drop pins on the maps to remember these paths in the future too.

Great tips. I route my "roadie" route like that. Through small barangay roads between towns, avoiding main roads if possible. They tend to be quieter and there are less cars.

bought a wabi thanks to your sponsoring and I have been having the time of my life every day when I ride it.

Always take the lane to get out of the door zone, if you can. That means USE A REARVIEW MIRROR. And aggressive daytime running lights to relieve left cross scenario of opposing traffic turning left into you.

if zach's city ever decides to build bike infrastructure, he should def get to be involved

Great points…! Thank You!

Great video. I guess cycling in a different country would be different than cycling in America. Because over here in England, when it comes to road rage, if the cyclist raises his hand to say sorry (even if it’s not their fault), drivers calm down and it de-escalates the situation. I listen to music but that’s what I have mirrors for. To see behind me. It’s not blaring in my ears. I need to be able to hear a fast moving emergency vehicle behind me. But music helps. If you can drive a vehicle and listen to music then why can’t you do the same on a bike?

Eye contact is everything! Don’t assume they actually see you, but use it to see if they’re distracted or their likely next move.

I needed this video the other day, my untuned wheel buckled and locked into my fork and i went over the bar 😂

Thanks. Good advice ✌️👍

Born and raised here in Taipei, Taiwan. I’m SHOCKED you survived here during the pandemic. Love your channel btw.

Thank you for this video, I find street riding can be crazy lots of time. Car and truck drivers do not expect you to be on a bicycle next to them...

Not sure if people drive more carefully in residential areas. FortNine made a video stressing that people are less aware when they drive in those areas because habituation makes the driving experience more automatic than conscious. I drive both motorcycle and bicycle and I'm almost sure that if this applies to motorcycles, it must apply to bicycles as well, since the latter are arguably less visible than the former for a car driver.

originally, i thought this video was a little too harsh--but actually this is a very realistic, experienced take on keeping yourself as safe as possible.

The acknowledging road rage got me into trouble on my morning commute. Tried to wave a guy passed on a completely empty road and he decided to try and run me off the road.

Awesome & Thanks :)

Where I live you need to add body armor to your kit.

For navigation, Google Maps has the option to choose a method of transportation, including riding a bike. It will avoid major highways/roads, and lean more towards bike paths or back roads, catering to a more bike friendly commute.

Trieye Rowing 💯 ❤

I’ve crashed many times and I just don’t wear helmets. Don’t do what I do

Zach what do you think about 90s mtb. A lot of people that kind of faded from the fixed gear scene sort of switched to 90s mtb suddenly lol.

Seriously wear the helmet. I never thought I would crash on open road, and yet I just did by simple steering mistake. Front wheel off the pavement, and you know the rest. Accidents happen. Thanks for the helmet my head didn't touch the pavement except a slight scratch on a cheek.

I lift my left hand with forearm perpendicular to ground as the car comes up to pass me, as a courtesy. This signal is also the signal for right turns.

The title alone is extreme

In my city almost every vehicle has tinted mirrors so I don't bother trying to look at the driver.

Was that Wicker Park footage?

What front basket is that?

Don't ride in NYC

My area is horribly dangerous to be in the street like 70% of the time. I ride on the sidewalk in the crazy busy areas because I'm not a moron that just breezes past driveways and intersections. That's part of what I don't get about advice of "No sidewalks, you could get hit" only if you are a complete idiot blasting through at 20 miles an hour. If I'm behaving safely on a sidewalk, and a pedestrian is mad, they can't really do much besides yell. If I'm behaving safely, taking the lane properly and legally and some driver is mad, they could easily kill me. Sure its illegal for them to hit me but "That's illegal" doesn't make me less dead.

Step 1: Live in a place that cares about cyclist lives so they have good bike infrastructure In all seriousness, great tips!

And I find that the safest way to ride through traffic is to be as aggressive and sometimes literally hands-on as you can without being a jerk or menace. You MUST assert yourself as a cyclist or drivers will take advantage of your submissiveness and potentially endanger you. They don't want to hit you, as much for moral as for legal and practical reasons, and if you make it clear that if they drive irresponsibly that they will hit you, they'll almost always back off and play nice. What this means, for example, is that if I want to change lanes, to turn or avoid an obstruction in my lane like a double parked car or construction, I will signal with the hand matching the direction towards which I want to move, turn my head slightly in that direction, and wave off any drivers currently in that lane just behind me so that they know my intentions and don't run into me. Never fails. NO ONE wants to hit others, be they on foot, bike or vehicle, even if part of them would like to, because of the consequences. I also try to ride as fast as I can, often going faster than most cars, continuously scanning ahead, to my sides and backwards via a small glasses-mounted mirror, and try to read "body language", which even drivers tend to have if you know what to look for, to anticipate and hopefully avoid potential problems (i.e. collisions). If a car is trying to take my lane or turn and is about to hit me, I literally slap the car. That always gets them to back off, even if they're cursing me out inside. No one owns the space just ahead of, behind or to my sides, but me. NO ONE. Anything outside this space is up for grabs. Oh, it also helps to make eye contact, and yell if need be. Full disclosure, I learned to do all this riding in NYC streets, which as everyone knows are quite insane to drive let alone cycle in. But once you get the hang of it and develop some skills and confidence, it's actually kind of fun.

9:00 Look at the driver: I totally agree. Too bad that in Washington it's legal to have front windows tinted, so you don't see the driver or where they are looking. I think this is extremely stupid and dangerous.

I do wanna wear a helmet but sadly its so expensive in my country

My son goes to SacState.

Bump for chicago

CARBON FOR LIFE!!!

Cars are stupid...

3:22 And if they see me, they're PROBABLY not going to hit me. I really hate to agree with this one

Point 8. Agreed, and this is an indicator of poor infrastructure planning by prioritizing high risk, low vulnerability road users (e.g. cars) instead of low risk, high vulnerability road users (pedestrians and cyclists).

Hey do a fish n chip

Its nuts to be listening to music during a bike commute.

Man. I wish I could afford a decent bike

So much death in this video 😮! Jk, good info for all cyclists!

1- limit riding in the dark and in storms. 2- wear bright clothing. 3 - quality grippy tires. 4 - fixed gear gives better traction and a sense of your speed 5- travel the same speed as cars in the inner city. 6- have an “emergency”brake ready (aka knee-saver). You can survive on the street 30 years, then collect Social Security. This.

Love when people flip me off even when we're right next to signs that say cyclists can take the lane :)

3:19 I almost got in a fight with an idiot that honked and cursed at me, and in return I threw the bird… dude parked ahead waited for me, and wanted to rumble, I took out my heavy bike lock and cursed him off, he got back in and carried on … but you have to be loud when your riding In traffic

Have you considered getting an interesting bike? :^)

Try adding some brakes in that thing.Maybe you' ll be safer.

did bro just doxx himself?

I've been riding with music for years! In the rain I'll take them off while delivering.

Nope not gonna happen, I am dutch, I will not ever wear a helmet.

San Antonio streets have become increasingly dangerous for cyclists.

Who wants to see my bike?

I hate wearing a helmet, it looks dorky. I look like a mushroom 🍄

Some of these tips are ok, but the entire approach is anti bicycle. Weird take from a bike influencer.

I will NEVER take a lane when there's just one lane in that direction, as, yes, it does piss off drivers, not only because you're slowing them down and making it harder and more dangerous for them to pass you, which they WILL do, endangering them, other cars and cyclists and of course YOU, but also because it's rude, unnecessary and just reinforces the view that many drivers have of cyclists as entitled pricks who think they're better than everyone else (which, let's face it, some are and do). I always share the road, safely and responsibly, and always ride as far to the right as is safe, taking into account road debris, potholes, gravel and parked cars that could door me, and only take a lane when there's no cars behind me, which wearing a small mirror makes it easy to tell. If there are cars behind me and I have to move left, because it's dangerous for me to ride too far to the right, or because I have to turn left, I will first signal with my left hand, palm facing back, and turn my head a bit to emphasize that I'm about to move left. Never had a problem doing it this way.

I never wear a helmet.

Getting hit by a car at a billion miles an hour, a helmet is just a device to prolong your suffering.

Stop wearing huge backpacks LoL - it's dumb to have money and *not* buy a rear bike rack and a pannier. I guess you look cool carrying that uncomfortable 10lbs on your back.

1. don't commute on a fixie. 2. if you must commuting on a fixie install at least front brake. 3. but really don't commute on fixie. use it for fun, and proper bike for work.