A. Any excess length of the cable; you need it if you raise the handlebars, it's best to hide it here before the tie wrap on the foot sled.
B. This cable length is fine
C. This cable length is even better; the excess length is hidden for the tie wrap on the foot sled.
D. Dangerous. If the tie wrap on the foot sled is broken, the cable can sag too much downwards and may catch under the left pedal. If the quick release is facing down, this probably cannot happen, but replace the tie wrap as soon as possible and only ride after you have checked that it will not get caught. Temporarily pull the gear cable upwards so you have a loop on the top side of the handlebars.
- Do not mount anything on the left of the front fork, not even a counter; always place that on the right, so the gear cable cannot get caught behind it.
- Always do the quick release of the front wheel with the lever down; then the gear cable must be even longer before it can get caught behind.
- If you want to ride with one hand, for example to indicate direction or grab a water bottle, always do this when lying with stretched legs and letting the bike freewheel. You cannot take one hand off the handlebars during a stroke; if you pull with the other hand, you will steer sharply and immediately lie beside the bike. Practice riding with one hand like this on a quiet road or an open parking lot before doing it in busy traffic.
- Always wear a helmet on the rowing bike (and/or other bicycles)
- Wear brightly colored clothing or a vest so other road users can see you well and on time.
More safety tips
- Always keep the blue arm pull cable taut during rowing biking, even during the recovery stroke. That steers and rows the easiest and most effectively. This way, the cable cannot get stuck anywhere. Moreover, this will quickly become a habit.
- Riding with one hand on the handlebars can be dangerous on the rowing bike. Only if you finish your stroke first, let the rowing bike freewheel, and stay lying with stretched legs, can you steer with one hand and indicate direction with the other hand, remove a speck from your eye, wave, or whatever else you need to do. It is very dangerous to take one hand off the handlebars during a stroke. With the other hand, you will simply continue pulling and your wheel will turn towards the side of your pulling hand (the wheel tips over), causing you to be launched from the other side of your bike. Practice indicating direction and/or grabbing a water bottle at low speeds on a large area without obstacles before doing this in traffic. Waving remains a dangerous action on the rowing bike; you often want to do this spontaneously when you see someone you know, but you must wait until you have finished your stroke and the rowing bike is freewheeling, so rather shout ‘hi’ or ‘hello’ instead of waving.
- You are lower and faster on the rowing bike than other road users usually expect.
- So ride very defensively and always assume that they have not seen you. Do not take risks with this; it may go well a thousand times, but that one thousand and first time can hurt a lot!!!