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NOTE: Riding a bicycle involves certain risks,
including damage and injury. By choosing to
ride a bicycle, you assume personal
responsibility for those risks. The people who
sold you the bike, the manufacturer, the
distributor, and people who manage or
maintain the roads and trails you ride on are
not responsible for your actions. Therefore, it
is extremely important that you understand-
and practice-the rules of safe and responsible
riding, and to use common sense whenever
possible and applicable.
5.1. The Basic
Carry out the Mechanical Safety Check
(Section 4.3) before you attempt to ride
Lafree, In addition, make sure that you always
follow the electronic diagnostic procedure for
Lafree’s power assist features.
5.2. Rules of the Road
1. Learn the local bicycle laws and
regulations. Many countries have special
regulations about licensing of bicycles, riding
on sidewalks, laws regulating bike path and
trail use, and so on. Many countries have
helmet laws, child carrier laws and special
bicycle traffic laws. In most countries, a
bicyclist is required to obey the same traffic
laws as the driver of a car or motorcycle. It is
your responsibility to know and obey the laws.
2. Some Lafree models are equipped with a
front suspension (suspension fork). When
braking, the front suspension compresses and
the front end may drop noticeably. You could
lose control and fall if your riding skills are not
sufficient to negotiate this mechanical function
of the suspension fork. Familiarise yourself
with your suspension by practising braking in
a safe area on flat ground before riding at
higher speeds over varied road surfaces.
5.3 Wet Weather Riding
Under wet conditions, the stopping power of
your brakes (as well as the brakes of other
vehicles sharing the road) is dramatically
reduced, and tyre-to-surface adhesion
(“traction”) is also compromised. This makes it
harder to control speed and easier to lose
control. Whenever wet conditions are present,
reduce speed and apply your brakes earlier
and more gradually than you would under
normal, dry conditions.
5.4 Night Riding
Riding a bicycle at night is much more
dangerous than riding during the day.
WARNING: Riding at dusk, after dark or
at times of poor visibility without a
bicycle lighting system which meets
national laws and without reflectors is
dangerous and can result in accidents.
Before riding at dusk or at night, take the
following steps to make yourself more visible:
• Make sure that your bicycle is equipped
with correctly positioned and securely
mounted reflectors (see Section 4.2.1,
“Reflectors”).
• Make sure that lights and reflectors are not
obstructed by your clothing, accessories, or
anything you may be carrying on the
bicycle.
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RIDING SAFELY AND RESPONSIBLY
0288 Opm Binnenwerk 11-02-2000 10:46 Pagina 13
