Crash Thread - lucky

[pwd]

I was out for a quick run to enjoy the long awaited spring season. I've been working on my bike for months. I was anxious to see how me ebike performed up one of our city's main roads with a decent hill. It went well but I felt like riding more so I ripped around some more streets and was feeling good keeping up with traffic. As I rounded a sharp bend I realized I was going too fast and applied my rear regen brake but I overshot the corner and the rear wheel slipped out as it contacted the leftover winter sand on the shoulder.

The bike made a large screeching noise as it scraped along the asphalt with me (I think) mostly on it. The first thing I could think of was "I wonder how many people are seeing this". After I came to a stop on the ground I quickly picked up my bike and straightened out the handlebars and slowly putted away to the next side street were I could inspect the damage. Other then my scraped up bar ends, everything looked OK and my leg had a pit of pain but nothing crazy. My adrenaline was still pumping so I plugged my pack-sack battery which was disconnected during the crash and quickly but cautiously rode home.

I got home and noticed more scrapes etc... along the bike but surprising nothing broken. I inspected my helmet, jacket and pants but they had no signs of wear at all. My leg must have absorbed most of the fall. I imagine it will be sore for the next while but I got lucky. I can't believe how embarrassed I was at the scene instead of being concerned for injuries etc... Moral of the story is slow down on corners and a good reminder that although lucky this time, I am not invincible. That could have been a lot worse and I came close to an early end to riding this season.

[e-beach]

Sorry for your crash! Crashing sucks!

After being hit by a car on my bike, causing head and foot injuries, flipping my bike when I was cut-off by a car that made an illegal turn in front of me, causing hand and shoulder injuries and loosing control of my bike that caused me to whip my rib cage over the edge of a curb that caused a fractured rib, I can say with experience, sorry for your crash, they suck!

Glad you are ok!

[pwd]

Thanks e-beach! I certainly fared well compared to your crashes. I hope you've recovered from those ones.

[e-beach]

Thanks e-beach! I certainly fared well compared to your crashes. I hope you've recovered from those ones.

Yes, at the moment my e-bike injuries have passed. The short-term memory problems from the head injure took about 6-8 months to pass. (and yes, I wasn't wearing a helmet. ) The hand injures and the fractured rib took weeks to heal, the shoulder injury took about a year to heal, however, the foot injury took almost 2 years to heal.

In any case, I can say e-bikes are fulfilling to build, own and ride. But, they are also dangerous.

[The fingers]

That good ‘ol sand on the surface has got me a couple of times over a lifetime of riding. Scrubbing it out of cuts and abrasions is a memorable experience.

[flat tire]

I have crashed my ebikes and motorcycles a lot, mostly at low speeds trying to ride hard offroad. I've yet to crash on the street. I cap my riding a ways below my ability while on the street because I don't want to crash there.

If you don't crash you won't learn very much.

[dogman dan]

Routine lay down. Practice regularly till you are expert at it. Seriously. If you need it, go practice laying down a 50 buck pedal bike. Someday, ability to lay it down at will can save your life. Hit things with your feet, if you are doomed to hit something.

If you will performance ride in the street with bike tires, you are going to have the occasional laydown. Build your bike so it can handle it, meaning a laydown won't short wires or crush a battery. You might need more protection in that backpack. Armor that wire to the bike.

This ease of losing a bike in a fast corner is one reason I have taken to limiting my speeds on e bikes. I've raced at 50 mph, and crashed in the race. But riding around town, I'm not in my motorcycle armor.

I decided to do that kind of fast riding on a motorcycle or large gas scooter, where I know from experience that much more gravel is needed to put me down in a corner.

[markz]

Please be careful out there!

[Current]

We have a fantastic bike path along the lakefront here in Chicago but it gets pretty hectic in the summer. I was doing my usual commute home. Slowing from 30 to 20mph as I approached three people who were walking in the same direction, I yelled out "on your left". At the moment of passing them the biggest of the three, without looking or giving any indication, just stepped right into me. Direct hit. I was knocked out cold and came to on the pavement shortly thereafter. He was bleeding from his legs and looked stunned. His sandals were maybe 10 feet behind us. Thankfully witnesses and other cyclist crowded around and came to my defense. I beat the bike back to a state that I could drag it home. Chalked it up to experience and never relying on things like "on your left". Long story short I was mostly alright, although from that night onwards I had issues with insomnia for almost a year. Concussion?

Oh and yes I do slow down even more while passing people now

[amberwolf]

I suppose I can post a link to my only SB Cruiser crash here, same moral of slowing at corners as the OP. Was a couple weeks ago:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=67833&start=825#p1459770

(no i didn't hit the post...I hit a car, albeit at extremely low speed, and the car was not moving).




So that's why I'm working on a new fork/wheel/brake setup (the substitute fork on there now is crappy, and the brakes don't work well because of it's flexure/etc).

[neptronix]

Time for wider tires or maybe a different weight balance and regen tune! Glad you made it.

[amberwolf]

The rear tires are fine; the front usually is but the wind took some off the front as I cornered (details in teh linked post). More weight on front would have helped (have plans to deal with that...dunno when they'll happen). Wider front tire might have.

Rear regen on the left is hard enough to cause it to pull left when I brake...which actually exacerbated the problem at the time, because due to a number of consecutive circumstances, the righthand rear hubmotor was just a wheel at that point, not connected to a controller, so it coudln't do any braking. The controller on the left is a generic thing, no settings/etc., it just is what it is. The righthand is the SFOC5 from Incememed, but AFAICT it still hadn't (as of prior to hte crash) had the negative torque function implemented yet (is in the settings, but haven't had it do anything so far; I know he's still working on firmware, so maybe it'll work soon, or maybe it already works and I just don't know what I'm doing with it).

Because of the way I ended up building up the rear end of the trike over the four years of it's development so far, (doesn't seem that long!) it doesn't have mechanical rear brakes. The first ones I tried were essentially useless old calipers off junk bikes, and the plan to add bosses for modern rim brakes just never worked out (for another series of consecutive circumstances, mostly having to do with lack of enough time all at the same time to do the work, because of other things taking it up, and money). Plans to add MC hydraulics I have around here off an old dirtbike haven't worked out for much the same reasons.

New fork and wheel (DD hub for regen ability more than motor ability) and brakes (AVID bb7 200mm) on the front will hopefully take care of the front end issues caused by the crash (but won't change the tire width; will be using same tire as before, CST City 26").

[dogman dan]

RE the bike trail incident, you can't trust people walking even as much as you do cars. We used to do that on your left, on your right thing on ski slopes in the 70's. It did not work. People don't have a clue what you mean by it, and if you shout left, they step left. I pass people on the MUP at 10 mph or less, often 5 mph if overtaking from behind. Part of this extreme care, is the no motors of any kind signs that went up on the MUP about 5 years ago. Nobody cares about my e bike if I ride courteously. Besides, some of those joggers do rate a longer look.

Then there is your basic moron. I hit a guy going 27 mph once. It was dark, and my light was dim. That part my fault. But this guy walking in the bike lane, he was wearing a black hat, black coat, black pants, black socks, and black shoes. He got spun around when my shoulder hit his, and I did a double flip over the bars.

[andy1956]

Had similar only i was driving an artic on a country road,chap all in black walking with his back to the traffic.Only thing that saved him was the artic coming round the corner in the opposite directoin furiously flashing his lights at me,without the driver warning me he would have been under the wheels.

[markz]

Had my first crash of 2019 - I was on the sidewalk and a guy on a walker was up ahead so I go onto the road, pass him then go up the rounded curb then onto the sidewalk. The sidewalks edge had some soft mud so the front wheel railed along the edge as I fell onto my shoulder and hands softening the fall. It was an awkward fall and it broke the bottom of my $1.00 shopping bag. I went back a block to 7-11 to grab some plastic bags, but was able to wrap up my $1.00 bag up onto the top of the handlebar.

I was embarrassed so I quickly got up and chuckled. It only dazed for a second. I glanced at the rut I made aside the sidewalk, it was deep. If I would have had a 4" fat front, like the back was, instead of a 26x1.95 I probably would have not fallen.

[e-beach]

.... so the front wheel railed along the edge.....

Sorry for your pain. The front wheel railing against something causing a crash is a real drag. I just got back from seeing a surgeon about the meniscus and ACL tears I suffered from my crash this summer where my tire railed against a hidden edge of concrete sidewalk that I got off to go around a baby stroller. As the saying goes, "no good deed ever goes unpunished." Glad you are all right. For me it starts with physical therapy first and see what happens later.

[John in CR]

Sidwalks are the most dangerous place to ride. That's why they're called sidewalks not siderides.

[markz]

I am lucky the front hub laced wheel did not get untrued.

[e-beach]

Sidwalks are the most dangerous place to ride. That's why they're called sidewalks not siderides.

Not around here. Here, sidewalks are, most of the time, the safest places to ride. One just needs to go slow. Going slow is better then being hit by a car.

Around here if you ride in the street during a heavy traffic time, and around here that is most of the time is heavy traffic time, you will have a dangerously close encounter with angry drivers in cars, trucks and municipal bus drivers. Doesn't take long. In a matter of minutes of taking up a lane in the road, despite the fact that it is 100% legal for the bicycles to take a full street lane, you will be dangerously buzzed. It happens to me every day.

Maybe being on a sidewalk is dangerous where you are, but it is far less dangerous around here then riding in the street.

[markz]

The only damage is a broken lever action. The bike I bought used but was basically brand spanking new.

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[billvon]

Sidwalks are the most dangerous place to ride. That's why they're called sidewalks not siderides.

Not around here.

Here it varies. On Mira Mesa Blvd, my most frequently used streed the bike lane is generally the safest place to ride, except for the half mile or so where it disappears. At that point there's a wide open sidewalk that no one uses for some reason.

[Toorbough ULL-Zeveigh]

[markz]

I rode past the spot today, and the rut I made goes down 4" or 5" along the side of the sidewalk.

[John in CR]

Sidwalks are the most dangerous place to ride. That's why they're called sidewalks not siderides.

Not around here. Here, sidewalks are, most of the time, the safest places to ride. One just needs to go slow. Going slow is better then being hit by a car.

Around here if you ride in the street during a heavy traffic time, and around most of the time is heavy traffic time, you will have a dangerously close encounter with angry drivers in cars, trucks and municipal bus drivers. Doesn't take long. In a matter of minutes of taking up a lane in the road, despite the fact that it is 100% legal for the bicycles to take a full street lane, you will be dangerously buzzed. It happens to me every day.

Maybe being on a sidewalk is dangerous where you are, but it is far less dangerous around here then riding in the street.

Crash statistics prove otherwise. That's because you are harder to see on the sidewalk so cars entering and leaving the roadway are more likely to hit you even before considering the poor conditions that reach out and bite you like the recent instances of guys getting railed.

[mattthemuppet]

Had my first crash of 2019 - I was on the sidewalk and a guy on a walker was up ahead so I go onto the road, pass him then go up the rounded curb then onto the sidewalk. The sidewalks edge had some soft mud so the front wheel railed along the edge as I fell onto my shoulder and hands softening the fall. It was an awkward fall and it broke the bottom of my $1.00 shopping bag. I went back a block to 7-11 to grab some plastic bags, but was able to wrap up my $1.00 bag up onto the top of the handlebar.

I was embarrassed so I quickly got up and chuckled. It only dazed for a second. I glanced at the rut I made aside the sidewalk, it was deep. If I would have had a 4" fat front, like the back was, instead of a 26x1.95 I probably would have not fallen.

bummer! I did something similar last year riding off the sidewalk back onto the road after fixing a chain. The grass looked level with the path and the curb. It was not. Slow speed over the bars, get up and see if no one's looking, then get back on the bike and see a driveway 50ft down the road that I could have used instead. Doh!