Dash Strength

[pcrdude]

Hi Y'all!

I've been away for a while, but I have something worthy to report. On the Thursday night before Memorial day, I went for a short ride on my 2014 Dash. Previously, I seemed to be having occasional power dropouts, but I wasn't absolutely sure. Now, I have NO power and here is why:

Expansion joints in a subdivision street may have weeds in them. Sometimes, the expansion joint is a three inch wide gap with weeds in them. It's hard to tell the difference at night even with a 500 lumen Cygolight, and an additional flashing safety light (with bluetooth speaker). Well, the gap grabbed my front tire, throwing me to the ground. Fortunately, the right crank was in the down position and it "levered" me onto the grass (barely). My glasses few off, I got a nasty cut on my left hand, and broke my thumb. Bruises and scrapes everywhere. I had to go back the next day to find my glasses.

BUT, the bike was still rideable, and not "bent" in any way!!! Unfortunately, the handlebars were turned 180 degrees, and the display flashes some code and the bike won't power on. I assume some wires got pulled out from something. So, I rode it home (without power), went to the ER for my thumb, and am taking the Dash to a local shop for repairs as soon as I can get a chance.

There is a reason these bikes are built stronger than a regular bike.

Kudos to Currie!!!

 

[pcrdude]

The gap (on the right) in daylight:

From above (size 11.5 shoe):

Just after the crash:

X-Ray:

Three days later:

I'll be wearing a helmet from now on....

 

[PowerMe]

OUCH! That looks very painful.

Those expansion joints are way too large and obviously pose a hazard. Your town is looking at liability with that issue.

Glad you'll be wearing a helmet in the future!

 

[pcrdude]

I contacted the city the next day, told them what happened, and suggested they fix it ASAP. For the children.



And yes, I was extremely lucky with my minor injuries, and I'm using this as a wake up call to wear my helmet.

 

[grench]

@pcrdude only option for you is a fat bike. You would be protected from those types of gaps. There are several good options out there. Protect yourself and get a 4" wide tire. This would make it a bike ride instead of a gauntlet run...lol

 

[pcrdude]

Or, I could learn to be more careful....

 

[DWEBiker]

Sorry about your accident! How wide are your tires? just curious

 

[pcrdude]

700x45C standard Dash tires. I know better, but I just couldn't see the gap with the plants growing in it at night....

 

[HumanitiesHaze]

Any update? If you hit your pedal hard it might be the BB sensor in the crank that you broke.

 

[pcrdude]

It's been raining here every weekend, and the Currie Service Center is not really close. I hope to take it in this weekend. I sent an email to the Mayor of my city, and included the photos I posted here. It looks like I should get reimbursed for all my out-of-pocket expenses. We shall see.

Thanks for the tip about the BB HH, I'll post here when I find out about all the damages.

 

[pcrdude]

Quick question. A few of my coworkers told me I am wrong to ask the City for reimbursement of my out of pocket expenses. They feel I should take personal responsibility for the crash, and not even ask the City for compensation. Mind you, I only asked for money I actually have to spend, no pain and suffering, or threat of lawsuit. IMHO, the gap was dangerous to anyone riding a bicycle, since the width was obscured by the plant growth.

What do you think?

 

[Brambor]

the city has funds for this. They have similar funds for potholes meeting cars. At least that is in our neck of the woods (New England) - I'm not saying it is easy to 'rassle them out of that money ;-)

 

[DWEBiker]

I wouldnt discuss it any more with your coworkers for one. I think the city has some responsibility for your injuries. I dont have a problem with the city throwing you a few bucks.

 

[J.R.]

Those expansion joints would be dangerous to any two wheeled vehicle, even motorcycles. You may not get stuck, but those would control your forward travel enough to throw you. They should be at least be filled with tar and gravel.

The city owes you your out of pocket expenses, like Brambor said they account for broken tie-rods, cracked rims and destroyed tires. Now they can account for destroyed torque sensors.

 

[pcrdude]

Thanks everyone! I posted a Youtube video of cars getting flipped by open manholes to my Facebook page, and my coworkers have been strangely silent about THAT one....

 

[stevenast]

Quick question. A few of my coworkers told me I am wrong to ask the City for reimbursement of my out of pocket expenses. They feel I should take personal responsibility for the crash, and not even ask the City for compensation. Mind you, I only asked for money I actually have to spend, no pain and suffering, or threat of lawsuit. IMHO, the gap was dangerous to anyone riding a bicycle, since the width was obscured by the plant growth.

What do you think?

I think you should contact a personal injury attorney. Someone might rip me for this, but I'm thinking of you.

If the city has to cough up some money it might save someone else from being hurt also. Think if it as giving city hall some motivation for making repairs...

 

[pcrdude]

Heard back from the bike shop. It's fixed, and he didn't say what it was, but I still assume a pulled wire or two. Total cost? $35.00/

 

[Cameron Newland]

I think you should contact a personal injury attorney. Someone might rip me for this, but I'm thinking of you.

If the city has to cough up some money it might save someone else from being hurt also. Think if it as giving city hall some motivation for making repairs...

+1.

Though people say that the US is the land of frivolous lawsuits, I believe that at least some of those lawsuits are filed because they're merited, and this might just be one of those incidents in which remuneration for your losses is merited. The city that you live in doesn't want to deal with a lawsuit, and they'll likely settle this out of court and pay for your losses and also come up with a plan to fix the road so that it's safe for all road users. You should contact an attorney and get this sorted out, not just to get money for you, but also to make the road safer for those who ride on it later on.

 

[pcrdude]

I agree that there are lots of frivolous lawsuits, and I have no intention to sue them. They fixed the gap on the first work day after the incident, and they turned my claim for restitution in to their insurance company. My total out of pocket expenses are $155. It is going to be interesting to see if they actually care enough to pay those expenses. As for my pain and inconvenience, well I'm using that as two lessons. One, I need to be more careful, and two, I need to always wear a helmet.

 

[pcrdude]

The city agreed to pay all of my out-of-pocket expenses. Now, if the ER will bill me so I can send a receipt....