Elephant in the Room

[Dallant]

Scares me to read threads like this.

I'm still on a non ebike and have been in a couple of close accidents with pedestrians and other bikers... makes me wonder if on an ebike it may be harder to maintain control.

I don’t have a harder time maintaining control of my Allant+7.

 

[GypsyTreker]

Scares me to read threads like this.

I'm still on a non ebike and have been in a couple of close accidents with pedestrians and other bikers... makes me wonder if on an ebike it may be harder to maintain control.

I see zero difference riding my eBike over riding an acoustic bike, assuming you ride it safely.

 

[Buckdubay]

No harder to control that a regular bike. Just a little heavier and faster so it just take a little more attention on the riders part.

 

[BigNerd]

No harder to control that a regular bike. Just a little heavier and faster so it just take a little more attention on the riders part.

Yeah... these near accidents were at very low speeds too... I guess I just need to stay in PA 0 when around others.

 

[Art Deco]

Scares me to read threads like this.

I'm still on a non ebike and have been in a couple of close accidents with pedestrians and other bikers... makes me wonder if on an ebike it may be harder to maintain control.

I feel much safer and have better control with my como ebike ...with it's lights, wider tires, upright position and hydraulic disk brakes ... without even considering the boost ...than I ever did on my "english racer" Raleigh back in the day. Most mech bikes are pretty stripped down as far as safety goes to reduce weight.

 

[Browneye]

Scares me to read threads like this.

I'm still on a non ebike and have been in a couple of close accidents with pedestrians and other bikers... makes me wonder if on an ebike it may be harder to maintain control.

An ebike isn't 'harder to maintain control', but most ride them faster than a pedal bike, and you need to be aware of that when riding a path and sharing with other bikes and peds. Leave plenty of room in case they side step or dart, use a bell or call out, slow or stop when necessary.
We've done group rides with 8 riders up the busiest path in the country - the Hungtington Beach strand. It's not a problem, you just have to pay attention.

Offroad is a completely different animal. Until finer skills develop there is more danger in falling off, sliding out, tipping over. I don't worry so much on pavement, I haven't crashed a bike since I was a kid, but offroad has way more obstacles and challenges.

It's nothing like an adventure bike at 100mph +, or splitting traffic with thousands of cars. The latter used to make me sweat, but you get used to it - split tens of thousands of cars. The guys that don't are the ones that tend to get creamed, and it's generally an inattentive driver texting on their phone. Women in mini-vans and SUV's are something to watch closely for - notoriously all over the road, clearly not paying attention to their deadly machine.

We never really wore helmets on bicycles since the kids grew up, but with the new ebikes I got nice comfortable ones, and we wear them if were doing a trek. Going around the block i don't bother, but if we're putting some miles on then definitely, and close-toed shoes. NO FLIP FLOPS!! Just a fall off the seat - the 4' drop to the ground, if you hit your head, can cause a major injury. It's just cheap insurance, painless protection from a head injury.

I want to slap people up the side of their head when I see them leave their toddler unattended in a shopping cart. A drop to the floor can kill them. It's majorly irresponsible, the poor kid just doesn't know better, but you'd expect the parent to.

You can't live your life in fear, at least that's no way to live, but a dose of healthy caution and acute awareness can make all the difference.

 

[Art Deco]

Attempt to link to picture of protection level not really recommended

An open letter from an industry insider regarding eMTB trail access

A 30 year former Trek executive, and current Board President of the Chequamegon Area Mountain Bike Association (CAMBA), shares his thoughts on eMTB access to off road trails. https://goodheartsolutions.com/2019/10/18/emtb-thoughts/

electricbikereview.com

 

[Art Deco]

Above picture from @FlatSix911 from the area of Hollywood. CA. Notice the flip flops.

 

[BigNerd]

I think this thread jinxed me.

Was in a pretty bad crash a month ago, first time I ever lost consciousness. Detailed it in another thread but my MIPS helmet saved my life.

Still banged up but started riding again a week after.

Got my ER bill the other day, $6600!!! My portion is only $1700 but that could have gone to pay for the replacement ebike.

 

[Art Deco]

I think this thread jinxed me.

Was in a pretty bad crash a month ago, first time I ever lost consciousness. Detailed it in another thread but my MIPS helmet saved my life.

Still banged up but started riding again a week after.

Got my ER bill the other day, $6600!!! My portion is only $1700 but that could have gone to pay for the replacement ebike.

Was the crash on an eBike or your regular bike? High speed? Loss of consciousness is serious stuff, nothing like road rash or cuts which just hurt like h..l, but heal up.

 

[FlatSix911]

I think this thread jinxed me.

Was in a pretty bad crash a month ago, first time I ever lost consciousness. Detailed it in another thread but my MIPS helmet saved my life.

Still banged up but started riding again a week after.

Got my ER bill the other day, $6600!!! My portion is only $1700 but that could have gone to pay for the replacement ebike.

Glad to hear that you are recovering well... ride on!

 

[BigNerd]

Was the crash on an eBike or your regular bike? High speed? Loss of consciousness is serious stuff, nothing like road rash or cuts which just hurt like h..l, but heal up.

It was on the ebike. This particular paved trail has a long hill up which is difficult for me on a regular bike... and then the backside downhill "used" to be fun... until that fateful day where a rabbit hit my front tire or the other way around and I lost control and ended up face down in a cement ditch. We estimate I was going close to 30mph before both me and the ebike went airborne. I don't really remember anything between right when I was crashing (I remember thinking "boy this is going to leave a mark") and sitting up in the ditch.

Luckily I was with a buddy (who was traumatized seeing my gigantic body go flying) and he called the ambulance and I was taken to the ER.

That's why our top 2 rules of biking are:

1. Always wear a helmet.
2. Never bike alone.

I thought the ebike was totaled but all I had to do was replace the front wheel... it's banged up and has scrapes and bruises like me but it seems to run okay.

 

[Art Deco]

Very lucky. I now remember your crash description (the rabbit stuck in my memory) , but had forgotten who it happened to.

My wife reported going down hill in a 25mph school zone and noticed she was doing 37!

Speed builds up really quickly on these things ... and we only ride class 1 bikes. A dog, cat, rabbit, or squirrel is enough to ruin you at speed. Maybe even a big bug if you are in the south. Again, sorry it happened.

Wife also wears long skirts a lot, and her skirt caught in her brakes, we think, anyway low speed, no crash, but strained her knee which has needed surgery for years, so no riding for her for a while, maybe the season.So now I'm riding alone.

 

[Taylor57]

It was on the ebike. This particular paved trail has a long hill up which is difficult for me on a regular bike... and then the backside downhill "used" to be fun... until that fateful day where a rabbit hit my front tire or the other way around and I lost control and ended up face down in a cement ditch. We estimate I was going close to 30mph before both me and the ebike went airborne. I don't really remember anything between right when I was crashing (I remember thinking "boy this is going to leave a mark") and sitting up in the ditch.

Luckily I was with a buddy (who was traumatized seeing my gigantic body go flying) and he called the ambulance and I was taken to the ER.

That's why our top 2 rules of biking are:

1. Always wear a helmet.
2. Never bike alone.

I thought the ebike was totaled but all I had to do was replace the front wheel... it's banged up and has scrapes and bruises like me but it seems to run okay.

Were you on Sport?

 

[Art Deco]

Way back in post 12 is chart of age, speed, and mortality that shows the astonishing fact that age plus speed kills. We don't recover like we did as kids even when we live to ride on.

 

[BigNerd]

Were you on Sport?

Yep. I guess it’s pretty durable because it flew too.

 

[Art Deco]

My ride this morning was very sedate. It was just one of those things where you go off the edge of the concrete, try to turn back on and suffer the consequences. So yeah, I’m thinking I’ve cracked a rib or three. Maybe even damaged a collarbone. Woulda been much worse if I haven’t been wearing a helmet!

I think the same thing happened to @Travelbugblues. Just hit the curb wrong. Nothing broken but tore up a lot of skin.

 

[TAZMANIMAN]

Most of our wipeouts have been Benny Hill incidents where we both come to a stop and one of us gets off kilter and slowly tips over possibly taking the other with them lol. I remember one of our early rides when we got our bikes, the trail turned to two very soft sand ruts. We were only traveling at maybe 7-8 mph and I looked over just as my wife was slowly going down and it honestly looked hilarious as to how slow she went down, two seconds later I was doing the exact same thing, so she slowly flopped to the right and I flopped to the left almost in the same exact section of trail. Neither of us were hurt but we rolled laughing for a good couple minutes at how we both went down simultaneously and in slow motion!
As far as what we wear it's closed shoes helmet and gloves.

 

[Art Deco]

Stay safe out there. Clinics cost money.

A Kid, A Minor Bike Accident And A $19,000 Medical Bill

It was a surprise even for a family of lawyers. A process called "subrogation" began with a Nevada family's health insurer denying their claim for an ER visit after their 9-year-old fell off his bike.

www.npr.org

 

[Luto]

When you learn to fly a plane they teach you to know how far you can glide to land (No engine) and to ALWAYS have that in mind, so you know what you can reach to land (watch SULLY). Bike riding can be the same. Always know how and where you can bail out.

Places that most accidents occur and you should have a bail out plan:

1) Intersections
2) Merges: lanes and driveways and parking areas.
3) Any change of surface: manhole covers, wood plank, loose gravel, sand, moisture,
4) Changes in temperature: Creek beds, bridges because of frost or water stays there and slime builds, shade areas.
5) Cars passing: Either direction.
6) Mechanical failures.

Simply SLOW DOWN. It is real easy to get moving again on an e-bike.

IMO all new riders should get a set of cones and setup a slalom course on pavement, grass and gravel. Practice dismounting, stopping fast, going slow, going slow to a near stop and then moving again, changing surfaces (road to gravel). Put any loads on your bike and repeat. Once you can do this, you can bail out with confidence because you know how fast you can do it and how the bike will behave.

Today I rode my loop (15 miles), I know every bump and cold or dark place, I was passed by 5 cars total, for two of them, I slowed down and rode into a driveway or off the road into grass, while they passed in the other far lane. They appreciated it. In our area, it is custom to wave to all traffic, so I do that too. Also ride with a small front and rear light on.

Unless you know how to ride a bike, an e-bike is a bit like going from a hand saw to a power skill saw. You are going to get into a lot more situations, and a lot faster into them. "Skill" being the key point. What could go wrong? Best to your healing, OP.

Hope that helps.