Let's be careful out there!

[rich c]

Still shaken from watching our 38 year old son writhing in pain on the bike path today. He's resting at home with a possibly broken rib and minor road rash. The hospital clinic would not completely verify the rib situation without a radiology report. We were riding the North Branch Trail in Chicago. I was leading. We had this odd sequence of little things happen after crossing a street when I heard him crash behind me. He was on my Haibike XDURO Full Seven and he is aware of the braking force available, he just over compensated. He grabbed too much front brake in a tight curve, and went down. He must have landed on his arm and handlebar combination to put the pressure on his rib. We had to wait for his wife to come and get us, he was unable to ride on. The Haibike was also unable. The retention slides that hold the Intuvia to the base sheared off. It powered up, but not enough contact with the pins to ride. I'll look at a shade tree fix first, but looks like some new parts will need to be ordered. I'll have a better look tomorrow without the tears in my eyes. 8 or 38, you hate to see them in pain!

 

[dblhelix]

Still shaken from watching our 38 year old son writhing in pain on the bike path today. He's resting at home with a possibly broken rib and minor road rash. The hospital clinic would not completely verify the rib situation without a radiology report. We were riding the North Branch Trail in Chicago. I was leading. We had this odd sequence of little things happen after crossing a street when I heard him crash behind me. He was on my Haibike XDURO Full Seven and he is aware of the braking force available, he just over compensated. He grabbed too much front brake in a tight curve, and went down. He must have landed on his arm and handlebar combination to put the pressure on his rib. We had to wait for his wife to come and get us, he was unable to ride on. The Haibike was also unable. The retention slides that hold the Intuvia to the base sheared off. It powered up, but not enough contact with the pins to ride. I'll look at a shade tree fix first, but looks like some new parts will need to be ordered. I'll have a better look tomorrow without the tears in my eyes. 8 or 38, you hate to see them in pain!

As painful as it was to witness, at least you were there to help him instead of his crashing alone. I hope he mends quickly. What is a shade tree fix?

 

[AlanDB]

Sorry to hear about the mishap and hope your son has a speedy recovery. After my wife took a spill behind me last week, I understand the pain of hearing that crash sound and looking back and to see someone you care about lying there under the bike, fearing the worst and hoping for the best. The bike will fix and I am sure your son will heal up as well. Even expert riders can get caught up in unexpected situations and get hurt.

 

[rich c]

As painful as it was to witness, at least you were there to help him instead of his crashing alone. I hope he mends quickly. What is a shade tree fix?

Thanks for your kind words. We had cars stopping on the street we just crossed over, and cyclist after cyclist, asking if we needed help. One cyclist just absolutely insisted we take his partially frozen bottle of water to at least use as an ice pack.
I was raised on a small family farm in Central IL. When a machine broke, it either was pulled to our shop building, or in the heat we went to a shady spot under a tree. As often as possible, we fixed it with what was available instead of loosing a hour round trip to the dealer. In this case, I'll have to see what pressure it takes to maintain contact. I thought about epoxy and sheet metal to duplicate the thin plastic slides. Might even be a custom made clamp. I do have a second identical system on another Haibike, so when riding around here I think I can just swap the display back and forth.

 

[harryS]

Sorry to hear that Rich. Hope your son gets off with just scrapes.

I know that trail. Used to go from Devon north to Harms and then back with my 4 year old in a bike seat when we lived in the city.

 

[AlanDB]

If I remember, there is a screw on the base of the Intuvia that can be used to "lock" the display to the holder. Could that be used to make secure contact? I will have to take another look at mine, but I do remember removing a screw when I first got my bike so the Intuvia could be taken out of the holder.

 

[ebikemom]

I'm so sorry to hear about this accident. I hope he feels better very soon. I'm glad you were there with him when it happened.

 

[DaveMatthews]

All my mojo sent in your son's direction!

 

[rich c]

If I remember, there is a screw on the base of the Intuvia that can be used to "lock" the display to the holder. Could that be used to make secure contact? I will have to take another look at mine, but I do remember removing a screw when I first got my bike so the Intuvia could be taken out of the holder.

Unfortunately, that screw is just used as a pin to prevent removal. No threads in the display, just a nut in the base to hold the screw in. I did put that screw in (kudos to Bosch, they put the screw size right in the base with cast in numbers, 3mmx8mm long) to locate the display correctly, then added 2 zip ties. I may have to add a 3rd zip tie between the main 2 if they slip on the angled surfaces. Back in business! I'll be curious to see how long I put up with the zip ties, but it was a 50 cent fix.

 

[rich c]

Update on our son. He did fracture #6 rib, but not displaced nor any lung contusions. He has a lidocaine patch on, so feeling pretty happy! Both our son and Haibike patched up and getting around just fine.

 

[Alaskan]

I took a good spill last month with the road rash scab still in place but the sore shoulder is all healed up. I would still take two spills if it would avoid any of my three sons (33, 32 & 30) from having to take even one spill. The saving grace is that he will heal faster than you or I.

 

[Bob H]

Update on our son. He did fracture #6 rib, but not displaced nor any lung contusions. He has a lidocaine patch on, so feeling pretty happy! Both our son and Haibike patched up and getting around just fine.

Very glad to hear that your son is OK and will mend. Life just bites you once in a while regardless of how careful we are. I fell last year at very low speed while making a left turn on a new asphalt bike bath. I didn't see the thin layer of mud and water on the path and the front wheel slid out from under me. The visor on my helmet shattered when it hit the ground but saved my face doing so. I sprained my wrist and hurt my ribs although I didn't break any (couldn't sleep on one side for 6 weeks though).

Like your situation, many people came to my aid - walkers, runners & cyclists - which shows how good most people are. After a rest and some minor repair work straitening handle bars, etc. I was able to ride home as the bike wasn't damaged.

Anyway, hope your son is back in the saddle soon and we should remind ourselves to keep our eyes peeled for situations where we can help our fellow cyclists - even if it is only to lend a tool or a pump.

 

[Alaskan]

@ rich c in case you need a new one https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bosch-Supp...617777&hash=item3fa2505e6a:g:92IAAOSw7~JbJmRX

 

[bob armani]

Still shaken from watching our 38 year old son writhing in pain on the bike path today. He's resting at home with a possibly broken rib and minor road rash. The hospital clinic would not completely verify the rib situation without a radiology report. We were riding the North Branch Trail in Chicago. I was leading. We had this odd sequence of little things happen after crossing a street when I heard him crash behind me. He was on my Haibike XDURO Full Seven and he is aware of the braking force available, he just over compensated. He grabbed too much front brake in a tight curve, and went down. He must have landed on his arm and handlebar combination to put the pressure on his rib. We had to wait for his wife to come and get us, he was unable to ride on. The Haibike was also unable. The retention slides that hold the Intuvia to the base sheared off. It powered up, but not enough contact with the pins to ride. I'll look at a shade tree fix first, but looks like some new parts will need to be ordered. I'll have a better look tomorrow without the tears in my eyes. 8 or 38, you hate to see them in pain!

I was on the NBT on Sunday also. Great and perfect day for a ride. Stopped over at the Athletico XXX cycle cross competition held at Caldwell Woods for the 3rd year. The paved trail system (for the most part) is pretty flawless. I certainly have had my share of thrills and spills on that trail during use for the last 3 decades.
Hope he has a speedy recovery.