Ultimate 380+ crash

[rjathon]

Well, it finally happened. I crashed on my mighty Gazelle Ultimate 380+. Oddly enough the bike only suffered a slight scratch where I severely injured my left knee, AC joint, and neck.

It was just a matter of not paying close attention at high speed. It raises the question if a senior citizen needs a speed bike. While it is great fun our skills aren’t what they once were, especially if it has been a long time since riding. I am reconsidering…

 

[dodgeman]

Sorry to hear that. I hope you recover soon. On road or off road?

 

[rjathon]

On road. I just looked down for a moment to reset my trip odometer and ran into a storm drain.

 

[Marci jo]

Oh no! Hope you heal fast.

 

[JES2020]

Distracted riding IS just as dangerous as distracted driving.
Don't give up on your bike, just realize the dangers of being distracted .

 

[Djangodog]

Well, it finally happened. I crashed on my mighty Gazelle Ultimate 380+. Oddly enough the bike only suffered a slight scratch where I severely injured my left knee, AC joint, and neck.

It was just a matter of not paying close attention at high speed. It raises the question if a senior citizen needs a speed bike. While it is great fun our skills aren’t what they once were, especially if it has been a long time since riding. I am reconsidering…

I’m 66 and regularly get my non-electric road bike up to over 40 mph, (down hill), and mid twenties on the flats. I got my Cross Core up to 44.8 mph last week, (assist to 20 mph), so I am not sure that assist to 28 mph would make any difference, at least in my case. Self control, bike handling skills and concentration are probably more important. I still lack the self control and love speed, and less assistance wouldn’t change that. Need is a funny word.

 

[mikeschn]

On my old regular bike I used to come around the corner into my neighborhood at about 5 to 8 mph. I have to look to the right to make sure no cars are turning onto the street, and to the left to make sure I don't hit the curb. At the slow speed there is time to do both.

Fast forward to yesterday... coming around the same corner on the Vado I might have been doing maybe 10 or 12mph. I saw subject curb, looked to the right, no cars were coming, looked to the left, opps, how did that curb get there so fast? I bounced of the side of the curb, scraped my sidewall a little bit, and shook my head, wondering how I could have mis-timed that so badly.

Ebikes are faster than we realize. I must have been complacent. I guess I have to work on that a bit.

 

[JES2020]

On my old regular bike I used to come around the corner into my neighborhood at about 5 to 8 mph. I have to look to the right to make sure no cars are turning onto the street, and to the left to make sure I don't hit the curb. At the slow speed there is time to do both.

Fast forward to yesterday... coming around the same corner on the Vado I might have been doing maybe 10 or 12mph. I saw subject curb, looked to the right, no cars were coming, looked to the left, opps, how did that curb get there so fast? I bounced of the side of the curb, scraped my sidewall a little bit, and shook my head, wondering how I could have mis-timed that so badly.

Ebikes are faster than we realize. I must have been complacent. I guess I have to work on that a bit.

Try riding a motorcycle in traffic for a few months...then come back to the e-bike.

 

[TrevorB]

Had few eMTB crashs which resulted in broken bones and helmets. Bike was fine everytime. Unfortunately riders are more expensive to repair than bikes.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Had few eMTB crashs which resulted in broken bones and helmets. Bike was fine everytime. Unfortunately riders are more expensive to repair than bikes.

I had many crashes on e-bikes. Some ended pretty safely and some other were painful. I had visit the hospital ER ward twice in 30 months, nothing that serious. Still, I cannot sleep on my left side after a painful crash I experienced four months ago! (Nothing is as painful as a crash when the bike is almost stationary).

Ebikes are faster than we realize.

Yes they are. My first e-bike crash happened when I rode it at a pretty high speed a few days after I bought the first e-bike.
Quite recently, I rode my Vado SL for casual grocery shopping; I knew the way by heart and had always switched between the pavement and the bike path exactly the same way. On the last ride, I thought I could take the turn just a bit earlier than usual. And instantly I saw a very high curb in the front of me! A quick handlebars movement saved me in the very last moment! I continued my ride and my imagination "played a movie" inside my mind: I precisely felt what the crash would have been like! Not nice!

 

[JES2020]

I had many crashes on e-bikes. Some ended pretty safely and some other were painful. I had visit the hospital ER ward twice in 30 months, nothing that serious. Still, I cannot sleep on my left side after a painful crash I experienced four months ago! (Nothing is as painful as a crash when the bike is almost stationary).


Yes they are. My first e-bike crash happened when I rode it at a pretty high speed a few days after I bought the first e-bike.
Quite recently, I rode my Vado SL for casual grocery shopping; I knew the way by heart and had always switched between the pavement and the bike path exactly the same way. On the last ride, I thought I could take the turn just a bit earlier than usual. And instantly I saw a very high curb in the front of me! A quick handlebars movement saved me in the very last moment! I continued my ride and my imagination "played a movie" inside my mind: I precisely felt what the crash would have been like! Not nice!

I have over 2,000 miles on my bike and the only "crash" I had was more like a tip over.
I made a quick turn to see a deer and her baby, caught the edge of the dirt ridge and lost my ballance. I was able to keep from hitting the ground . That is until I stood on the pedal for take off and the chain was jammed in the gears! Wasn't so lucky then, my tire turned sidways and I hit the dirt with a flurry. Lost one side light on the handlebars ( the clamp broke), but the only thing hurt was my pride, as a father and his baby walked by.

 

[Catalyzt]

64, top speed so far 41.3 MPH going downhill, class One, only one crash so far (about 800 miles on one bike and 200 on the other) on Hell Hill a few months ago, but I was pretty much expecting it, laid it down pretty soft and rolled. No injury.

I totally understand wanting to quit after a crash, but also recommend continuing if your doc and fam are okay with it. Just be sure to pay attention, and yeah-- even looking at the controller can be perilous. I am learning to ask myself, "Do I really need to check my range/speed/assistance level right now, or can I wait 10-30 seconds until I'm someplace where it's absolutely 100% safe?"

Body boarding is far more dangerous, at least now, at my home break. I have bilateral rotator cuff tears, left is a lot worse, and PT says that it could be from a wipeout in November. Everyone in the lineup is saying the last three years at this spot have been the worst in a quarter century-- really fiendish and deceptive, tiny two to three foot waves are utterly predictable for four or five in a row, then the sixth one (which looks exactly like all the others, we've all compared notes, and you canNOT predict these closeouts in advance) rears up to four feet, slams you into the water two or three times before knocking you off the board and holding you under for about 30 seconds. (I did go back the next week on a smaller day to finish the season without incident. If I had not, I'm sure I would have stopped for good.)

We'll see what PT says in a couple of months, but I'm thinking I'll either stop or impose a 2-foot limit, try to stay at it another couple of seasons.
I rarely crash on two wheels, though of course in some spots if I did, the consequences could be far worse. There are some new washouts on one of my favorite trails... and last week, I was staring at it and... yup, target fixation, I turned straight towards it! Veered back, wobbled a little bit, but no crash.

PT says eMTB should be good for many years as long as I'm careful and don't do anything more intense than what I'm already doing.

 

[JES2020]

64, top speed so far 41.3 MPH going downhill, class One, only one crash so far (about 800 miles on one bike and 200 on the other) on Hell Hill a few months ago, but I was pretty much expecting it, laid it down pretty soft and rolled. No injury.

I totally understand wanting to quit after a crash, but also recommend continuing if your doc and fam are okay with it. Just be sure to pay attention, and yeah-- even looking at the controller can be perilous. I am learning to ask myself, "Do I really need to check my range/speed/assistance level right now, or can I wait 10-30 seconds until I'm someplace where it's absolutely 100% safe?"

Body boarding is far more dangerous, at least now, at my home break. I have bilateral rotator cuff tears, left is a lot worse, and PT says that it could be from a wipeout in November. Everyone in the lineup is saying the last three years at this spot have been the worst in a quarter century-- really fiendish and deceptive, tiny two to three foot waves are utterly predictable for four or five in a row, then the sixth one (which looks exactly like all the others, we've all compared notes, and you canNOT predict these closeouts in advance) rears up to four feet, slams you into the water two or three times before knocking you off the board and holding you under for about 30 seconds. (I did go back the next week on a smaller day to finish the season without incident. If I had not, I'm sure I would have stopped for good.)

We'll see what PT says in a couple of months, but I'm thinking I'll either stop or impose a 2-foot limit, try to stay at it another couple of seasons.
I rarely crash on two wheels, though of course in some spots if I did, the consequences could be far worse. There are some new washouts on one of my favorite trails... and last week, I was staring at it and... yup, target fixation, I turned straight towards it! Veered back, wobbled a little bit, but no crash.

PT says eMTB should be good for many years as long as I'm careful and don't do anything more intense than what I'm already doing.

It's strange how your bike/motorcycle, will turn in the direction your head is looking, without any conscious intention on our part.
Not sure why that is.

 

[Djangodog]

We used to call it pilot fixation. If you don’t want to hit something, don’t look at it was the general rule.

 

[JES2020]

We used to call it pilot fixation. If you don’t want to hit something, don’t look at it was the general rule.

I know what you are talking about, you don't want to fix you attention on one thing, it causes tunnel vision, where everything else fades out.
Particularly important in landing when you have to keep many factors in mind.

I never noticed the phenomenon, I mentioned previous post, while flying, in fact it is essential to scan the sky constantly.
On the other hand it happens almost instantly on balance vehicles, such as bikes an motorcycles. In fact it's part of MC training to look in the direction you are turning too.
Having thought more about it, it must be due to inner ear balancing function, which only affects balance vehicles.

 

[Readytoride]

It's strange how your bike/motorcycle, will turn in the direction your head is looking, without any conscious intention on our part.
Not sure why that is.

When riding a horse you are taught to look where you want to go and the horse's body will follow. Theoretically speaking, when you turn your head to look, that small movement causes a subtle shift in your body's balance sending it slightly off center leaning towards the direction you are focused on, which in turn causes your horse to also shift under you in that same direction to regain balance equilibrium.

Same is true for a bike.

 

[JES2020]

When riding a horse you are taught to look where you want to go and the horse's body will follow. Theoretically speaking, when you turn your head to look, that small movement causes a subtle shift in your body's balance sending it slightly off center leaning towards the direction you are focused on, which in turn causes your horse to also shift under you in that same direction to regain balance equilibrium.

Same is true for a bike.

Yes , like I already figured out:

"In fact it's part of MC training to look in the direction you are turning too.
Having thought more about it, it must be due to inner ear balancing function, which only affects balance vehicles."
Having owned several horses, I know that turning your head could not possibly affect the equalibrium of a 1000-2000 lb animal.