Handebar broke off - nasty cash

On 2019-08-04 17:37, jbeattie wrote:
On Sunday, August 4, 2019 at 7:58:0javascript:;2 AM UTC-7, Joerg
wrote:
On 2019-08-03 18:06, jbeattie wrote:
On Saturday, August 3, 2019 at 11:31:40 AM UTC-7, Joerg wrote:
Folks,

Had a nasty crash about three months ago. Long story short my
handlebar broke without any warning. There was no cause such as
a speed bump or pothole.

http://analogconsultants.com/ng/bike/Handlebar1.jpg

The handlebar was not cheap, an ITM Mondial. It seems they
botched the design in that they used a non-coated steel
stiffener tube in the center. This corroded the aluminum from
the inside out, interestingly in riding direction. Possibly
because that's where the headwinds are hitting it and maybe
cause condensation:

http://analogconsultants.com/ng/bike/Handlebar1.jpg

Luckily it didn't happen 1/2h earlier where I was coming down
a steep hill at more than 40mph, with a rocky drainage ditch.
It happened at a leisurely travel speed of 15-17mph. Thanks to
the fact that it was a very wide bike lane I had space to roll
and at the end I skidded to avoid traffic. In the lane I'd have
crashed into the path of vehicles. About the only body part
that wasn't hurt was my head, thanks to the helmet.

http://analogconsultants.com/ng/bike/Helmet1.jpg

I am back in the saddle. I no longer trust aluminum and
certainly not any kind of plastic stuff so the road bike now
has a flat steel MTB handlebar. Put MeetLocks ergo handles on
it, rides nicely.

As a side note I cycled by the crash site a week ago. I still
saw the scrape marks on the asphalt and debris from my bike
which I cleaned up. Interestingly all the blood was gone. Maybe
a wild animal has licked it clean.

Well, I'm glad to hear you're O.K. I broke a modern (2006-ish)
Cinelli bar in the same place after less than three years in
service, but it happened relatively slowly. I thought the brake
lever clamp had slipped but realized my lever was moving because
the bar was breaking off. I rode the rest of the way to work with
one-sided bars, holding on to the dangling broken section. No
crash.


In hindsight I was lucky even with the crash. To get out of Cameron
Park to the west without using a busy two-lane county road you have
to cross a hill. The descent is very steep and cyclists tend to
"let'er rip", going down there at well over 40mph. So did I. Since
the crash I don't do that no more. There is a drainage ditch with
boulders to the right and it dead-ends into a busy road at the end
of that descent.


I'm still riding with aluminum bars. They are generally safe.
And don't think that steel is going to save the day.



That looks like a very cheap handlebar. I mean something serious
for MTB use. That's what I have on it now. It's heavy. Not having a
dopbar took getting used to, might cost me a few minutes on longer
trips. Though I never spent much time in the drops.

Amazingly three car drivers stopped immediately and almost got into
an argument about who gets to bring me home, despite the bleeding.
A fellow immigrant drove me home. Almost new car, quite fancy, he
just turned the floor mats around in case of blood. He had a nice
bike in the back and put mine on top. Couldn't believe it. There
are a lot of good people in this world.

What surprised me was how much muscle and power one can lose in
two months. My avg speed down in the flatlands dropped from
15-16mph to almost 12mph. Creeping back up and now at 14mph but
that took nearly a month. I still feel like a slowpoke.

Joerg, I'm hijacking your thread for a moment.

I was on a ride today with my riding buddy of 19 years when I touched
his rear wheel with my front and went down. Dopey and not something
I've done in decades. I was changing bottles and kind of bobbling
around, expecting him to go straight when he turned. It was low
speed, so no "helmet saved my life" claim. Anyway, I twisted my back
as I fell, and when I hit the ground -- every last O2 molecule was
knocked out of my lungs. 30 years ago, I would have jumped up and
pretended it didn't happen. Instead, I just stayed down, wondering
if I would ever get up. As you grow old, dopey little crashes are so
much more consequential. The last 30 miles of that ride were the
hardest I've ridden in my life. My friend was on fire, and we were
really cooking before the mishap -- 62 miles and about 4000 feet of
climbing, mostly rollers with a few multi-mile climbs on the way
home. Beautiful, hot day, but a struggle to get home.


Yeah, the price of getting old. I didn't experience the O2 thing but my
rib cage hurt so bad that I could not sleep on a side for weeks.
Considering the really bad high-speed crashes I had in my teens and
twenties this was surprising.

I ride more carefully since that crash. No more bombing down hills at
over 40mph. Trying to keep it below 35mph.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

On 2019-08-04 18:38, Tim McNamara wrote:
On Sat, 3 Aug 2019 18:06:32 -0700 (PDT), jbeattie wrote:
On Saturday, August 3, 2019 at 11:31:40 AM UTC-7, Joerg wrote:
Folks,

Had a nasty crash about three months ago. Long story short my handlebar broke without any
warning. There was no cause such as a speed bump or pothole.

http://analogconsultants.com/ng/bike/Handlebar1.jpg

The handlebar was not cheap, an ITM Mondial. It seems they botched the design in that they
used a non-coated steel stiffener tube in the center. This corroded the aluminum from the
inside out, interestingly in riding direction. Possibly because that's where the headwinds
are hitting it and maybe cause condensation:

http://analogconsultants.com/ng/bike/Handlebar1.jpg

Luckily it didn't happen 1/2h earlier where I was coming down a steep hill at more than
40mph, with a rocky drainage ditch. It happened at a leisurely travel speed of 15-17mph.
Thanks to the fact that it was a very wide bike lane I had space to roll and at the end I
skidded to avoid traffic. In the lane I'd have crashed into the path of vehicles. About the
only body part that wasn't hurt was my head, thanks to the helmet.

http://analogconsultants.com/ng/bike/Helmet1.jpg

I am back in the saddle. I no longer trust aluminum and certainly not any kind of plastic
stuff so the road bike now has a flat steel MTB handlebar. Put MeetLocks ergo handles on it,
rides nicely.

As a side note I cycled by the crash site a week ago. I still saw the scrape marks on the
asphalt and debris from my bike which I cleaned up. Interestingly all the blood was gone.
Maybe a wild animal has licked it clean.

Well, I'm glad to hear you're O.K. I broke a modern (2006-ish) Cinelli bar in the same place
after less than three years in service, but it happened relatively slowly. I thought the
brake lever clamp had slipped but realized my lever was moving because the bar was breaking
off. I rode the rest of the way to work with one-sided bars, holding on to the dangling
broken section. No crash.

I'm still riding with aluminum bars. They are generally safe. And don't think that steel is
going to save the day.

Do I recall correctly that Jobst wrote that he used steel bars for decades (possibly the same
ones). Of course, he was a human fatigue testing rig with his size and the kinds of rides he
liked to do...


I probably will ride nothing but steel bars from now on. Both my bikes
now have steel bars.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

On 2019-08-04 22:37, James wrote:
On 4/8/19 4:31 am, Joerg wrote:
Folks,

Had a nasty crash about three months ago. Long story short my
handlebar broke without any warning. There was no cause such as a
speed bump or pothole.

http://analogconsultants.com/ng/bike/Handlebar1.jpg

The handlebar was not cheap, an ITM Mondial. It seems they botched the
design in that they used a non-coated steel stiffener tube in the
center. This corroded the aluminum from the inside out, interestingly
in riding direction. Possibly because that's where the headwinds are
hitting it and maybe cause condensation:

http://analogconsultants.com/ng/bike/Handlebar1.jpg

Luckily it didn't happen 1/2h earlier where I was coming down a steep
hill at more than 40mph, with a rocky drainage ditch. It happened at a
leisurely travel speed of 15-17mph. Thanks to the fact that it was a
very wide bike lane I had space to roll and at the end I skidded to
avoid traffic. In the lane I'd have crashed into the path of vehicles.
About the only body part that wasn't hurt was my head, thanks to the
helmet.

http://analogconsultants.com/ng/bike/Helmet1.jpg

I am back in the saddle. I no longer trust aluminum and certainly not
any kind of plastic stuff so the road bike now has a flat steel MTB
handlebar. Put MeetLocks ergo handles on it, rides nicely.

As a side note I cycled by the crash site a week ago. I still saw the
scrape marks on the asphalt and debris from my bike which I cleaned
up. Interestingly all the blood was gone. Maybe a wild animal has
licked it clean.


Glad you're ok, Joerg.

I broke a steel steerer once, and in a separate incident a steel BB
axle. Both broke without any warning. Thankfully I didn't crash either
time. Oh, I've also broken a few steel axles and my wife broke a steel
bicycle chain.


My dad once broke a steel frame, bike separated into halves. That
resulted in some road rash.


Having also broken aluminium handle bars, a rim or two and a pedal, that
I remember, I'm at a loss to know what is safe to use.


I think steel is still the safest bet. There is a reason why most
hardcore bikepackers will not use anything other than a steel frame.


Though I've heard lots of stories about broken carbon fibre reinforced
plastic parts, I haven't broken any of that stuff yet personally. I
guess that's why I happily go on using my CFRP forks, cranks, brake
levers, and so on.

One day though, there won't be a material left to make safe bicycles from.


Steel mostly fails in a slower fashion, not in a sudden snap. You feel
things becoming mushy, like after a spoke broke.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

On Sun, 4 Aug 2019 17:37:04 -0700 (PDT),
jbeattie wrote:
On Sunday, August 4, 2019 at 7:58:0javascript:;2 AM UTC-7, Joerg wrote:
On 2019-08-03 18:06, jbeattie wrote:
On Saturday, August 3, 2019 at 11:31:40 AM UTC-7, Joerg wrote:

Had a nasty crash about three months ago. Long story short
my handlebar broke without any warning. There was no cause
such as a speed bump or pothole.

http://analogconsultants.com/ng/bike/Handlebar1.jpg

I am back in the saddle.

Good job, Joerg. Glad you are recovered enough to ride!


Well, I'm glad to hear you're O.K. I broke a modern
(2006-ish) Cinelli bar in the same place after less than
three years in service, but it happened relatively slowly.

In hindsight I was lucky even with the crash.

What surprised me was how much muscle and power one can lose
in two months.

Yeah, that really sucks. I tried my hand at racing a couple of
years in my early 40s. I loved being that fit, but quit for a
couple of reasons: not enough time to train enough to maintain the
fitness (it seems to go about 10x as fast as it comes), and the
after effects of a few crashes. I began to realize (always the
hard way, for me, it seems) that the younger fellows healed up
much more quickly than I.


Joerg, I'm hijacking your thread for a moment.

I was on a ride today with my riding buddy of 19 years when I
touched his rear wheel with my front and went down. Dopey and
not something I've done in decades. I was changing bottles and
kind of bobbling around, expecting him to go straight when he
turned. It was low speed, so no "helmet saved my life" claim.
Anyway, I twisted my back as I fell, and when I hit the ground
-- every last O2 molecule was knocked out of my lungs. 30
years ago, I would have jumped up and pretended it didn't
happen. Instead, I just stayed down, wondering if I would ever
get up. As you grow old, dopey little crashes are so much more
consequential. The last 30 miles of that ride were the hardest
I've ridden in my life. My friend was on fire, and we were
really cooking before the mishap -- 62 miles and about 4000
feet of climbing, mostly rollers with a few multi-mile climbs
on the way home. Beautiful, hot day, but a struggle to get
home.

Well, that sucks too. I had a near miss in a group ride last
week--losing focus for a moment, then being well up on the wheel
ahead of me. Luckily, I was able to get my wheel steered clear in
time, but it surely got my attention. Glad you didn't come out
any worse than you did, Jay.

--
Ted Heise West Lafayette, IN, USA

On 2019-08-04 18:39, Tim McNamara wrote:
On Sat, 03 Aug 2019 11:31:50 -0700, Joerg wrote:
Folks,

Had a nasty crash about three months ago. Long story short my handlebar broke without any
warning. There was no cause such as a speed bump or pothole.

Joerg, glad you're back to write about it. Hope you are all healed up.


Thanks. Almost healed and actually pain free as long as I do not wear
enclosed shoes.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

On Monday, August 5, 2019 at 9:54:04 AM UTC-7, Joerg wrote:
On 2019-08-04 22:37, James wrote:
On 4/8/19 4:31 am, Joerg wrote:
Folks,

Had a nasty crash about three months ago. Long story short my
handlebar broke without any warning. There was no cause such as a
speed bump or pothole.

http://analogconsultants.com/ng/bike/Handlebar1.jpg

The handlebar was not cheap, an ITM Mondial. It seems they botched the
design in that they used a non-coated steel stiffener tube in the
center. This corroded the aluminum from the inside out, interestingly
in riding direction. Possibly because that's where the headwinds are
hitting it and maybe cause condensation:

http://analogconsultants.com/ng/bike/Handlebar1.jpg

Luckily it didn't happen 1/2h earlier where I was coming down a steep
hill at more than 40mph, with a rocky drainage ditch. It happened at a
leisurely travel speed of 15-17mph. Thanks to the fact that it was a
very wide bike lane I had space to roll and at the end I skidded to
avoid traffic. In the lane I'd have crashed into the path of vehicles.
About the only body part that wasn't hurt was my head, thanks to the
helmet.

http://analogconsultants.com/ng/bike/Helmet1.jpg

I am back in the saddle. I no longer trust aluminum and certainly not
any kind of plastic stuff so the road bike now has a flat steel MTB
handlebar. Put MeetLocks ergo handles on it, rides nicely.

As a side note I cycled by the crash site a week ago. I still saw the
scrape marks on the asphalt and debris from my bike which I cleaned
up. Interestingly all the blood was gone. Maybe a wild animal has
licked it clean.


Glad you're ok, Joerg.

I broke a steel steerer once, and in a separate incident a steel BB
axle. Both broke without any warning. Thankfully I didn't crash either
time. Oh, I've also broken a few steel axles and my wife broke a steel
bicycle chain.


My dad once broke a steel frame, bike separated into halves. That
resulted in some road rash.


Having also broken aluminium handle bars, a rim or two and a pedal, that
I remember, I'm at a loss to know what is safe to use.


I think steel is still the safest bet. There is a reason why most
hardcore bikepackers will not use anything other than a steel frame.


Though I've heard lots of stories about broken carbon fibre reinforced
plastic parts, I haven't broken any of that stuff yet personally. I
guess that's why I happily go on using my CFRP forks, cranks, brake
levers, and so on.

One day though, there won't be a material left to make safe bicycles from.


Steel mostly fails in a slower fashion, not in a sudden snap. You feel
things becoming mushy, like after a spoke broke.

Yes and no. I've broken steel pedal spindles catastrophically. Spokes go all at once. Steel fasteners snap -- axles, too. Lots of steel things will snap, including bars after enough high energy fatigue cycles.

-- Jay Beattie.

On Sunday, August 4, 2019 at 9:09:13 AM UTC-7, AMuzi wrote:
On 8/4/2019 10:14 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:
On Saturday, August 3, 2019 at 11:31:40 AM UTC-7, Joerg wrote:
Folks,

Had a nasty crash about three months ago. Long story short my handlebar
broke without any warning. There was no cause such as a speed bump or
pothole.

http://analogconsultants.com/ng/bike/Handlebar1.jpg

The handlebar was not cheap, an ITM Mondial. It seems they botched the
design in that they used a non-coated steel stiffener tube in the
center. This corroded the aluminum from the inside out, interestingly in
riding direction. Possibly because that's where the headwinds are
hitting it and maybe cause condensation:

http://analogconsultants.com/ng/bike/Handlebar1.jpg

Luckily it didn't happen 1/2h earlier where I was coming down a steep
hill at more than 40mph, with a rocky drainage ditch. It happened at a
leisurely travel speed of 15-17mph. Thanks to the fact that it was a
very wide bike lane I had space to roll and at the end I skidded to
avoid traffic. In the lane I'd have crashed into the path of vehicles.
About the only body part that wasn't hurt was my head, thanks to the helmet.

http://analogconsultants.com/ng/bike/Helmet1.jpg

I am back in the saddle. I no longer trust aluminum and certainly not
any kind of plastic stuff so the road bike now has a flat steel MTB
handlebar. Put MeetLocks ergo handles on it, rides nicely.

As a side note I cycled by the crash site a week ago. I still saw the
scrape marks on the asphalt and debris from my bike which I cleaned up..
Interestingly all the blood was gone. Maybe a wild animal has licked it
clean.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

Very sorry to hear of your injuries Joerg. Let me again mention a product called Second Skin that does a remarkable job of speeding healing and reducing pain.

Also again, Trek through Bontrager is presently making a helmet called "Wavecell" where the padding, instead of Styrofoam is a three-D printed padding. The original documentation stated that it provided 28 times more protection against concussion but the latest documentation now says 48 times. Being printed it is easily changed so perhaps that wasn't a writing error but actual improvement. A helmet cannot save your life, but it could make your life a whole lot easier if you avoid a serious concussion like I had.

I have looked at tests of aluminum and carbon fiber bars. Properly constructed, the carbon fiber bar has almost infinite fatigue resistance whereas an aluminum bar does not. Strangely enough a steel bar is even less if it is stressed in the fatigue zone. The problem is that usually steel or aluminum will bend in a collision whereas carbon fiber will break.

Watch yourself. We can do without losing members of this group that have good sense. We're so few.


In theory, in a perfect world, full of perfect (not human)
beings, sure.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=carbon+han...es&ia=ima ges

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

That is what passes through my head as I'm descending. Also - I accelerated out of a turn to make another left turn and hit one of those F-ing invisible potholes and exploded the tubeless. Now surely it was because I had insufficient air in the tire at the start of the day, so it was my fault. But sliding sideways out into traffic doing 40 mph in order to get to the red light sooner isn't exactly calming to your heart rate.

On Sunday, August 4, 2019 at 5:16:31 PM UTC-7, Andre Jute wrote:
On Sunday, August 4, 2019 at 5:09:13 PM UTC+1, AMuzi wrote:
On 8/4/2019 10:14 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:
On Saturday, August 3, 2019 at 11:31:40 AM UTC-7, Joerg wrote:
Folks,

Had a nasty crash about three months ago. Long story short my handlebar
broke without any warning. There was no cause such as a speed bump or
pothole.

http://analogconsultants.com/ng/bike/Handlebar1.jpg

The handlebar was not cheap, an ITM Mondial. It seems they botched the
design in that they used a non-coated steel stiffener tube in the
center. This corroded the aluminum from the inside out, interestingly in
riding direction. Possibly because that's where the headwinds are
hitting it and maybe cause condensation:

http://analogconsultants.com/ng/bike/Handlebar1.jpg

Luckily it didn't happen 1/2h earlier where I was coming down a steep
hill at more than 40mph, with a rocky drainage ditch. It happened at a
leisurely travel speed of 15-17mph. Thanks to the fact that it was a
very wide bike lane I had space to roll and at the end I skidded to
avoid traffic. In the lane I'd have crashed into the path of vehicles.
About the only body part that wasn't hurt was my head, thanks to the helmet.

http://analogconsultants.com/ng/bike/Helmet1.jpg

I am back in the saddle. I no longer trust aluminum and certainly not
any kind of plastic stuff so the road bike now has a flat steel MTB
handlebar. Put MeetLocks ergo handles on it, rides nicely.

As a side note I cycled by the crash site a week ago. I still saw the
scrape marks on the asphalt and debris from my bike which I cleaned up.
Interestingly all the blood was gone. Maybe a wild animal has licked it
clean.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

Very sorry to hear of your injuries Joerg. Let me again mention a product called Second Skin that does a remarkable job of speeding healing and reducing pain.

Also again, Trek through Bontrager is presently making a helmet called "Wavecell" where the padding, instead of Styrofoam is a three-D printed padding. The original documentation stated that it provided 28 times more protection against concussion but the latest documentation now says 48 times. Being printed it is easily changed so perhaps that wasn't a writing error but actual improvement. A helmet cannot save your life, but it could make your life a whole lot easier if you avoid a serious concussion like I had.

I have looked at tests of aluminum and carbon fiber bars. Properly constructed, the carbon fiber bar has almost infinite fatigue resistance whereas an aluminum bar does not. Strangely enough a steel bar is even less if it is stressed in the fatigue zone. The problem is that usually steel or aluminum will bend in a collision whereas carbon fiber will break.

Watch yourself. We can do without losing members of this group that have good sense. We're so few.


In theory, in a perfect world, full of perfect (not human)
beings, sure.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=carbon+han...es&ia=ima ges

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Steel handlebars do me fine. I really fail to see that there's a problem with steel handlebars that glass threads in a resin matrix solves.

Andre Jute
Of course there is a place for useless premium-price products. Just don't expect me to buy them.

If you have the effective mass of a steel handlebar in carbon fiber you would have better reliability. It's just that CF is used to get less mass.

On Sunday, August 4, 2019 at 5:37:06 PM UTC-7, jbeattie wrote:
On Sunday, August 4, 2019 at 7:58:0javascript:;2 AM UTC-7, Joerg wrote:
On 2019-08-03 18:06, jbeattie wrote:
On Saturday, August 3, 2019 at 11:31:40 AM UTC-7, Joerg wrote:
Folks,

Had a nasty crash about three months ago. Long story short my
handlebar broke without any warning. There was no cause such as a
speed bump or pothole.

http://analogconsultants.com/ng/bike/Handlebar1.jpg

The handlebar was not cheap, an ITM Mondial. It seems they botched
the design in that they used a non-coated steel stiffener tube in
the center. This corroded the aluminum from the inside out,
interestingly in riding direction. Possibly because that's where
the headwinds are hitting it and maybe cause condensation:

http://analogconsultants.com/ng/bike/Handlebar1.jpg

Luckily it didn't happen 1/2h earlier where I was coming down a
steep hill at more than 40mph, with a rocky drainage ditch. It
happened at a leisurely travel speed of 15-17mph. Thanks to the
fact that it was a very wide bike lane I had space to roll and at
the end I skidded to avoid traffic. In the lane I'd have crashed
into the path of vehicles. About the only body part that wasn't
hurt was my head, thanks to the helmet.

http://analogconsultants.com/ng/bike/Helmet1.jpg

I am back in the saddle. I no longer trust aluminum and certainly
not any kind of plastic stuff so the road bike now has a flat steel
MTB handlebar. Put MeetLocks ergo handles on it, rides nicely.

As a side note I cycled by the crash site a week ago. I still saw
the scrape marks on the asphalt and debris from my bike which I
cleaned up. Interestingly all the blood was gone. Maybe a wild
animal has licked it clean.

Well, I'm glad to hear you're O.K. I broke a modern (2006-ish)
Cinelli bar in the same place after less than three years in service,
but it happened relatively slowly. I thought the brake lever clamp
had slipped but realized my lever was moving because the bar was
breaking off. I rode the rest of the way to work with one-sided bars,
holding on to the dangling broken section. No crash.


In hindsight I was lucky even with the crash. To get out of Cameron Park
to the west without using a busy two-lane county road you have to cross
a hill. The descent is very steep and cyclists tend to "let'er rip",
going down there at well over 40mph. So did I. Since the crash I don't
do that no more. There is a drainage ditch with boulders to the right
and it dead-ends into a busy road at the end of that descent.


I'm still riding with aluminum bars. They are generally safe. And
don't think that steel is going to save the day.



That looks like a very cheap handlebar. I mean something serious for MTB
use. That's what I have on it now. It's heavy. Not having a dopbar took
getting used to, might cost me a few minutes on longer trips. Though I
never spent much time in the drops.

Amazingly three car drivers stopped immediately and almost got into an
argument about who gets to bring me home, despite the bleeding. A fellow
immigrant drove me home. Almost new car, quite fancy, he just turned the
floor mats around in case of blood. He had a nice bike in the back and
put mine on top. Couldn't believe it. There are a lot of good people in
this world.

What surprised me was how much muscle and power one can lose in two
months. My avg speed down in the flatlands dropped from 15-16mph to
almost 12mph. Creeping back up and now at 14mph but that took nearly a
month. I still feel like a slowpoke.

Joerg, I'm hijacking your thread for a moment.

I was on a ride today with my riding buddy of 19 years when I touched his rear wheel with my front and went down. Dopey and not something I've done in decades. I was changing bottles and kind of bobbling around, expecting him to go straight when he turned. It was low speed, so no "helmet saved my life" claim. Anyway, I twisted my back as I fell, and when I hit the ground -- every last O2 molecule was knocked out of my lungs. 30 years ago, I would have jumped up and pretended it didn't happen. Instead, I just stayed down, wondering if I would ever get up. As you grow old, dopey little crashes are so much more consequential. The last 30 miles of that ride were the hardest I've ridden in my life. My friend was on fire, and we were really cooking before the mishap -- 62 miles and about 4000 feet of climbing, mostly rollers with a few multi-mile climbs on the way home. Beautiful, hot day, but a struggle to get home.

-- Jay Beattie.

Jay, let me remind you to get Second Skin for treating road rash. Hope you're not seriously injured.

On Monday, August 5, 2019 at 1:33:00 AM UTC-7, Andre Jute wrote:
On Monday, August 5, 2019 at 1:37:06 AM UTC+1, jbeattie wrote:
On Sunday, August 4, 2019 at 7:58:0javascript:;2 AM UTC-7, Joerg wrote:
On 2019-08-03 18:06, jbeattie wrote:
On Saturday, August 3, 2019 at 11:31:40 AM UTC-7, Joerg wrote:
Folks,

Had a nasty crash about three months ago. Long story short my
handlebar broke without any warning. There was no cause such as a
speed bump or pothole.

http://analogconsultants.com/ng/bike/Handlebar1.jpg

The handlebar was not cheap, an ITM Mondial. It seems they botched
the design in that they used a non-coated steel stiffener tube in
the center. This corroded the aluminum from the inside out,
interestingly in riding direction. Possibly because that's where
the headwinds are hitting it and maybe cause condensation:

http://analogconsultants.com/ng/bike/Handlebar1.jpg

Luckily it didn't happen 1/2h earlier where I was coming down a
steep hill at more than 40mph, with a rocky drainage ditch. It
happened at a leisurely travel speed of 15-17mph. Thanks to the
fact that it was a very wide bike lane I had space to roll and at
the end I skidded to avoid traffic. In the lane I'd have crashed
into the path of vehicles. About the only body part that wasn't
hurt was my head, thanks to the helmet.

http://analogconsultants.com/ng/bike/Helmet1.jpg

I am back in the saddle. I no longer trust aluminum and certainly
not any kind of plastic stuff so the road bike now has a flat steel
MTB handlebar. Put MeetLocks ergo handles on it, rides nicely.

As a side note I cycled by the crash site a week ago. I still saw
the scrape marks on the asphalt and debris from my bike which I
cleaned up. Interestingly all the blood was gone. Maybe a wild
animal has licked it clean.

Well, I'm glad to hear you're O.K. I broke a modern (2006-ish)
Cinelli bar in the same place after less than three years in service,
but it happened relatively slowly. I thought the brake lever clamp
had slipped but realized my lever was moving because the bar was
breaking off. I rode the rest of the way to work with one-sided bars,
holding on to the dangling broken section. No crash.


In hindsight I was lucky even with the crash. To get out of Cameron Park
to the west without using a busy two-lane county road you have to cross
a hill. The descent is very steep and cyclists tend to "let'er rip",
going down there at well over 40mph. So did I. Since the crash I don't
do that no more. There is a drainage ditch with boulders to the right
and it dead-ends into a busy road at the end of that descent.


I'm still riding with aluminum bars. They are generally safe. And
don't think that steel is going to save the day.



That looks like a very cheap handlebar. I mean something serious for MTB
use. That's what I have on it now. It's heavy. Not having a dopbar took
getting used to, might cost me a few minutes on longer trips. Though I
never spent much time in the drops.

Amazingly three car drivers stopped immediately and almost got into an
argument about who gets to bring me home, despite the bleeding. A fellow
immigrant drove me home. Almost new car, quite fancy, he just turned the
floor mats around in case of blood. He had a nice bike in the back and
put mine on top. Couldn't believe it. There are a lot of good people in
this world.

What surprised me was how much muscle and power one can lose in two
months. My avg speed down in the flatlands dropped from 15-16mph to
almost 12mph. Creeping back up and now at 14mph but that took nearly a
month. I still feel like a slowpoke.

Joerg, I'm hijacking your thread for a moment.

I was on a ride today with my riding buddy of 19 years when I touched his rear wheel with my front and went down. Dopey and not something I've done in decades. I was changing bottles and kind of bobbling around, expecting him to go straight when he turned. It was low speed, so no "helmet saved my life" claim. Anyway, I twisted my back as I fell, and when I hit the ground -- every last O2 molecule was knocked out of my lungs. 30 years ago, I would have jumped up and pretended it didn't happen. Instead, I just stayed down, wondering if I would ever get up. As you grow old, dopey little crashes are so much more consequential. The last 30 miles of that ride were the hardest I've ridden in my life. My friend was on fire, and we were really cooking before the mishap -- 62 miles and about 4000 feet of climbing, mostly rollers with a few multi-mile climbs on the way home. Beautiful, hot day, but a struggle to get home.

-- Jay Beattie.

I'm sorry to hear you fell, Jay, and glad that you're okay.

Somebody on my ride was saying only the other day that crashes at our age are so much more consequential. Though they were talking about breaking a hip, I thought of that when a couple of days later I fell while dismounting from my bike (I hooked the mixte bar between my foot and its heel) and landed so heavily that the deep dent in my helmet looks like the most dangerous accident I've had in 30 years of cycling -- from a standstill! The helmet saved me from a gash on the head, painful stitches, and perhaps even a concussion. That's definitely worth its price.

Like you I managed to finish the painting I stopped to make and the rest of the ride, though not such an heroic distance, but when I got home I was sore and shaking with reaction, whereas in younger days I would have dismissed anything less than broken bones or plastic surgery as "a scratch, don't fuss".

Andre Jute
Not an old crock

Modern safety helmets reduce concussions not by softening the blow via cushioning with the Styrofoam but by fracturing and breaking via the "vent" holes in the helmet. I have a Bontrager Wavecell helmet and it has a lot less vents for two reasons - 1. Unlike Styrofoam air passes rather freely though the open core material and 2. you have to have the Wavecell material covering most of your head to have the expected effect.