CRASH on my new V20c

HeyHealy

Member
It happened in a fraction of a second...

CRASH!

This morning's bike ride did not go as planned. It was my 3rd ride on my new Cruzbike V20c, which my brother and I just assembled this last week.

I rode it for the first time Friday morning, then again yesterday evening to adjust the headrest and see if it was positioned correctly.

I went out this morning with the intent of seeing how the V20c performs on climbs, so that's what I did. On the way back, I was having so much fun that I decided to add a handful of miles by looping to the north and then riding south to arrive back at my house.

I was cruising south on Keystone in the bike lane at 20+ mph when I saw a woman and dog off to the right in the grass. The dog was not leashed. I could see the leash bunched up in the woman's hand. In that moment I got a strange feeling...

Then the dog turned toward me, bared its teeth, ears pinned back in a full run at my bike. It was a muscular medium-sized dog. I recall it being brown and white.

Anyway, with the dog's speed and my speed, there was no way I could avoid it. My front wheel struck the dog in its ribs at about 20 mph, if I had to guess. I weigh 190 lbs, so it was a significant impact.

I went down fast and hard. One second I was up, the next I was on the street. My cycling shorts have a huge hole in them and my right cheek is bruised and covered in road rash. I have a deep gash in my right forearm, near my elbow. I have a scrape on my knee. Luckily, my cycling gloves protected my hands from further carnage.

The dog yelped on impact and immediately turned and begin limping toward home. The woman said something like, "Oh my god, I'm so sorry, are you OK? I had no idea he would think a bicycle was a threat." She picked up my bike. I said nothing other than try to get my bearings and assess the damage.

The woman then left me with my bike to go after her dog, which I found out later was returning home.

So here I am, bleeding with my cherry red ass hanging out of my cycling shorts, trying to get my chain back on the large ring of my once-new-but-now-damaged bike. Hands shaking, I got it done. Then I got back on my bike to try to find the woman. She had turned a corner and was out of sight.

When I caught up to her, I told her I needed her information. She said OK, but said she needed to get her dog first. (The dog is always the priority, smh.) So I followed her to her house, where she entered her information into my phone after she'd checked on her dog.

"Let me know how much it costs," she said. "I know it's not cheap."

Not much else was said, although as I was about to ride away she offered to drive me home. I declined since I was just a half mile away.

Long story longer, I filed a police report this morning because the woman was violating leash laws. If her dog had been leashed, this could all have been avoided.

Furthermore, my bike is very expensive, and it sucks that it's now damaged and I will have to spend time and money repairing it. I'm also in quite a bit of pain, mainly my right butt cheek because it's so badly bruised and scraped up. I'm now also feeling some pain in my lower spine.

Every dog owner thinks, "Well, my dog is different. He/she doesn't need to be on a leash."

Well, let me tell you something. I've now been attacked TWICE by off-leash dogs just this year. The first time the dog attacked me from behind. Luckily, I was on my recumbent so the seat pan protected me from the dog's teeth.

Today, I was also luckily on a recumbent. The dog attacked from the front and side, which caused me to crash. But I only fell a short distance because my seat is low to the ground. And I didn't go over my handlebars, which 100% would have happened on a traditional diamond frame bike.

Had I gone over my handlebars, I would probably be dealing with a significant head/neck injury right now.

I'm convinced that had I not hit the dog, it would have continued to attack me and try to bite me.

Point is, everybody thinks their dog is different UNTIL the dog does something unexpected. That's why you always follow leash laws and keep your dog on a leash, especially in areas where there are cyclists, pedestrians, and kids.

P.S. At my wife's request, I'm sparing you the sight of the largest injury to my backside.
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In its place you can see the size of the hole in my shorts.

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Karl42

Well-Known Member
Wow, that sucks. So sorry to hear that you got injured and that your brand new bike got damaged. Hopefully she has insurance for that sort of thing. Wishing for a speedy recovery of yourself and your bike.
 

CruzRider

Active Member
Sucks to crash on a brand new bike. Not only for the damage, but I also know you were really looking forward to riding it lots.

Hope you recover swiftly from all that road rash. Glad the injuries are limited to that. Looks like it will be painful few weeks nevertheless.

I would have a bike shop experienced in carbon inspections check the dynamic boom. I would keep a close eye on it, inspecting it on every ride for fine cracks and the like. I had some experience with this after a crash on a DF.
 

HeyHealy

Member
Wow, that sucks. So sorry to hear that you got injured and that your brand new bike got damaged. Hopefully she has insurance for that sort of thing. Wishing for a speedy recovery of yourself and your bike.
Thank you, Karl. Yeah, I'm hoping she has personal insurance or something that will cover it. We'll see...
 

HeyHealy

Member
Sucks to crash on a brand new bike. Not only for the damage, but I also know you were really looking forward to riding it lots.

Hope you recover swiftly from all that road rash. Glad the injuries are limited to that. Looks like it will be painful few weeks nevertheless.

I would have a bike shop experienced in carbon inspections check the dynamic boom. I would keep a close eye on it, inspecting it on every ride for fine cracks and the like. I had some experience with this after a crash on a DF.
Thank you, CruzRider. Great suggestion about the carbon dynamic boom. My brother and a friend suggested it may no longer be safe to ride due to the speed of impact and then collision with the ground. I'm planning to have a bike shop inspect it. I'll also be emailing Cruzbike about potential replacement parts given the damage to various components. My guess is that I might have to order a whole new bike and start over.
 

cpml123

Zen MBB Master
So sorry about the dog attack and crash! It's awful. I usually carry a can of mace on my handlebar in case I get chased by a dog, but it wouldn't have worked in this case.
I wish you a speedy recovery.
 

cpml123

Zen MBB Master
I also agree with you about leashing dog. I have a small cockapoo. She can be walking like a old man waiting to be rescued from a marathon, and the next second launching off like a rocket to go after a jogger, only to fly around like a boomerang because she was on a leash.
 

CruzRider

Active Member
My guess is that I might have to order a whole new bike and start over.
I would also look at Purchase Protection offered by your credit card for new purchases. Some credit cards only offer $500, but others have much higher limits.

I hope the dog owner steps up to cover it.
 

colin.mccomish

New Member
I agree with @CruzRider and have the bike thoroughly inspected. Since you have a police report document every penny spent. Next file a claim with her homeowners insurance for full replacement of bike and riding gear. More than likely insurance will settle quickly to avoid a lawsuit. Just my $0.02 as the son of an insurance agent.
 

Frito Bandito

Zen MBB Master
Sorry to hear about your crash. I hope you are ok, and you can get your V20 repaired or replaced soon. I have had a few close calls with dogs on my usual route where owners have their dog on a 30' leash, but then they let their dog yank them all over the path, sometimes with the dog on 1 side and the owner on the other, turning the path into a limbo game, or an almost invisible clothesline Booby trap that would fling the dog further than I would be sliding.
 

HeyHealy

Member
I agree with @CruzRider and have the bike thoroughly inspected. Since you have a police report document every penny spent. Next file a claim with her homeowners insurance for full replacement of bike and riding gear. More than likely insurance will settle quickly to avoid a lawsuit. Just my $0.02 as the son of an insurance agent.
That might be the best and cleanest option. I’m guessing $2k in damages, assuming the front triangle is OK. If front triangle is compromised, that’s a new bike.
Sorry to hear about your crash. I hope you are ok, and you can get your V20 repaired or replaced soon. I have had a few close calls with dogs on my usual route where owners have their dog on a 30' leash, but then they let their dog yank them all over the path, sometimes with the dog on 1 side and the owner on the other, turning the path into a limbo game, or an almost invisible clothesline Booby trap that would fling the dog further than I would be sliding.
Thanks, Frito. I, too, have encountered a lot of oblivious dog owners on the trails, but at least I can slow down as I approach. My “favorite” is the dog owner in the middle of the trail with two dogs on opposite sides of the trail. Dog owner panics and doesn’t know which way to go.

This situation completely surprised me. I did sense the potential danger, but then the dog took me down in about 2 seconds. No time to react, unfortunately.
 

Robert Holler

Administrator
Staff member
YIKES! Avoiding dogs is a part of my ride routine but not the snarling type - usually just random ones on super long leashes that seek to jet across the road and clothesline me between them and their owner holding the leash. :(
 

Maverick1

New Member
Sorry to read about your crash with the dog my friend, especially riding your new pride and joy Cruzbike.
We all know the bike can be replaced so what's really most important is your body and it's recovery.
I always carry a can a pepper spray whenever I ride my Bacchetta or my Catrike 700.
I also carry it basically everywhere I go these days, because I never know who I'm going to run into, if you get my drift.
Lots of bad guys out there.
I wish you a speedy and full recovery for you and your bicycle.
 

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HeyHealy

Member
Sorry to read about your crash with the dog my friend, especially riding your new pride and joy Cruzbike.
We all know the bike can be replaced so what's really most important is your body and it's recovery.
I always carry a can a pepper spray whenever I ride my Bacchetta or my Catrike 700.
I also carry it basically everywhere I go these days, because I never know who I'm going to run into, if you get my drift.
Lots of bad guys out there.
I wish you a speedy and full recovery for you and your bicycle.
Thank you, Maverick. I may need to get a can of pepper spray as well.

This is just awful. I am so sorry. I will tell you that we have learned that Tegaderm bandages is incredibly helpful for road rash. Expensive, but worth it. Keep us posted and let us know how we can help.
Thank you, Maria. I'll see about getting some Tegaderm bandages. This road rash is a literal pain in the ass and the bandages I have are not big enough.
 

colin.mccomish

New Member
I caution against pepper sprays. Air currents can and will contaminate your body/face when you spray. This can disable you while in the presence of an aggressive animal or on a busy road. I have found three things effective. 1) When the animal is near I yell HEY! as deep and loud as possible and this sometimes startles them long enough to open a gap. 2) Always have a bottle ready and when the animal gets close give a blast to the face. I prefer my Gatorade or something sticky to make a point to the owner as well. 3) If dog is coming at me head on I will snap steer directly at them and give a bluff charge which will cause them to attempt to stop and change direction giving you a chance to escape. I have one dog on my loop that as soon as I reach for a bottle he peels off. Another dog will pace me just out of bottle blast range, but no longer tries to head me off. I live in farm/cattle country and find the dogs that are most concerning are cow dogs. They are fast, nimble, and will go for the front wheel as they are bred for either heading or heeling a cow. These are best left to stop and put the bike between you and them. Most I’ve come across are well border trained and once I get beyond their property they disengage.
 

HeyHealy

Member
I caution against pepper sprays. Air currents can and will contaminate your body/face when you spray. This can disable you while in the presence of an aggressive animal or on a busy road. I have found three things effective. 1) When the animal is near I yell HEY! as deep and loud as possible and this sometimes startles them long enough to open a gap. 2) Always have a bottle ready and when the animal gets close give a blast to the face. I prefer my Gatorade or something sticky to make a point to the owner as well. 3) If dog is coming at me head on I will snap steer directly at them and give a bluff charge which will cause them to attempt to stop and change direction giving you a chance to escape. I have one dog on my loop that as soon as I reach for a bottle he peels off. Another dog will pace me just out of bottle blast range, but no longer tries to head me off. I live in farm/cattle country and find the dogs that are most concerning are cow dogs. They are fast, nimble, and will go for the front wheel as they are bred for either heading or heeling a cow. These are best left to stop and put the bike between you and them. Most I’ve come across are well border trained and once I get beyond their property they disengage.
Wow, sounds like you have to deal with a lot of loose dogs. Most dogs around here are on leashes. Although about half the dog owners are fairly oblivious to what's going on around them.
 
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