Abbott Smith
Guru
And that didn't work either. My wife balked playing sherpa. (I don't have panniers for my V20 yet.)
New Vendetta V20
- Thread starter Abbott Smith
- Start date
Abbott Smith
Guru
Ouch. New discovery. Sigr-D rolls as fast backwards on a 16% grade as forwards. Doesn't handle nearly as well though. I fall down.
But I'm OK. Just a bit of road rash. And five cars immediately stopped, pulled over and got out to see if I was OK. Really nice counterpoint to the recent discussion about the handful of inconsiderate morons we all deal with from time to time. Five normal people looking out for a lone cyclist.
I got back on my bike and continued my ride. Nothing stellar. Just a brief opportunity to scream at the pent up frustrations of the past week. Still any ride is worth a smile or two.
battleaxe0
Guru
Glad you're ok. We have matching elbows
Charles.Plager
Recumbent Quant
This mirrors my experience as well. I've found people very willing to help when I've done something stupid and fallen over. One time, I must have looked a bit dazed. The driver asked if I was o.k. I said I was. He told me he wasn't moving his car until I got up and was walking around.
battleaxe0
Guru
Last year I was out on a day where it wasn't supposed to rain and of course it started pouring. I pull off under a tree to put my phone into a sandwich bag. 3 different cars stopped on a slick 55 mph road to make sure I was ok while I was hunched over trying to stuff my phone into a ziplock without dripping on it.
JOSEPHWEISSERT
Zen MBB Master
On my third Vendetta ride, a friend (riding his DF) and I were stopped at an intersection to talk for a minute before heading back. A considerate guy in a truck stopped and asked if we were ok. We said we were, but it seemed kind of odd. Then he turned around in a parking lot and came back. He said he had stopped earlier because he thought my bike (my V) was upside down. So he had stopped to help out because he thought my bike was broken. So chalk one up for the good guys.
Abbott Smith
Guru
New 11-36t cogset and Wolftooth 42t cog arrived today. I also won an eBay auction for a used Shimano 105 10 speed right brifter this evening. When it arrives I'll pick up a couple 10 speed chains, cables, housings, etc. and upgrade the drive train.
ratz
Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
Here yay here yay; tinker in town.
“A tinkers debt is always paid:
Once for any simple trade.
Twice for freely given aid.
Thrice for any insult made.”
Abbott Smith
Guru
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Abbott Smith
Guru
Got in a nice training ride last night with my JDRF coach David. The weather was spectacular and I found some long steady climbs to build my fitness. Strava says 1730' of climbing in just over 28 miles. Not Mount Mitchell but a nice rubber arm feeling this morning. Learning all about new muscle groups is fun.
Doesn't Sigr-D look amazing with Lake Washington and the Seattle skyline as a backdrop?
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Abbott Smith
Guru
10 speed brifter arrived today. Stopped after work and got the miscellaneous components I need to redo the drive train over the long weekend. Between the tools, cables, housings, chains and bar tape I dropped over a $130. But the gears are necessary for my goals.
Then a cascade of biking things happened. My wife asked me to reconfigure my USS RWD so she can ride it. My neighbor called to schedule a ride Monday. My brother in law is planning to ride with me next weekend in the ADA Tour de Cure Seattle. & I'm riding 50 miles tomorrow with the JDRF crew. Extending the capability of the bike changes the breadth of my fitness opportunities.
Then a cascade of biking things happened. My wife asked me to reconfigure my USS RWD so she can ride it. My neighbor called to schedule a ride Monday. My brother in law is planning to ride with me next weekend in the ADA Tour de Cure Seattle. & I'm riding 50 miles tomorrow with the JDRF crew. Extending the capability of the bike changes the breadth of my fitness opportunities.
ratz
Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
The right bike can look an awful lot like a magic key
Abbott Smith
Guru
It's not the fall. It's the sudden stop at the end...Cloudy ride this morning to meet up with the JDRF crew. First chunk solo at 16 mph. Great rhythm and the early morning air just flowed. Got to the meeting site 20 minutes early so stopped and checked my BG and ate. Half dozen riders this morning for a mixed medley of trail and surface roads with the highlight being a trip around Lake Sammamish. My plan was to do a half century today.
Things did not go according to plan. I got in 33 miles. I was riding with the group single file and we switched from surface roads to a connector trail at the south end of the lake. Went through a crosswalk at speed and realized too late that the ramps were at 45 degree angles to the direction of travel. I t-barred a square curb at 15 mph. The drive wheel chipped and suffered a catastrophic sidewall blowout in multiple locations. Went down on the side and skidded to a halt. Miraculously I only got a single scuff on my knee. The tights didn't even rip. My pedal took most of the fall. Need the check my large chainring for damage and the drive wheel is toast.
The ride coach stayed with me until my wife could bring the truck. We gave her a ride back to Redmond and I went down to Element Cycles. They got me a loaner wheel and I'll order a new wheel Tuesday.
Grateful I'm OK. But I'm getting sick and tired of the parade of mechanical issues of the past 6 weeks.
super slim
Zen MBB Master
What tyre size are you using as a 28 mm MIGHT have survived, but 25 kph into a square edge curb at a 45 degree angle is a BIG impact!
I think that some earlier photos I saw that the tyre is a gator skin, and if so, I don't think there is a tougher tyre!
Did spokes break, or did they pull through the rim as the wheel has a huge buckle!!!
A deeper > 30 mm and wider 25 mm to the brake surfaces rim, will be a lot stronger, but I do not know if even a rim like that, would survive this impact at 45 degrees!
I go for safety, so I would not go for a Carbon Fibre rim, as I THINK (but don't know) that one of these would have exploded with this impact!!!
I think I will get some vigorous replies!
I think that some earlier photos I saw that the tyre is a gator skin, and if so, I don't think there is a tougher tyre!
Did spokes break, or did they pull through the rim as the wheel has a huge buckle!!!
A deeper > 30 mm and wider 25 mm to the brake surfaces rim, will be a lot stronger, but I do not know if even a rim like that, would survive this impact at 45 degrees!
I go for safety, so I would not go for a Carbon Fibre rim, as I THINK (but don't know) that one of these would have exploded with this impact!!!
I think I will get some vigorous replies!
Abbott Smith
Guru
It was a 25 with metal rims and they were Gatorskins. Not the wheel's fault. Hit the curb at more like a 90 degree angle. I was riding thinking that the ramp was in the direction of travel and totally missed the ramp. Rider error.
Lief
Guru Schmuru
That's too bad Abbott. The first week or so I was riding the vendetta I too hit a big ol rock in my path that I never saw coming.
Granted each situation is different but it's likely that being laid back more than you are accustomed to means an adjustment to your sight lines, which may take more getting used to than we give ourselves riding room for in that interim space between "I can ride this in all conditions" and "my brain has fully adjusted to the different sight lines".
Glad you weren't hurt. Glad Sigr'D wasn't hurt.
Granted each situation is different but it's likely that being laid back more than you are accustomed to means an adjustment to your sight lines, which may take more getting used to than we give ourselves riding room for in that interim space between "I can ride this in all conditions" and "my brain has fully adjusted to the different sight lines".
Glad you weren't hurt. Glad Sigr'D wasn't hurt.
Abbott Smith
Guru
Great observation Lief. It's also speed. I've never ridden a bike that's this fast before. I'm riding 3-4mph faster than I've ever ridden before on the flats so I need to adjust my reaction time expectations.
JOSEPHWEISSERT
Zen MBB Master
Sorry about the crash Abbott. That always sucks. I went down three times in my first two rides and I am still not fully healed today (all three crashes were in early April). The third crash not only re-injured my left hip/leg and left forearm for the third time in the exact same spots and was really painful, but it also totally destroyed a brand new $230 brifter that I had just spent a lot of time installing perfectly earlier that day. I was so bummed out when I got home that my wife prescribed alcohol - and I don't even drink - but I did that day. So I'm sorry to hear about your crash. Keep with it buddy! It is worth it.
Abbott Smith
Guru
Yet one more thing that's like a kid with his first bike; crashes. They're just a lot more expensive. Unfortunately the wheel I destroyed was borrowed. I need to replace my friend's wheel and get another one for me. But I won't give up. This is the best bike I've ever ridden.
JOSEPHWEISSERT
Zen MBB Master
Here's a product that I started using after I crashed - even though I never crashed again. Just wearing it to protect my injuries gave me confidence to keep riding. I bought a pair of D3O elbow armor. I put one inside my left sleeve or arm warmer to protect my left elbow and forearm (since I always crashed on the left). I put the other on my left hip/leg to protect that (even more painful) injury. After my brain rewired and I became very stable on the bike, I stopped wearing the armor. So I don't wear them anymore, but they helped me to eliminate that fear of crashing while training with injuries. If I were going to go out and ride dirt roads, I would wear the armor for sure. D3O is an interesting material. It hardens upon impact, and then immediately turns back into a rubber-like material.
D3O elbow armor:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BG5GV38/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
D3O elbow armor:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BG5GV38/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
