Bad Fall

[Carcosa view]

Took a bad fall 9/25/23 riding my RadCity 5+ Step Thru. Broke both ankle bones on right side. Finally got ok from surgeon literally 100 days later to get back on the bike. I'm 71 and overweight so it was an ordeal to say the least. Still some pain at times. Doctor said it would take a year for full healing. I have a feeling it will always bark in cold weather. Bike suffered broken rear brake lever. $75.00 for the part more for install. Also the cage protecting the deraileur was really bent. Tech said it saved the derailleur. While I was at it replaced tires with Schwalbe Johnny Watt 27.5 X 2.35. More of an SUV type tire and had to modify fender connections to get them in there. I wanted bigger tires but not a FAT tire bike. The Johnnys' look great and I expect same performance wise. Also added Miles brake pads. All work was done by Cannon Cyclery in Roswell Ga. They are a Rad Dealer now so a good resource for parts, warranty or mods. Really nice people at this shop. Finally everyone said it could have been worse. And mainly it was not worse because I was wearing my helmet. I still see a lot people without them. This shit can happen really fast and if you value your brain put on a helmet.

[inoxa]

Welcome back to the road.  Accidents do happen. 

[John Rose]

Took a bad fall 9/25/23 riding my RadCity 5+ Step Thru.

What caused the mishap?
Let me guess ? was it a U-turn?

... All work was done by Cannon Cyclery in Roswell Ga. They are a Rad Dealer now so a good resource for parts, warranty or mods. Really nice people at this shop. ...

Well, that's lucky for you to have that resource, if they're nearby.

[Carcosa view]

Took a bad fall 9/25/23 riding my RadCity 5+ Step Thru.

What caused the mishap?
Let me guess ? was it a U-turn?

... All work was done by Cannon Cyclery in Roswell Ga. They are a Rad Dealer now so a good resource for parts, warranty or mods. Really nice people at this shop. ...

Well, that's lucky for you to have that resource, if they're nearby.

Not a Uturn. trying to cross a sidewalk with a tall lip on it. incredibly stupid move in retrospect.was going about 15 front wheel grabbed the outside lip and basically threw me down full weight on my ankle. I was about 15 feet from the side of the road just laying there foot aimed the wrong direction. A lot of cars passed before 2 very kind souls pulled over. My phone was out of reach but they stayed with me until my son came to take me to the hospital.

[handlebar]

Not a Uturn. trying to cross a sidewalk with a tall lip on it. incredibly stupid move in retrospect.was going about 15 front wheel grabbed the outside lip and basically threw me down full weight on my ankle. I was about 15 feet from the side of the road just laying there foot aimed the wrong direction. A lot of cars passed before 2 very kind souls pulled over. My phone was out of reach but they stayed with me until my son came to take me to the hospital.

That sounds bad!

I'm not sure whether the concrete lip wouldn't let the wheel steer in that direction or caused it to slide. Either way, a more stable riding position would have helped. I think my Radmission was set up like a Radcity. I found my sitting position unstable, an accident waiting to happen. The solution was to move the seat back with a layback post and raise the bars with two risers.

Stable seating helps steering. A u-turn is a good test. The position of the handgrips also affects steering stability. If they're too far forward or aft, a bike won't steer precisely in a u-turn.

I bought an ebike of another brand with stable seating, but I intended to replace the bars immediately because they were swept too far back for stability. Also, the gear shift wouldn't let me see what gear I was in. On my second day, I attempted to turn around beside a parking lot. I was in a much higher gear than I'd thought, so a knoll slowed me pretty suddenly. Almost stopped, I steered radically right to keep my wheels under me. With the swept back bars, that shifted my head and shoulders left, pulling the grips left, which turned the wheel farther right as it rolled farther right. The solution was to put my left foot down.

With the bike rolling rapidly right with my right leg, I had to get my right foot on the ground, too. The step-through was higher than I was used to. My heel caught and I fell on my butt. I was 75 and overweight, but I wasn't bruised.

That was an example of how a potentially dangerous fall can happen because the rider's inertia steers it out from under him. The positions of the seat and handlebars can make a bike safer.

[John Rose]

Stable seating helps steering. A u-turn is a good test.

About U-turns on ebikes ... I wrote up a bit of boilerplate that I keep handy.

As a relatively  new e-bike user I've figured something out. During my first few rides (on a RadMini ST2) I fell twice, and both were halfway through a sharp turn, going slow, like walking speed. Once was in loose gravel, the second on damp uneven turf. I was previously accustomed to non-electric bikes and a small gas-powered Yamaha scooter, so I wasn't totally inexperienced on two wheels. In retrospect I reasoned that when starting real slow into a u-turn I'd be using the brakes to slow down. This would cut out the pedal assist power. Then, as I started pedalling there would be a very short delay (about 1/2 turn of the crank) before the cadence sensor lets the pedal assist power kick in again. Even though it's a fairly gentle boost initially, it is still hard enough to make me go a bit too fast for the amount I was leaning into the turn. (Because the faster you go through a turn, the more you have to lean the bike and yourself to keep balance.) This "lurch" meant that I was suddenly over-steering for that increased speed (slow as it was), and over I went, or else I'd put my feet out and somehow still end up on the ground. Yay for helmets!
My rule now is that whenever I'm going to make  sharp turn (whether in rough terrain or smooth dry asphalt) I stop pedalling completely and use only the twist throttle to get me through it. Once straightened out again, I get back to pedalling. Or, pedal through the turn only with the pedal assist at _zero_, but who's got time to be button-mashing at the last minute? So, throttle-only it is, and I've not had any incidents since.

[handlebar]

Me too. A little throttle could keep me upright in a u-turn. At one point on the way to the post office, I'd turn right onto a sidewalk rather than pull onto a fast road with a blind curve not far to my left. It was a tight turn through the opening in the curb and right beside a utility pole. The sidewalk was 2 feet higher than the street, so I needed a boost. The throttle worked because I could control it instantly.

The bike with the swept-back bars was from Six Three Zero. It had 500 watts, which is what Rad means when they say 750. The throttle didn't work unless PAS was on. One might expect under 100 watts on PAS 1, but this one had a ridiculous 350, and that acceleration would continue half a second or more after I stopped pedaling. I'd have to turn PAS on to have throttle for that sharp, steep turn, and having PAS on meant a pedal movement could have shot me into the pole. The handlebars could be replaced with something safer, but I didn't know how to find a better controller. I repacked the bike and sent it back.

My Aventon Abound needs PAS on to use the throttle, but its torque sensor means I won't get an unexpected power surge. In fact, it handles so well that I make u-turns and 360s with PAS and throttle off for the fun of it.

[John Rose]

The sidewalk was 2 feet higher than the street, so I needed a boost.

Are you sure that wasn't a loading dock?