Thanksgiving Morning Clem crash

[Jim Bronson]

Hi folks,

Well we had a warm rainy Thanksgiving morning here in the greater Austin area.  I thought it might be a good thing to go ride around for an hour or so to try to burn a few calories before consuming several thousand and of course as always for enjoyment.   Being a native (Western) Oregonian the rain is rarely a problem for me so off I went.

Well my ride came to an unfortunate end after about 5 miles exiting a traffic circle.  I was taking a right to exit when the bike went right out from under me as fast as I can ever remember one doing so.  I never jerked the handlebars or anything, it was just the same smooth steady motion that I have used 20 or 30 times before on this same traffic circle.  But this time I was down on the ground in a flash.

Being that my Clem is in stock configuration and is a 65, I had a fair distance to fall.  Unfortunately I broke my fibia and the fracture extends to the bottom of my knee joint.  I won't be needing surgery but I cannot put any weight on it for 6 weeks minimum.  We'll see what the orthopedic surgeon says after that.

The net effect of all this is that I'm thinking of putting drops on my Clem when I get back to riding again.  I know it isn't how Grant intended it, but the extremely upright position of the Clem now has me thinking maybe it's not so good to be so high in the air if I have another fall at some point.  I know this is driven by fear, but, I've often thought of "dropping my Clem" in the past and this may just be the push I need in order to do it.

I know this is the opposite of what people in their 50s are usually doing but I am very comfortable riding drops and many days I will take my 650B converted Road Standard for just that reason.  on this particular day I took the Clem because I didn't want some rain-loosened sharp rock to puncture the somewhat fragile Compass tires on my Road Standard. 

So anyway.

Prove me wrong!

Drops for Clem 2022!

-Jim

austin suburbs, tx

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[Richard Rose]

Oh dang - so sorry for you. Sounds like you are on the road to recovery so that’s what counts. But, why do you think this happened? Just due to the wet pavement?

Heal well.

Sent from my iPhone

On Dec 15, 2022, at 5:09 PM, Jim Bronson <jim.b...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Julian Westerhout]

Jim, 

I'm sorry to hear about your crash and I hope that you heal well and quickly. 

I'm also tall - ride a 65 cm Clem and 66-68 cm road bikes. What bars do you have on the Clem now? I ride a 65 Clem with Chocomoose, they feel better than the Bosco to me, but still are quite upright. I'm not so sure that putting drops on the Clem will do that much in changing the center of gravity unless you plan on making the bars overall a lot lower than the saddle and always riding in the drops, and even then it's not going to make that much of a difference. How much do you think drops will lower your COG? maybe 6" or a foot? Will that make a real difference in a crash like that? I'm not sure it would. 

Had it rained a fair amount in the days prior to your ride and crash? If not, there might have been more oil on the road, making it slippery. Texas rain is, I'm guessing, not quite the same as western Oregon, condition-wise. In the case of your crash, I'm not sure that drops would make much difference in breaking a fibula or not -- after all, you can't get much lower than that on the leg without breaking your foot, so the bar height likely did not play a major role if at all. 

In my experience getting back on the bike once healed and overcoming stiffness caused by excessive caution (paired with as sensible level of caution, still!) is the answer to post-crash jitters. 

All the best, 

Julian Westerhout

Bloomington, IL 

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CA%2BypmEY_H%2B4eZZ6UwAbsZ%2BbQtE4MsUZZvtQGzY3Yj0PDoRatCw%40mail.gmail.com.Had it rained a fair amount recently? If not, thee might have been more oil on the road, making it slippery. Texas rain is, I'm guessing, not quite the same as western Oregon, condition-wise. 

[Ian A]

My guess is that you slipp

[Johnny Alien]

I'm not super good at math but it seems to be that you would fall the same distance whether you are upright or leaning more because of drops. You are still at the same height on your bike. It's just a perception of being lower because you are leaning forward. Basically I am not sure it would have ended up any different for you. But I am not discouraging different cockpits. Variety is the spice of life. Change it up.

[Joe Bernard]

It's possible the OP feels that the lower/forward position will give him more grip up front. I like (and with my arthritis, need) a super-upright position, but there's no doubt all that distance from the front contact patch can feel a little skittish sometimes. Especially in the wet! 

[Ian A]

Sorry about my post. It was truncated. I was trying to write my guess is that you slipped on some diesel or oil under the water on the road. I used to ride motorcycles in the UK and the biggest risk of losing traction was when it had been dry for a few days and then you found yourself riding home from work in fresh rain. Any oil on the road would not be washed away yet and was much more hazardous under a sheen of water.

Whether on drops or upright bars, the chance of going down in those circumstances are the same. Wet leaves have also caught me out on the bicycle and the transition between upright and lying on the ground is like a quarter of a second.

It was nothing you did wrong and the bike set up would make little to no difference. Just bad luck combined with two wheels. 

Heal quickly and well and get back in the saddle when it feels right.

IanA

Alberta Canada

On Thursday, December 15, 2022 at 3:09:46 PM UTC-7 Jim Bronson wrote:

[Fullylugged]

"many days I will take my 650B converted Road Standard"   Yes, this is a great combo. I did the same to my pre production sample Road and love it as a 650B.  Hope you take the time needed to heal fully and enjoy perusing bike parts catalogs as you consider handlebar options. Salsa Woodchippers? Something similar? Very stable and better looking on your bike, perhaps.

Tailwinds,

bruce

[Matt Beecher]

I'm sorry to hear that.  I had a similar event a few years ago on a "new bike day".  I was riding along on my new-to-me Atlantis and taking a turn at what seemed like a safe speed.  I think my tires hit a dense patch of goose poop, causing the wheels to go out from under me.  I barely remembered the event, as it also happened very quickly.  Most of my memory is in the immediate events afterwards, such as putting my finger back in place instinctively, realizing that doing so caused absolutely no pain and felt like popping a knuckle.  

I found myself very fortunate, though I did have some moderate injuries, much less than yours.  I hope your recoveries go faster than mine, because it took several months before I was comfortable supporting my upper body on my wrist, then years to fully heal in my shoulder, particularly if I had to lift my arms above my head.   

I cannot say much about riding upright, as I have not been too interested in doing so.  I did try moustache bars on the Atlantis after the crash and it did help with remove some weight off my wrists, but I was never all that happy with them.  I then tried the old variety of crazy bars from VO, but I liked those even less(too wide).  I'm back to the original drop bars now. 

I hope you can get back on the bike as soon as you would like.  

On Thursday, December 15, 2022 at 4:09:46 PM UTC-6 Jim Bronson wrote:

[ascpgh]

I'm not fond of crash stories unless something good comes of them. Hope you have an uneventful and rapid recovery JIm. 

Was the traffic circle new-ish, well marked? 

Road paint is slick as goose grease when wet due to the little spheres that make it so reflective. There's so much that it is seems visually bright and shouty to drivers. Really seems to relegate the wet cyclists on the edge of the traffic lane as things to look out for. 

I cope with a number of intersections with this level of painted directives to all traffic. I treat them as mine fields if the slightest moisture is present.

Andy Cheatham

Pittsburgh