Crash Protection

[fossyant]

As @ianrauk may have mentioned before over on the "H" word debate....

Unless you choose to throw yourself down the side of mountains
.

Who would do such a thing after breaking their spine !

 

[Illaveago]

Who would do such a thing after breaking their spine !

Would you be in favour of spine protection ? I've seen some nasty accidents on the TV where it looked like the riders have landed badly hitting kerbs and things .

 

[matticus]

Would you be in favour of spine protection ? I've seen some nasty accidents on the TV where it looked like the riders have landed badly hitting kerbs and things .

Think how many times you've seen the pros fall off. Now think of all the races you don't see - they have crashes too.
How often do the riders break their spines, or get gravel-rash infections?

Now think how fast/dangerously you ride outside of a race.

Your choice; if a spine protector, leathers and a full-face helmet make you feel safer, wear them!

 

[MichaelW2]

The latest pro race shirts are reinforced with dyneema fabric to prevent rips and tearing and provide better protection against abraision.

 

[fossyant]

Would you be in favour of spine protection ? I've seen some nasty accidents on the TV where it looked like the riders have landed badly hitting kerbs and things .

My camelbak has spinal padding and I make sure it's packed carefully - a couple of tubes and a waterproof add to the cushioning.

Although my spinal incident was as a result of deceleration forces - likened to a 'lap belt' injury folk used to get in cars - no protection would stop that.

The main reason is the rucksack is a bit softer should I roll. I'm possibly a little more prone to damage now as my L1 is like a cheese wedge, not square.

 

[Illaveago]

Think how many times you've seen the pros fall off. Now think of all the races you don't see - they have crashes too.
How often do the riders break their spines, or get gravel-rash infections?

Now think how fast/dangerously you ride outside of a race.

Your choice; if a spine protector, leathers and a full-face helmet make you feel safer, wear them!

I will .
The professional riders don't have to go along and queue up at A&E to be treated like normal people .
I don't like the thought of of having wounds scrubbed to to remove gravel and dirt which could get into them . But if you do carry on .
As for spinal protection I was wondering if there was such a thing for cyclists . People say that we should wear cycle helmets and a lot do but there doesn't seem to be any concerns about spinal injuries .

 

[Brandane]

Who would do such a thing after breaking their spine !

Only those with nads of steel 😄

 

[IanSmithCSE]

I had my biggest off in September this year, normally I would have just regained consciousness and gone home, but as I was still unconscious when an ambulance arrived I ended up in hospital, my first visit to one as a patient.

Admitted at around 9:00 Sunday morning and kept in until Tuesday evening as they were being cautious as I was unconscious for about 30 minutes, a CT scan recorded a subarachnoid haemorrhage and a fractured clavicle and C5 vertebrae.

Looking up subarachnoid haemorrhages (traumatic not aneurysm cause) they are not as bad as they first sound and to be expected after banging your head against a solid surface. I got the impression that in the past the doc. would have just said "head injury"

I am an occasional helmet user as I tend to the view that they don't offer much impact protection, this is of course a well worn argument. :-) My first unconsciousness causing crash was in the mid 1970s on a track bike on a track where the tub rolled of the front wheel in a sprint, sending me up and down onto my head. Maybe the helmet prevented a fracture, but 1970s helmets, unlikely.

So I have recently had another look at helmets and there doesn't seem to have been much change in the design or the impact absorbing materials used in quite a few years.

As to spinal protection I would be concerned that it might be one of those things that can make some accidents worse. We know from experience that spinal injuries from crashes on the road are quite rare. So there can only be a small reduction of risk against a possible big increase. Would a motor cycle style ridge work well remembering the size and strength of the back of a motor cycle helmet?

F1 now seems to be looking at Halo as the reason that Grosjean's normal looking front/side impact turned into an almost fatal crash.

As I am not registered with a GP I never had the getting older health check that was offered when you reach a certain age. The hospital did a full upper body CT scan, so I now know that I have a harmless cyst on a kidney and a spiculated lesion on a lung. Okay this might have been my annual safe dose of 20millisieverts all gone in one go as they did a couple of scans, with and without contrast.

What bugs me is that I don't know why I crashed, I was riding down a well known road in the dry and I remember seeing the front wheel turned almost 90 degrees to the left of the direction of travel and thinking, this is about to hurt.

Having reclaimed my bike I found that the handlebars (drops) are bent on the same side as the broken clavicle so I suspect that there was load directly through the shoulder, so a small bit of padding probably wouldn't have helped.

 

[fossyant]

"Okay this might have been my annual safe dose of 20millisieverts all gone in one go as they did a couple of scans, with and without contrast.

They decided to stop running scans etc on me after about 7 months - I'd had a lot with my spine ! No more now, you've had enough. I knew the route to xray/MRI by the ceiling tiles

 

[classic33]

They decided to stop running scans etc on me after about 7 months - I'd had a lot with my spine ! No more now, you've had enough. I knew the route to xray/MRI by the ceiling tiles

Gets to the point where you start pointing out cracked tiles that haven't been replaced.

 

[matticus]

F1 now seems to be looking at Halo as the reason that Grosjean's normal looking front/side impact turned into an almost fatal crash.

Really?? Is this new info?

There is a loooong discussion of this under Motoring if you want to continue it

 

[Drago]

Just a guess........
B. Brakes. Cables, pads, adjustment.
E. Energy. Ensure a good stock of Snickers/Mars bars.
S. Spokes. Or steering. Or something...
T. Tyres. Tread, pressures, bulges etc..
C. CO2 cylinders to ensure you'll not need them.
O. Oil.. chain and moving parts, except perhaps wheel rims or brake discs!!
P. Pedals. Always come in handy, preferably 2 of them.
A. Arse. Make sure it's comfortable.

Brakes, Electrics, Steering, Trainsmission, Chain, Oil, Pressures, Assesories.

Then theres ABC's for when youve already done a proper pre ride check that day, but youve left the bike unattended in public and are about to ride it again.

Its a lot more in depth than that, the mnemonic merely makes a handy prompt.

There is no such thing as an acciedent - they're always the result of someones deliberate action or negligent inaction. You can't fully account for everyone else, but you can for yourself.

Cycling is not an inherently dangerous passtime - per journey mile its less likely to kill you than walking. Take some simple precautions, develop simple but critical safety drills for both your pre ride checks and your riding, and the odds are then very well stacked in your favour.

 

[kingrollo]

Motorcyclists think that people that ride motorbikes in just shorts and T shirts are mad due to the fact that if they came off they would get severe gravel rash. I think the same about people who just wear thin lycra. If they were to come off and slide down the road at speed the lycra wouldn't offer much protection and a lot of dirty grit could get into the wounds . Just think ! A farm tractor with a slurry tanker might have been down that road .

Yes but motorcyclists aren't self propelled. You can wear a heavier helmet and very thick leathers, spine protectors etc. Try sticking that lot on and cycling up a 10% hill !!!. I wish there were some protective kit light enough for cyclists to wear without taking away the enjoyment of cycling - but so far as I am aware there isn't.

 

[Ridgeway]

This years Sunweb shirts (not sure who made them) had some sort of tear resistance built in, this to reduce road rash.

No doubt someone will develop a crash helmet airbag or even one for the bike itself, perhaps they already exist ?

Regarding abrasive tarmac and dirty roads, this doesn't concern me as much as hitting solid objects at speed, that's when things break

Boarders and bladers have a nice saying: "get tricks or die trying" No2 daughter is an avid figure and speed skater as well being an urban blade outside of Winter, she spends as much time flat on the ground as she does either airborne or actually being upright... protection is definitely required although she will often master a trick when padded up and then show her nervous parents without said protectors

Can't see roadies wanting to pad up for a descent though although agree it's very high risk effectively zooming down a mountain at 100kmh practically in your birthday suit

 

[Oldhippy]

If you race wear the gear, if you ride as transport shops and general day to day stuff why would anyone have a load of special gear? Ultimately the more people cycling daily means less pointless car trips and a healthier population and better environment. If people are are scared in to buying loads of specialist products they don't actually need how will that ever get more people on bikes?