My first crash...

[brjohnso]

Well, it finally happened. It was raining, and I turned down a dark part of a bike path and didn’t see a big heave in the asphalt caused by a tree root. I hit it doing about 20 mph and was instantly ejected from the wheel. I took quite a tumble and hit hard on my left arm, then rolled hard to the right. Luckily, I was well equipped with my motorcycle jacket, wrist guards, full face helmet, and knee pads. The only bad hit I took was on the inside of my right knee. It was stiff and sore for about three weeks, and it’s still a bit numb. 

After a couple weeks rest, I am back riding again, so all is well. Had I not been wearing my gear, I probably would have been in the ER.

[FlyboyEUC]

Gotta keep those knees bent when in unfamiliar territory. Glad you are okay. What were you riding?

[Darrell Wesh]

What kind of knee pads

[Rehab1]

15 hours ago, brjohnso said:

and I turned down a dark part of a bike path and didn’t see a big heave in the asphalt caused by a tree root.

Glad your semi ok! 

Roots, ruts, potholes with a touch of darkness can be a recipe for disaster.

[Guest PogArt Artur]

16 hours ago, brjohnso said:

Well, it finally happened. It was raining, and I turned down a dark part of a bike path and didn’t see a big heave in the asphalt caused by a tree root. I hit it doing about 20 mph and was instantly ejected from the wheel. I took quite a tumble and hit hard on my left arm, then rolled hard to the right. Luckily, I was well equipped with my motorcycle jacket, wrist guards, full face helmet, and knee pads. The only bad hit I took was on the inside of my right knee. It was stiff and sore for about three weeks, and it’s still a bit numb. 

After a couple weeks rest, I am back riding again, so all is well. Had I not been wearing my gear, I probably would have been in the ER.

Glad you're survived ...

Accident's happens , so we must be always prepared for unknown...

Look after yourself

[Unventor]

@brjohnso thank you for sharing. And I hope that your knee recovers to full function soon again.

I found that I need to stay 100% focused or a slight misjudgement or overlook tiny obstacle can have more than interesting result of the days ride. 

It is not always it ends in an accident but it can bring up the heart rate in an instant. 

I can only tip you to rest but still use your leg/knee. If you only rest it will easily go stiff and recovery takes longer. 

Welcome back riding soon. 

[LanghamP]

The initial thought is for the rider to have bent knees, and this is correct up to a certain speed for bumps no higher than the height of the sidewall.

Once the rider gets beyond that speed and bump height (and I think it's relatively modest, maybe a 2 inch bump at 20 mph), then the rider must be skilled enough to take the wheel coming at his chest with quite a bit of energy.

In short, the wheel tries to kill you because the wheel has no place to go but up with very little energy lost, and it's up to you to skillfully disperse that energy with bent knees. Pneumatic tires will help you little in this regard because they don't disperse energy; drop a hardtail bike and it damn near bounces back to the same height while doing the same to a scooter with rear suspension results in the rear feeling it got dropped in wet cement. You need suspension; with suspension the tire moves under you while the footpads don't, and it's the footpads strongly moving vertically that'll send you to the moon.

We need suspension. It's not a want.

[The Fat Unicyclist]

23 hours ago, Flyboy10 said:

Gotta keep those knees bent when in unfamiliar territory. Glad you are okay. What were you riding?

Definitely... The rougher the terrain (or more unfamiliar it is) the more you should bend your knees!

[Darrell Wesh]

On 5/25/2019 at 1:28 AM, Flyboy10 said:

Gotta keep those knees bent when in unfamiliar territory. Glad you are okay. What were you riding?

 

5 hours ago, The Fat Unicyclist said:

Definitely... The rougher the terrain (or more unfamiliar it is) the more you should bend your knees!

I hear this “bend your knees” so much but it’s an “incomplete” cue to give people. If you simply tell people to bend their knees what often happens is they slouch their butts like they’re sitting straight down in a bar stool chair. This fatigues them much quicker and it’s not actually that effective at staying on the pedals off-road or at high speeds over bumps.

 If you look at people who actually go over any terrain, bump, or obstacle at high speeds (chooch Tech) you’ll see that the key to good “suspension” is actually lowering your center of gravity by bending at the hips (like in a barbell deadlift). 

Bending at the knees with no hip hinge/bend is a recipe for wobbles and early fatigue. The hip bend transfers much of the load to the glutes instead of solely frying the quads. 

You don’t ride like this *all* the time, but If you are riding very fast, off roading on bumpy terrain, or trying to stay on the pedals then the posture in number 3 is what you want(minus the arms sticking forward!) 

I see many people ride with the posture in number 1 and merely “sit more” when coming upon rough terrain or bumps instead of hip hinging. 

You will notice the hip hinge has the head ahead of the toes, lowering the center of gravity more effectively and keeping you better balanced.

[Darrell Wesh]

Here is chooch displaying similar hip hinge mechanics, head ahead of toes, proper lowering of center of gravity over poor terrain.

[Guest PogArt Artur]

What a PROFESSIONAL advice indeed !!!

I'm practicing since last March,but this is first time I can see this stunning advice.

Thanks for the lesson !

[Darrell Wesh]

13 minutes ago, PogArt Artur said:

What a PROFESSIONAL advice indeed !!!

I'm practicing since last March,but this is first time I can see this stunning advice.

Thanks for the lesson !

Proper hip hinge mechanics and the strength to sustain it is something many if not most 1st world country citizens lack. Most bend at the waist, destroying stability and utilizing muscles not equipped with the endurance to sustain those angles/creating back pain (bent at the waist is a common reason why people complain of back pain while riding EUC’s)

 

[Guest PogArt Artur]

1 hour ago, Darrell Wesh said:

Proper hip hinge mechanics and the strength to sustain it is something many if not most 1st world country citizens lack. Most bend at the waist, destroying stability and utilizing muscles not equipped with the endurance to sustain those angles/creating back pain (bent at the waist is a common reason why people complain of back pain while riding EUC’s)

 

I was doing just 'sits' bending on knees to deal with bumps on pavements, while it was ok to go over those cracks, I did't feel that this knee lowered stand is any of advantage, where it comes to improving the balance...

I will try make the above position now, while dealing with the same surface imperfections, to learn the difference between those stances.

The hip hinge is like proper skiing position.

[LanghamP]

2 hours ago, Darrell Wesh said:

Proper hip hinge mechanics and the strength to sustain it is something many if not most 1st world country citizens lack. Most bend at the waist, destroying stability and utilizing muscles not equipped with the endurance to sustain those angles/creating back pain (bent at the waist is a common reason why people complain of back pain while riding EUC’s)

 

Who here can do the Asian squat?

 

[Darrell Wesh]

17 minutes ago, LanghamP said:

Who here can do the Asian squat?

 

Actually that’s the wrong posture. 

A hip hinge is very different from that “Asian squat” or deep squat. When you sit on your Gotway Msupers any EUC other than Ks18s and monsters, you are actually doing a hip hinge/ driving the hips back to initiate sitting and not a deep squat. 

A deep squat showcases ankle mobility while a hip hinge showcases hamstring flexibility and hip mobility. 

[Mono]

34 minutes ago, LanghamP said:

Who here can do the Asian squat?

I can do it and yet I feel this is a real limitation on my posture: if I get deep in the knees it becomes difficult to keep the heels in full contact with the pedals.

[Darrell Wesh]

4 hours ago, Mono said:

I can do it and yet I feel this is a real limitation on my posture: if I get deep in the knees it becomes difficult to keep the heels in full contact with the pedals.

An ankle mobility issue. Now imagine getting rid of your built up heel in your shoe and going minimalist/or trying it barefoot. your entire heel would be in the air! This is why I only ride in barefoot type shoes or flat shoes with no heel buildup as i have excellent pedal feel and the very best posture possible. 

[LucasD]

Good posture is like ski carving.  Asian squat is nothing I would recommend in skiing or here.

Main difference I see the tin comparison to ski lifting the leg makes EUC tilt in different direction. So when in ski I would expect go right here I will go left

Described here 

http://www.effectiveskiing.com/wiki/carving-blog/The_techniques_of_the_Giant_Slalom_turn

http://www.mechanicsofsport.com/skiing/basic_mechanics/stance.html

 

[FlyboyEUC]

10 hours ago, Darrell Wesh said:

you’ll see that the key to good “suspension” is actually lowering your center of gravity by bending at the hips (like in a barbell deadlift). 

Thanks for the clarification. I do this dead lift technique. I assumed that everyone naturally leans forward when their knees are bent.

[OUNCESMUSIC]

On 5/26/2019 at 6:38 AM, LanghamP said:

Who here can do the Asian squat?

 

I've once heard this referred to as the 3rd world squat. It's Asian? Probably not? Great work by the "journos" over at buzzkill though. 

[Smoother]

On 5/26/2019 at 10:53 AM, Darrell Wesh said:

 

 

You don’t ride like this *all* the time, but If you are riding very fast, off roading on bumpy terrain, or trying to stay on the pedals then the posture in number 3 is what you want(minus the arms sticking forward!) 

 

To hell with you!  When I use #3 I'M GONNA STICK MY ARMS OUT. 

EDIT and fart a blue, arrow shaped flame.