My first fall at speed

[svenomous]

I took a fall this morning during my commute to work, due to speed wobble while going downhill at about 8% grade, and my inability to ride it out.  I've had wobbles before, some severe enough that I worried I might get bucked off, but so far each time I had ridden it out and managed to reduce the wobble by slowing or turning ("carving") or clamping down my legs.  I've also seen a big reduction in wobbles in general, as I build confidence and "EUC legs."  This time, though, it started fast, became a rapid hammering vibration within 2-3 seconds, and I started losing directional control while next to rush hour traffic on a road shoulder.  It's frustrating to struggle with these wobbles, especially downhill, only to have them magically disappear for weeks, before suddenly reappearing on a commute route I've taken quite a few times by now. My confidence is shot to pieces for now.

In some ways it was a benign fall: not a faceplant, as I went off backward and the wheel continued without me for about 30ft before going into the roadside ditch.  However, I was going about 20mph and the impact and sliding to a stop had some effects, as both impact areas bypassed my protective gear altogether.  I ride with double-sided flexmeters on the wrists, G-Form Elite RPT compression elbow guards, and hard-shell skater strap-on knee guards, plus a full-face motocross helmet.

As I picked myself up, the immediate adrenaline rush made assessment difficult, but I went to find the wheel and turn it off, and just waited for about 2 minutes for the shaking to stop and the pain signals to start coming in to the brain. My first impression was that I had slid pretty hard on my butt, and that my left arm was damaged and not working properly. My pants were ripped up at my left upper buttock.  I could move the fingers, wrist, and shoulder of the left arm normally, but forearm rotation and lifting was very difficult and starting to hurt.

I almost turned around and went home, but still wasn't sure of my condition, and in any case at work I would be closer to professional help, so after about another 3-4 minutes I got back on the wheel (after removing debris from the pedals and wheel well) and continued the ride (slowly!), with left arm hanging limp as much as possible.  I did have to signal some left turns, half-raising the arm to do so. I must've been quite the sight with the hole and bleeding on my left side.

Got to my office, slowly removed all the gear, took 800mg Ibuprofen, and went to my first meeting, where the pain and difficulty moving my arm started properly registering.  Afterward I walked across the street to my primary care facility (luckily right next to where I work). They cleaned and bandaged:
- A small bleeding circular bruise on the inside of my very swollen left elbow joint
- A giant bleeding abraded and bruised section of upper left buttock

An NP palpated my left hand, wrist, forearm, and arm, and had me show that I could move fingers, wrist, and shoulder OK.  What hurts is forearm lifting and rotation.  Got 2 x-rays done on the elbow, which show no major fracture, but a small anomaly that may be a "subtle" avulsion fracture on the inside of the elbow, right about where the circular bruise is.  In other words, a small bit of bone may have chipped off.  Will see an orthopedic specialist on Thursday.  Meanwhile the arm is in a sling and I'm trying not to use it.  The wheel stayed at work and I got a ride home at the end of the day.

So, no wheel until I heal, which hopefully will consist simply of a bunch of swollen soft tissue getting less angry with me.

Given where the damage happened, I need to reevaluate my protective equipment.  On the elbow, the G-Form Elite has a flexible RPT pad that covers the elbow and wraps part-way around the arm.  This is fine, except that on impact my arm was rotated in such a way that what hit the asphalt was not the armor pad but a spot about half an inch from the edge of it, which means that the only thing between skin and ground was a very thin flexible compression layer, something like lycra.  This part of the elbow sleeve now has a nice little hole in it.  As for my behind, my shorts and underwear provided very little protection and bare skin scraped along the asphalt as I decelerated, creating a giant bleeding mess.

While I recover I'll be looking for new protection options, such as motorcycle pants/jeans with armor pads, and a different type of elbow protection that has better lateral coverage.  I'm trying to stop short of going full "Alien Android in a B Movie." Marty Backe looks awesome and futuristic in his gear, but I don't see how I can reasonably commute to/from work in something so elaborate.  I'm open to any suggestions btw.

[Sidewalk Enforcer]

Sorry to hear about the fall @svenomous and nasty sounding injuries - hope you heal up soon. Can't believe you sat though a work meeting in that state.

@Alien Rides was wearing some pretty sweet looking gear in his recent vlog upload re: Nikola vs. Monster, but I struggle to imagine commuting to work in full motorcycle gear. I mean the abrasion protection would be awesome, but without a change of clothes/ change room/ locker on the other end of the commute it's not really feasible for me. I commute in a motorcycle jacket but for sure, my legs and my butt are vulnerable!

Edited July 23, 2019 by Sidewalk Enforcer

[TomOnWheels]

I'm using EUC for now almost 5 years (commute to work, on weekends, shopping, and even holidays). I never (crossing fingers) had any serious fall, and no fall at speed... But thinking about it every day... and I guess older you become and more you think about safety. Now I use a helmet and this is already something new for me... And more I read posts like this one, and more I'm feeling like I should really wear some serious protections....

[FlyboyEUC]

I wear a cheap moto cross jacket, wrist guards, knee pads (which I plan on upgrading to shin guards), and a full face helmet. It has saved me twice from nasty road rash. The best part is that it zips on like a jacket so it is quick to take off and on. Anyways, I ride with all this gear (including another light jacket and high-viz vest with flashing lights) to work everyday. I store my wheel under my desk and take off my gear and put in either on the back of my chair or in a drawer. Lots of people ride motorcycles to work and have their gear somewhere in their cubicle/work area. Hope you recover soon, falling is not fun when you get hurt. 

[null]

Would be nice with a armored jumpsuit, that way most of the protection could be put on in one go.

edit: seems there are a few, fairly ugly though.

Edited July 23, 2019 by Mimolette

[Nils]

8 hours ago, svenomous said:

While I recover I'll be looking for new protection options, such as motorcycle pants/jeans with armor pads, and a different type of elbow protection that has better lateral coverage.  I'm trying to stop short of going full "Alien Android in a B Movie." Marty Backe looks awesome and futuristic in his gear, but I don't see how I can reasonably commute to/from work in something so elaborate.  I'm open to any suggestions btw.

I hope you have a quick and successful recovery! With regards to protection, it sounds to me like that you were doing a pretty good job of covering up as is though. Sure, if you can find better elbow protection then definitely use that. For your sorry behind, there are kevlar/aramid jeans you could use. I have a couple of these jeans myself but while they look good and should offer good protection (I've never had the "chance" to try them out in practice) they're also warm due to the thick fabric. I'm partial to this thing that I'll wear on my rides for upper body protection FWIW:  https://demonsnow.com/store/MTB-BMX/MTB-BMX-Upper-Lower Body/DS 1650 Flex Force Pro top V2. Provides elbow, back and shoulder protection just from slipping on one garment, so that's nice. Throw a T-shirt on top and you don't look all that crazy. I'm sure there are other options as well. 

However, like I said before you were doing a good job of covering up already. I got some very nice black and blues on my buttock when I over-leaned my KS16B, but that does not mean I actually wear the kevlar jeans that much as they're not always a good option (e.g. when riding to work). No matter of how good a job you're doing protecting yourself you can always manage to fall in such a way that the protection won't be sufficient for that particular fall. There is an inherent risk in riding these things (as with other vehicles such as bikes as well), and you will never be protected enough to cover all cases. So I'll say gear up as well as you can during the circumstances and then accept that not everything can be accounted for. 

And finally, welcome to the club! It's my belief that everyone will have falls (at speed) eventually if they keep at it. It's disconcerting, but heal up, learn from it and then get on it again. You may have a newfound cautiousness, but it will serve you well  

 

[Scubadragonsan]

I know your pain though I only a couple of face plants (plenty enough!). They are not pleasant. I ride to work daily also, but at my age 60, I am not in any hurry, especially to hell or heaven. As much as I love to travel on my KS18S, I seldom go faster than 15 mph, for I know there is a hidden trap in all wheels--no forewarning of any kind of potential mechanical failure such as a battery cut off. Like a lot of things, the wheel is fun and mostly very safe. Over the years, reading some of the wheel accident stories on this forum, I learn that the probabilities of falls are low, but they do exist in many ways. Hope you heal soon!

[eucinsea]

Ouch glad to hear you are OK. I 100% agree with wearing protection  I did not at first and lucky I only ended up with a bruised body and ego (which I left behind to be safe.) 

 

Now 98% of the time I'm riding I wear: 

- Dainese Air Flux D1 Tex Jacket

- Fox Proframe Full Face Helmet

- Troy Lee Designs slip on knee pads

- ehweels.com wrist guards 

[Alien Rides]

9 hours ago, Sidewalk Enforcer said:

Sorry to hear about the fall @svenomous and nasty sounding injuries - hope you heal up soon. Can't believe you sat though a work meeting in that state.

@Alien Rides was wearing some pretty sweet looking gear in his recent vlog upload re: Nikola vs. Monster, but I struggle to imagine commuting to work in full motorcycle gear. I mean the abrasion protection would be awesome, but without a change of clothes/ change room/ locker on the other end of the commute it's not really feasible for me. I commute in a motorcycle jacket but for sure, my legs and my butt are vulnerable! 

Thanks, yeah - to be honest my video gear is a LOT more protective than my everyday riding gear. For commuting I'm a lot less protected. I do know that @who_the has some sweet knee pads that he wears all day long, I hope he's ok with me sharing these intimate details 😅 I'm also looking at acquiring some padded motorcycle jeans as well, which may or not work depending on your profession.

Reading this definitely made me want to re-assess my commute safety gear though.

[Declan acoustic-unicyclist]

1 minute ago, Alien Rides said:

Thanks, yeah - to be honest my video gear is a LOT more protective than my everyday riding gear. For commuting I'm a lot less protected. I do know that @who_the has some sweet knee pads that he wears all day long, I hope he's ok with me sharing these intimate details 😅 I'm also looking at acquiring some padded motorcycle jeans as well, which may or not work depending on your profession.

Reading this definitely made me want to re-assess my commute safety gear though.

KLIM Outrider Pants are fantastic for incognito gear. They have pockets for hip and knee protection. Look super stealth, and come in light and dark colors

[LanghamP]

You really want armored everything, with abrasion resistance, while looking utterly business casual yet stylish.

Armored areas are the entire foot including ankle, knees, and butts, and 100% of the body except hands and head are abrasion resistant up to 75 km/h.

[Declan acoustic-unicyclist]

5 minutes ago, LanghamP said:

You really want armored everything, with abrasion resistance, while looking utterly business casual yet stylish.

Armored areas are the entire foot including ankle, knees, and butts, and 100% of the body except hands and head are abrasion resistant up to 75 km/h.

Fortnine advice is 100% accurate 100% of the time

What he says is good, is actually good for the reasons he describes. Even when he has a complaint about a good piece of gear, that complaint is also accurate 100% of the time. This is absolutely the best channel on youtube for anything on two wheels (or even 1)

[LanghamP]

10 hours ago, svenomous said:

I've had wobbles before, some severe enough that I worried I might get bucked off, but so far each time I had ridden it out and managed to reduce the wobble by slowing or turning ("carving") or clamping down my legs.  I've also seen a big reduction in wobbles in general, as I build confidence and "EUC legs."  This time, though, it started fast, became a rapid hammering vibration within 2-3 seconds, and I started losing directional control while next to rush hour traffic on a road shoulder. 

I believe the correct response to the slow wobbles is to do exactly what you have been doing.

For the fast wobbles, which I highly suspect are only caused by the tire hitting something at an angle, the only success seems to be to brake as hard as you can while keeping knees straight. That seems to stop them instantly. You do need straight knees (the opposite of just about every other situation) because hard knees function like rigid forks, while bent knees allows the wheel to continue increasing its yaw until, inevitably, you get chucked off like a tampon and about as bloody.

[svenomous]

The tampon thing made me laugh!  Got it, @LanghamP, will try to remember this, although in the heat of the moment there's very little time to react, much less think.  Thanks for the advice and well wishes, everyone.  I'll check out all the specific gear suggestions/mentions made, and will go watch that YouTube video now.  If the "stealth armor" option doesn't bankrupt me it sure looks great.  I looked at the KLIMs, and my biggest problem with those is the sizing.  I'm "squat" in that I have a reasonable waist (36) but an unreasonable inseam (29), and it's hard to find "active" pants, which are often sized less granularly than street clothes, that don't have pant legs dragging on the ground and knee pads somewhere around my shins.

@Nils, I get what you're saying about protection, and that it can never be enough for all possible accidents.  Look at Rehab1's accident, where even with protection the force simply traveled up his arm and destroyed his shoulder.  No pad is going to prevent that.  Still, there are obvious danger zones when riding an EUC, including the face, knees, wrists/palms for forward falls, the buttocks, lower/inner arms and elbows, and back of the head for rearward falls, and the hips and shoulders for sideways falls.  The latter fall modality seems like the least likely, so looking at my existing gear what seems to be missing is accounting for rearward falls and protecting the buttocks and a better circumference of the inner arms and elbows.

I'm feeling marginally better today in some ways, and marginally worse in others.  The arm is more swollen, but less painful.  I'm cheating and touch typing with both hands, even though it causes some pain after a few minutes.  Am on clinical doses of naproxen for 3 days, to combat swelling.  The butt is still a bleeding/weeping mess, and in some ways it's worse (or at least more inconvenient) than the arm injury.  Based on progress I feel like I might be 75% functional by the weekend, in terms of arm/hand movement.  The wheel will come home in my car's trunk in the next few days, and it will be serving a work commute again as soon as I have my new gear selection figured out, and feel sufficiently healed.

I'll update this thread about my condition, and also about what gear changes I end up going with.

[Darrell Wesh]

1 hour ago, svenomous said:

looked at the KLIMs, and my biggest problem with those is the sizing.  I'm "squat" in that I have a reasonable waist (36) but an unreasonable inseam (29), and it's hard to find "active" pants, which are often sized less granularly than street clothes, that don't have pant legs dragging on the ground and knee pads somewhere around my shins.

 

3 hours ago, Declan acoustic-unicyclist said:

KLIM Outrider Pants are fantastic for incognito gear. They have pockets for hip and knee protection. Look super stealth, and come in light and dark colors

I have thousands and thousands of dollars of KLIM gear, both for protection and for lifestyle. The outrider pants are a great suggestion for being incognito as far as wearing gear and you don’t have to worry about knee pad placement being off as they can be moved with Velcro and hang tight reliably to where you put it. 

Just remember that KLIM is an American company and sized for American waistlines so your size 36 can get away with a size 34 which would be a good inseam length. 

I remember the first time I saw their prices while purchasing much cheaperJoe Rocket gear on Amazon and thinking “who the hell would buy gear this expensive”. But it’s well worth it for the durability, comfort and protection as well as confidence knowing you’re wearing the best. 

If you have the extra money spend the extra $100 and get the Switchback Cargo Pants. Good ventilation for the summer compared to the Outrider and more flexibility which is crucial if you need to run off or squat low etc.

As far as your ass is concerned, how many people actually fall backwards on their ass? This seems to be a reoccurring thing on these forums that I’ve read. Everyone’s so worried about faceplants, assplants is going to be the new thing! 

Try the demon x2 protective short. I have this and the x2 too and use them in the winter under my KLIM winter outfits for impact protection when riding. The short has the d30 in the spot where you fell. Although you will want an abrasion resistance pant or I feel the short wouldn’t hold up to your crash. 

https://demonsnow.com/store/MTB-BMX/MTB-BMX-Upper-Lower Body?product_id=440

[svenomous]

@Darrell Wesh, thanks for the additional suggestions.  The KLIM Switchback looks interesting, and I'm seriously considering it.  Good to know that the knee pad position is adjustable.  I guess I'll just have to roll up the cuffs as needed, or maybe I can get them modified (although non-standard fabric may not be alterable in the normal way). Regarding the X2 shorts, wouldn't abrasion-resistant pants like the KLIMs provide sufficient protection by themselves?  All my butt damage is from skin decelerating from 20mph to a stop in direct contact with asphalt.  There's little bruising and no other damage down there.  The tailbone is a potential concern, though, if landing just right...hmmm.

I'm researching and building up the wardrobe change list, should have everything figured out by this evening.

Btw two other areas that received damage (minor) are the shoes (quite a bit of sole material abraded off the heel edges of the Adidas skate shoes) and hands (some abrasions and bleeding on 2 fingers and one outer palm just past where the wrist sliders end).  I'm back to wondering if I need an armored shoe/boot, although this time there was no foot damage...but the right fall could damage the toes, I'm sure.  I'm also back to thinking about gloves, as much as those are a nuisance in the summer (and in general, in terms of dexterity and ability to interact with normal objects like keys and smartphones).  I've managed to slide my flexmeters over thin full-finger bicycle gloves, which should provide at least some protection against scrapes during falls.  Armored gloves seem to not provide the kind of wrist protection I can get from something like the flexmeters, nor the sliders that help dissipate energy during a forward fall.

[Rywokast]

ouch that sounds painful, hopefully its not bad as it seems and you recover quickly! i wonder what it is that causes these wobbles, it seems like some people are prone to them while others are not

[Darrell Wesh]

18 minutes ago, svenomous said:

@Darrell Wesh, thanks for the additional suggestions.  The KLIM Switchback looks interesting, and I'm seriously considering it.  Good to know that the knee pad position is adjustable.  I guess I'll just have to roll up the cuffs as needed, or maybe I can get them modified (although non-standard fabric may not be alterable in the normal way). Regarding the X2 shorts, wouldn't abrasion-resistant pants like the KLIMs provide sufficient protection by themselves?  All my butt damage is from skin decelerating from 20mph to a stop in direct contact with asphalt.  There's little bruising and no other damage down there.  The tailbone is a potential concern, though, if landing just right...hmmm.

I'm researching and building up the wardrobe change list, should have everything figured out by this evening.

Btw two other areas that received damage (minor) are the shoes (quite a bit of sole material abraded off the heel edges of the Adidas skate shoes) and hands (some abrasions and bleeding on 2 fingers and one outer palm just past where the wrist sliders end).  I'm back to wondering if I need an armored shoe/boot, although this time there was no foot damage...but the right fall could damage the toes, I'm sure.  I'm also back to thinking about gloves, as much as those are a nuisance in the summer (and in general, in terms of dexterity and ability to interact with normal objects like keys and smartphones).  I've managed to slide my flexmeters over thin full-finger bicycle gloves, which should provide at least some protection against scrapes during falls.  Armored gloves seem to not provide the kind of wrist protection I can get from something like the flexmeters, nor the sliders that help dissipate energy during a forward fall.

You experienced some impact during your fall and while the KLIM pants will protect from abrasion they don’t have impact protection for tailbone or buttocks. The x2 shorts will prevent bruising. 

As far as gloves, nowadays technology has reached a point where we don’t have to wear big bulky wrist guards that restrict our range of motion and don’t even offer abrasion resistance to the finger tips. 

Knox’s scaphoid protection system is one such technology that has hard plastic (and some even d30 or Poron impact protection) and as well as giving impact protection allows you to slide. 

I personally recommend https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/knox-orsa-leather-mk2-gloves

and please don’t use those garbage gloves advertised on the Esk8 forums which has the Knox scaphoid technology but horrible construction that won’t survive more than one crash. 

As far as shoes, don’t worry about it. Wear what gives you the most traction and control/comfort. I hate wearing socks because they slip around (or feel like they are) in my shoes during one legged maneuvers or extreme lean angles. There have been documented posts and videos about people wearing motorcycle shoes/boots with too much heel that caused them to overlean their wheels or lose control etc 

Edited July 23, 2019 by Darrell Wesh

[svenomous]

OK, I think I have my choices:

• Feet: stick with the skate shoes, or use the tougher (and waterproof) hiking shoes when it seems appropriate. Not ready to go for reinforced, armored riding boots.
• Legs: KLIM Switchback per Darrell's recommendation.  I'll try to have them hemmed if they're just too long for me to wear unmodified. This has D30 hip and knee armor, so no more separate skateboarding knee protectors, and it should be abrasion resistant.
• Ass: Knox Defender MK3 lycra shorts, with hip, thigh, and tailbone pads.  Impact resistance to go with the abrasion resistance from the pants.
• Upper body: A motorcycle mesh jacket, the Viking Cycle "Warlock," which seems highly rated (despite being pretty cheap compared to the other stuff I've listed).  Spine pad and C.E. shoulder and elbow pads.  No more separate elbow guards.
• Hands/wrists: Knox Orsa Leather MK2 gloves, as recommended by Darrell. No more flexmeters.
• Head: I already have a full-face motorcyle helmet with visor for poor weather, and a full-face motocross helmet for warm weather, and will continue to use these.

I'm getting the pants and jacket large enough that I'm hoping to just slip these on over street clothes.  Then, when I get to my destination (like my office) I'd just strip off the outer garments and be reasonably dressed for work.  The shorts present the only wrinkle in this plan, apart from not knowing if I can get things to fit right over jeans and whatnot.

[Darrell Wesh]

8 minutes ago, svenomous said:

Ass: Knox Defender MK3 lycra shorts, with hip, thigh, and tailbone pads.  Impact resistance to go with the abrasion resistance from the pants.

Ehh why those? They don’t have any impact protection on your butt. And you already have hip armor in the switchback pants so no need to have that CE approved hip padding. The Demon x2 d30 shorts I recommend are mostly coverage for your rearside, with extensive d30 butt padding and T6 d30 tailbone padding. 

Edited July 24, 2019 by Darrell Wesh

[Darrell Wesh]

10 minutes ago, svenomous said:

Upper body: A motorcycle mesh jacket, the Viking Cycle "Warlock," which seems highly rated (despite being pretty cheap compared to the other stuff I've listed).  Spine pad and C.E. shoulder and elbow pads.  No more separate elbow guards.

There’s a reason it’s cheap. The back protector on these cheap jackets is a POS useless foam (even the reviews say it) and the shoulder and elbow armor leave a lot to be desired in terms of coverage as well as making the jacket stiff and uncomfortable due to their hard plastic. 

You could upgrade to d30 which would give you much better flexibility and comfort as well as better impact protection, but that would be an additional $150 just for armor replacement on top of the $80 Jacket.

If you’re using it as an over jacket then trust me that you’ll want it to have good flexibility otherwise you’ll feel like a mummy. I’ve bought similar cheap jackets from Xelement and Joe Rocket (which the first amazon review on that Viking jacket compares it to the joe Rocket I bought)

If you have the money and want just ONE jacket as an over jacket buy the Klim Marrakesh. There’s a reason I went ahead and bought another expensive Marrakesh after a few weeks with the first. 

The entire jacket is stretch fabric and this allows it to be worn over anything COMFORTABLY with no restrictions in range of motion. It’s also water repellant. The elbow coverage of the d30 is phenomenal; it extends all the way into the forearms. The jacket flows air but not as much as a direct vent mesh jacket which means it’s four season friendly( you can easily layer winter clothes underneath it). Let me know what your weight/height is for proper over jacket sizing. 

[svenomous]

Tailbone pad is what I thought would give the impact resistance in the area in question.  I did notice the redundant padding compared to the pants.

Klim Marrakesh...expensive.  Considering.

[Lucas Alexander Oliver]

Ouch.   Sounds like a nice lil tumble.  Seems like you’ve gotten great suggestions.  Me personally.  I wear the bilt blaze 2 mesh jacket.  It’s great for warm weather and protects my shoulders elbows and back while being cool and comfort.. I also wear scyoco motorcycle knee/shin guards. They are hard plastic with flexible joints and take care of my knees.   And I wear wrist guards and gloves. Also a full face bell super Dj mips helmet.  And I feel as safe as I can feel riding hard like I do..  I am consistently amruding the beeps on my nikola     So around 30-33 is my sweet spot.   It’s the most fun ever    I love it    I’m trying to pick out a 100v wheel so I can increase my top speed.    Just remember not to flail about when you wreck.   Tuck all your extremities in and roll.  Lol

[Rehab1]

Ugh! I just caught this @svenomous. So sorry to hear you got hurt! Accidents make me cringe!  I’m so glad your seeing ortho on Thursday and using a sling in the meantime. 

It’s amazing how an adrenaline rush can disrupt the pain signals allowing you ride back to your destination. Been there. Uncontrollable wobbles leading to an injurious fall really sucks.

Best wishes on your upcoming appointment. Please keep us posted! Prayers! 

 

[LanghamP]

7 hours ago, Darrell Wesh said:

As far as your ass is concerned, how many people actually fall backwards on their ass? This seems to be a reoccurring thing on these forums that I’ve read. Everyone’s so worried about faceplants, assplants is going to be the new thing! 

The times I've had to brake hard or I experimented with out braking a bicycle, I've fallen on my ass more than a few times. I'd guess Wheels are some of the easiest vehicles to misjudge braking, and either slip the wheel, or droop the pedals. Either way, I think being dropped on your ass during hard braking is the way to crash, because generally you've taken off lots and speed and sitting down on the ground hurts but isn't terribly injurious. Cut hands and a bruised ass is infinitely preferable to broken wrists and a bashed face.

@svenomous, by simply strapping something heavy to either the front or the back of your wheel (such as a useful Bluetooth speaker), you can dramatically reduce the quick oscillations into slower more controllable ones. The feeling is somewhat akin to sticking your wheel into wet concrete, so you might not like it, but if I knew I was doing lots of high speed riding then I would put a functional steering damper on my wheel.