First minor spill

[Siggy]

Had my first minor road accident today! Gutted. Adrenaline still going. 

Commuting through central London, I use a mixture of cycle highways (sectioned off), cycle lanes (on the main road) and a tiny bit of road (no cycle lane visible). 

Today's commute was 45 mins cycling - according to google maps. I add a 10mins buffer to the estimation.

Going to work the V8 was in fine form. It's set to max 14mph and I wear a motorcycle jacket, knee pads, full face helmet and motorcycle gloves. Ready for whatever. My V8 also has the protective cover, reflective tape and I use a leash which i slide under my belt. 

Now the thing is I'm a heavier guy - 92kg - and I'm usually gliding with a full backpack. Thinking of it now I wonder if the V8 can fully handle me. Additionally, I had just 'slimed' my tire and have had some issues getting the right psi without my V8 bad boy wobbling.

Anyway: The commute to work was just fine. Straight forward. At times I do feel the V8 too bouncy over bumps in the road. It means I need to really concentrate when riding. I also get tilt back a few times. It's almost like I'm too fast for the pavement (which is crowded during rush hour), but too slow for the road/ fast cycle superhighway. Catch 22.

Got to work and recharged the beast. It had been showing 35%.

Setting off after work with 100% battery. All is well until 15 minutes from home. As I crossed a main road, the beast started wobbling like crazy. I managed to hop off. Thankfully there was no traffic coming across. But the V8 did go flying from my belt and flew towards some pedestrians waiting to cross. 

It was such an eerie, weird moment. Because everyone looked so shocked. Pedestrians crossing, cyclists behind me and the Cars waiting. I think a combination of them not knowing what the hell I was riding and whether to check if I was ok or whatever. Hilarious.

I tried to continue riding, but it was wobbling uncontrollably.

Interesting points between trips:

I turned max speed to 16mph.

I went across a rather long stretch of cobbled road. I don't know if that may have displaced something or put too much pressure on the tires.

I walked the rest of the way home - wracking my mind about what happened. 

The tire is slightly flatter. But no obvious puncture. Ive ordered a pump which arrives Sunday. I will rest the beast until then. This may be a sign its time to upgrade already. What a day.  

 

[mezzanine]

I've had a few accidents since I started riding, and I've gone into a kind of shock each time.  I'm not sure if it fits the technical definition of shock; I'll start to feel queasy and sit down for five minutes, which is untimely because that's when onlookers are checking to see if you're okay.  

It's good to hear that you were geared up.  I have a V8 and I don't go past 40 psi for tire pressure.  I like to use the minimum possible tire pressure in both my wheels.  

I think I recognize what you describe as a symptom I've encountered after going over significant bumps.  It's odd that it came out of nowhere, though.  I've never had it happen spontaneously like that and would find it disconcerting because there's no cause-effect relationship obvious to explain why it would happen.    

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

Sudden wobbling is weird.  Did you check that the pedal supports haven't come loose or that the axle hasn't broken (pedal supports angled towards the tire)?  Deformed rim?  Did you hit a curb or pothole with a lot of force?

[Rehab1]

So glad your ok. Once you have a few days to reflect on your accident you might figure out what happened. I did. 

[Marty Backe]

1 hour ago, Siggy said:

Had my first minor road accident today! Gutted. Adrenaline still going. 

Commuting through central London, I use a mixture of cycle highways (sectioned off), cycle lanes (on the main road) and a tiny bit of road (no cycle lane visible). 

Today's commute was 45 mins cycling - according to google maps. I add a 10mins buffer to the estimation.

Going to work the V8 was in fine form. It's set to max 14mph and I wear a motorcycle jacket, knee pads, full face helmet and motorcycle gloves. Ready for whatever. My V8 also has the protective cover, reflective tape and I use a leash which i slide under my belt. 

Now the thing is I'm a heavier guy - 92kg - and I'm usually gliding with a full backpack. Thinking of it now I wonder if the V8 can fully handle me. Additionally, I had just 'slimed' my tire and have had some issues getting the right psi without my V8 bad boy wobbling.

Anyway: The commute to work was just fine. Straight forward. At times I do feel the V8 too bouncy over bumps in the road. It means I need to really concentrate when riding. I also get tilt back a few times. It's almost like I'm too fast for the pavement (which is crowded during rush hour), but too slow for the road/ fast cycle superhighway. Catch 22.

Got to work and recharged the beast. It had been showing 35%.

Setting off after work with 100% battery. All is well until 15 minutes from home. As I crossed a main road, the beast started wobbling like crazy. I managed to hop off. Thankfully there was no traffic coming across. But the V8 did go flying from my belt and flew towards some pedestrians waiting to cross. 

It was such an eerie, weird moment. Because everyone looked so shocked. Pedestrians crossing, cyclists behind me and the Cars waiting. I think a combination of them not knowing what the hell I was riding and whether to check if I was ok or whatever. Hilarious.

I tried to continue riding, but it was wobbling uncontrollably.

Interesting points between trips:

I turned max speed to 16mph.

I went across a rather long stretch of cobbled road. I don't know if that may have displaced something or put too much pressure on the tires.

I walked the rest of the way home - wracking my mind about what happened. 

The tire is slightly flatter. But no obvious puncture. Ive ordered a pump which arrives Sunday. I will rest the beast until then. This may be a sign its time to upgrade already. What a day.  

 

To me it sounds like you are riding a wheel that's severely under inflated, which can cause what you are describing. There are no mechanical issues that can cause a wheel to wobble - it's a simple motor.

[mezzanine]

My suspicion is that he hit a small bump and initiated the wobble that way.  My least favourite flaw of the V8.

[Cannings]

8 hours ago, Siggy said:

Had my first minor road accident today! Gutted. Adrenaline still going. 

Commuting through central London, I use a mixture of cycle highways (sectioned off), cycle lanes (on the main road) and a tiny bit of road (no cycle lane visible). 

Today's commute was 45 mins cycling - according to google maps. I add a 10mins buffer to the estimation.

Going to work the V8 was in fine form. It's set to max 14mph and I wear a motorcycle jacket, knee pads, full face helmet and motorcycle gloves. Ready for whatever. My V8 also has the protective cover, reflective tape and I use a leash which i slide under my belt. 

Now the thing is I'm a heavier guy - 92kg - and I'm usually gliding with a full backpack. Thinking of it now I wonder if the V8 can fully handle me. Additionally, I had just 'slimed' my tire and have had some issues getting the right psi without my V8 bad boy wobbling.

Anyway: The commute to work was just fine. Straight forward. At times I do feel the V8 too bouncy over bumps in the road. It means I need to really concentrate when riding. I also get tilt back a few times. It's almost like I'm too fast for the pavement (which is crowded during rush hour), but too slow for the road/ fast cycle superhighway. Catch 22.

Got to work and recharged the beast. It had been showing 35%.

Setting off after work with 100% battery. All is well until 15 minutes from home. As I crossed a main road, the beast started wobbling like crazy. I managed to hop off. Thankfully there was no traffic coming across. But the V8 did go flying from my belt and flew towards some pedestrians waiting to cross. 

It was such an eerie, weird moment. Because everyone looked so shocked. Pedestrians crossing, cyclists behind me and the Cars waiting. I think a combination of them not knowing what the hell I was riding and whether to check if I was ok or whatever. Hilarious.

I tried to continue riding, but it was wobbling uncontrollably.

Interesting points between trips:

I turned max speed to 16mph.

I went across a rather long stretch of cobbled road. I don't know if that may have displaced something or put too much pressure on the tires.

I walked the rest of the way home - wracking my mind about what happened. 

The tire is slightly flatter. But no obvious puncture. Ive ordered a pump which arrives Sunday. I will rest the beast until then. This may be a sign its time to upgrade already. What a day.  

 

You are a braver man than me to ride in london, i'm barely coming to grips with riding on a road at 6 in the morning where I sometimes see 2-3 cars max before getting on the cycle path down the bypass.

[meepmeepmayer]

Try to find out why this happened! But no injuries = phew!

11 hours ago, Siggy said:

This may be a sign its time to upgrade already.

This is the key insight here imho Maybe a nice KS16S or 18L?

[Siggy]

@mezzanine @Hunka Hunka Burning Love 

I'm starting to believe it was going down one of London's notorious cobbled streets. Way too bumpy. Multiple cobbles as well probably knocked the tire about worse than Mike Tyson.

Pedals seem fine though.

@Marty Backe I think the cobbled street led to lose of inflation

19 hours ago, Rehab1 said:

So glad your ok. Once you have a few days to reflect on your accident you might figure out what happened. I did. 

Thanks @Rehab1 much appreciated mate. 

 

12 hours ago, Cannings said:

You are a braver man than me to ride in london, i'm barely coming to grips with riding on a road at 6 in the morning where I sometimes see 2-3 cars max before getting on the cycle path down the bypass.

It's really not that bad. Tbh I believe as long as you are visible, look fairly serious about how to ride (protective gear etc), I think drivers are more apt to look out for you.

It's when you're riding 30mph in just a t-shirt, no helmet, no lights, and swerving through traffic that you also deserve to get a little reminder from king Karma.

--

All in all I its a sign to get a larger wheel. Something that can handle my weight (92kg) and height 6'5. The V8 is a nimble little beast but I don't think its powerful enough.

I'm leaning towards the KS18s 840wh or waiting for the KS18L as @meepmeepmayer mentioned. As always money is an issue.

Which wheel do you guys reckon