My first ebike crash...

[Ancientcoin]

Took my Lectric Xp 1 out for a midnight run. I live in the desert. It was dry everywhere. I came to a dark part of a road going 25mph or so.
Then I realized "my tires are not sticking to the ground". They were just sliding right out from under me in the dark on a wide empty road. I was on black ice. A natural spring had been keeping the road wet in that area for months. I forgot.
I took the fall quite well. After sliding and skidding and observing the shower of sparks from my metal handle scraping the road, I sat up beside the bike, and realized I only had a scraped wrist. That was it. Dark, empty street, black ice. 65 lb bike, 25mph, caught by surprise, and I got up with only a fleshwound to my wrist.
That was my 1st crash in 25 months of owning the bike. It is my only transportation and serves that purpose well in this town of 15,000.
(OH yeah, no harm to the bike either! Hahhaha!!!!)
3100 miles on that bike.

 

[Osgood71]

I like lessons that don't cost much.
Sounds like this one could have been very expensive. You were fortunate.

 

["A"]

Generally, I keep the speed down below 20 mph when it's dark, even slower when combined with below freezing temp.
Black ice is a real concern when I commute before dawn. With lower speeds, I can usually get my foot down before the bike slides out under me.
It's not a fun feelin when the wheels start to lose traction.

 

[procreator]

I like lessons that don't cost much.
Sounds like this one could have been very expensive. You were fortunate.

On top of that, someone could have seen you.

 

[JerryB]

Glad you're OK....could have been a bad one.

 

[Ancientcoin]

I called our City Hall here and told public works what happened. They've been working there every day since.



There were no warning signs.



Lectric Xp 1.0 is fast. Faster than 2.0 and 3.0 because of 10.4ah battery instead of 9.6ah like Lectric 2.0 with it's skinny 3" wheels.

I have 4" inch wheels and two 10.4ah batteries.

No suspension needed.

So...

 

[Ancientcoin]

Yeah, 3100 miles in 24 and a a half months of riding.

I fell off the bike and dropped it a couple of times when I first got it, but both of those times were going zero mph.

 

[Ancientcoin]

I need one of those Lectric Lite things with a 750 watt motor. In sand color.

 

[Snoop]

Glad nothing major happened and you’re alright.

I’m in my early 50’s and probably wouldn’t bounce back from a fall as I would have 20 years ago, LOL. Keep a good first aid kit in my rear cargo bag at all times.

 

[Mysery]

Were you wearing any safety gear? I know I'm guilty of not wearing mine at times on a short ride around the neighborhood.

 

[JerryB]

I never ride without my helmet......ya just never know!

 

[Ancientcoin]

Were you wearing any safety gear? I know I'm guilty of not wearing mine at times on a short ride around the neighborhood.

I was not. Though the temp was in the 20s, so I was pretty well bundled up.

 

[PjKahut]

Good you're good, as it could be anything from a scrape to a fracture.
I'm senior and had a short adventure with installing clip-in pedals and shoes, managed to fall of the bike 3 freaking time in one day.
They are in a drawer now, but I was surprised how well I bounced, nothing but a wrist scrape, and bruised ego and lots of perplexed car drivers.
It is amazing how well it turns out for most of us as we do put ourselves in harms way.

 

[kmccune]

Still got 2 nice purplish holes in my right arm on the right forearm, felt like I broke my left elbow, nose actually plowed the sand, I was down 4-5 times on that 16 mile loop, the problem is my riding spot has been invaded by trail bikes( or I invaded them) I used to stop about 3 times during a run and pick rocks ,now I dont bother, rocks ranged in size from standard "ankle breakers" to double brick size.
One reason I am trying to build a reverse trike, stability and balance not what they used to be( did get a different helmet, hopefully it will keep face off ground. Glad you were not seriously hurt, could have been bad.

 

[Bike Tourist]

Glad you're okay. My 87 year old body does not like to fall anymore. I think my etrike, Catrike Expedition, would have kept me safe in that situation.

 

[socialfilter]

I never ride without my helmet......ya just never know!

Yep. After suffering a TBI when I got hit by a car on a bike when I was still young enough to care that a helmet looked stupid I now don't get on my ebike without putting on my big af Bell helmet

 

[WHEELZ]

I don't have any more 20" wheel e bikes anymore. Last crash was on one, the smaller diameter front wheel seems to wash-out easier than larger diameters on sand, mud and at slower speeds. Be careful.

 

[socialfilter]

I don't have any more 20" wheel e bikes anymore. Last crash was on one, the smaller diameter front wheel seems to wash-out easier than larger diameters on sand, mud and at slower speeds. Be careful.

I've noticed my 20x4" front tire slides on ice, even at very slow speeds, a lot more than expected. I hadn't ridden any kind of bike for decades until I got an ebike so Im not sure but I don't remember sliding all over the place on 20" BMX bikes when I was a kid and rode during MI winters. I'm guessing it's weight distribution and/or the 4" width but idk. I've decided to wait until spring before trying again

 

[WHEELZ]

The 20" wheels (IMO) are squirrelier. The 4" tires at low PSI will give more grip than a thin tire, but ice is bad for any type of bike. I suspect the combination of small wheels, and that long steering stem create the weird handling characteristic of these bikes.

 

[socialfilter]

The 20" wheels (IMO) are squirrelier. The 4" tires at low PSI will give more grip than a thin tire, but ice is bad for any type of bike. I suspect the combination of small wheels, and that long steering stem create the weird handling characteristic of these bikes.

I could be walking beside my ebike with 20x4's and if I rolled over a tiny piece of ice it would fly right out from under me. That's an exaggeration but not by much, lowering the PSI did nothing to help so I'm anxiously awaiting spring