Serious injury crash in Arlington July 28

[zsionakides]

Looks like a mish mash of different parts on that bike. Wouldn’t surprise me if some of those were already fatigued and not able to take the forces of what looks like a homebrew moped.

[EasyRider]

I hope the rider recovers!

Looks like an older budget road bike with an OEM carbon fork. I’ll don’t ride carbon, but I’ll take this as a reminder to check each of my forks before I ride them again. One doesn’t need to strap a gasoline motor to a bicycle to get a fork failure.

[Starduster]

On a robust old cruiser with the traditional slack geometry, that mod was dangerous enough. On a much lighter road bike, almost suicidal. There are also homemade e-bike conversions out there equally, um, daring.

[baiskeli]

The cyclist survived and posted about it on Nextdoor:

https://nextdoor.com/p/-wjq7Z5dqwbB?utm_source=share&extras=NzU4MDgwNA%3D%3D

[Starduster]

I can’t open this on any browser. What did said cyclist say?

[ginacico]

@Starduster 211262 wrote:

What did said cyclist say?

“I am lucky to survive this crazy crisis during my life. Moral of the story, never ride a 2-stroke gas engine mounted onto a road frame that has a carbon fork, especially if it is an old bicycle that has ridden over rough terrain. Don’t ride a carbon fork in general and stay away from the C&O Canal a Towpath unless you’ve got a gravel bike. Motorized bicycles need to be confiscated more, they are very uncommon and mopeds aren’t that safe either since minors tend to ride on them too. I am a 25 year old man who just made a nearly deadly mistake of building this for fun, now I regret being so bold.”

[dbehrend]

ArlNow posted another article:

https://www.arlnow.com/2021/08/30/man-survived-serious-bike-crash-in-yorktown-last-month/

[lordofthemark]

Don’t ride a carbon fork in general and stay away from the C&O Canal a Towpath unless you’ve got a gravel bike.

I’ve ridden the towpath on a regular hybrid bike – should I not do that? (or do they just mean don’t ride a conventional drop bar road bike?)

I also own an aluminum frame drop bar road bike that has a carbon fork. Haven’t ridden it on the towpath, and don’t intend to, but ride it on our local streets regularly.

Am I doing something wrong? (Well aside from the things I already know I’m doing wrong, I mean, whatever)

[trailrunner]

Why use a 2 stroke engine when you can use a jet?

[video=youtube_share;Oa3uYIe75iI]https://youtu.be/Oa3uYIe75iI[/video]

[bentbike33]

@lordofthemark 211278 wrote:

Don’t ride a carbon fork in general and stay away from the C&O Canal a Towpath unless you’ve got a gravel bike.

I’ve ridden the towpath on a regular hybrid bike – should I not do that? (or do they just mean don’t ride a conventional drop bar road bike?)

I also own an aluminum frame drop bar road bike that has a carbon fork. Haven’t ridden it on the towpath, and don’t intend to, but ride it on our local streets regularly.

Am I doing something wrong? (Well aside from the things I already know I’m doing wrong, I mean, whatever)

If you do all of these things without benefit of a 2-stroke motor bolted to your bikes, I think you should be fine, especially as I know you are not a Clydesdale.

[Steve O]

Don’t ride a carbon fork in general and stay away from the C&O Canal a Towpath unless you’ve got a gravel bike.

I rode from DC to Pittsburgh on the C&O and the GAP on my Fuji touring bike with 25mm road tires. All good. Fun, too.

[huskerdont]

@Steve O 211290 wrote:

I rode from DC to Pittsburgh on the C&O and the GAP on my Fuji touring bike with 25mm road tires. All good. Fun, too.

25s, that’s mental for that distance. I mean, can be done, sure, but doesn’t seem worth the hassle dodging all the rocks and muck when 33s will go right over and through them.

[mstone]

@huskerdont 211313 wrote:

25s, that’s mental for that distance. I mean, can be done, sure, but doesn’t seem worth the hassle dodging all the rocks and muck when 33s will go right over and through them.

I think the same about 33s vs 38s If I had clearance for 48s I’d probably feel the same way about them.

[huskerdont]

@mstone 211314 wrote:

I think the same about 33s vs 38s If I had clearance for 48s I’d probably feel the same way about them.

Then you’d have a mountain bike.

I do find the 33s a bit squirrely in loose gravel, such as the brief downhill on the towpath just south of the beltway. I generally find that if I hold on loosely to the bars in those situations (allow a little play, but not too much), its usually okay.

[Judd]

@huskerdont 211313 wrote:

25s, that’s mental for that distance. I mean, can be done, sure, but doesn’t seem worth the hassle dodging all the rocks and muck when 33s will go right over and through them.

Steve O is part billy goat.

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