Fix Gear Bicycle, Steep Cliff, and No Mountain Bike Helmet…Oh My!

Don’t try to be a hot dog without the right protective gear…

I ran into my friend Vince the other day and I couldn’t believe the story he told me. Vince is a bicyclist, a road biker, and rides really fast on his fixed gear. But he doesn’t wear a helmet.

For those who aren’t sure what a fixed gear is, think about how a tricycle works; if the wheels are turning, your pedals are turning. In other words the cog on the rear wheel is “fixed” to the hub, it will not spin independently from the wheel.

Vince is a good kid, but he didn’t look before he leapt, so to speak. He was riding his fixie on Riverside Drive in a suburb of Cleveland. Riverside is a road that runs along the top of the steep incline of one of our local rivers. Looking over the edge can be dizzying. It’s approximately a 200 foot slide, at 75 degrees or more in places, down to the river. He was with a friend that was riding a mountain bike. Vince’s friend (who wears a mountain bike helmet) decided to venture down one of the single track trails that enters the valley at a less cliff-like place.

Vince decided to follow. (That’s right, drop your face into your hands and shake in disapproval.)

You Can Guess What’s Coming….The Inevitable Crash

I’m not sure how far down the slope Vince got, but his descent ended when his front wheel stopped and he kept going. For starters, his fall was broken by the bridge of his nose. Good start, right? So that impact knocked him out. From the eye-witness accounts of his friend, the next impact was his knee into a massive tree root. A long slide down the hill entailed, scraping knees and elbows and ripping his lower lip away from his gums. Vince said the doctor was able to slip his finger in his mouth and touch the underside of his chin. 15 stiches. Did I mention that Vince was stil connected to the bike? Oh yeah, toe clips work even when you don’t want them to!

So I didn’t get the details of how Vince was pulled out of the woods, but I do know that there was lots of blood, there was the cutting off of clothes, disorientation, not waking up until the ride in the ambulance, etc.

The Aftermath…

I talked to another friend, Mike, that visited Vince in the hospital only a few hours after the incident. He said the hospital bed was a mass of scraped flesh, blood, twigs, dirt, and sticks. Vince was still so disoriented that when he saw Mike, he said, “Hey Mike! Do you want to go for a bike ride?” Then he tried to get out of bed. Needless to say, Vince and Mike did not go on a bike ride. Vince was in the hospital for two days.When I ran into Vince about a week later, the blackened bruising was barely visible under his eyes. He showed me his knees, both of with were scabbed two inches above and below his kneecap. He was limping because his left knee was swollen to almost twice the size. His doctor told him to wear an immoblizer, but he didn’t.

Here is the moral of the story: wear a helmet.

Wear a Helmet

If Vince had been wearing a bike helmet, I don’t think he would have blacked out. Even if he was wearing a standard Bell Bike Helmet or Giro Bike Helmet, the head impact would not have been as severe. Now, if Vince had been wearing a full face mountain bike helmet, like the Giro Remedy or the Bell Bellistic, he would have avoided the head impact and the broken nose and the torn lower lip!One simple piece of safety equipment – a mountain bike helmet – could have saved Vince a bunch of money in medical bills and two days in the hospital. He may have suffered the scraped and bruised knees and elbows but he’d still be riding his bike now.

What About Vince’s Knees and Elbows?

But wait! There’s more! There is also excellent equipment to prevent injuries to your knees and elbows. For example, SixSixOne makes the awesome EVO mountain bike knee pads and elbow pads. Using the d3o technology, these pads are lightweight and soft, but when subject to impact, the d3o material stiffens to a very hard substance.

I Gave Vince a Present

I bought Vince a mountain bike helmet. I told him that I was going to blog about his story as payment. He lowered his head in appreciation. If your riding a bike – road or mountain or fixie – please wear a mountain bike helmet or full face mountain bike helmet. It will save your face some day.

Ryan K
XSportsProtective
Warehouse Guy