Another painful learning curve but not sure about problem.

portland_bill

Nobody told me tyres don't stick very well to un-wired, damp and greasy northshore...

Very ouch! I felt like the Gods picked me up and slammed me to the ground while rapping me around said northshore.

Struggling to move today and either sprained or broken my two right braking fingers so looks like I'm out for a few days or so.

Anyway, the problem is, just before I hit the northshore closely followed by the deck, I was coming down what is known as "The Powerline" at Chopwell in Gateshead and on a few of the berms my front wheel was pushing and slipping quite a lot which was unnerving me to start off with.

Earlier in the session I had pumped my forks up to 145+ and 130- as recommended by somebody on MTBR who is the same weight as me, but the suspension was too hard and after a section covered in roots I had major arm pump and was knackered immediately after spending the fast section just trying to wheelie over the rest coz it was so hard.

I put a bit more air in my -ve chamber to try and soften the forks up a bit which seemed to work, but like I say, the front wheel started to push quite a lot on the loose stuff.

After my big off, and picking my stuff up, I set off down the alternative route around the northshore section which involves a couple of drop offs over logs in the track. I made the first one ok, but as I went over the second one I just completely lost control and ended up lying across the bike while it snaked it's way toward a tree surrounded by a holly bush before depositing me in amongst it all.

I eventually made it to the bottom (slowly!) where my two mates were waiting for me who had guessed I'd come off somewhere (the mud and blood all over my legs alongside the distanct un-enthusiastic look on my face could have been a big giveaway too like).

I tried to carry on but soon realised I couldn't use my front brake because I've done something to my fingers, so hauled my sorry backside back to the car park for a rather uncomfortable drive home and obligatory raised eyebrows from the missus.

Am I right in thinking the pushing could have been more to do with over-pressurised front tyre?

I pumped my tyres up for the first time in months yesterday and they were down to about 10, so I stuck another 20 in, so I'm wondering I've been used to the soft tyres and the sudden change in pressure is what was causing the pushing.

My off was completely down to lack of experience but is definitely a lesson learned.

The Northern Monkey

You should set your sag properly to your own settings, not to what someone else has.

I'd say that is the 1st thing to check.

10psi in your tyres is very low too.

felix.london

hmm, was thinking of having a little sniff around one of the North Shore circuits round here but think I might leave it a few more weeks til I'm a bit more confident on the bike - mastered about an 18" bunny hop yesterday ( 8) ) so think I'll just work on that for now...

Hope your fingers heal up soon, sounds painful

portland_bill

Northshore's fine as long as it's dry or has chicken wire on it for grip. I just hit it too fast and in too damp conditions.

As for the sag, it was maybe a little firm for me yesterday so I might let the pressure down a little but unfortunately I don't understand it enough to play about with it really and although the instructions in the FAQ section on here tell you what to do, they don't really explain why very well.

1mancity2

Set your sag first as mentioned, play around with the rebound settings as well, your tyres will have a min and max psi rating use these as a guide.

Northshore can be tricky the idea is to try and keep to small movments.

Jedi

i never ride shore stuff in the wet

ddraver

Your suspension set up is more liklely to be different from someone elses than not and it's worth taking the time to get to grips with what all the valves and dials do on your forks - you ve paid through the nose for them, you may as well take the time to set them up properly.

With regard to the crash, sounds like you were just unlucky, it happens unfortunately...

portland_bill

After I caved and went to the docs yesterday he kindly informed me I have two cracked ribs, a torn cartilage on my sternum and two dislocated fingers...

Worst of all is I'm not to do any more MTB for at least the next 3 weeks!

portland_bill

After I caved and went to the docs yesterday he kindly informed me I have two cracked ribs, a torn cartilage on my sternum and two dislocated fingers...

Worst of all is I'm not to do any more MTB for at least the next 3 weeks!

The Northern Monkey

Portland Bill wrote:

After I caved and went to the docs yesterday he kindly informed me I have two cracked ribs, a torn cartilage on my sternum and two dislocated fingers...

Worst of all is I'm not to do any more MTB for at least the next 3 weeks!

3 weeks to read the fork manual and figure out what everything does then :P

Speedy recovery and all that....

S-M

I broke a rib at Chopwell a few months back

Trying to catch my mate on his Giant Glory, while i was on my Boardman hardtail :roll:


I went over the bars and slammed into the ground, sliding on my stomach for a bit, i slid so far my fecking shorts came down

3 weeks is not so bad though, mine only really hurt when coughing or laughing, so i kept riding, it will have been 2 weeks tomorrow since i dislocated my shoulder at Hamsterly forrest, now that hurt a fair bit IMHO, i have a healthy supply of codine from the docs

Managed to get on the bike last night for 13 mile easy coastal ride with the missus, my physio reckons its important to keep up with excorcise and reccomened i still ride around, just no crazy black routes

After a mile i felt pretty good, no real shoulder pain, and i totally forgot about the shoulder damage, then i tried to bunny hop up a kerb, fooking yooowwwch.

portland_bill

Glad I'm not the only one then. I'm feeling propper sorry for myself today like. Had some codeine & paracetamol and ibuprofen last night and lost the plot completely. Was sitting watching TV and felt like I'd had a dose of LSD.

I couldn't concentrate on what was happening on the TV, completely lost my appetite and the wife told me to go to bed coz I was a mess. I went to bed and put some music on and floated off for a few hours.

Never had that kind of effect from Codeine before, but I was close to having a panic attack in Eldon Square yesterday when I was struggling to breathe with the pain in my chest.

I'm gonna go for a gentle ride around the village later on to try and keep myself moving and get some fresh air, but aye just feeling a bit pathetic today.

@S-M: Just out of interest, how long was it before you stopped getting the sharp pain from your broken rib? I don't mind the aching but it's the sharp pulling feeling in my chest that's getting to me.

Stiff_Orange

Portland Bill wrote:

Was sitting watching TV and felt like I'd had a dose of LSD.

Did you see strange and hideous creatures making tortured screaming noises? Don't worry that was just the X-Factor

Unfortunetly ribs can take some time to mend, the last time I cracked mine I could still feel them 2 months later when I coughed or laughed.

portland_bill

Brilliant!

Today is my first day back at work since I had Friday booked off anyway, and I'm struggling already.

The worst part is I've woken up with a blocked nose and have sneezed 6 times this morning. I think this is the first time I've actually kept a tab on how many times I've sneezed since it's so bloody painful.

Coughing doesn't seem to bad. I was coughing my guts up after inhaling some coca cola by accident last night and that didn't hurt at all.

Yawn's result in a really discomforting but not painful click in my chest, but aye, sneezing is not fun at all.

The Rookie

Cracked ribs can be a real PITA, a mate had 2 after a snow boarding accident (fell on the mobile phone in his breast pocket!) and they took a good 2 months to heal.....

Simon

portland_bill

stumpyjon

To be honest it doesn't sound like a bike problem at all. People still ride rigid forks off road......and 30 psi is not exactly high pressure either (10 psi is asking for pinch flats or the tyre to come off the rim). From what you described on the berms it sounds like your body position on the bike isn't right. It took a skills course to sort me out and now I love riding berms. Just after getting my full susser I went over the bars and cracked a rib (mainly due to being very rigid on the bike and not knowing how to ride a full suss) which gave me a morbid fear of being too far over the front wheel in case it happened again. Result, no where near enough weight on the front wheel meaning I couldn't steer properly. I now ride much more forward on the bike but crucially am now more relaxed (although saying this I'll probably face plant next time I'm out). It's made a world of difference.

As for Northsure in the wet, yep if it's sawn planks it ain't good, and chicken wire just turns it into a flesh grater if you come off. Rough split planks is the future.

portland_bill

Yes mate you're probably absolutely right. I'd been out a couple of days before and was very aware of how stiff I was being. I would really seize up on some frankly not very scary bits and I was very aware that I wasn't using my legs to soak up the hits very much (hardtail). My technique is far from correct, but the new suspension and seemingly incorrect setup isn't exactly filling me with confidence so I reckon I can claim a little bit of responsibility from it even though you're right and I quite possibly am not riding forward enough although I normally don't have too much of a problem with berms.

I certainly wouldn't say I'm fast enough through them and from how my mate (former world class downhill rider) explains I should be hitting them, I definitely am not.

Think I'm gonna get myself some protection and head out over the next week or so just to do some softcore stuff and keep myself moving so I don't lose what little technique I did have.

I feel loads better apart from first thing in the mornings when on a daily basis I feel like I've fallen off a building. Coughing isn't too bad, yawning is a million times better, I can just about stretch when I need to as long as I'm methodical about it, but sneezing still makes me want to put my foot through the wall. It really hurts!

Just wish there was something I could do to recover quicker. Ribs are a tw@!

supafly1982

ive only been getting right into biking since the end of last year, had my fair share of injuries though in the past, not fun to say the least, ive just got my friend into biking and i know exactly what he is going through with his offs, ive been trying to teach him how to hang loose and let the bike ride up under him, something ive been trying to get into the habbit for a while, only really started to notice i was doing it last month on the trails and it felt good, every joint acting freely and as if i was the suspension, i guess its just one of those things you need to keep in mind and eventually it starts to come naturaly

have a speedy recovery fella, if you are struggling to catch your breath make sure you go back to the docs......make sure you do!

portland_bill

Aye that's what my mate keeps saying that I need to loosen up, a lot. He reckons I could do with a better set of tyres too as opposed to my Schwalbe Smart Sams.

My breathing was difficult at first but it'sfine now, like I say it's just when I sneeze really and a really intense aching in the muscles around the left hand side of my ribcage.

Blind Danny Johnson

Portland Bill wrote:

Aye that's what my mate keeps saying that I need to loosen up, a lot. He reckons I could do with a better set of tyres too as opposed to my Schwalbe Smart Sams.

My breathing was difficult at first but it'sfine now, like I say it's just when I sneeze really and a really intense aching in the muscles around the left hand side of my ribcage.

I cracked, not broke, a couple of ribs recently and it was 4 weeks till I rode off road again (last Sunday). My advice is not to ride too early no matter how tempting it may be because you could set yourself back to square one for the sake of staying off the bike for a few more days or a week.

Make sure you're properly healed before you ride off road again. Just one little crash could set you back another 3 - 4 weeks. Anyway hope you have a quick recovery.

felix.london

I'm now wearing the 661 Subgear and Kyle Straits for every ride. Gives me a lot more confidence

Also today it was 25°C here and I wasn't too hot with the subgear on under my jersey - Highly recommend it for lightweight, basic elbow and shoulder protection. Came off on Saturday morning pretty hard on my shoulder (over the bars after a failed jump) and although my shoulder is still pretty achy and slightly bruised would've obviuosly been a lot worse without the protection

S-M

I was back at Chopwell last sunday, i took it pretty easy due to my shoulder, and i bottled most of the daft stuff, but i did watch my mate fall off the seesaw, which was hilarious.