Injuries and problems to do with mountain biking equipment

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Comments

  • 02gf74
    02gf74 Posts: 1,168
    ssxmi wrote:
    Sniper68 wrote:
    .No point mentioning O-levels as the GCSE generation have no concept as to why we who sat them despair as to how easy they have it and wonder how GCSE "A passes" seem to be on the rise every year :lol:

    Yes except that fact that these 'A passes' 1) no longer exist, 2) have been recently made more difficult (A lot more difficult if you look at the statistics), 3) the reason why you may think they are a lot more easy is because if a large portion of the country get a grade 6 for example the grades will be rounded up as clearly, with that many people getting low grades, its not the fault of the student but the way the exam boards have been teaching us.

    Sorry but I side with sniper on this. In my time getting a couple of a grade o levels was an achievement, nowadays it is unusual not to get an a, to the point that a+ or a star was introduced in order to filter out the smarter ones. One could say the reason is that the education system is getting better or on the other hand exams are getting easier. Each generation will say the latter. When I was in school I somehow managed to get into the schools attic where there were exam papers going way back and recall looking at a French o levels from 1890 which was miles harder than what we were doing.
  • 02gf74
    02gf74 Posts: 1,168
    ssxmi wrote:
    02GF74 wrote:
    Thanks for that, your post made me smile. :wink:

    If be interested how you think I got 10 o levels, 4 a levels and university degree with my stupidity and lack of a fully functioning brain, all done without any one else pushing up my grades.

    I'll*, also the mark scheme requires me to ask other people so please just leave :D

    Once in a while there is a post like this where "I am dave from xxx school/college doing a project on yyyy so answer my survey in order do my homework for me." These people have no interest in biking and never post again.

    So I hit your questions with the reality stick, which you did not like so responded with insults.

    I called you out, I believe that is the term the yoof use, and go away is the best you can do?

    I would not set your sights too high on solving the problem. There are 2 solutions, don't ride or else whatever protective equipment you come up with means that you can't ride. Marks will be awarded for doing the research. Also get on a bike to have some first hand experience, it is after all what this site is about.

    Have you been on rospa website, there is a document about cycling accidents, I didn't read it in detail but I suspect it is more road based, namely car collision.

    You could try bcf as im sure they must organise mtb races/events. Or similar mtb event organisers.

    Maybe contact St John's ambulance who deal with the injuries.
  • steve_sordy
    steve_sordy Posts: 2,443
    ssxmi wrote:
    ............
    whoops forgot to mention, could you give the names of a few of the helmets you have broken as well, no worries if you cant but it would be helpful if i could compare the two different helmets and try and figure out why one broke and the other didn't etc.

    I have a Bell Super trail helmet and a Met Parachute full face.

    The other helmets were all Met, various types and costs from cheap to not so cheap. Now don't get your hopes up thinking that only Met helmets break! That isn't it at all. It is because I was only wearing Met helmets when I broke them! It was me that broke them and I was glad they were there to dissipate the energy of my impact.

    I presume that most people wear specific helmets because they fit their head, not because they are fashionable or look cool. (You might want to confirm that for yourself).

    When I went to buy my first helmet, I was prepared to spend up to £80. I tried on every helmet in the shop; it was Evans Cycles, so they had a very wide range to choose from. I ended up spending £30 because the helmet was one of only three that fitted, and the only one that I liked the look of on me. It happened to be a Met and whenever I bought a replacement, there was a crash replacement policy that gave me a big percentage off if I bought another Met. I was happy with Met helmets as they always fitted me, so I kept buying them. I could order them off the 'net and know that they would fit, until suddenly they didn't anymore, which is why I now have a Bell Super for my everyday trail helmet.

    I like the Bell Super very much and when it eventually breaks, either through an almighty impact (yikes!), or through an accumulation of smaller impacts, then I will most likely buy another.

    PS: Don't bother trying to figure out why one broke and another didn't, you will be wasting your time. The helmet manufacturers already have massive amounts of test data to help them design helmets that meet the design requirements. They have also been collecting broken helmets under their crash replacement policy for years. There is no way you will be able to replicate that. I suggest that you focus on why people (especially it seems to me, of your age group) refuse to wear helmets. And how they can be persuaded to start wearing them. Now that is a real problem. :(
  • ssxmi
    ssxmi Posts: 21
    02GF74 wrote:
    ssxmi wrote:
    Sniper68 wrote:
    .No point mentioning O-levels as the GCSE generation have no concept as to why we who sat them despair as to how easy they have it and wonder how GCSE "A passes" seem to be on the rise every year :lol:

    Yes except that fact that these 'A passes' 1) no longer exist, 2) have been recently made more difficult (A lot more difficult if you look at the statistics), 3) the reason why you may think they are a lot more easy is because if a large portion of the country get a grade 6 for example the grades will be rounded up as clearly, with that many people getting low grades, its not the fault of the student but the way the exam boards have been teaching us.

    Sorry but I side with sniper on this. In my time getting a couple of a grade o levels was an achievement, nowadays it is unusual not to get an a, to the point that a+ or a star was introduced in order to filter out the smarter ones. One could say the reason is that the education system is getting better or on the other hand exams are getting easier. Each generation will say the latter. When I was in school I somehow managed to get into the schools attic where there were exam papers going way back and recall looking at a French o levels from 1890 which was miles harder than what we were doing.

    as i said exams are no longer, if ever, 'easier'. They have been made more difficult, heres a link https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41000575 , apparently they are the most difficult since o-levels, i dont know whether thats true or not, ive never done o-levels. One things for certain, they are NOT getting easier.
    thanks
  • ssxmi
    ssxmi Posts: 21
    02GF74 wrote:
    ssxmi wrote:
    02GF74 wrote:
    Thanks for that, your post made me smile. :wink:

    If be interested how you think I got 10 o levels, 4 a levels and university degree with my stupidity and lack of a fully functioning brain, all done without any one else pushing up my grades.

    I'll*, also the mark scheme requires me to ask other people so please just leave :D

    Once in a while there is a post like this where "I am dave from xxx school/college doing a project on yyyy so answer my survey in order do my homework for me." These people have no interest in biking and never post again.

    So I hit your questions with the reality stick, which you did not like so responded with insults.

    I called you out, I believe that is the term the yoof use, and go away is the best you can do?

    I would not set your sights too high on solving the problem. There are 2 solutions, don't ride or else whatever protective equipment you come up with means that you can't ride. Marks will be awarded for doing the research. Also get on a bike to have some first hand experience, it is after all what this site is about.

    Have you been on rospa website, there is a document about cycling accidents, I didn't read it in detail but I suspect it is more road based, namely car collision.

    You could try bcf as im sure they must organise mtb races/events. Or similar mtb event organisers.

    Maybe contact St John's ambulance who deal with the injuries.

    yes you will find that once in a while someone will say ' hi I'm dave from xxx school/college doing a project on yyyy so answer my survey' because that is what is required from us to do. to give you some detail the mark scheme from the exam board itself states that the student must complete survey locally and online. I have already done the local part, asking some of my friends who do mountain biking as well as spending a few hours with clubs and groups of mountain bikers. All that remains is the online part. If we fail to do this then we wont receive some of the marks, and by some i mean a LOT. Therefore, you may be 'doing my homework for me' but that IS the homework, for the student to ask you of your problems etc. and then once you reply to try and come up with solutions. I don't make up the rules, if you have a problem take it out on the exam board not me. If anything the more you reply with the more 'homework' i have.
    Now, to do with the fact i haven't done any mountain biking myself; there's a reason, among many, for that, it would not contribute anything to my marks, i don't care if this is wrong or right on the exam boards behalf, all i care is if I'm getting the marks because until I'm done with this joke of an education system that is all that matters. You see, on the mark scheme we have to find somebody who can be our primary stakeholder/client. We would then ask about the kinds of problems they have and then they would tell us what problems they want fixed. In very short, we would then have to create a product that meets all their criteria. the primary stakeholder cannot be yourself. This means that I wouldnt be able to use any problems that i encountered for myself. There are no other situations in the mark scheme that allow me to use such information. Also please dont tell me what marks will be awarded for because you arent doing this exam, which is NOT the same as the one you did when you were in school and, with all respect, in terms of this exam you dont know what you are talking about.
    The reason why i responded with insults, which now i realise may have been harsh and uncalled for so i apologise, is because I've already looked around on forums before this one, and everytime there's this one guy who thinks they know it all simply because we are the 'yoof' and they are an adult. Everytime. Honestly if you're not going to help me but instead act stubborn and pretend like YOU know whats best for ME just leave, because you're wasting your time. So from know on, unless you actually decide to suck up all the anger at the 'wrong' that im doing and help me out, ill just ignore you. I've explained everything above, if you don't understand, that's fine but don't take it out on me because with all honesty, I'm the right one here, I'm doing the exam. Also stop trying to use ' our terms', stop acting like you are the bigger person and stop trying to wedge a barrier between the 'yoof' and the adults. Feel to free to comment something helpful if you feel like it.
  • ssxmi
    ssxmi Posts: 21
    ssxmi wrote:
    02GF74 wrote:
    ssxmi wrote:
    02GF74 wrote:
    Thanks for that, your post made me smile. :wink:

    If be interested how you think I got 10 o levels, 4 a levels and university degree with my stupidity and lack of a fully functioning brain, all done without any one else pushing up my grades.

    I'll*, also the mark scheme requires me to ask other people so please just leave :D

    Once in a while there is a post like this where "I am dave from xxx school/college doing a project on yyyy so answer my survey in order do my homework for me." These people have no interest in biking and never post again.

    So I hit your questions with the reality stick, which you did not like so responded with insults.

    I called you out, I believe that is the term the yoof use, and go away is the best you can do?

    I would not set your sights too high on solving the problem. There are 2 solutions, don't ride or else whatever protective equipment you come up with means that you can't ride. Marks will be awarded for doing the research. Also get on a bike to have some first hand experience, it is after all what this site is about.

    Have you been on rospa website, there is a document about cycling accidents, I didn't read it in detail but I suspect it is more road based, namely car collision.

    You could try bcf as im sure they must organise mtb races/events. Or similar mtb event organisers.

    Maybe contact St John's ambulance who deal with the injuries.

    yes you will find that once in a while someone will say ' hi I'm dave from xxx school/college doing a project on yyyy so answer my survey' because that is what is required from us to do. to give you some detail the mark scheme from the exam board itself states that the student must complete survey locally and online. I have already done the local part, asking some of my friends who do mountain biking as well as spending a few hours with clubs and groups of mountain bikers. All that remains is the online part. If we fail to do this then we wont receive some of the marks, and by some i mean a LOT. Therefore, you may be 'doing my homework for me' but that IS the homework, for the student to ask you of your problems etc. and then once you reply to try and come up with solutions. I don't make up the rules, if you have a problem take it out on the exam board not me. If anything the more you reply with the more 'homework' i have.
    Now, to do with the fact i haven't done any mountain biking myself; there's a reason, among many, for that, it would not contribute anything to my marks, i don't care if this is wrong or right on the exam boards behalf, all i care is if I'm getting the marks because until I'm done with this joke of an education system that is all that matters. You see, on the mark scheme we have to find somebody who can be our primary stakeholder/client. We would then ask about the kinds of problems they have and then they would tell us what problems they want fixed. In very short, we would then have to create a product that meets all their criteria. the primary stakeholder cannot be yourself. This means that I wouldnt be able to use any problems that i encountered for myself. There are no other situations in the mark scheme that allow me to use such information. Also please dont tell me what marks will be awarded for because you arent doing this exam, which is NOT the same as the one you did when you were in school and, with all respect, in terms of this exam you dont know what you are talking about.
    The reason why i responded with insults, which now i realise may have been harsh and uncalled for so i apologise, is because I've already looked around on forums before this one, and everytime there's this one guy who thinks they know it all simply because we are the 'yoof' and they are an adult. Everytime. Honestly if you're not going to help me but instead act stubborn and pretend like YOU know whats best for ME just leave, because you're wasting your time. So from know on, unless you actually decide to suck up all the anger at the 'wrong' that im doing and help me out, ill just ignore you. I've explained everything above, if you don't understand, that's fine but don't take it out on me because with all honesty, I'm the right one here, I'm doing the exam. Also stop trying to use ' our terms', stop acting like you are the bigger person and stop trying to wedge a barrier between the 'yoof' and the adults. Feel to free to comment something helpful if you feel like it.

    and i forgot to mention, I have contacted st johns ambulance already as one of my friends does volunteering there. But thanks anyway.
  • ssxmi
    ssxmi Posts: 21
    ssxmi wrote:
    ............
    whoops forgot to mention, could you give the names of a few of the helmets you have broken as well, no worries if you cant but it would be helpful if i could compare the two different helmets and try and figure out why one broke and the other didn't etc.

    I have a Bell Super trail helmet and a Met Parachute full face.

    The other helmets were all Met, various types and costs from cheap to not so cheap. Now don't get your hopes up thinking that only Met helmets break! That isn't it at all. It is because I was only wearing Met helmets when I broke them! It was me that broke them and I was glad they were there to dissipate the energy of my impact.

    I presume that most people wear specific helmets because they fit their head, not because they are fashionable or look cool. (You might want to confirm that for yourself).

    When I went to buy my first helmet, I was prepared to spend up to £80. I tried on every helmet in the shop; it was Evans Cycles, so they had a very wide range to choose from. I ended up spending £30 because the helmet was one of only three that fitted, and the only one that I liked the look of on me. It happened to be a Met and whenever I bought a replacement, there was a crash replacement policy that gave me a big percentage off if I bought another Met. I was happy with Met helmets as they always fitted me, so I kept buying them. I could order them off the 'net and know that they would fit, until suddenly they didn't anymore, which is why I now have a Bell Super for my everyday trail helmet.

    I like the Bell Super very much and when it eventually breaks, either through an almighty impact (yikes!), or through an accumulation of smaller impacts, then I will most likely buy another.

    PS: Don't bother trying to figure out why one broke and another didn't, you will be wasting your time. The helmet manufacturers already have massive amounts of test data to help them design helmets that meet the design requirements. They have also been collecting broken helmets under their crash replacement policy for years. There is no way you will be able to replicate that. I suggest that you focus on why people (especially it seems to me, of your age group) refuse to wear helmets. And how they can be persuaded to start wearing them. Now that is a real problem. :(

    thanks for everything Steve, you've been a big help. I will be taking your advice and start thinking less about already existing products and why 'they don't work' etc. I have actually got a few ideas down already after a skype call with one of my friends who does mountain biking, things like small devices that can measure tire pressure from the nozzle and relay it somehow to the biker (its a work in progress alright :lol: ). Ill make sure to keep all that you've said in mind.

    Thanks a ton.
  • ssxmi
    ssxmi Posts: 21
    figbat wrote:
    Just one sizeable off for me. I was descending a fairly shallow but very narrow trail, chasing a Strava PR. Just at the point where you either have to brake for safety or release for speed (at the risk of meeting someone coming the other way, unsighted), I decided to release. As fate would have it, it was the only time I have ever met someone riding up the other way - we both swerved to our respective right; he simple came to a halt in the bushes whereas Strava tells me my accident initiated at 24 mph. I nearly got away with it but the front wheel eventually dug in at a sideways angle and over the bars I went. I was very lucky, just suffering a few scrapes and bruises (and a torn jersey) but my shoulder suffered for ages afterwards (aches and restricted mobility) - I recall putting my right hand out to cushion the fall and I landed on my right shoulder and hip. I was wearing a helmet (pretty sure that it didn’t touch down), gloves, SPD shoes, MTB shorts, a jersey and a hydration backpack. Oh, and some sunglasses. Apart from the torn jersey the rest of the kit survived intact and my shoes unclipped letting me separate from the bike during the fall.

    I think what would have helped is a dose of sanity before I got to the accident or maybe some kind of proximity radar to warn of the approaching obstacle. I would not have worn any other equipment as it was a really hot day, unless it magically offered protection without affecting airflow.

    I didn’t get my PR, although amazingly I DID on the next segment, after I had cleaned my wounds and got going again. I put that down to an adrenaline rush.

    haha glad to hear you're alright and beat your PR. What you are saying is actually a brilliant idea, kinda bummed i didnt come up with that as im going to have to vary it a bit before i can use it. But honestly great idea so thanks a ton.
  • steve_sordy
    steve_sordy Posts: 2,443
    @ssxmi: Don't get sucked in to arguing with people. It really does not matter who is right or wrong. You only have so much time, don't waste it. And if it is help you are looking for from this Forum, then it is best not to argue with anyone at all. :)
    But you knew that right? So suck it up and hold back. :)
  • Chunkers1980
    Chunkers1980 Posts: 8,035
    I always thought it didn't matter how 'hard' an exam was? You have levels of papers in some subjects, with the lower levels only allowing for a maximum grade even if 100% is achieved. The grades are allocated around a bell (ish) shaped curve and only a certain percent from the curve could achieve that grade going through spectrum. Anyways....
  • blokie13
    blokie13 Posts: 93
    ssxmi wrote:
    ssxmi wrote:
    ............I have actually got a few ideas down already after a skype call with one of my friends who does mountain biking, things like small devices that can measure tire pressure from the nozzle and relay it somehow to the biker (its a work in progress alright :lol: ). Ill make sure to keep all that you've said in mind.

    Thanks a ton.

    The first tire pressure monitoring system, TyreWiz, has literally just been released. I believe SRAM are the parent company/backers for it:

    https://www.quarq.com/product/tyrewiz/
    Boardman Pro FS 650b | Boardman Team 29er HT | Specialized Tricross Sport
  • steve_sordy
    steve_sordy Posts: 2,443
    Blokie13 wrote:
    [.....................

    The first tire pressure monitoring system, TyreWiz, has literally just been released. I believe SRAM are the parent company/backers for it:

    https://www.quarq.com/product/tyrewiz/

    Initially I thought a tyre pressure monitoring system was a complete waste of time. Having spent ages testing different tyre pressures, I use a digital pressure gauge at the start of the ride to ensure that I get the pressure I want. Once on the trail, I can tell when my tyre pressures are too high or too low without a device telling me. But then I noticed that the device you linked to was from Quarq. Those guys produce the suspension monitoring device that tells you multiple things about your fork or shock. For example: After riding with it fitted, it makes recommendations about your sag%, rebound damping, compression damping, number of tokens and so forth. It can be used to set up your suspension for that perfect ride.

    So it seems to me that Quarq won't be just telling you what your tyre pressure is, but will be making recommendations about what it should be give the trail you gave just ridden. So, make the adjustments and go do it again!