Advocacy & Safety - Boy impaled on handlebars, endcaps?

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-1276224,00.html

This is pretty amazing.

Story does not say if the handlebars had endcaps, would they even make a difference?

Is that the bike before the crash, or a different bike? If it's a different bike, what type handlebars did the crashed bike have? If drop bars, were they taped?

I heard of impaling like this before. Bare bars, no tape, no plugs, no grips, impale easier and cut a nice round plug out of wherever they impale. A kickstand can also be an impaling hazard in a crash.

I've heard it's possible with no bar endcaps...even a wine cork is better than nothing.

Now that's a core sample I never want taken.

Now that's a core sample I never want taken.

ha ha ha. Good one, Bikepacker :D

One of my bikes got blown over by the wind a couple months back. Bike landed on the bar end, and the carbon bar cut a neat slice right through the end of my left hand grip. I was pretty amazed at the time that the force of a simple fall could make the bar end slice a hole like that. Never occurred to me (until now) that it could be me getting cut through. Wow.

Not so bad. This thread (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=303987) will probably make you cringe. Scroll down to the x-ray, the rest is all rubbish.

Wow, how ironic. I make that thread to bug him and now I cant ride again...

I always slipped a nickle into each of my BMX bar grips when I was a kid. They kept the bar ends from cutting through the grips.

I retract my previous statement...

http://www.sjbmx.com/images/news/endo_xray.jpg

Now that's a core sample I never want taken.

ummmmmmmmm OW:eek::eek::eek:

Ot but related
Little bg his bars in the below story did have end caps one got knocked out in crash 10 minutes earlyer.

I was riding bmx with a friend years ago. He crashed on his bars coming off a jump and went to er. He comes home hour and half later with 10 stitches in his gut. He walks up to his bike with a needle in hand and stick it in the end of his handle bars and goes oh man this is seriously nasty. He pulled out a 1/2 inch peice of muscle fat and skin in a nice little disk. He buried it in the back yard lol

I always slipped a nickle into each of my BMX bar grips when I was a kid. They kept the bar ends from cutting through the grips.

That's a cool idea. I'm going to remember that one. Next time I swap grips I may give it a try.

Story does not say if the handlebars had endcaps, would they even make a difference?

A good friend of mine's a randonneur (long-distance rider -- http://www.randonneurs.bc.ca/). One of the pre-ride checks that the officials do is to make sure the handlebars have end-plugs to prevent (?) this type of incident.

I'm sure it would be possible to have a plugged handlebar penetrate the body, but I'd think the plug would reduce the chances...

Allan

I crashed my bike while jumping curbs when I was a kid. The bars spun around and penetrated by lower right side approx. 1/4 inch. I still sport an amost complete, circular scar on my side. I had bar grips but the ends had worn off or broken through so the metal of the bar was exposed. I guess I was lucky the bar end didn't penetrate further than it did.

Part human, part bike. Bicycle transformers anyone?

I was on the Pinkerton high bridge last year. A woman was riding the other direction and hit the right side railing with the right side of her plug less, dropped bars. This hit caused the bar to turn to the left, forcing the left side of her bars into her right, inner thigh. Wife and I had to race to Markeltown by tandem to get help. On the bridge there was just enough cell phone coverage to confuse the situation, but no more.

She had a nice, mostly bloodless puncture. It missed major vessels.

http://www.atatrail.org/maps/map7.cfm


I've heard of a young girl who unfortunately got a plug less high rise bar into her jugular. A doctor across the street couldn’t do anything for her. I have a cardboard display of plug ends now. Everyone I know has bar plugs. The damn things frequently are missing.

That's a cool idea. I'm going to remember that one. Next time I swap grips I may give it a try.

I've often wondered if a bike shop could provide a similar product for less than ten cents, and if so, would it fit into a gumball machine.

Then they could feature cool trademarked characters and become collectibles.

I've often wondered if a bike shop could provide a similar product for less than ten cents, and if so, would it fit into a gumball machine.

Reminds me of the frustration (and cost) of trying to find certain sized fender washers and realizing that it is simply easier to drill out a penny to get what I need.

I've often wondered if a bike shop could provide a similar product for less than ten cents, and if so, would it fit into a gumball machine.

They sell (give away in many shops) plastic bar end plugs in pretty much every Bike Shop I've ever been in. Simple solution.

They sell (give away in many shops) plastic bar end plugs in pretty much every Bike Shop I've ever been in. Simple solution.
+1. They don't want to see their customers hurt any more than we want to get hurt.