Crashes, what can be done?

[Armchair Cyclist]

All in all it's a process and if you are riding your bike wearing a helmet then in your lifetime i am rather sure you will upgrade that at some point with more protective apparel. It's inevitable. The only constant in life is change and i am rather sure that development of cycling will go into the direction of providing more protective apparel, then less.

So have you ordered yours yet? We'd love to see the photo's and read of your experiences.

 

[CyclistAbi]

So have you ordered yours yet? We'd love to see the photo's and read of your experiences.

The way this goes is pro peloton introduces it first, then we follow, in it's essence its not about free will.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

The way this goes is pro peloton introduces it first, then we follow, in it's essence its not about free will.

So you believe in the importance of their safety more than your own?
Or you think it is interesting in principle but you would rather experiment on others first?

 

[Unchained]

Wout's solution could also likely reduce injuries from racing and training. I would likely think that top pros would still use large gear ratios for training.
Also gear limits would be an absolute disaster for UCI especially for podium, prime, and intermediate award winners, riders crashing or getting flats..you would need to impound bikes at the finish as well as a roll out of every bike before the race ,
You thought that there was tons of discussion about tire size before, wait until tires are a source of advantage ( cheating).
Don't know the math but cadence or 53x10 would need to be looked at.. Would be crazy if a crusher like Wout Van Aert was the reason that pro cycling would adopt a compact crankset!! Would love to see what pro peloton looks like with guys riding 50s!!
What would Tour Down Under sprints look like with 50x10 limits.. Guys like Sam Welsford pushing a 54 or 55..

 

[Cookster15]

50x10 works out to about 4% bigger gear compared to a 53x11.

Wout’s suggestion might reduce injury for amateurs and younger riders from grinding too big gears but I doubt would make any difference to race safety with pros. Anyway who regularly uses a 53x11 anyway let alone 50x10?

 

[Berniece]

Wout's solution could also likely reduce injuries from racing and training. I would likely think that top pros would still use large gear ratios for training.
Also gear limits would be an absolute disaster for UCI especially for podium, prime, and intermediate award winners, riders crashing or getting flats..you would need to impound bikes at the finish as well as a roll out of every bike before the race ,
You thought that there was tons of discussion about tire size before, wait until tires are a source of advantage ( cheating).
Don't know the math but cadence or 53x10 would need to be looked at.. Would be crazy if a crusher like Wout Van Aert was the reason that pro cycling would adopt a compact crankset!! Would love to see what pro peloton looks like with guys riding 50s!!
What would Tour Down Under sprints look like with 50x10 limits.. Guys like Sam Welsford pushing a 54 or 55..

Wout is mostly focused on not going much faster in descents, to make that safer

 

[Cookster15]

Wout is mostly focused on not going much faster in descents, to make that safer

But maximum speeds on descents is largely determined by the slope and lack of corners - not gearing? I recall reading that Miguel Indurain was clocked doing 115km/h on a descent in the Pyrenees during his reign in the 90s. Pretty sure Big Mig’s biggest gear then was 53x12. He may have used 55 or 56 chainrings on his TT bikes.

 

[Berniece]

But maximum speeds on descents is largely determined by the slope and lack of corners - not gearing? I recall reading that Miguel Indurain was clocked doing 115km/h on a descent in the Pyrenees during his reign in the 90s. Pretty sure Big Mig’s biggest gear then was 53x12. He may have used 55 or 56 chainrings on his TT bikes.

Yes, but he feels the danger happens when people try to move up. If there's a max gear such that you can't accelerate with your bike by pedalling in the descend, most will have the same speed. Which in his opinion will make it safer because riders will just stay in their position.

At least that's how I interpreted it.

 

[jmdirt]

I came here last night to give my $.02 about Wout's thought, but got stuck in the ongoing air bag discussion (that horse has been barking up a dead bridge). Gear restriction will only really affect speeds on the flats (and to some extent gradual slopes). Bernice, I'm not sure if that's what he meant, but unless no one can pedal because of the speed, people will be moving up just like they do now.

The bike industry has been doing a lot to make bikes faster, and now we need restricter plates like NASCR?

 

[King Of The Wolds]

I'd like 35mm tyres with a max 90 psi. Will slow down the riders and improve traction.

 

[Unchained]

I came here last night to give my $.02 about Wout's thought, but got stuck in the ongoing air bag discussion (that horse has been barking up a dead bridge). Gear restriction will only really affect speeds on the flats (and to some extent gradual slopes). Bernice, I'm not sure if that's what he meant, but unless no one can pedal because of the speed, people will be moving up just like they do now.

The bike industry has been doing a lot to make bikes faster, and now we need restricter plates like NASCR?

Many grades that I ride often have me wrapped out with 52 front chainring, and as you point out sure some riders will try to get back on top of the gear while going downhill, but things like head over the wheel, super tuck and other death defying descending styles are fun to see, hard to watch when crash crews do clean up.
I think many average speeds suggest that current riders are able to push pretty big gears on the flats. Just a non scientific opinion and observation, majority of crashes don't happen going downhill, from my own experience and what I have seen, most crashes result of spacing out, overlapping wheels, just some minor human error and you and others end up taking a nap..
Also just regular watching of races suggest increasing strength, and front chain ring is only solution for good chain line.. So if current engineering limitations have 10 as lower limit cog you are going to require more meat in front to keep chain line straight and have it as near to center on rear cassette. Gear restrictions would have many riders using an extreme angle to be in the hardest gear majority of the time..

 

[Cookster15]

I'd like 35mm tyres with a max 90 psi. Will slow down the riders and improve traction.

35mm tyres would only need 80psi max I reckon. Congrats for knowing aero benefit gets wiped out when you go too wide. The industry will still try to push nonsense because too many newbies and others who should think before parting with their money simply because it’s new. Like disc brakes.

Like ever wider tyres, discs on road bikes became all the rage. Now we can’t even buy a new bike with rim brakes. But while they are nice to use and have a clear advantage in the wet have provided minimal performance benefit for any reasonably experienced rider. The half kilo or so of heft contributed to race bikes becoming ridiculously expensive to get them back to an acceptable weight. More titanium and carbon where aluminium or steel was sufficient before.

For tyres I have stuck with 25mm, 26 max. No cobbles or dirt where I ride.

 

[Cookster15]

The way this goes is pro peloton introduces it first, then we follow, in it's essence its not about free will.

I know this is a subject you are passionate about but I can’t see that happening. I don’t recall reading any comments or articles from teams about using airbag vests?

Discs were adopted by the general public before the peloton. I think Ineos were the last to switch.

 

[Berniece]

I know this is a subject you are passionate about but I can’t see that happening. I don’t recall reading any comments or articles from teams about using airbag vests?

Discs were adopted by the general public before the peloton. I think Ineos were the last to switch.

Didn’t Visma mention them once?

 

[Cookster15]

Didn’t Visma mention them once?

Does anyone have a link? Seems very hard to verify? I need to see these devices being used else I remain very sceptical. I can’t imagine wearing such a device would be comfortable racing in hot weather.

 

[Berniece]

Does anyone have a link? Seems very hard to verify? I need to see these devices being used else I remain very sceptical. I can’t imagine wearing such a device would be comfortable racing in hot weather.

I think they only mentioned it that they are looking at it, and if they would use it, it would be at training not during the race

 

[veganrob]

Does anyone have a link? Seems very hard to verify? I need to see these devices being used else I remain very sceptical. I can’t imagine wearing such a device would be comfortable racing in hot weather.

And that's what I brought up before. Can you see these guys on a 40C day in the Vuelta? MTF. They would all pass out long before they reached the end

 

[Cookster15]

And that's what I brought up before. Can you see these guys on a 40C day in the Vuelta? MTF. They would all pass out long before they reached the end

Exactly, the idea seems absurd hence why I ask for video evidence or evidence of team interest. In motor racing they can use ice vests to cool the drivers on hot days. But road racing is highly dependent upon weight (watts / kg). Water (ice) is heavy. I just can’t see airbag vests ever being used.

But airbags are passive safety. Active safety means avoiding crashing. Better policing, commissaires, course design etc. This is where attention should be focused.