Car vs bike

Tokyojoe · **Posted:** Tue Feb 02, 2010 9:58 pm

Well, yesterday I was riding home from work, left the base gate and rushing to make a green light (knowing it could turn yellow soon) so I picked up my speed (interesection is a T, left or right turn only coming out of the base). I look to see a car coming down the hill from my left and not slowing down for the red light (heading west with sun in his eyes). I slam on my brakes as I am entering the intersection. He hits his brakes, entering the intersection. I had three choices:

1. Turn hard to the right but I would end up in front of his car (scratch that option)

2. Pull a hard left in which case I would fly off the bike and slam my body into the whole side of the car or fall under it and squash my melon or body with his rear tire (scratch that option)

3. slam those brakes hard and go straight, as long as my tires don't slide out from me, and hope he goes past me.

I chose option 3.

Well, he brakes hard enough to stop directly in front of me with no time to now change directions. My tire slams into his front quarter panel (Chevy Malibu), the carbon fiber fork shreds at the point of entry to the head tube and I and the bike (clipless pedals) go over his hood and down to the ground in front of his car.

Fire Departments from the city and the base show up, police from city and base show up, Security Forces with M-16's show up from gate house (war games going on), a nurse leaving the base comes and helps me (just my luck, she is older and not my type), and a couple witnesses backing my story. A huge fiasco. Since it happened in the interesection, it was a matter for the city and not the base. I'm sure they were thinking the worst after hearing it was a bike vs car accident.

The guy claims he couldn't see the light due to the sun. Horse S_it! He wasn't paying attention. Safety first always. If you can't see the light, you can't assume it is green and continue going. You have to slow down until you can see it, stop if you can't see it at all. You don't just keep going.

Well, the guy in the car behind me was saved thanks to me, He would've been going a lot faster to make the light and would've been T-boned at full speed by the guy running the light.

My $4700 Carbon Fiber - Dura Ace component bike is a goner. I will be fighting to get full compensation so I can get an equivalent bike. I bought it less than a year ago. A Trek Madone 5.9 or a Pinarello Dogma or Prince could be in order for my next road bike (add some of my own cash to upgrade to those bikes $5500-6500)

Damage to me: sore neck and slight tenderness in right abdomen. Went to ER today (mainly for the tenderness issue - don't want to risk internal bleeding and not be checked)....safe and sound but they gave me Vicodin and Valium scripts. On a Valium right now. I don't notice much except the equivalent of a three beer consumption in 2 hrs time (for my tolerance levels). Slight sensation.

03CDKJ · **Posted:** Tue Feb 02, 2010 10:07 pm

Dang! Scratch the $7000 bike..... SFA the KJ..... and sell the IFS parts to buy a new bike! :wink:

Lucky there were no broken bones.... or worse!

Sir Sam · **Posted:** Wed Feb 03, 2010 1:18 am

03CDKJ wrote:

and sell the IFS parts to buy a new bike! :wink:

I'm betting he wants more than just a walmart bike.

Tokyojoe · **Posted:** Wed Feb 03, 2010 2:02 am

No interest in going SFA.....going topless, is what I HAD in mind. Not me, the KJ. I would scare everyone if I did that myself. An awesome setup would cost $15.5k and up. All electric with touch of a button.

Check this place out and what they did to an FJ and H3. I told the guy I didn't want a street queen but setup to still be able to hit the Rocky Mountain trails.

http://www.newportconvertible.com/
The owner mentioned frame stiffeners.

What I would rather have is a manual removeable top like Wranglers, but look like it everything done to it came from the factory. Any ideas out there?

I still want that nice bike.

STINGN · **Posted:** Wed Feb 03, 2010 2:24 am

all i know about going topless is that you can do whatever you want to a car or truck if the money is there...I had my 1998 Range Rover that was a straight import from England, we went there to look at them years back (96) and ordered one, they had a custom shop with 4 door convertible Range Rovers, kinda surreal but COOL

Diggerfreek · **Posted:** Wed Feb 03, 2010 2:34 am

Glad you are OK :shock:

Neatus · **Posted:** Wed Feb 03, 2010 11:01 am

Wow man....I really am glad you didn't get more than your bike broken.

dog_party · **Posted:** Wed Feb 03, 2010 3:18 pm

We're really glad to hear you survived without anything major damaged (in or on you). Sorry about your bike. I can't imagine you'll have any trouble getting full compensation out of it since there were witnesses.

InCommando · **Posted:** Wed Feb 03, 2010 3:24 pm

Not that I haven't dreamed of your demise, but not like this.... :mrgreen:

warp2diesel · **Posted:** Wed Feb 03, 2010 7:06 pm

Don't let the insurance company get away with anything, screw their bottom line. Many years ago my wife got hit on her bike and got screwed over by Aetna. Use your military training and consider his insurance company the enemy. Let them know paying replacement cost on your bike and your medical bills is the cheapest option.

Good Luck

Tokyojoe · **Posted:** Wed Feb 03, 2010 11:27 pm

Bike shop totaled the bike because carbon fiber frames can end up having hidden cracks with impacts. Also where the fork broke up by the head tube, it looks like the head tube is damaged.

Total replacement with equivalent bike will be about $4700. A Trek Madone 5.9 is calling my name.

Check out Treks website to build your own bike. Pretty awesome.

http://www.Trekbikes.com/us/en

InCommando......love ya too! :CAMPING:

Tokyojoe · **Posted:** Sat Feb 13, 2010 6:27 pm

The bike. Trek Pilot 5.9 Full carbon fiber with Dura Ace and Bontrager X Lite and XxX Lite components.

Doesn't look bad, but you cannot see any hidden cracks in the carbon fiber so the Bike shop said it was totaled.

Diggerfreek · **Posted:** Sat Feb 13, 2010 10:05 pm

That sucks

JeepinJarhead03 · **Posted:** Sat Feb 13, 2010 10:11 pm

i sort of lol'ed at the price tag of the bike, i guess i don't understand it lol

i've never spent more than 400 bucks on a non-motorized bike but i'm not a big bike enthusiast

so what's the benefit of the carbon fiber versus aluminum or steel or whatever? I understand the big price tags when i see like, durangotangs offroad mountain bikes with the coils and stuff

i'm not jokin on ya, just curious, would i really be able to tell that kind of difference between 2 similar road bikes like yours with one being carbon and the other being metal or whatever other than their weight?

Don't even know what the weight changes lol

Tokyojoe · **Posted:** Sat Feb 13, 2010 11:24 pm

Ride a steel, titanium, aluminum, and a carbon fiber frame bike over bumps and you will noticed significant difference in the materials.

Ride them with maximal power being driven into the cranks, you will feel the difference in each.

Try steering at fast speeds with each, you will notice a difference.

Pick them up and you will definitely notice the difference. Ride up a steep hill and you will notice a difference.

Carbon fiber is the lightest and you will find bikes around 12-16 lbs. Steel will get you 20 or more lbs. Going up a mountain and every gram counts. Of course, I have room to drop a few pounds myself.

Steel rusts, carbon fiber doesn't.

Steel is limited in aerodynamics, carbon fiber can be shaped for the best aerodynamics.

Compare this car (0-60 in 3.9 secs)

to this car (0-60 in just over 5 secs)

JeepinJarhead03 · **Posted:** Sat Feb 13, 2010 11:42 pm

i've made carbon fiber parts before, still pretty crazy to me tho, 5k for a bike hehe

i guess if i ever got into riding a bike like you do i'd understand

nicest bike ive ever ridden was one of those coiled suspension deal mountain bikes and it was pretty sweet, but i couldn't really tell ya if i noticed a difference in that and my older stuff other than the springy nature

Car vs bike

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