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Disc Brake Rotor Cut to the Bone During Katie Compton CX crash

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Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

Disc Brake Rotor Cut to the Bone During Katie Compton CX crash

Old 02-13-18, 09:57 AM
  #51  
mister
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Before getting into road cycling, I rode motocross for years. We had exposed disc rotors and I don’t remember anyone ever getting sliced in a crash. Lots of people used rotor guards not to spare someone getting sliced, but to keep their rotors from getting bent.

I don’t doubt that a rotor could slice, but I think the likelihood is much smaller than many are believing.
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Old 02-13-18, 11:11 AM
  #52  
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Originally Posted by mister
Before getting into road cycling, I rode motocross for years. We had exposed disc rotors and I don’t remember anyone ever getting sliced in a crash. Lots of people used rotor guards not to spare someone getting sliced, but to keep their rotors from getting bent.

I don’t doubt that a rotor could slice, but I think the likelihood is much smaller than many are believing.
And all you motor sissies were wearing real safety gear like leathers.
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Old 02-13-18, 11:15 AM
  #53  
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guards over discs were made for the Motor motocross..
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Old 02-13-18, 11:23 AM
  #54  
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It seems to me the problem isn't that the edges are sharp,
it's that they're scalloped.



Like they're trying to make it as deadly as possible. Why don't they just make them round like they do in cars and motorcycles?
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Old 02-13-18, 12:38 PM
  #55  
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Originally Posted by FBinNY
I'm not a fan of disc brakes on road or CX bikes, especially for competition, but my concern is less about safety than about other considerations.

In any case, I don't understand why disc advocates and users don't at least demand some effort at making them safer. It's technically not difficult (though it would add slightly to cost) to improve safety by turning a semicircular edge on the discs. They'll still be thin, but at least they won't be razor sharp.

So, to the true believers, DEMAND that some (minimal) effort is made to address this safety issue.
Absolutely we do. That's why we use things like Ice Tech, to dissipate heat on long, steep descents, so we don't lose braking power. That's also why hydraulic disc brakes exist, the better modulation and reduced effort are basically safety features, so roadies with weak grip strength can still stop when they hit traffic at the bottom of the hill.

Those are actual not perceived safety issues. That's why they've received attention.
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Old 02-13-18, 01:10 PM
  #56  
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This disc brake menace is a lot like the Big Four Ice Caves.

We have a local mountain called Big Four, because in the winter time a snow field forms in the shape of the number 4. (We have a lot of mountains here, eventually you run out of creative names and resort to stuff like this.)

At the base of Big Four Mountain is a glacier with an ice cave. People ignore warning signs and go inside. A total of 4 people have died this way in the last 100 years. Locals want a fence erected, the caves bombed to smithereens, etc. People feel like those caves are more dangerous than a sharknado, just like disc rotors.

It's a fact that in the last decade more people have died from drowning in their bathtub than from disc brake rotor cuts and Ice Cave collapses combined. More people have died from bench press accidents than from both causes together. Nobody wants to ban water and exercise.
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Old 02-13-18, 01:46 PM
  #57  
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Originally Posted by Seattle Forrest
This disc brake menace is a lot like the Big Four Ice Caves.

We have a local mountain called Big Four, because in the winter time a snow field forms in the shape of the number 4. (We have a lot of mountains here, eventually you run out of creative names and resort to stuff like this.)

At the base of Big Four Mountain is a glacier with an ice cave. People ignore warning signs and go inside. A total of 4 people have died this way in the last 100 years. Locals want a fence erected, the caves bombed to smithereens, etc. People feel like those caves are more dangerous than a sharknado, just like disc rotors.

It's a fact that in the last decade more people have died from drowning in their bathtub than from disc brake rotor cuts and Ice Cave collapses combined. More people have died from bench press accidents than from both causes together. Nobody wants to ban water and exercise.
I mean, its not exactly like that. No one was saying the ice caves never collapse, anyone with a half a brain new there was some risk involved. But go back to the previous thread when a pro claimed to have been cut by a rotor and there were plenty of those adamant it wasn't possible. The main reason I posted was to see the reactions honestly. I've been riding disc brake bikes for over 5 years, and currently own more disc brake bikes than rim brake bikes, and I'm certainly not going out to replace all my rotors on my 6 sets of wheels with "safer" rounded ones, but we've had disc brakes for over 10 years and just this year has SRAM added significant rounding/chamfering to their disc brakes. Only shimano's newest high end rotors too. There is room for discs in everyday and mass start events if people are willing to acknowledge there is a small increase in risk in certain circumstances, and manufacturers minimize this risk in a cost effective manner going forward. Summed up nicely
But Compton’s injury hasn’t changed her favorable opinion on disc brakes. “I like disc brakes and find that the injuries incurred aren’t that bad in the whole scheme of things,” she said. “Broken bones and road rash hurt way more. At least the cuts are clean and can be sewed up easily enough.”
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Old 02-13-18, 01:52 PM
  #58  
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Originally Posted by redlude97
But go back to the previous thread when a pro claimed to have been cut by a rotor and there were plenty of those adamant it wasn't possible.
Who - the guy that went under a fence and claimed that a rotor sliced through his shoe? If so, there's quite a lot of reason to believe that it didn't happen as he'd claimed.
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Old 02-13-18, 02:17 PM
  #59  
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I think Doull was the shoe one. There was another racer, but I don't think he was pro.

I guess I want film showing/proving it can happen. Because crashes are often a split second, the mind plays games, and a spinning metal disc can look fearsome without actually being dangerous.
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Old 02-13-18, 02:20 PM
  #60  
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Originally Posted by redlude97
I mean, its not exactly like that. No one was saying the ice caves never collapse, anyone with a half a brain new there was some risk involved. But go back to the previous thread when a pro claimed to have been cut by a rotor and there were plenty of those adamant it wasn't possible. The main reason I posted was to see the reactions honestly. I've been riding disc brake bikes for over 5 years, and currently own more disc brake bikes than rim brake bikes, and I'm certainly not going out to replace all my rotors on my 6 sets of wheels with "safer" rounded ones, but we've had disc brakes for over 10 years and just this year has SRAM added significant rounding/chamfering to their disc brakes. Only shimano's newest high end rotors too. There is room for discs in everyday and mass start events if people are willing to acknowledge there is a small increase in risk in certain circumstances, and manufacturers minimize this risk in a cost effective manner going forward. Summed up nicely
Did people actually say it's impossible to cut yourself on a rotor, or just unlikely?
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Old 02-13-18, 02:21 PM
  #61  
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So there's basically three camps here:

1- Disc rotors can't cut like that
2- Literally any part of a bike can cut like that
3- I did a different sport
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Old 02-13-18, 03:30 PM
  #62  
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Originally Posted by seau grateau
So there's basically three camps here:

1- Disc rotors can't cut like that
--CF bikes are everywhere now ... because all the aluminum has been snatched up by the aluminum foil hat industry.

Originally Posted by seau grateau
2- Literally any part of a bike can cut like that
Actually, this is true. Skin can and will split .... I split a knee wide open once. No tear in the pants, inch-and-a half long, quarter-inch-wide, quarter-inch deep opening in the flesh. Flesh can split like a sausage skin.

Someone mentioned boxers ... obviously boxers are not getting "cut" by a pound of padded glove ... forget a two-millimeter edge, a boxing glove impacts over like a square foot ... but we have all seen boxers get "cut."
Originally Posted by seau grateau
3- I did a different sport
You missed the folks who say stupid stuff like .... "I have discs but don't ride in a tight pack at dangerous speeds with packs of riders all using discs so it is a non-issue."

Or the fools who say, "Yes, discs can be an added risk but not significant for most riders. (Equally, they don't really offer much performance improvement for most riders ....)"

And what about the lame-brains who say stuff like "Too many credible stories have been told by too many people with no agenda, so that at this point only people with a strong agenda (read: unwillingness to face facts) can continue to deny that discs Sometimes cut riders ... but so far the incidence seems very low."

Yeah .... lots of those folks out there ... what can you do?
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Old 02-13-18, 03:40 PM
  #63  
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Disc riders belong in a Mad Max movie not on the roads.
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Old 02-13-18, 04:14 PM
  #64  
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Not that I find rotors scary, but wouldn't a cover make a lot of sense to prevent any sort of claim that they're dangerous? I bet manufactures could make some pretty sweet aero carbon covers that weigh almost nothing?

Realistically, the chainrings scare me a ton more than the rotors. Imagine getting you hand caught between a chain and a chainring.
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Old 02-13-18, 04:24 PM
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I've been riding disc brakes for years. Nobody ever promised me the rotors won't cut me, or gain sentience and overthrow humanity. I just thought about it for a few seconds and decided it was worth taking my chances.
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Old 02-13-18, 05:54 PM
  #66  
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Originally Posted by WhyFi
By doing things like providing better and more consistent braking performance? Agreed.
last time I check, bike racing is about how fast you go, not how quickly you stop
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Old 02-13-18, 06:10 PM
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Originally Posted by bleui
last time I check, bike racing is about how fast you go, not how quickly you stop
Which is why you don't race, in part.
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Old 02-13-18, 06:38 PM
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Originally Posted by bleui
last time I check, bike racing is about how fast you go, not how quickly you stop
Yeah, you're probably right - braking plays no part in going fast.
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Old 02-13-18, 10:29 PM
  #69  
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Originally Posted by popeye
And all you motor sissies were wearing real safety gear like leathers.
In motocross or desert we wear nylon pants but many don't wear anything but a jersey on top.
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Old 02-13-18, 10:31 PM
  #70  
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Originally Posted by tyrion
It seems to me the problem isn't that the edges are sharp,
it's that they're scalloped.



Like they're trying to make it as deadly as possible. Why don't they just make them round like they do in cars and motorcycles?
The theory is that when the pads pass over the open part of the edge it helps get rid of heat.
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Old 02-13-18, 11:45 PM
  #71  
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Originally Posted by big john
The theory is that when the pads pass over the open part of the edge it helps get rid of heat.
I see. I didn't know that.
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Old 02-14-18, 09:19 AM
  #72  
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Originally Posted by bleui
last time I check, bike racing is about how fast you go, not how quickly you stop
absolutely. right up until you fail to negotiate a switch back and fly off the side of a mountain.
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Old 02-14-18, 09:21 AM
  #73  
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Originally Posted by tyrion
I see. I didn't know that.
PLT - any time you see a design or manufacturing feature that has a non zero cost to add, always ask your self why it might be there.

Might be cosmetic, might be functional, but the one thing it will absolutely never be is accidental.
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Old 02-14-18, 11:36 AM
  #74  
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Originally Posted by nycphotography
PLT - any time you see a design or manufacturing feature that has a non zero cost to add, always ask your self why it might be there.

Might be cosmetic, might be functional, but the one thing it will absolutely never be is accidental.
LOL ... I am thinking of the original Chevy Vega with its aluminum engine block which had a habit of melting itself.
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Old 02-14-18, 12:54 PM
  #75  
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Originally Posted by Maelochs
LOL ... I am thinking of the original Chevy Vega with its aluminum engine block which had a habit of melting itself.
As compared with the rest of the Chevy Vega which was built to last the ages lol
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