Originally Posted by
richard.susanto
Thanks for all the feedback here. I was actually hoping that there's a 40+ yo. Retina Specialist in this forum who is also a gravel grinder and can provide perspective. But, I'm not expecting much since it's such a specific case.
I ride the Canyon Grail, with a suspension seat post and 40mm tires. In addition, the handlebar (Canyon calls it Hoverbar) also helps with softening the overall vibration felt when riding on really rough road. Still, I can feel the constant vibration all over my body when riding in a long distance.
Thanks again, everyone.
In 2020 I was 56-years old. I’d been riding a hardtail MTB up a 4.3 (7km) fire road and back down. I reached about 30-35mph for much of the descent.
At some point (let’s call it Day 0) I rode my carbon CX bike w/35mm tires up the fire road and back down. I did experience a lot of vibration in my vision on the way down. The next day (Day 1) I experienced some large swaths of fluid black patches, sort of as if looking at a lava lamp with black fluid inside, as well as some lightning flashes. On Day 2 I was diagnosed with a detached retina and had emergency retina reattachment surgery that day. No one can prove that riding a rigid-forked gravel bike on a bumpy fire trail was the cause, but I tend to believe it was the last straw in my middle-aged body.