Well, it seems my test riders are doing their jobs.
I just got word from Morgan Taylor that he hucked himself (along with his Rocky Mtn. Boroughs) off a 16 set in East Van. How gnar is that? Apparently, he was hauling ass through a park, knowing there was a stair set coming up, but not knowing how big it was. He was going fast enough to be committed, and pulled up, making that leap of faith that is only familiar to BMXers, MTBers, backcountry skiers and snowboarders.
I imagine he was in the air for quite some time. Probably long enough to realize he wasn't going to make it. Word is he cased his rear wheel on the last step, and the front end of the bike came down HARD.
Total damage:
- Rear Deep V pinched from stair impact
- Front Deep V ovalized with ripples where the spokes pulled
- Front fork (Bianchi Pista) has one leg bent forwards
- Morgan's thumb is sprained, and he's banged up all over.
I think he's still in shock. I made him ride back and take the picture of the stairs. Tim Wyatt's GTB is in there for scale. He measured it too. 8' overall height, 16 stairs at 6" each, 16' distance from the top stair to the bottom. I've witnessed some pretty retarded stunts on track bikes before, but this is probably the stupidest thing I've ever heard.
...oh yeah, the hub is fine. Morgan will be relacing it to another Deep V soon, and riding his track bike again once he finds another 1" fork.
In other news, my other (yet to be named) test rider is patiently waiting for his wheel to be delivered. Though, he just broke a Phil hub, and is getting less patient by the day. Stay tuned for his bio and bike check once he finally does get on my hub.
EDIT: Since this article is getting pasted all over the blogs I feel I should clear some things up. I did not see this happen. I am on the other side of the continent. I DO believe Morgan when he tells me this story for many reasons. He is a very close friend and I have ridden with him a LOT. He has nothing to gain by lying to me. I know this sort of thing is well within his physical and mental capacity. He rides BMX and smoothly hits lines I will not. I also know that he rides near the limits dictated by physics half the time he is on a bicycle (track, BMX, mini, tall, etc). He does NOT have a camera crew follow him around to record his indiscretions on a bike. When he hurts himself it's often in traffic, and often when he is by himself. That actually worries me a lot. I am glad he is okay, and look forward to riding BMX with him when he comes to visit in NYC. For all the internerd skeptics, I'm going to post the pictures of his bike. It actually fared pretty well considering the size of the drop. I would attribute that to someone who knows what they're doing when airing and landing a bicycle.
12 comments... click to read and add yours >>
