A ride along the towpath, but what if..

marwigan

Pedelecer
Oct 15, 2014
51
20
Wigan and Mid-Wales
Quite a few 'traffic free ' routes include the canal towpaths near me e.g. there's the Leigh branch of the Leeds/Liverpool which is thoughtfully block-paved for much of the route Wigan- Leigh town ctre [9 miles] and is certainly pretty direct compared to the street routes. However with the real hazard of coming up sharp with meeting a jogger or a careless cyclist, under a very low canal over-bridge [i have an efficient that is LOUD bell - not a 'pinger' for this], it is conceivable that one could end up , Bang..Splash... Yep you got it. IN THE DRINK.
OK so unlikely to be a Flash, another Bang, Puff of smoke and dead fish rising but what would be the result do we think guys? I suspect the battery at £300 odd [quid] would be a write off, wouldn't it, nor would it do the electrics [controller] nor motor much good?

This is not just a hypothetical; I have pedalled canal-side for years and continue to do so with my old lafree [nimh] and Velo/Leeds [li-ion] regularly; and i can tell you one bridge is so low and 'blind' in leigh you are bent over and trying to keep balance let alone negotiating a numpty 'haring' [as in hare] it the other way. What's that ? get off? is my name Mitchell?
 
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eBoy

Pedelecer
Jun 24, 2014
72
37
73
Crumbs, doesn't bear thinking about, skipper! I ride a lot on towpaths, and always keep well tucked in to the far side when approaching people or oncoming bikes, so that I'm as far away as possible from the water's edge in the event of a collision - or in danger of being pushed in! LOL!
 

Ferdinand

Pedelecer
Jan 12, 2015
85
32
NG17
Quite a few 'traffic free ' routes include the canal towpaths near me e.g. there's the Leigh branch of the Leeds/Liverpool which is thoughtfully block-paved for much of the route Wigan- Leigh town ctre [9 miles] and is certainly pretty direct compared to the street routes. However with the real hazard of coming up sharp with meeting a jogger or a careless cyclist, under a very low canal over-bridge [i have an efficient that is LOUD bell - not a 'pinger' for this], it is conceivable that one could end up , Bang..Splash... Yep you got it. IN THE DRINK.
OK so unlikely to be a Flash, another Bang, Puff of smoke and dead fish rising but what would be the result do we think guys? I suspect the battery at £300 odd [quid] would be a write off, wouldn't it, nor would it do the electrics [controller] nor motor much good?

This is not just a hypothetical; I have pedalled canal-side for years and continue to do so with my old lafree [nimh] and Velo/Leeds [li-ion] regularly; and i can tell you one bridge is so low and 'blind' in leigh you are bent over and trying to keep balance let alone negotiating a numpty 'haring' [as in hare] it the other way. What's that ? get off? is my name Mitchell?
The 'numpty' pedestrian, of course, has the right of way on virtually every towpath in the country so it is definitely a hypothetical, or possibly a ASBO !

So if visibility is impossible getting off and going slowly enough that you can stop and get off is the order of the day.

I started riding a few towpaths recently, and was worried about going in until I discovered that - unlike rivers - nearly everybody who cycles into a canal comes out again.

Surely the battery is covered by insurance for most people?

Has anyone ever caught any fish in a canal by electrocution?

Ferdinand
 
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Emo Rider

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 10, 2014
659
414
About a year ago a sobbing, dripping wet young lady pushed her ebike into the shop equally dripping. She had been knocked into the canal by a dog walker. I removed the controller and dashboard, then split the battery case. I placed them all and the bike next to the heater and left them for two days. Put everything back together and it worked fine. I do not believe that the bike was in the water very long as the dog walker apparently used his leash to fish the bike out immediately. It was a typical 36v, 10ah 8fun type system.
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,604
30,874
Not long ago one of our members reported exactly this kind of accident, although in his case it was a moment's inattention that led to him and his e-bike going into the canal.

The bike didn't work after drying out and we never heard what happened to it.
.
 

Ferdinand

Pedelecer
Jan 12, 2015
85
32
NG17
Electrics are quite resilient.

Normally in the case of house floods it is just a case of dry out the wires and restart.

The damage is done by live electrics being wet.

Jerry Pournelle of BYTE wrote a piece about taking his computer keyboards into the shower to clean them.

Perhaps there's something to be said for encapsulated batteries with an rcd.

Ferdinand