Throttle is a life saver

[vfr400]

In case you didn't know, I've had a bit of bad luck with my health recently. For whatever reasons, my lungs are full of blood clots that prevent me getting enough oxygen in my blood to the extent that walking out to my garden had me gasping for breath. I had to spend a few days in hospital a couple of weeks ago, but now the medication seems to be working so I can walk 100 meters or so as long as it's not uphill. I'm fine while sitting around. It's just anything physical that gets me gasping. If I didn't have such a strong heart from all my cycling I've done during the last few years, I might have succumbed. The ambulance guys that carted me off, seemed to think I should have been dead from the speed my heart was going when they arrived.

That's why I've been able to spend so much time on the forum recently.

My throttle hasn't worked for years because I carelessly ripped the wires when I put the bike in the back of my van, and I couldn't be bothered to fix it. I really wanted to use my bike because it gets me close to the shops, so less walking, but I'm just not up to normal pedalling yet. Now, after soldering the throttle wires, I'm back in action. When I'm on the bike, it's like I'm 100% cured as long as I don't pedal with any effort. I'm OK with a bit of air pedalling as long as I don't do it for too long. It's surprising how difficult it is remembering that I can't pedal normally because I feel completely normal.

Anyway, the moral of the story is that I'm really glad that I didn't go for a torque sensor system. I'll add this one to my list of advantages of having a throttle.

 

[Nealh]

Not good news to hear Dave but yes a few posts you have intimated things weren't going so well, you are still here so onwards and upwards.
In the past you have always been a stalwart for users to have a throttle fitted, I also have them on three bikes but scarcely ever used but still they are there and one day, one day.

 

[flecc]

In case you didn't know, I've had a bit of bad luck with my health recently. For whatever reasons, my lungs are full of blood clots that prevent me getting enough oxygen in my blood to the extent that walking out to my garden had me gasping for breath. I had to spend a few days in hospital a couple of weeks ago, but now the medication seems to be working so I can walk 100 meters or so as long as it's not uphill. I'm fine while sitting around. It's just anything physical that gets me gasping. If I didn't have such a strong heart from all my cycling I've done during the last few years, I might have succumbed. The ambulance guys that carted me off, seemed to think I should have been dead from the speed my heart was going when they arrived.

That's why I've been able to spend so much time on the forum recently.

My throttle hasn't worked for years because I carelessly ripped the wires when I put the bike in the back of my van, and I couldn't be bothered to fix it. I really wanted to use my bike because it gets me close to the shops, so less walking, but I'm just not up to normal pedalling yet. Now, after soldering the throttle wires, I'm back in action. When I'm on the bike, it's like I'm 100% cured as long as I don't pedal with any effort. I'm OK with a bit of air pedalling as long as I don't do it for too long. It's surprising how difficult it is remembering that I can't pedal normally because I feel completely normal.

Anyway, the moral of the story is that I'm really glad that I didn't go for a torque sensor system. I'll add this one to my list of advantages of having a throttle.

I'n very sorry to learn this Dave, it puts my occasional tachycardial heart attacks into perspective (last ones 9th and 26th of July), though I don't try to cycle any more now since it triggers them too easily.

I suppose you could also build yourself an L1e-A to steam up any hill with throttle and four times the power with its 1000 watt rating.
.

 

[vfr400]

I'n very sorry to learn this Dave, it puts my occasional tachycardial heart attacks into perspective (last ones 9th and 26th of July), though I don't try to cycle any more now since it triggers them too easily.

I suppose you could also build yourself an L1e-A to steam up any hill with throttle and four times the power with its 1000 watt rating.
.

I have a Honda Forza 300 scooter and 700cc motorbike as well, but it's too much effort to get them out of the garage at the moment.

Whenever I become ill, I think why me; however, the truth is that just about everybody has some health problem that they have to live with, and many have worse problems. I was put in a ward with 2 other guys, who were both in the final stages of terminal cancer. The problems they had to deal with were terrible. The only thing that they complained about was not being able to see their families because no visitors are allowed due to the virus and they were both too ill to go home.

 

[RossG]

That's a bit of a sod vfr I'd put it down to a misspent youth, I was a good boy so I keep quite fit, but you could follow the rule of an old pal of mine who used to say 'I don't have any problems, I give problems' but then he was a Transvestite so he probably did.

 

[WheezyRider]

In case you didn't know, I've had a bit of bad luck with my health recently. For whatever reasons, my lungs are full of blood clots that prevent me getting enough oxygen in my blood to the extent that walking out to my garden had me gasping for breath. I had to spend a few days in hospital a couple of weeks ago, but now the medication seems to be working so I can walk 100 meters or so as long as it's not uphill. I'm fine while sitting around. It's just anything physical that gets me gasping. If I didn't have such a strong heart from all my cycling I've done during the last few years, I might have succumbed. The ambulance guys that carted me off, seemed to think I should have been dead from the speed my heart was going when they arrived.

That's why I've been able to spend so much time on the forum recently.

My throttle hasn't worked for years because I carelessly ripped the wires when I put the bike in the back of my van, and I couldn't be bothered to fix it. I really wanted to use my bike because it gets me close to the shops, so less walking, but I'm just not up to normal pedalling yet. Now, after soldering the throttle wires, I'm back in action. When I'm on the bike, it's like I'm 100% cured as long as I don't pedal with any effort. I'm OK with a bit of air pedalling as long as I don't do it for too long. It's surprising how difficult it is remembering that I can't pedal normally because I feel completely normal.

Anyway, the moral of the story is that I'm really glad that I didn't go for a torque sensor system. I'll add this one to my list of advantages of having a throttle.

Sorry to hear that, hope the doctors can figure out why and get you on the mend quickly.

I fully agree about the throttle. If I hadn't had the twist and go on the Powabyke, I would have been completely stuck post op, not allowed to drive, couldn't turn the pedals over for a PAS.

 

[vfr400]

Sorry to hear that, hope the doctors can figure out why and get you on the mend quickly.

I fully agree about the throttle. If I hadn't had the twist and go on the Powabyke, I would have been completely stuck post op, not allowed to drive, couldn't turn the pedals over for a PAS.

We're engineers. We sort problems by finding the causes and fixing them. Doctors sort problems by dealing with the symptoms. They're not interested in causes.

 

[sjpt]

We're engineers. We sort problems by finding the causes and fixing them. Doctors sort problems by dealing with the symptoms. They're not interested in causes.

Slightly true.
A major problem for doctors is the complexity of what they are dealing with. Knowing how many mistakes/bugs we create in software (and I'm sure other engineering) I am amazed how few serious errors doctors make.

And even complex software is much much simpler than the body; doctors didn't design any bodies, and are dealing with lots of different bodies, often in rapid succession. Think in software how much more difficult fixes are faced with somebody else's software (especially difficult for someone else faced with my software).

Perhaps we need doctors to fix the 737 Max?

 

[WheezyRider]

Perhaps we need doctors to fix the 737 Max?

Can you imagine that...

"So you seem to be crashing for some unknown reason...here, take these pills, come back in a few few weeks and let me know if you've had any more crashes..."

 

[TedG]

We're engineers. We sort problems by finding the causes and fixing them. Doctors sort problems by dealing with the symptoms. They're not interested in causes.

Since an industrial accident 27 years ago I can say that I am (almost) living proof of that sentiment.
Secondly it was a shock to realise that I wasn't as indestructible as I thought I was.

 

[vfr400]

I am amazed how few serious errors doctors make.

Just about every time I have to visit doctors, they make serious errors. I avoid them like the plague. Even this time, after the ambulance insisted on taking me in because my heart was going more than double the normal rate, the doctor was going to send me home to recover from a stress attack, even though I told him I hadn't been able to walk for a week. It was only when I questioned him about why it had gone on for so long and why I had the pains in my leg and why one calf had swollen up that he decided to have a closer look at the D-dimer reading from my blood test, which was massively outside the normal range and above the range where people get blood clots. Basically, I told him what I thought my problem was, but his arrogance wouldn't allow him to accept it. My internet research had caused me to stress out.

My previous encounter was when I was no longer able to swallow properly. My throat was getting narrower and narrower, so I went for tests. After every test, the ENT specialist said there was nothing wrong. I refused to leave his office until he came up with a plan to fix me. Finally, he agreed to a CT scan, which showed that my throat was blocked by bones in my neck. A simple x-ray, like what was taken later would have shown the problem.

When my liver packed up, I was taken in by ambulance. They sent me home with a diagnosis of stress. they didn't even do any tests. I was diagnosed with hepatitis, viraemia, hepatitis B, glandular fever, and flu in that sequence and never given any treatment even though I was seriously ill for months. finally, they told me i was better than I thought I was - it was all in my mind. After a year, I insisted that they re-investigate. After a blood test, I got to see the big cheese, who said definitely something was wrong with my liver and he'd find out what it was. After a series of tests, including a liver biopsy, where the guy went in twice with the apple-corer and came out with nothing, then he figured out how the device worked, the big cheese said nothing was wrong. It took another year before i could do normal things.

Then there was my friend and ex forum member Saneagle, who got taken in by ambulance after a blood vessel in his throat burst and he puked up turds of congealed blood. They tucked him up in bed for the night. When they came back a few hours later, they found him dead - bled to death! I guess the alarms had gone off. During my recent stay in the same hospital, all the alarms would be going off on the drips or other monitoring devices and you could even press the call button, but nobody came.

Anyway, this is meant to be about the joys of cycling, so that's my rant over. Getting back on my bike after not having the strength for three weeks felt like such a massive achievement that I wanted to share it. For me, it was like getting my life back even though it seems insignificant to everyone else. three cheers for electric bikes. It's going to be ages before I'd be able to ride my road bike.

 

[JPGiant]

Good luck to you Dave and thanks for all your input here. Keep strong.

 

[Hovlev2]

In case you didn't know, I've had a bit of bad luck with my health recently. For whatever reasons, my lungs are full of blood clots that prevent me getting enough oxygen in my blood to the extent that walking out to my garden had me gasping for breath. I had to spend a few days in hospital a couple of weeks ago, but now the medication seems to be working so I can walk 100 meters or so as long as it's not uphill. I'm fine while sitting around. It's just anything physical that gets me gasping. If I didn't have such a strong heart from all my cycling I've done during the last few years, I might have succumbed. The ambulance guys that carted me off, seemed to think I should have been dead from the speed my heart was going when they arrived.

That's why I've been able to spend so much time on the forum recently.

My throttle hasn't worked for years because I carelessly ripped the wires when I put the bike in the back of my van, and I couldn't be bothered to fix it. I really wanted to use my bike because it gets me close to the shops, so less walking, but I'm just not up to normal pedalling yet. Now, after soldering the throttle wires, I'm back in action. When I'm on the bike, it's like I'm 100% cured as long as I don't pedal with any effort. I'm OK with a bit of air pedalling as long as I don't do it for too long. It's surprising how difficult it is remembering that I can't pedal normally because I feel completely normal.

Anyway, the moral of the story is that I'm really glad that I didn't go for a torque sensor system. I'll add this one to my list of advantages of having a throttle.

You sound like me! I had Covid back in March, and I couldn't walk more than a few yards at first, but it's a lot better now, although still not perfect. Like yourself, I wanted a throttle on the Oxygen I bought, but sadly Oxygen thought otherwise. I'm looking forward to getting new controller etc etc, and will no doubt be asking for more advice when I get to do the job!