Oxford teen’s penis ‘degloved’ by his bike’s handlebars in freak crash - doctors urge ensuring bars have grips to avoid similar cases

Ban handlebars?

Yikes:

"With the exception of one described case of traumatic circumcision and penile degloving in a 49-year-old caused by impact with snowmobile handlebar"

"The affect on sexual function was not assessed"

Plenty of bromide and pornhub avoidance required I'd imagine

Impressive.

I've still got an indentation in my upper thigh from something similar. Raleigh Grifter c. 1979 - difference being that the bar ends were covered. Hate to think what the apple-corer effect would have been without that. Front wheel worked loose on a 20% descent, handlebars locked, and slammed into my thigh as I tumbled on to them. Hugely impressive grapefruit-sized swelling, bruised from thigh to ankle.

Well yes quite, that was indeed my point.  Reminded me of the stories of helicopter pilots in Vietnam who would sit on their helmets, since the most likely direction of fire would be small arms fire from below.

Well I braved the link and I agree the photo is not for the faint of heart.  I did note, however, in the statement of facts under "Case Presentation ", the sentence, "He was not wearing a helmet." . . .*
 

*for avoidance of doubt, I am not trying to make a joke.

Oh come on people. We're ten comments deep and there hasn't been a helmet joke yet...

Ouch

Maybe this will make a comeback? Kids could die of embarrassment instead!

Onza used to supply an anti cookie cutter plug that would bung up the bar so that the bar could not go through the end of the grip.  Unless there is a bung the metal of the bar will always go through the rubber grip, only a leaning up against a wall or two, a laying on the ground or a bit of an off and the bar will start to cookie cut the grip.  After a while the ends of the bars will start to sharpen themselves as I remember from bikes back in my youth.

My X-lite straight Ti bars have an alloy plug so that the bar ends won't  crimp the ends of the bars too much.

On my X-lite X-country riser bar I use the X-lite bar end plug to stop any nasty impalings.  To get Onza Porcipaws (my very favorite grip) on you are meant to hit the end with a hammer to remove the little round bit.  I use a bung hole cutter for the plugged Ti bars.

On my new Jones H bar, whose dedicated grips come with a plastic expander plug, thought I have used the Hope Grip Doctor on them.

These things protect the ends of the bars and my flesh from the ends of the bars.

These are all when using rubber grips which I hairspray onto the bars.  The lock on style grips have a bit of a plastic sleeve and so that the cookie cutting thing might not be as much as a problem.  But I was very disapointed when the new Porcipaws I purchased, which had the lock on thing, stripped the thread on the tiny bolt.  So I will keep doing the hairspray thing on conventional rubber grips, with a bit of cable tieing if the grips have grooves for "wireing" which I have never figured out.

I hope the young lad in question gets everything back in full working order.

Here is a picture of the classic Onza Porcipaw grip showing the anti cookie cutter plugs.

Wow. That’s just horrific. Glad the young chap is ok - don’t want to think too hard about scar tissue

"it is not clear whether there has been any effect on his sexual function?"

I'm sure that his preferred hand was fine.

Oh come on, who here hasn't had a little slip whilst fixing their bike in the nude which then involved a trip to A&E?

NOPE.

There have been several high profile cases of these now. Perhaps on flat barred handlebars, they could weld the ends up?

"across the public bone and to his perineum"

You probably meant his pubic bone.

Ooowww.  Sitting here with my legs crossed now.