UK journalists have spotted a trend in micromobility injuries and dubbed it Lime leg
A Lime rental e-bike on the pavement in Leadenhall Street on June 4, 2024 in London, United Kingdom. Alex was on a Lime bike when he braked hard and fell sideways. The weight of the bike smashed his leg into the curb, shattering the bone.
This is Lime leg. Since then, reports of riders hospitalized by Lime leg has raised the spectre of a problem with micromobility ebikes and their designs — and now, Lime faces a lawsuit from customers who said faulty bikes led to injuries, though not specifically to their legs. Multiple issues are at play, including suggestions that accidents are exacerbated by riders who are inexperienced with heavy ebikes, such as tourists. But the core problem is believed to be the weight of the bikes, which is much heavier than a standard bike, and — as the lawsuit and reporting allege — a failure to keep the bikes well maintained. But first, here's what a Lime spokesperson told me earlier this summer on the subject of safety: "At Lime, safety is our highest priority. It guides how we design and maintain our vehicles, how we develop technology and educational materials to encourage safe riding, and how we work with cities to provide safe riding environments. As part of our London Action Plan, we are increasing our investment in safer riding education to improve the safety of all London cyclists." The spokesperson added: "In London, 99.9% of trips end without a reported incident, which speaks to the strength of our safety record across millions of journeys." The weight difference makes some sense: they must be robust enough to handle being left on the street and the battery itself is heavy, and is placed on the central bar. Lime bikes in London are a step-through design, which makes it easier to get on and off regardless of height. That battery placement means that the main tube that makes up the step-through frame bears a lot of weight — as some riders have found out the hard way, including Alex. Or at least that’s what reports suggest. London Centric followed up the initial report about Alex with other stories of legs shattered — with one rider left with bones through their skin — and NHS consultants noticing an increase in such accidents, in particular with leg injuries.from the orthopaedics trauma ward in a hospital in Whitechapel, London that about the increasing injuries from ebikes, though not all from Lime and some due to the speed of hacked private ebikes. Evenwrote up the story of actor Sebastian de Souza, who ended up in hospital with a "tibial plateau fracture ."a surgeon at a London hospital as saying they see at least one patient a week with a Lime leg injury, describing one incident as happening when the rider had fully stopped: "She had pulled up and stopped when the Lime bike fell on her leg, twisted her knee, and had an open tibial fracture , which I had to fix with a nail." The issue has even been: "Our data shows no identifiable trend relating to leg injuries among Lime riders in the UK." Lime told me that its bikes meet all local regulations and are comparable in weight and design to other shared ebikes, in particular in London.Such injuries aren’t making headlines outside of the UK, for the most part. Perhaps that's because UK media has managed to shine a light on this issue, or the fact that London is one of Lime's biggest markets.that ebikes are leading to a "rapid escalation" of fractures and head injuries — again, down to heavier bikes going much faster. Indeed, there’s plenty of headlines about delivery riders going too fast on illegal ebikes, and sharing systems like Lime are speed limited.of Swiss accidents suggested injuries were more likely to ebike riders than traditional bicycles — not a surprise given weight and speed — but also that e-bike accidents "produce a different injury profile to the lower extremities compared to motorcycle or bicycle accidents." The latter two see injuries across all parts of the legs, but ebike leg injuries are generally located at the knee or below. The researchers admitted the sample size was small and said they didn’t have a good explanation for that, other than the ebike riders in their sample with injuries were all older people, and perhaps weren't as comfortable with a cumbersome bike. In short, it may be that the weight and balance of ebikes are leading to a specific sort of leg injury — and it’s Lime's bad luck that it's been named after the company.However, a further complaint against Lime is that its bikes aren’t maintained in good enough condition, meaning accidents are more likely to happen — and that could exacerbate incidents of "Lime leg".hired a mechanic to test 50 Lime bikes and found 12% should be removed from the road for safety reasons immediately, and half had a mechanical issue of some sort. In a previous report,at the time the move wasn't cost driven and the new tire performs better in braking, safety and puncture resistance.that its dozen clients’ injuries — ranging from broken legs to brain injuries — were caused "when their bikes fell apart", including seats that dislodged or brakes that failed. A Lime spokesperson told me: "Safety informs everything we do at Lime — from how we design and maintain our vehicles, to our rider education, and how we work with cities. Given that this is an open legal matter, we cannot comment further at this time. We are saddened to hear about any incidents and our thoughts are with those impacted."There are wider safety issues facing ebikes in the UK and elsewhere, notably batteries catching fire and people riding illegal models that go too fast have struck people, leading to deaths and injuries. Neither issue comes via micromobility schemes, but private ebikes. Of course, it’s always worth noting that cycling comes with significant health and environmental benefits too, and that the biggest risk to cyclists — electric, hired or otherwise — remains cars. But if these bikes are a poor design, it’s worth addressing. Lime contends its bikes are safe, but it's also working on a new design — stressing that's not in response to any reports of leg injuries. Rental bikes are pictured scattered across a pavement on 26th February 2024 in London, United Kingdom. E-bikes left unsafely on pavements present hazards for pedestrians, in particular for disabled and elderly people. Perhaps a bigger issue might concern the rollout here in London: some councils are fed up with bikes scattered around streets, so have banned some providers but allowed others. That leads to a "Wild west" of bike shares — as London mayor Sadiq Khan put it — with bikes from one company ditched at a borough border in order to hop on a rival company’s bikes.on social media: "Hounslow Council banned Lime bikes and licensed Forest and Voi; neighbouring Richmond has licensed Lime and banned the others… So every bridge is Checkpoint Charlie, with loads of Lime bikes parked on one side and loads of Forest and Voi on the other. Top work everyone!" Whether it’s addressing Lime leg or smoothing out sharing borders, it's clear micromobility has some issues that need sorting — regulators shouldn't stamp it out, but make sharing schemes work better and safer. In the meantime, if you're using an ebike of any sort, double check the seat is secure and the brakes work before hopping on — and mind your tibia.
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