General Cycling Discussion - STOP!!! I almost killed myself yesterday...

I went to the LBS yesterday, to look at new bikes,

I test rode a couple different bikes.

All Raleigh models (seems to be a specialty of my LBS), 1 MTB, 1 Hybrid, and a comfort type thing.

First, I was very impressed and I've discovered that it doesn't really matter what bike I buy, they are ALL "litespeeds" compared to the Roadmaster POS I ride now.

Second, There came a point early in my first test ride where I found myself needing to apply the brakes. :eek:OHMIGOD!!! I never imagined that those things were supposed to stop a bike that fast!!! I nearly went over the handlebars.

The Roadmaster POS is quickly bound for the junkheap.

Anyone else have interesting stories about graduating up to a higher end machine?

ChipR.

I went from my old 96 Cannondale F400 up to a Trek 7500 this year. It was like going from a dune buggy to a Cadillac. Same thing about the brakes: V-brakes blew me away. Thing is though, I'm quite frightened of my road bike now because I've become accustomed to that kind of stopping power.

my LBS salesman told me that those MTB-style cantilever brakes and v-brakes are both better than the brakes that come on road bikes. if this is true, then why dont they put those brakes on road bikes too? is it a weight issue? is it cuz road brakes provide more linear, predictable braking?

Originally posted by deliriou5
my LBS salesman told me that those MTB-style cantilever brakes and v-brakes are both better than the brakes that come on road bikes. if this is true, then why dont they put those brakes on road bikes too? is it a weight issue? is it cuz road brakes provide more linear, predictable braking?

It depends what you call "better".

Sidepull brakes allow for better braking modulation (slowing down vs stopping quickly), but even modern long-reach sidepulls limit tires to 25-28-mm wide and narrow fenders. Longer-reach sidepulls could be made, but one would need more strength to brake.

V-brakes and cantilevers are good brakes for braking quickly. V-brakes have the added advantage of simplicity: no cable hanger, no traverse cable, one simple adjustment, etc. Having no cable hanger is important on many suspended bikes (one less headache for the bike maker). They also allow easy and quick braking: no strength needed. However, it's hard to slow down very delicately, especially if you have been trained as an amateur pianist and have a good grip. On the last issue, good brake pads, like 2-colour Kool-Stop, are better than the original Shimano pads.

Cantilevers are a bit more complex, but can be adjusted to either low or high mechanical advantage.

Regards,

Originally posted by ChipRGW
Anyone else have interesting stories about graduating up to a higher end machine?
I can't remember having any interesting stories regarding brakes but I remember an embarrassing story that happened when I rode my first bike with toe clips and straps.

I was pulling up to a corner stop sign and forgot the bike had these "new" type pedals. You can guess the rest. I sure looked stupid laying on the ground with both feet securely strapped to the pedals. :o

I was sideswipped by a car when I first started to ride. I was unable to walk over 1 block for over 6 months, but.... I could ride my bike within a week. Well, being scared, I took to the bike/multi-use path. A car pulled out in front of me and I panicked. Pulled on the brakes, and over the handlebar I went. The lady in the van was terrified to see a 45 year old women fall. By now, falling/accidents were quite commonplace, so I just got back on the bike and waited for her to move. Oh yeah, I scraped my chin, kind of hard to explain to my college-aged kids. It was a 7500FX hybrid with the fast stopping brakes. I rode for several weeks with the front brake unhooked. Then I got clipless pedals, only fell 2-3 times more, usually when I was almost stopped, and I'd pull one foot out, but somehow shift my weight to the wrong side. I've been accident free this year. Oh oh, no I haven't. Recently on a gravel railtrail with my new road bike, I turned around to look for my husband and slid off the path into the drainage canal. Looking forward to an accident free 2003 riding season.

Originally posted by ChipRGW

Second, There came a point early in my first test ride where I found myself needing to apply the brakes. :eek:OHMIGOD!!! I never imagined that those things were supposed to stop a bike that fast!!! I nearly went over the handlebars.

I went from 1990 Shimano DeoreDX cantis (which themselves were not slouchy stoppers) on my old Nishiki Ariel to 1999 Avid Arch Rival 50s on my K2 OzM and quickly learned how powerful new brakes were. I locked up the rear and had it exit out from under me just by simply tapping the lever before entering a turn around a slick corner... and I did it on the test ride too.

Originally posted by outashape
I was sideswipped by a car when I first started to ride. I was unable to walk over 1 block for over 6 months, but.... I could ride my bike within a week. Well, being scared, I took to the bike/multi-use path. A car pulled out in front of me and I panicked. . . . and many more accidents.

Remind me not to ride with you!!:D

13,000 miles, one stupid (minor bent-finger and some road rash) accident attempting to go down a too steep dirt hill on the mtn bike, and two of the seemingly inevitable falls when starting on clipless.

Guess I have been lucky!!

Originally posted by RonH

I can't remember having any interesting stories regarding brakes but I remember an embarrassing story that happened when I rode my first bike with toe clips and straps.

I was pulling up to a corner stop sign and forgot the bike had these "new" type pedals. You can guess the rest. I sure looked stupid laying on the ground with both feet securely strapped to the pedals. :o

Hehe,

It reminds me Ron of when I first tried SPD pedals....I came to a t junction in the road (which looking back was luckily empty) and I came to a stop, panicked and landed on my side surgically stuck to my bike...oh, happy days :D

Rich

Originally posted by Rich


Hehe,

It reminds me Ron of when I first tried SPD pedals....I came to a t junction in the road (which looking back was luckily empty) and I came to a stop, panicked and landed on my side surgically stuck to my bike...oh, happy days :D

Rich

I forgot to mention, in my post "Major Accident". The reason I fell on my elbow and knee is because of the curb and the fact that I couldn't get my foot out of the toe straps quick enough. DUH! They seem like second nature to use, I guess they get hung up sometimes.....:(

Originally posted by Redhed
I forgot to mention, in my post "Major Accident". The reason I fell on my elbow and knee is because of the curb and the fact that I couldn't get my foot out of the toe straps quick enough. DUH! They seem like second nature to use, I guess they get hung up sometimes.....:(

I got into a similar situation. I was doing a slow-speed sharp turn out of a parking lot, overlapped my left toe with my front wheel and was totally locked up. I went down to the right with my left foot still wedged into the front wheel and I couldn't get to the release angle to unclip. I guess I'm lucky I only got a nasty bit of elbow scraping and didn't end up twisting my left ankle. I felt kinda embarassed too. Then some guy behind me rode up after I managed to free myself, asked me if I was okay and confessed he had just done the same thing a couple of miles back.

No funny braking stories, but had a funny one happen yesterday, after a week of commuting on the Fixed gear(not clipless). I was riding my clipless commuter, and unclipped the wrong foot(would have been the right one on the fixed), lost balance and right at the intersection fell. have the bruise to prove it too.

My stupidest accident was crashing into the back of a parked car (can anyone top that?). I thought I'd escaped unhurt until a witness told me that I had chipped three front teeth. The dental bills almost crippled me financially. Perhaps I should just be thankful that the owner of the car declined my offer to pay for their damages as well.

:eek:

My current pedals are the Shimano MX30 flatties. I fitted the longer studs (40 of them) that came with the pedals. I like the extra security so as an experiment, I went into highest gear to get a feel for standing. Started off well, but then my foot slipped behind the pedal. A number of studs raked my shin.

You called this thread "...I almost killed myself yesterday...". Right now, the several tramlines running down my shin make me think, "...I wish I was dead..."

I never knew that such pain existed!:D

My stupidest accident was crashing into the back of a parked car (can anyone top that?).


Yup - when I was a kid on my ten speed - I was flying around a corner, not paying attention, and ran into a lawnmower that someone left out in the street.

Doh !!

Fell and broke my left arm with that one.

In fact, I stopped riding my bicycle that summer, and did not really ride again until I started in June and quickly became hooked again.

I actualy did the same thing when I was about 11-12, I was riding down the street in my neighborhood, not paying attention all of a sudden I hit a parked car was a hatchback with angled window. Flew over the handlebars luckily I was at enough of a angle (or somehow did not hit my face), and hit the center of my chest left a nasty mark their and small scar.

I went from an old GT with canti's to a Trek with V's. Soon after I got my bike I decided to get some clipless pedals.

1) I never rode the GT off road, so trail riding was new to me
2) V brakes were new to me
3) clipless pedals were new to me

So coming down a steep section of trail around a corner, on gravel, with the trail sloped in the wrong direction (easy to slide off). I got on the front brake a little too much, did a combination endo and skid that landed me on my back, bike in air, still clipped in.

Hi,

reminds me of a near fatal miss that occured to me last year in india....In india road traffic keeps left and i was peddling on the extreme left. The traffic was slow moving and suddenly a motorcyclist propped from the footpath joining the mainstream, panicked i turned right only to find a bus screeching to halt just inches behind my right elbow....well i was too shocked to realise the blunder i'd done.

rgds
srinipartha

Originally posted by Chris L
My stupidest accident was crashing into the back of a parked car (can anyone top that?).
:eek:

As a teenager I was riding my Schwinn varsity with no hands, reading something qucikly, and I rode into the back of a parked car AS THE GUY WAS WASHING IT.

I always seems to catch my handlebars on trees in tight singletrack. Usually when I'm going pretty fast too. Its kinda surreal, like almost any crash, one minute your motoring along and the next minute hey I'm flying... no wait a minute SMACK! Hello dirt!

I think we all have those first time using clipless pedels stories. Mine was on a Sunday afternoon, all the nieghbours sitting on their front porch audience and I'm learning how to use my new Shimano pedals. So after several successful uncliping and stopping runs i try to panic stop and stay clipped in and then ride away. I lost my balance. Didn't get my foot out in time and fell onto my side like a fallen tree. I think I heard a couple of ohhhs from my local audience when I went down. My pride was more bruised then any body parts that day.

I don't know if this beats hittting a parked car but here it is:
I had spent the whole afternoon trying to learn to ride my bike at the school playground(just a big black court), i was about 5 or 6 at the time. My Dad just took me donw their and said ride so I tried and tried for about 2 hours or so. While this was happening my older brother was riding around the whole time laughing and telling me to just ride. So i finally started riding and i was so happy i looked back to my dad and said look im riding or something. Then i went smack into these big wooden logs they had standing up along one side (i have no idea what they were for). Looking back at it now its funny but i remeber crying and my dad telling me to get back up and just keep on riding and from that day on i have.

The first time i tried to jump up a curb when i was about 10-11, my front wheel got stuck and i went straight over the bars. But in true style i got up and tried again and did the same thing about 3 times before i releasied i had to pull up on the bars. But i'm sure everyone has done that.

Stew

My funniest crash was when riding wheelies was the big fad in our neighborhood. I was practicing and I actually had just managed to get the front of the bike up when I realized it was much easier than usual for some reason. That is when I noticed my front tire rolling along on the ground towards the other side of the street without me. Needless to say I got to know the crossbar reall well on my little dirtbike when I couldn't hold the wheelie any more. I guess I should have just jumped off the back of the bike now that I am a little smarter. Funny though, I didn't even bend the forks of that schwinn when I slammed into the ground.

My best friend in Elementary school did the same thing with the front wheel. Difference is the head broke off when he came down. His dad welded it together. 2 weeks later, he was sitting in my front yard talking when the head snapped off again, dumping him on the ground again.