Commuting - Nearly Crashed into the Sewer

Okay, so my subject line is a little hyperbole... but yesterday on my commute home I was riding my new surly cross-check. It's a whole new type of bike for me and I'm still learning all the second nature stuff like clipping in and out of my pedals, drop bars, etc. One I never thought about until yesterday was the thinner tires can be risky too.

Risky, because of what happened to me. I was zipping down the road keeping up with traffic an generally hugging the side of the road as to not get honked at when I ran over a storm drain. It's a drain I've passed over several times on my mountain bike but the 23s I was rolling on this time caused me to drop straight through the metal grate as my front wheel rolled into it - dropping down into the drain approx 12+ inches. I was going pretty fast so I can't figure out what all happened next. It's a blur.

In a moment of deus ex machina, I was thrown forward off my seat, my front wheel (still traveling with forward momentum) collided with the front of the storm drain, and bounced out. I fell on my top tube but managed to unclip my right foot, apply my brakes and pull over to the side of the road. It was only after looking back that I even noticed the drain at all. Because in my mountain bike world, they just weren't even an obstacle my eyes noticed.

It all happened very fast and yet somehow, I didn't have a flat tire... I didn't fly off my bike... I didn't cause a bigger accident, I was able to continue my ride...

But is there a way to know if I just busted my new bike? I can't imagine it going through something so violent and coming out unscathed. Surely the wheel must've gotten bent but it rolls okay...

what should I be checking for, damage wise?

Sounds like you got very lucky. Storm grates with parallel openings can be very dangerous. If your wheel rolls OK and there are no cracks arount the headtube then you probably came out OK. Bikes really are more durable than you might think and most Surlys seem to be more durable than most bikes.
Craig

eek!

That sounds a tad scary. Good to hear that you are okay.

I am not a bicycle mechanic. However, I have had a few issues with my rear wheel in the last few months. When I have a suspected problem with a wheel I find a carpeted area (I do not have a repair stand or a truing stand). Then place the bike upside down and spin the wheel while carefully examining the wheel for any signs that it is out of true. You can also gently tug the spokes to determine if maybe a spoke is damaged or broken. However, that is a tad redundant with checking the tire for trueness.
All in all I have found front tires to be very resiliant. You may be fine.

Yikes. Close call. Glad you're OK.

Those grates are a menace. Good thing you paid your dues without undue suffering!

Check the sidewalls of the tire very carefully for ripped threads. Sometimes a small rip will get bigger on it's own and let the tube escape a couple of days later and cause a blowout.

I have wrecked a few bikes doing things like you did. A number one check the down tube and top tube right next to where they join the stem tube for faint signs of buckling or cracked paint. My Miyata failed there. Next see if the front fforks are even slightly bent. That is where my Volpe failed. Finally you may have bent the handlebars. It may be hard to see but if the handlebars start to shift check it. That happened to the Bruce Gordon. Bruce gave me new handlebars. The builder of my trike called me a horse as I have the strength, weight, and riding habits to break things.

Most grates have been rebuilt to prevent that problem. You may have stumbled across an old one that needs replacing. Politely check with the city engineers' office. They may thank you. Some of the grates on the I-5 can swallow MTB tires. Caltrans really doesn't expect bikers there.

Check for out of round and out of true. And check the joints for cracked paint as stated above. The Surlys are steel so they should be able to take a good pounding since that's what they're made for.

I remember watching a video years and years ago that showed exactly what happened to you. I'm still cognizant of sewer gratings even on my mtb and usually try to bunny hop them if I can't avoid them. Same with deep ruts, especially when the roads are slippery Try not to ride in anything that could catch your wheel.

Watch put for train and tram tracks as well in the future. Wheels fit in them mighty fine and it's not fun. If you can't hop over them, go across them at the biggest possible ange.

A good friend of mine works at the city parks and maintenance department. She's an avid bike commuter and asked me for any suggestions. I made a list of all the dangerous storm grates and within a week they had all been turned "sideways" so that the grates were perpendicular to travel. Luckily most of them seemed to be square, so it wasn't a big deal just to send someone out and turn them rather than buy new ones. I feel much better about biking around town now.

I totally know what you mean about switching from mountain bike thinking to little tires. There is a little foot bridge near my house that I used to ride over to dodge traffic on my way to and from work. It's made out of that metal grating, with an inch or so between ribs. There are cross ribs, so you can't put a tire ALL the way through, but it was definitely scary when I switched to slicks...fell into a groove and just barely made it across! Haven't been on it since, and wouldn't even consider it on my road bike. Scary stuff, those metal grates.

Sure enough... after turning the bike over and spinning the front tire, it has a lot of friction. I'm not sure how to check for "true" but if I watch the way the wheel moves past the brakes I can see definite wobbling. Giving a good push only causes the wheel to spin freely for a few revolutions before grinding to a halt.

:(

Does this mean a new wheel entirely, or an adjustment to the spoke tensions?

Sure enough... after turning the bike over and spinning the front tire, it has a lot of friction. I'm not sure how to check for "true" but if I watch the way the wheel moves past the brakes I can see definite wobbling. Giving a good push only causes the wheel to spin freely for a few revolutions before grinding to a halt.

:(

Does this mean a new wheel entirely, or an adjustment to the spoke tensions?

Take it to the shop. They can usually true it if the wheel is not bent.

Man I've done that. It sucks to be sure. All that I ended up with was a wonked up front wheel and blue nuts. I just trued the wheel back into shape and learned to watch out for the grates when I was riding my road bike.

Sure enough... after turning the bike over and spinning the front tire, it has a lot of friction. I'm not sure how to check for "true" but if I watch the way the wheel moves past the brakes I can see definite wobbling. Giving a good push only causes the wheel to spin freely for a few revolutions before grinding to a halt.

:(

Does this mean a new wheel entirely, or an adjustment to the spoke tensions?


As slagjumper said, usually a bent rim means a new wheel. Mine was bent and straightened. Then after truing it twice at different LBSs I replaced the wheel.
Normal out of true wheels are easy to fix. My LBS charges $20 for this service. Eventually, I plan on picking up a truing stand and doing it myself.

good practice to avoid those things no matter how fat or skinny your tire is! and remember, as others have said, to hit ANY possible wheel swallowing crack (expansion joint, trolley track, etc..) as close to perpendicular with the crack as you can get.

Call up whoever maintains the road and let them know what happened -- even if the grate is rectangular, they can weld a bar (or bars) across it so that none of the gaps are too deep. A buddy of mine was seriously injured in a very similar crash. Grates are much better than they used to be, but having a wheel grabbed is extremely dangerous.

...
I was zipping down the road keeping up with traffic an generally hugging the side of the road as to not get honked at when I ran over a storm drain.
...
This is one good reason among many, in my opinion, not to "hug the side of the road." If the lane is wide enough to share, then riding close to the curb (but not in the gutter where the storm drains live) is fine. If the lane's too narrow to share -- in other words, if there's not enough room in the lane for you and a large car with at least 3' between you -- you're better off at least as far left as the right tire track.

Even if it means you get honked a little more, sticks and stones and all that. Better to get honked than to trash your bike or yourself. In my experience I get honked less when I don't try to share narrow lanes anyway.

I'm glad you weren't hurt and that your bike wasn't damaged any more than it was. :)

Nasty. My first day riding in Baltimore I nearly did the same. Some of the grates on my way to work are half in one direction, and then half perpendicular (ll=) and I was about to roll across one when I noticed the shift on the far side.

Also beware of seams where the concrete is higher on one side of the seam than the other. Seams perpendicular to your line of travel are not a threat. I mean uneven seams that follow the road where you want to make a lane change or gradual turn.

Glad to hear you're o.k.

If the grate is circular (a slotted manhole cover), you can rotate it perpendicular to typical bike traffic yourself if you dare to. It may be slightly wedged into place by sand/gravel, but virtually all of these designs can be rotated to any angle. Grab it through the slits and lift upwards on one edge with both hands. Once it comes loose, grab it from slots near opposite sides and spin it 90 degrees and drop it back into place.

If it's a square or rectangular grate, it is almost certainly either a variety that was supposed to be replaced by a bike-friendly version some time ago or some type of custom/special grate not normally used in areas visited by bicycles. If these cases, you would be best off bringing the dangerous grate to the attention of the city and politely asking them to provide some type of remedy. There is probably a revised type of grate that prevents bike wheels from falling in a dangerous amount or I have also seen grates that have had flat barstock welded across the slots every few inches to make the slots short enough that a bike wheel can't drop into them far enough to cause a spill.

I'm fortunate that the majority of grates near where I live are the rectangular kind built right into the curb with openings perpendicular to the curb. I expect that the more dangerous grates are much more likely to be seen in urban settings where the hardware is older and more organic solutions were brewed up that may have resulted in nonstandard grates or hazards.

I'm glad to hear that you're relatively unscathed and I hope your bike is alright as well.