"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Pictures of a crash in TOC

http://share.dell.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8CaMmzly5bsfq

Lang's bike?

Lang's bike?

thats number 37

There's some good press for Specialized and CF frames :eek:

Surprising with the damage to the frame there isn't more damage to the wheels, fork....

Are those really Dura-ace wheels?

There's some good press for Specialized and CF frames :eek:

Surprising with the damage to the frame there isn't more damage to the wheels, fork....

Are those really Dura-ace wheels?


Yep those are DA wheels. Just got my Velonews buyers guide last night and they did a write up on Levi's bike.

Was that 'catastrophic failure' on the CF, or did they have to use the 'jaws-of-life' to extracate the rider from the pile up?

Oh - that picture brings a tear to my eye. :(

Looks expensive. :)

duct tape outta fix that up nicely.

There is going to be a little sloppiness in that bike when he tries to sprint.

Lang was number 37 according to cylingnews.com

There's some good press for Specialized and CF frames :eek:



I'm not buying a Ferrari either.

duct tape outta fix that up nicely.

JB Weld. :p

jw

I'm not buying a Ferrari either.


Precisely.

Michael

Where'd the seat go? All I see are the rails...

It looks more like someone took a low overpass with the bike on top of a rack to me.

That's just a sad sight. I'll take whats left of it though.

I'm not buying a Ferrari either.Except the Ferrari's steel tube-frame with aluminium bodywork...

where's the section of downtube that's missing?
and how the hell did he do that?

but did you notice how tight the wheelbase is? sweet.

Word is he hit a nasty pot hole. Seriously. Some people are saying that the hole itself (i think we're talking like, bigass dropoff) caused the frame to crack - but I have a feeling he may have hit the pothole and THEN crashed - causing the damage.

Word is he hit a nasty pot hole. Seriously. Some people are saying that the hole itself (i think we're talking like, bigass dropoff) caused the frame to crack - but I have a feeling he may have hit the pothole and THEN crashed - causing the damage.

interesting. i'd expect the wheel to be tacoed if the hole itself caused all that damage.

where's the section of downtube that's missing?
and how the hell did he do that?

but did you notice how tight the wheelbase is? sweet.

right side of the picture...bottle cage still attached and thankfully unharmed.

A question on this... is this perhaps the product of a Carbon Fiber frame being made so light for racing purposes (i.e., the rider has spare bikes from his team, so it doesn't have to be an 'everyday' bike)?

How are companies (not just Specialized) leading everyday riders to believe the CF hype if they are prone to such failure?

Is there any correlation to say that they can make a CF frame that will be stronger over a long period of time like most buyers will demand? How sturdy can they be made?

Not making this a material v material argument, as the same correlation would pertain to metals being thinned out for weight savings, as well.

a lot of times when watching a race, even less than crazy crashes will result in critically damaged bikes. we've all seen wrecks where mechanics are hauling away bikes that look like they are from forsenic investigation rather than a bike race.

Keep in mind that Sebastian was ahead of a few people. When the bike went down, it was probably rolled over by at least 1 or 2 riders. 185 lbs on the side of a bike that is only supported by the handlebars and pedal will cause damage like this...just like it would bend a steel tube or aluminum frame.

Also, the bike is on grass, not in the road, so it has been moved. Maybe it was just cracked. If a part is cracked, the best practice is to actually break it apart so it's obvious to everybody that it is damaged and shouldn't be used again.

/just a thought.

carbon is dangous! I say that we all need to ride steel frames from 1980.

carbon is dangous! I say that we all need to ride steel frames from 1980.

1980?!?!?

60's or '70's ought to be good enough. :p :D

A question on this... is this perhaps the product of a Carbon Fiber frame being made so light for racing purposes (i.e., the rider has spare bikes from his team, so it doesn't have to be an 'everyday' bike)?

How are companies (not just Specialized) leading everyday riders to believe the CF hype if they are prone to such failure?

Is there any correlation to say that they can make a CF frame that will be stronger over a long period of time like most buyers will demand? How sturdy can they be made?

Not making this a material v material argument, as the same correlation would pertain to metals being thinned out for weight savings, as well.

I've certainly seen worse results in the 80s from steel frames bike crashed where the frame folded up like a paper clip, or forks were bent back. It didn't crack, but either way, it was screwed.
What do don't see with modern frames is bends, buckles that used to happen to steel/ally. The CF frames are tough, but when they break, it's less frequent but more obvious.

Seems like Lang had a hard-luck tour. Wasn't he up big during Stage 6 before a slow wheel change ate up his lead? Then he snaps his bike in two....?