I was riding last weekend around BWI airport here in Maryland when I came up to a street crossing I wasn't expecting to have to stop at, so I didn't shift down beforehand. I waited for the car to pass, and then started muscling my way moving again, just to get fast enough so that I could downshift under less stress on the bike. Well, all the sudden I couldn't move my feet, and I looked down, and the outside chain guard of my front derailer was sticking straight out, and catching on my crank!!!! I managed to bend it back with my multi tool, and when I took it to the shop, they said they had never seen that happen, and that I had not only f*ed up the derailer, but the mounting bracket as well..... I'm 6'3 215, and I ride a Trek Equinox 7.... Any one ever hear of this, know what I would do to prevent it?

there was a guy on another board who broke his off on a bike, for a big guy you gota be carfull with when you mash, its like puting a car in 5th gear at a red light and hitting the gas the best you can hope for is you kill the engine the worst is a busted trasmision... you broke the transmision.

I've done that twice. Unlike a car transmission, at least you can pull the thing off and get by with a 8 or 9 speed until you get to a shop or your garage.

Yeah, I feel like an idiot for not having shifted before I got there. I ended up just bringing it back to the shop right after it happened, cause I was waiting for my girl to get out of her Saturday class, and its like 40 to replace the derailer I had, and 8 for a new mounting bracket.

At least its not as expensive of a lesson as it could have been.