Commuting - The new bike went down, I repeat, the new bike went down

:( I just returned from a quick yet long night riding on the brand spanking new bike.
As I was about to ride back on the pedestrian walkway, I didn't see the plastic water bottle.

As soon as I saw it, I thought the bike would simply ride over it without a problem.
But I was clearly wrong. Could have been because the bike is a hybrid and not a mountain bike.

Fell straight down with both hand landing on the concrete and the new bike dropped sideways. :(
I didn't worry much about the physical damage. When I got back on, oh no! The chain was producing an abnormal sound. Everytime the pedal is spinned once, the weird nose comes out.
When I change gears higher, the sound gets higher. When using the brake, the sounds is there.

I might need to take the bike tomorrow for a checkup. I hope they will be kind enough to see what the problem is.

What could be the problem? Couldn't check because it is dark and fairly late.





Cliff Notes
Bought a new bike today.
Went on a joy ride late night.
Water bottle on walkway.
The bike slips rather than running over the plastic bottle.
Fell and now the bike chain makes unwanted sound.
Hope the dealer helps out tomorrow. :(

1. Don't run over things on a bike.

2. Take the bike back to your LBS and have them check it over.

I'm not even gonna ask if you happened to have any lights for your late night romp.

sounds like the derailleur needs to be realigned.

you ok?

sounds like the derailleur needs to be realigned.

you ok?

Ditto. Reminds me of the time I rode my brand spanking new Specialized road bike up one of those dock ramps that are not completely solid. Skinny front tire slipped through the grated surface and I went over the bars!!! Messed up a perfect front rim before the little rubber nubs had even worn off the tire...

Ditto again.

If you were not already aware of this simple rule of night riding, here ya go: Safe forward velocity is directly proportional to the strength of forward illumination.

In other word, the farther/better you can see with your light, the faster you can go, and the earlier you can maneuver around obstacles.

I crashed my brand new TREK 4400 on my first ride around the town. It had rained an hour before the ride, pavement was slippery, and I took a nice slide on the pavement when trying to jump up a curb with my brand new RST fork. The front wheel rebounded, and off I went, of course, in front of a dozen of people waiting for a bus. Scrached that RST fork, and I still haven't replaced it, although it barely holds itself together after 2 1/2 years of riding.

By the way, I crashed with my previous bike (TREK 800) on one of the first rides as well. A pedal went off, because some ***hole in the shop had not tightened it enough. I avoid that shop ever since.

I crashed my brand new TREK 4400 on my first ride around the town. It had rained an hour before the ride, pavement was slippery, and I took a nice slide on the pavement when trying to jump up a curb with my brand new RST fork. The front wheel rebounded, and off I went, of course, in front of a dozen of people waiting for a bus. Scrached that RST fork, and I still haven't replaced it, although it barely holds itself together after 2 1/2 years of riding.

By the way, I crashed with my previous bike (TREK 800) on one of the first rides as well. A pedal went off, because some ***hole in the shop had not tightened it enough. I avoid that shop ever since.
Which shop so I can avoid it too, please!

I remember reading that you avoid it already - it's Trek on Brivibas street.

I did a little "ceremony" with my new bike build, something that I picked up from my motorcycle racing days.

When you finish building a new bike, take it outside and lay it down on it's side on the cement. This releases all the "it's never been down" tension that accumulates during the building process. ;-)

When you finish building a new bike, take it outside and lay it down on it's side on the cement....

Am I the only one that cringes over that thought?

Nah. It's a similar idea to what I do the first skiing trip of the year. I just fall over.
At least it's a controlled fall :p

Am I the only one that cringes over that thought?
I think I see where Kotts is coming from... did you notice the "newbie all over again" beneath the username? Both follow the theme of "connectedness" which is an alternative to seeing things as polar opposites.

Re laying the bike down for the first time: if I'm trying very hard to avoid something, it's apt to preoccupy me, to distract me from other stuff. Kinda like "target fixation" where one runs straight into an obstacle by focusing on it instead of a path around it...

Okay, I'll stop before I get to mentioning "The Tao Of Pooh" or "Zen and the Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance."

Oops... ;)

- Dave, headed for a couple of days on the Silver Comet Trail

I'm not even gonna ask if you happened to have any lights for your late night romp.
Or how fast you were riding on the pedestrian walk... :rolleyes:

Am I the only one that cringes over that thought?

I think its actually a good idea to get the 'newness' out of a bike.

If you get a nick in the paintjob it makes you slug it off much better. :)

I have a similar tale to tell: it was new year 2001, couldn't resist a first ride on my new road bike, in the snow. Fine for miles, then went down like a sack of sprite on "black" ice... First thoughts? Not my road rash or bruises, but the condition of the bike!

It happens, I'm sorry. It sounds as if you need a minor "tune up" to readjust the derailleurs, but nothing serious.

Good luck,

Ed

I think its actually a good idea to get the 'newness' out of a bike.

If you get a nick in the paintjob it makes you slug it off much better. :)

Yes. I got my new Trek Portland about a month ago and was riding around on it veeerrry carefully for the first week, a little more aggressively the next, and now I'm banging all around town on it. Because it is basically designed for riding in the rain (fenders, disc brakes), and with all the rain we've had the last month, it was going to get dirty fast. Finally, when I took it to the basement for its first drivetrain cleaning last weekend I noticed a scratch on the top tube. If I'm going to be using it as a commuter, gotta get over that. It is going to get more scratches.