Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Have you ever trashed your frame/Fork?

What bike was it and do you think it was related to your 'gravitational pull?" I'm specifically wondering about frames that we clydesdales should avoid.

me? no..........please notice that I didn't ask about trashing wheels ........

p.s.... what a great thread.. clydesdales. The whole concept of we 'little ones' having out own discussion board is wonderful!

I used to write a 'big biker' column for a bike club newsletter in the early 80's (o.k.... I'm old).... even that little article was so greatly accepted because we're out there and SICK of trying to relate to 150 pounders......

o.k. , I'll shut up

Karl

The only time I trashed a frame was when I was in high school on my first mountain bike and I don't remember what happened. All I know is I was told that I came walking up to my grandmothers house carrying my bike and talking nonsense and all bloody. I was taken to the hospital and had all kinds of tests done and they said I was fine (aside from cuts and bruises). I remember leaving the house to go riding next thing I remember is being released from the hospital.
The front tire of my bike was pushed back so that it the tire was up against the rear tire like my bike tried to roll into a ball. The forks where still straight. All the impact was just below the handlebars. Thats the only frame I have trashed. I think the bike was a Huffy, not sure as I had only had it for a couple weeks before the crash. Now if the topic was have you ever trashed a rim we could be here all day.

A couple of years ago I snapped a rear chain-stay on a specialized frame in, which I've always thought was caused by a collusion of my weight and the fact that I got hit by several cars on that bike over the corse of that year.

I ran my first mtb, a Bridgestone MB5 into a tree at about 20 mph. The seams on the fork's tubing "unzipped" for lack of a better word and the fork folded up! Oddly, the front tire was still inflated but the rear flatted!

Two years ago the bottom bracket shell on my old Cannondale R1000 cracked. That one definitely had to do with my weight although I only weighed 225 lbs at the time.

When I was in high school, I was racing my Specialized Stumpjumper through a tall grass field as I cut through to a street. I was moving fast, maybe 20-25mph when I hit a hidden piece of 1/2" steel rebar that was embedded in the ground, and sticking up into my path. It went through my wheel and caught in the chainstay. It crack (alla compound fracture style) the chainstay in 2, and it destroyed the spring arm and gears on the rear derailer. Not to mention it threw me over the bars about ten feet in front of my now trashed bike...

Oh, I forgot the time that I broke the titanium springs in my top-of-the line manitou suspension fork!

I trashed a fork (on a rigid mountain bike) by riding at a good clip through tall grass and hitting a log I didn't see laying on the ground. I can't say that it was 'directly related' to my body mass but I'm sure being a big guy didn't help.

The top part of my fork broke on my old steely about 10 years ago, just month before I moved to the US.
Replaced it with an aluminium fork after I moved to the US.

And I ripped the fork/handlebar linkage apart on my first bike when I was like 8 or 9 years old. Too many pulls on the handle bar for wheelies. LOL Man, and I barely put 90lbs on the scale back then. I was skinnier than a string of beans.

Bent in the head tube on my first SS bike (converted POS Giant Quasar road bike), snapped the seat tube at the BB on a Univega SS conversion, and cracked (not broken just cracked, no catastrophic failure) both chain stays on a Surly Steamroller. Oddly I've never screwed up a mountain bike frame...

I weigh 230lb, +35lbs pack, +15 lb back pack and haven't had any frame issues with my 2002 Diamondback Response mtb yet. I used to ride an old Peugeot road bike when I was younger(and much thinner) but I doubt that thing would hold up to the torque and weight I put into my current "rig".

Cracked frame last week on my 2008 Trek Navigator 2.0. Crack along top tube and seatpost tube, right along the weld. Thankfully, I was only going about 5mph. My weight 325, down from 400 plus. Bike owned 6 months with about 2,500 miles on it. Waiting for replacement bike under warranty.

^^^ Yet another Trek bites the dust. :eek:

^^^ Yet another Trek bites the dust. :eek:

Yup, I have since read that mine has not been the first around here in the forums.
I have been giving a lot of thought about this and my confidence in Trek has been lost, even though their warranty is fantastic and I will be getting a new frame, I still worry about the possibility of it happening again and not being so lucky in regards to being injured. If I had been going faster I fear something else may have been damaged that's not covered under any warranty. :eek::eek:

I have now decided to go with a bike from Specialized.
I am looking at 2 bikes from them now, the Rockhopper Disc 29, and the Specialized Crosstrail expert.

Rockhopper Disc 29
http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=34097

CrossTrail Expert
http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=34058

Thrashed my Lemond frame, made by Trek. BUT! I was taken care of by TREK, VERY Well taken care of!:D I paid $1,000 for my aluminum Tourmalet. The replacement frame was carbon and aluminum. Frame is a Chambery from a bike that was double the price of what I paid for the original.

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/gulpxtreme/broke2.jpg
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/gulpxtreme/broke.jpg
Replacement frame. Trek thru in the fork too which is unusual from what I am told. Also a bit beefier than the original.
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/gulpxtreme/Chambery.jpg

Thrashed my Lemond frame, made by Trek. BUT! I was taken care of by TREK, VERY Well taken care of!:D I paid $1,000 for my aluminum Tourmalet. The replacement frame was carbon and aluminum. Frame is a Chambery from a bike that was double the price of what I paid for the original.


Replacement frame. Trek thru in the fork too which is unusual from what I am told. Also a bit beefier than the original.

That's great to hear. How long did it take for the replacement?
My concern now is about my own safety. If I had been going 25 mph down one of the over passes around here I may have been seriously injured.
There's just some things not covered under any warranty. :D

Took about 3 weeks for the new frame to come in from Wisco. We're in Cali but I think a large portion of the time was locating and deciding on the replacement since my frame was 2.5 years old. The new 08 model was partial carbon, so I think that is why they gave me an 07 cf/alum frame.

i just cracked the head tube on my new Specialized Allez Pro. Still waiting for my new one to come in; should be any day now.

Well I have broken these frames:Mongoose, Schwinn, huffy, Trek,Forks:To many to list for rigid, suspension forks - manitou, Marzochi, Girivin, Rock ShocksBut I also do a lot of big drops and harder riding!! so take that with a grain of salt!

What bike was it and do you think it was related to your 'gravitational pull?" I'm specifically wondering about frames that we clydesdales should avoid.

me? no..........please notice that I didn't ask about trashing wheels ........

p.s.... what a great thread.. clydesdales. The whole concept of we 'little ones' having out own discussion board is wonderful!

I used to write a 'big biker' column for a bike club newsletter in the early 80's (o.k.... I'm old).... even that little article was so greatly accepted because we're out there and SICK of trying to relate to 150 pounders......

o.k. , I'll shut up

Karl

Many. It happens. Some companies are better at covering it than others.

First one: A Univega Vivatour. Ran it into the side of a car. His fault not the bike's or mine.

Second: A Univega Sporttour. Dropped it into a hole when I didn't have any where to go on a narrow road. Bent at the head tube.

Third: '83 Miyata Ridge Runner. One of the first production mountain bikes. After about a year the fork broke at the crown. Not covered, new fork. About 6 months later the frame broke at the bottom bracket bridge. Not covered but a friend welded it up for me. About 6 months after that an axle went ping and broke the dropout on the drive side. Not covered.

Miyata no longer sells in the US. I wonder why? After the frame broke the first time, the rep asked me if I had replaced the fork yet. I told him that I already had to replace it. He said "Good. Those forks didn't last much more then 6 to 9 months." And I didn't get a free one!!!!!

Fourth: Specialized Rock Combo. A relatively light steel mountain bike/hybrid. A great scary mountain bike. Steep head angle made for a great climber and a very hairy downhiller:eek: I stood to climb a hill one day and the rear went 'ping!' and the rear chainstay was broken. Specialized replaced it with a Rockhopper

Fifth: Specialized Stumpjumper Pro (1998). Great bike! It creaked and groaned and made weird noises for a long time (a month or so) before I noticed cracks on the chainstay at the bottom bracket bridge. Specialized replaced it.

6th: Nashbar cruiser. I used a Hellbent seatpost on the frame because it was a little small. The frame broke at the seat collar. My machinist friend welded it up for me.

Broken fork: Other then the Miyata, I broke a Manitou fork when I slammed it into a curb at about 30 mph because I missed a curve. Crumpled like aluminum foil:o

Broken crank: A RaceFace Next LP crank (aluminum around a carbon fiber insert). Creaked just like the frame before it broke. RaceFace replaced it no questions asked.

Broken pedal: Ritchey pedal I think. Went 'ping' just like the other steel parts and sheared off at the crank.

Lot's of wheels too.

I snapped the steerer tube of a carbon fork on my CX bike. Brand new custom Marinoni CX and I was following a friend up a steep climb when he stopped momentarily in front of me and I could not pass him b/c of the cars so I stood up a did a track stand and when he started up I pulled up hard on the bars and the steerer tube snapped off and the carbon shards cut my legs up and I went over backwards.

I brought the bike back to the shop and the mechanic said "I knew we should have used a heavier fork."

very interesting.......... I was particularly interested in what bikes didn't seem to stand up under normal wear and tear of clydesdale riding, rather than brutal stuff like jumping and wheelies etc.......

I guess I'm just too afraid of trying a carbon fiber bike until I'm down under 220 (unlikely to happen , I'll bet , I hover in the 250-260 realm)

good thread!

kfh

Kona King Kikapu- Top tube at seat post. Warrantied YEA! Replaced with a Stinky Primo which I have broke the rear suspension linkage, saddle, BB 1st gen isis drive probably manufacture defect, but the frame still lives.

My 150 lb friends Cannondale- seat tube (he wanted to try my mtn bike for a few minutes). I felt guilty until it was warrantied.

Diamond back mean streak- seat tube- I also snapped the original bull moose handlebars on this classic coming down from a wheelie. I wish I still had this, my first mtn bike.

My road bike a CIOCC is on it's 20th year and going strong. Different riding style on the road.

I've trashed a columbus Max steel frame. I was drove into a guy who had crashed.
Toptube and fork were bend, but not worse than it still managed to bring me the last 150 km home.
But it kept pulling to the right.
I bought a similar frame and it's still going strong.

G

Woogie!!! Is dat you??
Billbass

get outta the clydesdale thread, you skinny SOB ! ........ I KNEW you'd find me here...... in fact, it's your fault that I subscribed to this website!

thanks........

A. Nonymiss