Folding Bikes - Grates hate small wheels

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feijai
04-02-10, 08:16 PM
Riding around my local neighborhood trying to work out a few kinks, and I didn't notice a grate with *horizontal* slits in it. My rear tire (40mm no less) slipped right in. The whole way. Went down hard and smashed my derailleur and bent the hanger.

Got a replacement derailleur on order, had the hanger tweaked out again, and reinstalled today. No damage (I think) to the cassette, hub, or wheel. This wouldn't have happened if I had a bigger diameter wheel. :-(

Foldable Two
04-02-10, 08:32 PM
There shouldn't be ANY grates that swallow even 16" wheels!!!

I have only seen one lately that would not tolerate a small bike wheel. Most have been fixed from what I have seen.

Lou
Pine Cone
04-02-10, 10:23 PM
Wheel diameter is not the issue, tire and rim width are. If it swallowed a 40mm 16" wheel it would easily eat a 23mm 700c wheel. The only difference is how far down the wheel sinks. It will destroy a wheel of any diameter.

Used to be a bigger problem decades ago, most cities have changed the grates so they can't swallow tire. I worked i bike shops throughout most of the 1970s and grates trashing wheels was a common problem. Glad you weren't hurt. Much easier to fix the bike!

SesameCrunch
04-03-10, 09:27 AM
Wow, close call. I assume you're OK, since you didn't mention damage to yourself. Was this on the Tikit?
feijai
04-03-10, 08:03 PM
Yep.
chucky
04-07-10, 07:29 PM
This wouldn't have happened if I had a bigger diameter wheel. :-(

Or an internal hub (maybe it would have pulled out, or at least not damaged).
AEO
04-07-10, 07:41 PM
Wheel diameter is not the issue, tire and rim width are. If it swallowed a 40mm 16" wheel it would easily eat a 23mm 700c wheel. The only difference is how far down the wheel sinks. It will destroy a wheel of any diameter.

Used to be a bigger problem decades ago, most cities have changed the grates so they can't swallow tire. I worked i bike shops throughout most of the 1970s and grates trashing wheels was a common problem. Glad you weren't hurt. Much easier to fix the bike!

worse is getting your front wheel wedged in perfectly with the grate or streetcar tracks.
neilfein
04-19-10, 02:11 PM
worse is getting your front wheel wedged in perfectly with the grate or streetcar tracks.

That happened to me once. Fortunately, I was able to pop myself out of the track while riding. That got my heartrate going!
Bacciagalupe
04-19-10, 05:14 PM
Doh!!! I assume all your teeth are still intact. ;)

FWIW even with a 700c wheel, a grate gap like that would probably cause a lot of problems.