Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Fingers Meet Chainring

Saw this over at A&S.


Dont let this happen to you...trust me/

video below...check it out...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDTxZCUI0qQ

Didn't Scrod catch his finger a while back? I kringe at the thought, and this is why I am very careful not to put my fingers near moving chains on fixed gear bikes.

I've punctured a nail (literally the tooth went through my fingernail) while cleaning a chain once. I accidentally bumped the crankarm and the cog (not chainring) tooth went through my nail. It was a very light bump, but the amount of torque produced was enough. Any more and I would've lost the fingertip.

I've also cut open my wrist (and have 3 rather nasty scars in a funny wolverine-like pattern) from a chainring, while trying to overzealously remove a pedal in a very stupid position.

Lotsa blood both times. :)

Newb mistakes. Live and learn. :( Hope everyone is as careful as possible.

Sheldon Brown has a fairly graphic example of what can happen when you get careless with your drivetrain... a picture of a severed fingertip and the hand it came from...

Fixies are noble machines, and they need to be treated with respect.

I've also cut open my wrist (and have 3 rather nasty scars in a funny wolverine-like pattern) from a chainring, while trying to overzealously remove a pedal in a very stupid position.

Lotsa blood both times. :)

Ekk...I've only scraped my knuckles when removing pedals before but I'm sure everyone have.

I've had my finger tip caught in the chainring once or twice...thankfully I had a really really thick rag that took most of the impact.

Get a brake, hipster.

Funny, I had a very related experience less than 7 days ago -

Sunday morning I was at home having a quiet morning with a buddy and his 3-year old son. I went into my bedroom to get something when I heard my buddy's son scream and start crying. He's a wild child, so I thought maybe he was being disciplined.

I walked into the hall to see blood trailing all the way from the garage, through the kitchen, into the hallway bathroom. There my buddy was holding his son's fingers under the faucet. Blood everywhere. He told me what happened but I already knew.

He spun the crank on my track bike, stuck his finger in somewhere along the chain or chainwheel. Four stitches and a broken finger later, he's learned his lesson and I deal with feeling pretty awful about it all week.

Didn't Scrod catch his finger a while back?

Yup. Took a big chunk of my thumb right off. My thumb nail will never be the same.

I was only pedaling slow and wiping off some excess lube when the rag got caught in the cog. That dude in the video is a tool.

I must confess: I LOL'd.

Haah! That's a funny video.

Don't let this happen to you


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfaJ_ZLm9qA&feature=player_detailpage

What an idiot! how is tapping the chainring with a hand going to stop anything?

If he had used his jugular, we'd have a Darwin award candidate.

I've never been inclined towards fixed gear bikes, and I guess this just gives me more justification for avoiding them. The one advantage that they have is that they force one to keep pedalling, and they also "help" one pedal to some extent, so that less energy is wasted. However, I can envisage scenarios where the bike's forced pedalling action could be hazardous to one's health while riding, for example, when one is forced to maneuver very close to a curb; you can just stop pedalling a freewheel bike on a dime and keep your right pedal/crank gracefully above the curb, but the fixed gear will just force the pedal/crank to slam right down onto the curb if you are moving at any kind of speed.

Ouch.

However, I can envisage scenarios where the bike's forced pedalling action could be hazardous to one's health while riding, for example, when one is forced to maneuver very close to a curb; you can just stop pedalling a freewheel bike on a dime and keep your right pedal/crank gracefully above the curb, but the fixed gear will just force the pedal/crank to slam right down onto the curb if you are moving at any kind of speed.

Ouch.

Yes, indeed. Every year there are thousands of serious injuries reported as a result of riding FG bikes. As a result, there are bills now pending in congress to ban this dangerous activity. Thank you for providing this important public safety alert.

http://www.threadbombing.com/data/media/2/Shocked.gif

For real though, those spinning LEDs are pretty sweet and I want them for my wheels.

If he had used his jugular, we'd have a Darwin award candidate.

You can survive with sliced jugular.

He needs to use his carotid artery.

You can survive with sliced jugular.

He needs to use his carotid artery.

Mayhaps the scrotum, ala Swedish chainsaws... in the interest of cleaning the gene pool.

I want to see some aftermath!

The light the poor guy is demonstrating is by monkeylectric if you want one; it'll put you back about $60; I was gifted one last year.

I want to see some aftermath!

Ya, are this guy's fingers definitely gone? If so, he's strangely calm about the situation.

Ya, are this guy's fingers definitely gone? If so, he's strangely calm about the situation.

meh hipsters.. bodily damage is too mainstream.

I got my thumb caught between a chain and a cog a little over a week ago. Took a chunk off. My advice, don't do it.

got my glove'd thumb before too.
just a nice deep bruise

Yup. Took a big chunk of my thumb right off. My thumb nail will never be the same.

I was only pedaling slow and wiping off some excess lube when the rag got caught in the cog.

I did pretty much the exact same thing last Wednesday. Wiping off excess lube, rag, chain, chunk gone. What kinda down time am I looking at before it's healed up and the scab is gone Scrod?

haha nice light show!!

right before an alleycat a few years back i watched some kid catch his finger. took 1/4-1/8" off the end which, as he was trying to stop the bleeding, another guy flicked out of the chain with a pen point. ****ing gnarly. good thing a hospital was 2 blocks away - i think he was probably able to get it sewed back on

I did pretty much the exact same thing last Wednesday. Wiping off excess lube, rag, chain, chunk gone. What kinda down time am I looking at before it's healed up and the scab is gone Scrod?

Mine healed up pretty quickly - three weeks or so and I was good to go. I thought it would heal flat but it managed to round itself out when it healed. My thumb nail will most likely look weird forever - it's warped and there's still a chunk of skin missing from underneath it that most likely won't grow back. There's also a weird nerve ending too close to the new skin now that makes my ribs tickle whenever something touches it. :lol:

Mine healed up pretty quickly - three weeks or so and I was good to go. I thought it would heal flat but it managed to round itself out when it healed. My thumb nail will most likely look weird forever - it's warped and there's still a chunk of skin missing from underneath it that most likely won't grow back. There's also a weird nerve ending too close to the new skin now that makes my ribs tickle whenever something touches it. :lol:

Good to know, i'm about half way through the healing process then if mine goes as quickly. Thanks for the info. I'll be happy to have this incident behind me.

There's also a weird nerve ending too close to the new skin now that makes my ribs tickle whenever something touches it. :lol:
Uh, might want to get that checked out.

It'll dull with time. I've got a spot on my palm like that too from when I had stitches as a kid.

There's also a weird nerve ending too close to the new skin now that makes my ribs tickle whenever something touches it. :lol:

da eff?

yeah, it could take up to 10yrs for a damaged nerve to heal, totally normal, and lame.

i got about 6yrs left before alot of my bodily damages heal...

da eff?

For real. It's light but I feel it in my abdomen from just below my armpits down. So weird.

For real. It's light but I feel it in my abdomen from just below my armpits down. So weird.

That just sounds so strange, something out of a science film.

This thread gives me the heebie jeebies.

a finger takes almost two years to grow back.

Bull****, I lost my thumb when it was blown off in Hanoi and it grew back in 3 months.

he's learned his lesson

no offence man but there is no lesson to learn - the kid is three years old. you and your buddy[more specifically] should have been more responsible. my fixed gear bikes have their rear wheels held to the downtube with old straps when they are parked. both my boys have ten fingers and ten toes, im trying to keep it that way. theres enough stuff you cant protect kids from in this world, something so simple should be handled.

both my boys have ten fingers and ten toes, im trying to keep it that way.

way to shelter your kids from the real world. :lol:

way to shelter your kids from the real world. :lol:

nah man, you missed the point. or you're being sarcastic which i am missing and more than likely.

"theres enough stuff you cant protect kids from in this world, something so simple should be handled."

machinist's rule number one man...

nah man, you missed the point. or you're being sarcastic which i am missing and more than likely.

I know. I was just being cheeky.

http://static.desktopnexus.com/thumbnails/35419-bigthumbnail.jpg

don't stick your finger in fan blades. :innocent:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/09/09/pinky.regeneration.surgery/index.html

Fortunately, we can grow that **** back now.

I thought it was bad when i saw someone get there jeans caught in the chain ring and rip the hairs off becuase it pinched it. AWWH so much bloodd.

You can survive with sliced jugular.

He needs to use his carotid artery.

I'll let him know.