Recreational & Family - Give up on my road bike?

I love my road bike. But I had a severe injury not too long ago and I don't know if I'll ever ride again. And if I do, I wonder if I should give up riding entirely. My road bike...wants to be ridden fast. It's not meant to be ridden on a trail or for running errands. Lately I've been considering city bikes. They look slow and with the wide handlebars maybe they're more stable. I just feel sad about the thought of giving up on my bike and trying a totally different lifestyle. I have a hard time deciding if this is a good idea or not. I'd have to give up riding on hills and going to all the places I like to go to, and instead my weekend rides would be riding on trails and other cities. Has anyone else faced the need to find a way to keep biking after a bike accident?

What about some sort of recumbent bike or trike? Those trikes with 2 front wheels look like loads of fun, with a nice relaxed riding position.

What about some sort of recumbent bike or trike? Those trikes with 2 front wheels look like loads of fun, with a nice relaxed riding position.

+1 It would keep you riding and some of them are indecently fast.

It really depends on your situation. I stopped riding all-together for a period of 12 years. During that time, I always had a place to store my bike. If I'd lost that resource, I would have sold it during that time.
Pulled it out, dusted it off, and started riding again.
I'm not convinced that I would have taken up riding again as quickly if I had to purchase another bike.
If you think you may ride it again, keep it. If you want to keep riding -now-, go find another one that you can ride right now. If not, then you can put the bike aside and think about it for some time. (It took me 12 years!)

I love my road bike. But I had a severe injury not too long ago and I don't know if I'll ever ride again. And if I do, I wonder if I should give up riding entirely. My road bike...wants to be ridden fast. It's not meant to be ridden on a trail or for running errands. Lately I've been considering city bikes. They look slow and with the wide handlebars maybe they're more stable. I just feel sad about the thought of giving up on my bike and trying a totally different lifestyle. I have a hard time deciding if this is a good idea or not. I'd have to give up riding on hills and going to all the places I like to go to, and instead my weekend rides would be riding on trails and other cities. Has anyone else faced the need to find a way to keep biking after a bike accident?

It's not clear from your post what your situation is. Do you have a specific medical situation that prevents you from riding your road bike? Is it a confidence issue stemming from a crash you had on that bike? There would be different suggestions depending on the problem you are trying to address.
Cycling is a pretty big and diverse world and there are lots of ways to enjoy it.

Keep the bike for 12 months, you'll either be riding it or you'll be sure you want to sell it.

What about some sort of recumbent bike or trike? Those trikes with 2 front wheels look like loads of fun, with a nice relaxed riding position.

Yeah, I've thought of that, but it's a bit hard to decide, and I don't want to injure myself why trying out a different kind of bike.

It's not clear from your post what your situation is. Do you have a specific medical situation that prevents you from riding your road bike? Is it a confidence issue stemming from a crash you had on that bike? There would be different suggestions depending on the problem you are trying to address.
Cycling is a pretty big and diverse world and there are lots of ways to enjoy it.

It's mostly a confidence issue. I don't want to injure myself like this again. Right now i'm looking into some body armor. Would be nice to protect my body.

Yeah, I've thought of that, but it's a bit hard to decide, and I don't want to injure myself why trying out a different kind of bike.

To gain back your confidence, it would be best if you ride a familiar bike first. Although you may have gotten injured using that bike, you would have a better chance of handling it enough until you get your confidence back. After that, you may be more open to trying a new bike. It would probably be the same thing that I would do if I find myself in your place.

It also depends on the kind of accident you had. Was it just by yourself or was another bike/vehicle involved? Were you going fast? Were you on the road or a bike path? Or was it even an accident on a bike? For instance, was it an injury that had nothing to do with cycling, but you are just not confident about being able to ride a bicycle post-injury?

If your road bike is still in good riding condition (if it was involved in the accident), I would suggest riding slowly on a bike path. Nobody is forcing you to ride fast on a road bike all the time. My office window looks out onto a bike path and all I see are road bike commuters on it.

Yeah, I've thought of that, but it's a bit hard to decide, and I don't want to injure myself why trying out a different kind of bike.

Where are you living? I'd recommend visiting a recumbent shop and trying different models. Nothing to lose, right?

For my 'Trail Bike' I bought a performance hybrid.. upright postion, flat handlebar, mounts for racks/panniers/fenders etc. I find I use it more than my racy road bike, or my hardtail MTB, or my full suspension MTB...
It's so versatile and makes a perfect urban bike or trail tourer.

WHen I bought the hybrid my wife was like... "what?? ANOTHER bike??" LOL

Rockfish, I feel you. I've BTDT. I got injured badly enough to require surgery and due to some other medical issues (open heart sx, brain sx, stroke), I wans't at all sure I was going to be able to ride again.

Find some residential areas with low traffic and bike paths to ride on until you get your confidence back. It took five months of this for me before I ventured back out onto the roads. This whole procedure was scary but worth it. And yes I ride a road bike. You don't need body armor. You just need to get your mojo back.

The bottom line...this is just a hurdle. There are only two things you can do. Jump it or let it trip you up.

Find some residential areas with low traffic and bike paths to ride on until you get your confidence back. It took five months of this for me before I ventured back out onto the roads. This whole procedure was scary but worth it. And yes I ride a road bike. You don't need body armor. You just need to get your mojo back.

The bottom line...this is just a hurdle. There are only two things you can do. Jump it or let it trip you up.

Excellent advice cocar. Since I am such a clutz so I would certainly take note of your advice too though I've also given my advice above. I love the bit about the body armor too. If I'm in Rockfish's shoes, I would certainly have a lot of precautions before riding another bike again.

My road bike...wants to be ridden fast.

Your road bike doesn't "want" anything, it is a machine. It will go as fast or slow as you pedal. There is nothing inherently unstable about a road bike nor are city bikes/commuters inherently safer than any other type of bike. You can be injured in virtually any type of activity what determines how safe you will be is not body armor, but what goes on between your ears. Be cautious and take the time to build your road skills. Only you can decide what is acceptable risk for you.

" A ship in a harbor is safe, but that's not what ships were built for." author unknown

Not MY shoes. It's the OP who has the problem.

Furthermore, the OP never really said what happened, only that it's a "confidence" issue. That still doesn't help me help him. I had a bad mountain biking crash a few years back. My mountain biking confidence (specifically fast downhills) was zero for a while. But it had no affect on my road biking. In fact, I rode by road bike MORE after that.


Excellent advice cocar. Since I am such a clutz so I would certainly take note of your advice too though I've also given my advice above. I love the bit about the body armor too. If I'm in Rockfish's shoes, I would certainly have a lot of precautions before riding another bike again.

Situations like this prove so well how much any type of athletic pursuit is mental and not just physical. It could very well be that you were pushing yourself too hard when you had your accident. As others have pointed out, the most fun will come when you ride like you want to ride. If that means being a weekend warrior and you can do that safely, then fine. But happiness also comes in finding the type of riding you like to do and concentrating on that. Increasing your goals incrementally is a lot easier than trying to do too much at once.

But I had a .. injury not too long ago ...

bones do heal.. give it time.. do the PT.. in the meantime..

I liked my folding bike better, when I couldn't swing a leg over my regular bike,
and for awhile I was laying the DF bike on the ground , and picking it up, underneath me..