smills518

So I've been commuting to work for almost a year now, and just generally commuting around town, and I've had two crashes in the last few months. One was due to some train tracks, and this morning was due to a big crack in the pavement that my wheel got caught in. I've also avoided many other crashes of this nature, thank goodness. Luckily I'm not badly hurt (knee's a little bruised up and lost some skin on my hands) but I'm wondering what I'm doing wrong. Granted I ride a road bike - 90's Bianchi with 700x23 tires - perhaps this is just too small a tire for around town but I see so many other people on similar bikes and they don't seem to have a problem. Lately I've been incredibly vigilant about the cracks, making sure to take them at an angle, but this morning I went a slightly different direction than I normally take and didn't see the crack until it was too late. The worst part is that I saw it coming, tried to jump down off the bike but still ended up face first on the ground.

So my question is - what do I do differently? Do I just need a different bike, are there strategies for what to do when you get stuck in a crack to better help you recover or just keep from totally crashing? I will never stop riding but I'd really like to stop hurting myself.

caloso

If you mean cracks running parallel to the direction of travel, you really have to avoid those. Wider tires help to some extent, but not much; you're safer to stay away from them altogether. If you do get to a point where you think you might get caught, you have to get over it. If you can bunnyhop, one thing to try is a lateral hop. You don't have to get very high or scoot very far, it's mostly about unweighting the bike as you move over it. But that's kind of an advanced technique. You're really better off looking way down the road and avoiding the situation totally.

andr0id

This is best.

RR tracks should be crossed at a 90 degree angle. If the tracks are not perpendicular to the road, you'll want to get set up in advance to cut across them.

himespau 

A few years back I came to a corner in Boston shortly after someone got their wheel caught in tracks going parallel to them and went under the rear wheels of a bus going around the corner at the same time. That **** scares me now.

KevinF

The standard advice on railroad tracks is to take them perpendicularly. With tracks that are angled across the road this can involve some steering across the lane to approach them correctly.

A few general tips if you have to hit a crack, pothole or whatever:

• Get your butt off the saddle. I find a looser grip on the handlebars works well too. The bike will probably bounce around a bit; you don't want your mass to go with it. You outweigh the bike; it will come back under you.
• Learn to bunny hop. Going over an obstacle can work really well, especially when it comes to deep potholes.
• Don't stare at obstacles; you subconsciously steer where you're looking. So look at where you want to go --i.e., around the cracks, potholes, etc. 700x23 tires are pretty narrow -- you need less than one inch of reasonably smooth pavement to make it through.
• Momentum can be your friend.

InTheRain

I'm afraid of the very same thing if I'm riding on unfamiliar roads. In those situations I keep my speed down so I have a bit more time to react. I've been riding a scooter lately and it has wider tires than any bike except a fat bike... I've hit a few things in the road that have put a good scare into me - luckily I didn't go down. I mentioned this danger in the electric bike threads to a rider that built an electric bike that will go 40+ mph. Reducing speed is probably the most important thing to avoid an accident... other than staying on roads and routes that are familiar and you know where the dangers are.

Hugh Morris

Sorry for the painfully obvious response... but maybe you need to pay more attention to the road if you're going to be riding a road bike?

The road surface and other road users are your primary concerns.

As caloso said, a slightly more advanced technique is hopping laterally over those pesky parallel-to-your-direction-of-travel cracks, but rarely do I find that necessary unless I was daydreaming on roads I don't regularly ride.

Hope you can learn to better read the road surface and avoid those avoidable crashes.

the sci guy 

you need a

smills518

So much great tactical advice here... thank you!!!

Andy_K 

Be careful out there.

mgw4jc

If you ride a road or route enough times, you will learn where the blemishes are and options for avoiding them. If something is not avoidable, slow down, drag a foot, or even walk across.

bigbenaugust 

Also, tires. 25s or 28s may make a difference in your life if they fit.

jetboy 

sadly hyper vigilance is your best friend: but as above- humans have target fixation hard wired in: you will try and hit what you are looking at. so you Don't want to be looking at every branch, crack, rock etc that might be in your path. If you stare at the trolly rut, you will fall into it every time.

So to avoid obstacles you have to not look at them. sounds hard right? but its really just training yourself to target on open/clean road so that the target fixation works for you in avoiding obstacles. there is no reason to even identify full what the obstacle is- just be aware and look to the open space.

This is an essential tool in motorcycling as well- where the speeds and dangers can come even faster. (and kill you quicker)

Hypno Toad

Death Valley. Scares the poo outa me. Never had a problem... but I know the pain it can create. My normal commuter bikes have 28c tires, but that still thin enough to fall into cracks. As others have said, keep your eyes up the road to avoid the cracks. But they do sneak up on you for a variety of reasons. My first reaction in that situation is to un-weight the front wheel, you don't need to do a wheelie, just keep the weight off so the wheel will get over without sinking in. If you're in the crack, you don't have a lot of options - follow the crack, slow down, and easy out of the crack.

Talking about tracks taking you down... My college-age daughter was in front of me crossing some tracks at an angle, she got her wheel stuck and went down. Funny part, it happened slowly and she rolled through the fall, ending up on her back with arms and legs in the air. This is now know has her possum pose.

smills518

I think looking at the cracks is a big problem of mine .... I see them coming... I've gotten caught in them many times so I instantly get scared... I stare at them harder to try to miss them and end up doing exactly the opposite.

SkvLTD

Being fresh on bigger wheels, I'm used to longboarding and rollerblading, so parallel cracks that are normally nothing to a bike still freak me out a bit, thus if you're going down unfamiliar road, 120% attention and such. See a crack, weave sideways or slow down. I didn't know how well my bike would cross tram tracks, so I slowed down enough to try to be safe.

RR3

Put it in the 53x11 and bunny hop them

bikemig 

I like fatter tires (certainly fatter than 23c) for commuting as you can't always pick your line with traffic. Your wheels will hold up better as well.

Train tracks can be dangerous esp. when wet.

Johnny Mullet

For commuting, you need wider tires or another bike with wider tires, I have some rough road commuting and some smooth road, but I run 700X35c tires on my commuter. Anything smaller goes flat or loses control. Sometimes I prefer to take the 26er MTB to work just for the comfort because I am not in a hurry.

ThermionicScott 

Getting my 25mm tires caught in freshly-sawed (but not yet sealed) pavement on RAGBRAI 5 years ago, crashing helplessly on my side, and then going to the hospital with a dislocated thumb and partially-separated AC joint got me thinking about wider tires very quickly. For a time, none of my bikes had tires narrower than 30mm, but I've since gotten comfortable with 28mm tires. I will always be hyper-vigilant about pavement cracks, though.

john4789

stop doing that.

Dave Cutter

The occasional accident will happen. Two the first year of cycling doesn't sound so awful. Actually sounds kinda normal.

Your bicycle will follow your eye. Look at the escape route.... NOT at the obstacle you want to avoid.

AlmostTrick

Get out to an open lot and practice some bike handling skills. The "rock dodge" is particularly helpful for getting around stuff at the last second. Set up a paper cup or something and go for it.

Bicycling Street Smarts, Chapter 5: Steering Out of Trouble

You need to practice this stuff and get comfortable with it. Being scared sets you up for trouble.

Hugh Morris

That's a cool article. Pretty on point- but I think any bike with any pedals can be jumped over an obstruction assuming it's sturdy enough to withstand the landing (and the rider understands how to rotate the pedals and pull up on them). Don't see the point in limiting it to clipped in feet??? I've hopped significant potholes on my touring bike from the spd side of platform/spd pedals in sneakers. not comfy on the arch of the foot, but better than pinch flatting or worse in a pothole.

Love the "rock dodge", that move is used countless times daily.

Shahmatt

Wide wide tyres. It's not just the width that will help, but the lower pressure as well.