agarose2000

I own a intro-level bike with sora/2200 shifters in addition to my pricey Cervelo.

I've been on this cheaper bike a lot recently - just more convenient and less to worry about, plus the Cervelo is a TT bike which isn't so great on group rides.

Well, last week on a fast new group ride, took a skid out on a sharp unexpected 180 turn around a blind corner. Scratched the handlebars.

This week, on another new hammerhead group ride, there was a big crash ahead - 4 guys down, and I narrowly escaped the crash.

While I hate damaging even my intro bike, it's not that big a deal for me to scrape it a bit. However, two of the guys out today sustained serious damage to their $4k+ bikes. Ouch. I think one was pretty new, as well.

Wonderin' if you all have a crashworthy (replaceable) or you ride your good bike and hope for the best.

AEO

don't ride it in a race it or ride it in a group if you can't replace it, or are unwilling to replace it (think one off or rare classics).

I wouldn't mind crashing and breaking my CAAD9 if I entered it into a race.
My wallet will hurt, but it's nothing special.

Menel

I only have my one road bike, my intro bike. It was a steal of a deal at $630, and it's been scratched before... But it would certainly hurt the wallet, would cost me $1500-1600 to replace it with another bike of the same calibre.

More realistically, I'd try to scrape together the funds for a $3-4K quality full carbon bike.

FlashBazbo

I'm not particularly crashworthy myself. So I only ride my #1 road bike. We're in it together.

Nachoman

I don't have a crashworthy bike, but I know exactly what you mean. I drive an old Benz and don't give a crap if I sustain another ding.

baribari

That's like buying a $40 helmet so you won't have to replace your $200 helmet if you crash. Which is completely ****. There's no point in owning a $200 helmet if you're going to wear a hot, heavy, huge box on your head on your regular rides because you're afraid of crashing.

shiz702

I have a "race" bike and a "training" bike. I would be heartbroken if I ever destroyed my training bike.

BillyD

Traitor.

You're gonna be voted out of the CAAD9 frat for that, jack.

urbanknight

+1 Both of us could cost a good bit to fix. If I can ride my non-crashworthy body, I'll ride my non-crashworthy bike and hope for the best.

agarose2000

I guess it does depend on whom you ride with.

I ride my TT bike mostly on long, slower rides where most of the hammering is only going on during the big climbs. It's been very, very safe. Ironically, I do half these rides with an ironman triathlon group - you'd think there would be some sketchy handling there, but everyone in the group rides so conservatively that it's definitely the safest ride I do.

I take the cheaper road bike on the roadie rides. Despite everyone's great road bike handling skills, the technical aspect of riding is amped up enough, with really fast turns and attacks, so it's not surprising that once in awhile there's a wipeout.

One of the guys I rode with today said that out of 34 crits this last season in the area, there were 28 crashes (he was only in one of them). Yikes. Don't want to bring my Cervelo to that.

canam73

What I call my "rain bike" is my first road bike: 1989 Schwinn 564 Aluminum. It is essentially stock with downtube shifters and all. While it wasn't expensive new and isn't worth much now, it was my first bike and is kinda unusual and I would hate to loose or damage it. But none the less, it gets subjected to everything I don't want to use my "good bikes" on. Rain, the trainer, dusty or damaged roads, lent to friends, etc.

That said, I have never crashed it. But I have been run off the road and hit by a car on my best bike this year already!

JaceK

They are all just bikes, if they get damaged, they get fixed. What's the big deal?

AEO

If that happens, I'd get a bike that's a real 50cm, and it'd have 650c or 26" wheels.
maybe a custom frame.

700c is oversized for frames under 54cm.

stien

Unless you break the frame.

ericm979

I've already had one high speed group ride crash with my good bike. Even with good medical and dental insurance the damage to me cost more out of pocket than buying a completely new bike would have. Bike was fine, only a couple scratches. I'd have prefered to have destroyed the bike instead of my face (I'm fine now, no scarring and the braces are off).

I ride my good bike in group rides and races. That's what it's for. If I destroy it I'll buy another one. But I do masters races which are a bit safer, and I am (after the incident above) a bit more leery of sketchy riding in group rides. If someone's a squid, I'll make room between them and myself.

ericm979

Then you buy a new one (most manufacturers have crash replacement policies) or get it repaired. Carbon fiber is surprisingly cheap to repair.

agarose2000

I agree that human injury costs >> bike costs, but if you're not going to the hospital, it's still much better to wipe on the cheaper bike. Especially when a lot of wipeouts aren't ambulance trips, but minor spills with road rash.

One of the guys today who didn't take the ambulance went down on his pricey bike. He was fine aside from a small patch of road rash on his elbow and hip, but man, that near-new bike took some serious scrape damage in various places. If that happened to my Cervelo, I'd be heartbroken. My 2200/Sora Giant bike - well, I'd be glad I was riding it and not the Cervelo - there's a world of difference between a $695 bike and a $$$$ bike where a single ding costs hundreds.

ptle

I'm too cheap to have two dedicated road bikes.

Crashing my bike would suck. I'm just hoping it never happens. I'll probably have to start using my commuter bike for a while until I can save up to replace broken frame or parts.

rjones28 

I ride it everyday. I only have one road bike.

Val23708

My Cervelo is aluminum. not worried about it so much. I plan to get a carbon bike for training when i get funds. PF frames are pretty cheap though. I'd consider making a PF race bike with Rival.

Yellowbeard

Too poor for anything better than crashworthy.

4000Miles

My good bike is also my rain bike, commuter bike, grocery bike, beater bike, winter bike, all of the above. I own one and only one. This is the bike that took me halfway across the country and it's got a few scratches, it's dinged up, it's definitely seen use. It isn't your typical shiny, color-matched bar tape, sexy road bike. It's a red Defy 2 with lime green tape, stickers from all the places it's been, a Terry Liberator X instead of some 2cm thick, 5 gram race saddle, mismatched brakes...

I'd still be heartbroken if it were destroyed... but bikes were meant to be ridden. So I ride it.

Cdy291

If you own anything that is so exspensive that you don't think you could be able to replace it you should have never spent that much in the first place.

roccobike

I ride with three clubs. One is basically a disorganized group that heads in the same direction following an unwritten Q sheet. I ride an 01 Bianchi Campione that I like, but only paid $300 for. I also have an old Cannondale SR500 that I use as a rain bike. My two main riders, an 06 Giant OCR-C and a Lemond Maillot Juane are used on my other club rides.
I don't understand why I wouldn't want to ride my nicest bikes.

urbanknight

Perhaps, but I think that people who think too much about this are the type I don't want to ride next to.

Consider this: If you have enough money to have a fancy bike AND a beater bike, you probably have enough money to replace what you break. I don't, so I couldn't worry about it even if I wanted to.