Originally Posted by
reppans
Sorry to hear about your crash, but I'm curious how this seat tube failure caused it since you mentioned you were able stand up on the pedals as the seat started giving away. Did the seat jam the rear wheel?
I'm curious because I too sometimes worry about my folders failing, and want to know what to expect. I once forgot to lock the mainframe joint on a folder and hit the ground faster than anything I ever experienced (and I'm a lifelong skier, skater, skateboarder) - very scary. All my other "fall" experience seems to have given me at least a moment to brace for impact.
I had a cargo rack with a single pannier that contained my work clothes and lunch. On this kind of frame there's nowhere to attach the front of the rack except to the seat tube. (See attached) The whole thing, seat rack and pannier fell back dragging the rear sideways in a quick motion that left my front wheel sideways to my line of travel. All speculation on my part. It happened in a flash, and I slammed into the ground. The sight of that front wheel cocked sideways is the stuff of nightmares.