Originally Posted by
masi61
Well I hope you’re making a quick & pain free recovery.
As for that tire & how it got that way: is there any possibility that the brake was rubbing the sidewall for a time prior to the crash? Also did the tire blow out and this was the cause of the crash?
Originally Posted by
CliffordK
Is that just one patch, or is it like that all the way around?
Is the wheel true? Ahh, slightly out of true, but hard to tell if that would be before or after the wreck.
My first reaction was riding underinflated/flat as [MENTION=197614]fietsbob[/MENTION] suggested. That would also account for some of the damage to the rim. However, I can't account for the asymmetry, or the apparent localized effect.
Perhaps some more details of the crash?
I'm thinking perhaps a hard corner (descent), and the front wheel just slid out from under you (essentially a skid on the sidewall). Or, perhaps hitting a curb hard??? I.E. your front tire took the same road rash that your body took.
The sidewall shredding does give the appearance that it was under inflated but I don’t think that was the case. It is a 23 mm tire and I was running 100 psi of pressure. The brake pads were aligned correctly on the rim brake tracks so that shouldn’t have been an issue. I was riding with a group and hit some large rocks that had washed out into the road from a gravel driveway. I never saw them. The bike went airborne and then flipped sideways to my right while I was up in the air. I landed really hard on my right hip and the bike and I slid a ways. The sidewall shredding must have happened as I was sliding across the asphalt.
I later learned that the fella riding behind me ran over my front wheel. I suspect the weight of him on the front wheel contributed to pushing down on the front wheel while we were sliding thus all the sidewall damage. Fortunately he was able to stay upright.
Recovery is ongoing but seems to be tracking okay. The fall broke my right hip and I had a total hip replacement the next day. I’m hoping the surgeon will give me the go ahead to get on a stationary bike soon.