I had the day off.
Sun was shining.
Sure, my fenders were rattling a bit but otherwise the bike ('72 PX-10) was smooth and refined.
I was about as far away as I was going to be from home when I met this lovely individual who happened to be going in the same direction as I. Cars on one side, him in my path.
In fact, his favourite meal happened to be newly built tacoed rims with perfectly fitting 25mm tires. Truly a match made in heaven.





The bright side is the rims are $30 and are still made new (Sun rims M13II). I guess I know what I'm doing next week.

They look just big enough for a bike wheel to fit into perfectly. OUCH!!

I feel your pain. (I am experienced)

Makes you wish you could turn the grate 90 degrees.

In Los Angeles the storm grates were infamous. A few law suits later they started welding straps perpendicular to the curb which helped a bit. Later coming up with an alternate design that was a bit more bike tire benign.

Seattle had those as well, but they have been long gone, thankfully.

The famed and fabled ride up to Hurricane Ridge used to have wheel-eating curtain drains at the three tunnels in the middle of the ride. You had to cross them at an angle if you were traveling at speed, which you would be, if you were having any fun at all on the way back down.

They've since been replaced (last year) with more bike-friendly ones, thank goodness.

A bit of a downer in the middle of a ride but I sent a message to the city of Richmond - Maybe they'll do something about it.
If only they had just been placed perpendicular to the road.

Thankfully you don't need dental work.

Unfortunately when turned perpendicular to the gutter, they pick up very little water during heavy flow. That is why the chevron pattern or vaned grates are mostly used now.

It was 1981. I was riding fast and carefree on my trusty 10-speed when my front wheel made the unfortunate acquaintance of a similar storm drain. I endo'd at speed and was lucky to escape with only a broken wrist that took longer than six months to heal -- and it still hurts today under certain weather conditions.

I probably could have been killed as I wasn't wearing a helmet back then (Bicycle helmet? What's a bicycle helmet?)

Also probably left a lot of cash on the table as it never occurred to me to sue anybody for it at the time ...

This was the casualty.

MMMMMM. Tacos.

Good argument for fat tires?

Glad that you're okay and that you didn't wreck the bicycle frame. This is exactly the reson I ride outside the gutter zone. Way back in the early 1980s I had a book that mentioned avoiding those horizontal grate slots by riding far enough out that the edge of your handlebar was at the curb edge whilst you looked down at the handlebar from your riding position. This also helps you avoid a lot of tire puncturing road debris.

Cheers

I've repaired tacoed wheels like that by pumping the tire up hard then holding the wheel at at about 45 degrees to the concrete and then firmly striking the edge with the high spot against the concrete and springing the rim back. Sometimes you can lean those high spots against something and with a firm push get the rim to spring back. If the wheel's only $30.00 though I'd get a new one at the earliest time I could afford it.

sheldon Brown's site says this:

"Broken spokes, minor rim bends and even "potato chip" wheels can often be repaired well enough without bike shop tools to get the bicycle rolling again, if your skill level is up to the task."

On-Road Bicycle Wheel Repairs

Cheers

We tried the curbside repairs using the grate as a lever during lapses in traffic but it just wouldn't do. New rim is already on its way and I've scavenged everything else off the old wheel.

Boo to you.

I've noticed Richmond has them and I'm always wary. I think that I have called them before and had success with them changing them, but I imagine they miss some.

I am glad it was only the rim.

You are very lucky you're not hurt. Falling into that curb could very easily be a traumatic brain injury. It wouldn't take much to fix that either.

I don't care what the original rationale was for that sort of grate, but I'd be on to the local council (or whatever is your city's equivalent) to have that grate changed - and I'd be filing a request to have them fix the bike, too. They should be extremely happy to be made aware of the problem before (as someone alluded to earlier) a major hospital visit is required by a member of the public crashing their bicycle.