Hi everyone!

Cycling is is new to me. I’ve only been doing it since this past June, so I am learning a lot & my bike is evolving as I learn more about it & how my performance improves as I learn how to adjust my equipment & what equipment I need to change.

I injured red my back a little over 2 weeks ago & yesterday was my first ride since then. While I was recovering & rehabbing I made some more adjustments &, without going into all that I did, I will mention two adjustments I made that I’m wondering if those were the cause of me almost laying my bike down twice on that ride.

I got got a new seat which fits my sit bones perfectly, but I’m wondering if having my seat pushed all the way back was the real culprit in my riding discomfort with regard to my hind end. So having a new seat & moving it forward seemed to really help, although I only rode for 8 miles because I didn’t want to re-injure my back. I also dropped the handlebars as low as I could get them for a more aggressive position (I am competitive with myself & have been trying to beat my current speed record). So when I was riding yesterday, I went around a sharp left turn. I had taken this turn several times at probably around 15 mph. I had never had a problem with this other than worrying that I might lean into it too much at that speed and ride on the edge of my wheel. So I took it with the same caution I always had and my front wheel slipped out from under me! I had to throw my left foot to the ground to keep myself from falling over! In all of my downtime I did a lot of maintenance on my bike. Including cleaning my cassette and putting on a new chain and lubing it properly. I did get a little bit of the chain lube on my back tire but I cleaned it off. And I didn’t have any lube on the front tire, so I don’t know why it would slip like that when it never had before. I wondered if maybe I had hit a small rock which shot out from underneath my front tire making me almost fall over. While I was pondering this, I went around another sharp left turn before hitting a long straight away. After having just almost fallen over, I was paying close attention and being careful and actually slowed down to around 12 mph. But I had the same thing happen and almost fell over to the left in the same way when my front wheel slipped out from under me!

Does anyone have any insight into this? I’m going to go on another ride this morning and will be absolutely careful! But I’m just wondering what the cause of this was. Is it because my weight is more forward and lower? Any opinions and insight would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks everyone and ride safely!

Wow! It sounds like I need to modify how I go into a turn! I do the out-in-out as I maneuver my self through a turn, but I was definitely doing the opposite of what you are describing with regard to leaning. I was low over the bar & was just building up some speed for a little extra momentum to try to get more power when I hit the following straight away. I leaned INTO the turn WITH my bike. ALL of my weight was on my left & I was over my handlebars.

Dude thanks for the insight. It’s much appreciated. Yeah, before I slammed my handlebars this is how I always took that turn, which is almost a loop at more than a 90 degree angle, but I never had any problems. And after the last time that I rode before hitting my back, I had washed my bike including the tires, so this is why I was baffled. Thanks again!

Thanks, for that. I’m on thin wheels & tires which a guy I’ve ridden with a few times has commented on. Maybe that’s it. More weight on such a narrow surface at a sharp angle & the tire just slipped. I was worried that I might have actually rubbed the wheel itself on the asphalt but there is no damage to it. I guess my throwing my leg down as it slipped out from under me just saved it. I rode the same path today and was a lot slower in those turns and had no problem at all. Man, it was the weirdest thing & felt scary as hell.

My tires had been sticking really well prior to those adjustments I’ve mentioned & the tread is still almost like new which surprises me. But yeah, I’ve never had to be cautious with cornering before. The road was also dry & it was about the same temp outside as always. It was just weird as hell. I saw the corner coming which was just past a tragic area, no cars were coming so I started to turn it up like I always have (I forgot to mention that this is actually an “S” turn, if that makes any difference), I swung right while pedaling then the sharp left and pedaled two or three times more & I leaned into the turn with my right pedal down & the left up & fully expected that awesome feeling while swinging through it until the wheel slipped & I threw my left foot down which jarred me upright & forced me to brake & here I am talking about something which hasn’t happened before on the many times I’ve ridden that trail. It’s just bizarre. This whole thing has forced me to look a little closer at my tires & I can’t see enough wear to say that I need new ones so I’m just going to pay more attention to how I corner. I followed your advice feeling like a moron for not being able to instinctively know how to corner (which I thought I did) by watching a YouTube video (GCN. The British dude, Si) & I don’t see anything differently than what I was doing before. You’re advice seemed a little more detailed with regard to body position which is what I’ll be paying close attention to. Thanks again!

Thanks for the info & insight into tires. This is actually the most I’ve learned about them since I’ve staryed cycling & I just didn’t think about them other than observing them for wear & inflating them to what seems comfortable for me. I keep the front tire a little lower than the rear after reading that this will absorb some of the shock & jarring while riding. My tires are Vittoria Zaffiro 700X25c. I had wide tires on my first bike which was a cheap hybrid I got for my son from Walmart. I like that the more narrow tires seem to me to be more responsive regarding handling.

I went on a ride yesterday and today, paying close attention to how I was taking the sharper turns & I realized that when my handlebars were higher, I would lower my head as I went into the turn & lean into it. Now that they are as low as they will go, all I have to do is lean. I think I was putting the gross amount of my weight (187lbs) on the front tire when I tried to lean into the way I felt like I had to before in order to get the momentum I was going for so I could actually build up speed in coming out of the turn.

Thanks to to everyone for the insights, suggestions & opinions! I’m able to go even a little faster than I had before I lowered the handlebars now. I just had to realize that the adjustment I made with higher handlebars is no longer necessary. Wow. Physics actually comes into play with riding! Well, like I said, I’m new to the sport haha!

Thanks wphamilton, & I’ll keep that in mind, moving forward. The bike I’m riding is all aluminum & is all stock. I haven’t reduced anything from the time I got the bike which is one reason that I’ve been confused on why this incident had happened now but never had before I made those positional adjustments.