Hey guys,

I have crashed twice now, and am not sure what is going on.

The front wheel will come to a complete stop, IMMEDIATELY. And the back end of the bike flips up. It has resulted in two nasty crashes.

Afterwards, I can see nothing wrong with the bike, and it works perfectly.

What can be causing this?

The front brake.

Drink less coffee or ease up on the hand-strength exercises.



How about something about how fast you were going?

If something were going into the spokes I'd expect broken spokes or at least a "ping" when it ht.

If the tire is too tall it might buzz the crossbrace on the fork ... but unless it was also loose (or the whole headset was loose) it shouldn't wedge suddenly.

I assume you did the "Pick up the front end, spin and shake" test?

Maybe the guy you rode past jammed a pump in your spokes?

With apologies if I'm wrong, but this has the smell of a troll or attorney looking for plausible causes of action for a suit.

So, I'll keep the answers very generic, and also ask you to clarify exactly what happened and what you were doing at the time.

IMO the only thinks that might cause a front wheel to lock and cause a crash, and not be locked afterward, is something jamming in the spokes and getting carried up behind the fork and stopping the wheel. You can search "squirrel in spokes" for examples. However, IME, this would leave evidence. Or, it could be operator, error overusing the front brake. This is more likely if the rim has an outward dent, like what may happen if hitting a deep pothole or jumping a curb. When the brake is applied fairly lightly, the wide spot comes around and jams. The only evidence would be the dent itself, since once the brake is released the wheel spins freely.

BTW- if you are an attorney, it's only fair that you compensate those who provide expert technical assistance. In something like this, compensation may not be practical, so please donate $100 to relief efforts in PR or California.

You get my vote.

,,,,,,,hmmmm,,,,bearings maybe.....

1. Good front brakes.
2. A tall curb.
3. Way too much alcohol (probably combined with 1 or 2).

My older brother did this when he was about 8 or 9 years old. He got a brand new 3 speed for Christmas. It was the first bike he ever rode with hand brakes. Went down a steep hill, panic grabbed the front brake lever. Did a front wheel stand and, crashed. I was about 6 or 7 and laughed my ass off.

Come on, people.

Typically caused by texting-while-cycling.

For front brakes... look for some notes on braking technique. Type of bicycle?

There are lots of notes about keeping your weight back as far as possible when braking hard.

You get more stopping power with the front brake, and more skidding on the rear, but the rear brake won't throw you over the handlebars.

Unless you're travelling backwards, then it could be a real problem. I think that the ambulance chaser owes us some context for these alleged incidents. If that's what he indeed is.

I have a hard time believing that you crashed twice, apparently from the same cause, and still have no idea what it is. Front wheel doesn't just suddenly seize, cause a crash and then mysteriously start to spin again. This thread smells like a troll to me, if ever there was one.

The nose knows, from post no. 3

.......but this has the smell of a troll or attorney looking for plausible causes of action for a suit.

I don't know how forum rules apply, or if the mods will want to close this. But IMO we should stop feeding the troll until he comes out from under the bridge and comes clean with the rest of the story.

Oh, I thought of another thing that can cause the front wheel to stop....

Riding without hands.

If only bikes came with a warning label:

I raised the bars on a bike not too long ago, and unbeknownst to me it effectively shortened the rear brake cable. When the wheel was straight, no problem and the back wheel turned freely. But when I turned hard right, the back wheel locked and I went down.
Once

It might be worse if the front wheel didn't stop--when the rest of the bike did.

My vote is for a squirrel. They usually get away undetected but occasionally...

Dude! Did you really need to post that? The poor squirrel!

Twice?

What are the odds. I doubt anyone would have this happen twice in a lifetime, even if they rode laps around Hyde Park 24/7/365

The OP hasn't replied--just one post. Hope it's not lockup number three...

I hear there are classes/websites/videos on "how to ride a bike". Have you (or your client) Googled this?

I think I know who it is.

No one has considered demonic possession?

I thought my reference to a lawyer covered that.

Happened to me once. Center punching a 3 foot high 8 foot dia concrete landscaping planter definitely caused the front wheel to stop very suddenly.