lowlife1975

so i'm out on a ride this morning when all of a sudden the clamp on my quill stem cracks and the bars go slipping downward... luckily it happened while i was slowing down, under light braking so i was able to take my weight off the bars and slow to a safe stop! but still upset b/c the stem was a panto guerciotti one that i'll likely not easily find (for cheap either.)

so on the long and slow ride back home, steering with the neck of the stem, i had plenty of time to think about a wide array of mechanicals... and contemplate about which was better or worse for riding 10 flat miles home with. heres the short list i came up with... what do you guys think?

broken stem (braking sucks, but you can still ride no handed... just have to anticipate stops and allot plenty of time, and no sudden changes in course of direction allowed)
front and rear flats on clinchers- (probably the easiest if you don't mind trashing the wheels or stuffing a bunch of leaves in there.)
absolutely no brakes, front or rear, with a freewheel of course- (maybe easy but could be really dangerous... if you have a fixie background, then no problem)
snapped seatpost (mild discomfort but you're making it home probably the quickest)
snapped chain- (will take the longest, kind of like having a huge skateboard with a saddle)

khatfull

None, that's what wives and cell phones are for.

The worse I've personally seen is a guy who broke an SPD-SL cleat about 55 miles out. And old one now resides in my seat bag

Namenda

Having broken a stem, gone over the bars, and then had to walk home an unrideable bike whilst in pain...I'll take any of the others, please. The only good part, in my case, was landing face first on dirt instead of concrete.

I've had to walk a bike home after having three flats in one ride, and only enough supplies to fix two. Got blisters on my feet from that, but still was able to ride the next day.

I can handle a broken chain, usually. If not, see above, I guess.

Never broke a seatpost or saddle.

Have ridden a bike without brakes, not a big deal so long as you recognize your limitations.

gr@sshopper

Well, if we count mtn biking, i've ridden home w/ a broken seat, with no seat (less riding, more standing), no back brakes, no front brakes, no brakes, broken stem clamping bolts.

I've had to bail for broken hub, tire separating from bead

Bah Humbug

Stories like these make me nervous.

DXchulo

I saw a guy finish a brevet with a broken seat tube. If memory serves, it was a 300k and he broke it fairly early in the ride.

I think the worst would be a broken pedal/crank arm/cleat. It seems so possible to ride home like that, but boy is it going to hurt.

urbanknight

I carry a chain tool. Remove a link, reuse the pin, and don't sprint or cross chain.

merlinextraligh

Finished a century once with the downtube of the frame snapped in two at the BB. Made for a very comfortable ride actually.

(and ok, I took the metric option after the frame broke.)

khatfull

I do too, and have yet to use it. I also have KMC links in my bag for 10, 9, 8, and 7 speed chains! I danged near have a bike shop in my bag.

AngryScientist 

i think if a stem ever cracked on me there is no way i would buy the same one again.

khatfull

But how puckered were your "netherregions" after that ride?!

awesomejack

how did you keep riding with a broken downtube? wouldn't the top tube bend and break?

snowman40

I fixed it!

My wife and kids love 'saving me' when I have a mechanical problem.

merlinextraligh

You're right. I mistyped. The seat tube was broken. All that did was make the front derailleur not shift, and the bb flex a lot.

asmallsol

The worst mechanicals are the ones that leave you completely stranded. A broken pedal would suck, but you can still kinda pedal. Flats suck, but are an easy fix. Snapped cable can be a pain if your in a hilly region, but you can still ride.

I've broken spokes on both the front and rear (not on the same ride, or even in the same year) that have left the wheel so out of true, the wheel couldn't even turn. My buddy had a rear hub completely seize 20 miles into Shanendoah 100 MTB race, and he was in the lead group. Road it for 3 miles, at basicly sprint effort to just keep moving on the flats, then another 7 miles over his shoulder.

bobthib

Had a rather bad experience in August when, unbeknownst to me, a small rag fell out of my back jersey pocket and fell on my chain at a stop light. When I took off, the rag got sucked into the RD and snapped it off. The pulley housing came around and hit the seat stay. Had to walk home 5 mi.

See it here: https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/593808-carbon-frame-damage-what-do-you-think.html

Here s the frame damage"

rob!

Once I was mountain biking and a stick got jammed in my front wheel, bending the front rotor (disc brakes). I couldn't straighten it enough with my hands and the wheel was almost locked. That was an interesting ride to the car (and in hindsight I probably should have just removed the front caliper!).

kmancrx

I was about 25 mi into a 40 mi group ride and one of the bolt on my derailleur cog snapped. I attempted to make the bike into a single speed with my chain tool, but that cracked as well. Luckily anther guy had a chain tool and we successfully made me a single speed. If I was alone it would have been miserable. I was 35 mi from home and I had no clue where I was in Yadkin county.

ElJamoquio

Five miles isn't wretched depending on shoes; but if you had a chain tool you probably could've single speed-ed it.

KiddSisko

I once pedaled home 3 miles with a flat front tire. No lasting damage either. I've also snapped a chain (broke at the power link) at the end of a climb while shifting the FD from small to big. I coasted downhill for 4 miles, then tried to walk the last uphill mile, but ended up taking off my shoes and walking barefoot. I bought a chain tool the following day and carry it in my seat bag. So to answer the question, I'll take a broken chain mechanical over any other.

Jquest

+ 3 on the chain popper with some extra quick links. THat, to me, is the single most important tool you can carry. Yeah it weighs, but having a RD failure or a snapped chain can put you in a world of hurt. Especially if the wife and kids are visiting her parents and are out of town and you in all your wisdom decided to do a century out in the countryside. As for the cleat...you can take your shoe off and cruise home on the pedal. Ridden my bike dozen times testing out new stuff bare foot.

On any ride , even commuting....
1 popper
two tubes
patches
cell phone.

As for the OP....I'll take the chain failure. Lucky man for nothing happening with your stem cracking on you. Talk about starting the New Year lucky!

mobike_moexcite

Definitely the stem, throw what's left of it (assuming it broke off) in your pocket if it fits. If not ride it out with one hand holding the seat and the other on the bars. Probably the least comfortable but like you said the quickest.

roccobike

I'll take the flat rear tire over all the others. I flatted on the front twice while going downhill. Certainly it' exciting to be riding a bike that wants to crash while speeding downhill, but that's not the kind of thrill I'm looking for. As for flatting on the rear, the only thing I noticed is the bike rode a bit rough.

RacerOne

I don't carry a chain tool, so the broken chain would really suck. But then again, I do carry the cell phone.