Downgrade options after injuries
 

I rode a Trek Hybrid for about 5 years. 1 year ago I bought a CAAD 10 for riding longer distances for staying in shape and give my joints a break from high impact and stressful activities like running, boxing/martial arts and rock climbing. I also wanted a lighter bike and also because the CAAD 10 is just a plain fun bike. I also bought a Downtube folder for more casual riding.

Since last year, I've had two injuries, both related to biking on the CAAD10. First I developed stress in my wrist (despite trying to keep the weight off my wrists), which ended up being a painful hidden ganglion cyst and ligament issues, keeping me off biking and most of my activity for 2-3 months. Recently I had an accident (was distracted by aggressive bikers and stray pedestrians, dropped of an unexpected high 'curb' on a bike path suddenly, skidded into dirt and grass, unclipped from pedals, lost balance and went flying into the pavement crushing my elbow under the weight of my body) and dislocated my elbow, fracturing a bone and tearing all my ligaments, and some tendons, cartilage and some muscle. Recovery is going to be a b!@ch and will take 3-6 months if I heal properly.

I am in mid-30s, 140 lbs, been generally in good shape most of my life, but I am beginning to figure out I am not invincible! I am also about to start a family in the near future and although I'd like to continue as I did before while being more careful and accepting accidents as a part of life, I cannot afford to lose function of an arm or leg for an extended period of time, or at least would not like to. I've decided to go for something less aggressive. I also live and ride in NYC, and in-spite of newer bike-friendly attitudes I don't feel safe riding the streets here (cars, taxis and busses have no respect for bicyclists), and the bike paths are very crowded when the weather is nice. I see nasty accidents all the time, and I know as much as my situation sucks, it could have been worse. For those of you who are performance-oriented racers and hard-core bikers in the best shape of your lives, I know you might think I'm being a bit of a wuss, but that's fine. I know where you coming from, I'm just making some a choice to reduce my chances of injury while still enjoying being on a bike. I can of course stick to my current setup while being more careful, but I'd rather change my bike while giving up speed, agility and lightness. I know that my first injury was related to putting too much pressure on my wrists, and my second injury definitely had something to do with the 'twitchy' nature of the bike, being clipped, having skinny tires off-road. I take responsibility for both injuries though and blame it on luck as well. Perhaps I am too inexperienced to be riding the CAAD 10 as well. I know the CAAD 10 fans are rolling their eyes right now.

Particularly I am looking for a bike with more stability on uneven roads and bike paths, fatter tires, more upright position putting less pressure on my wrists and avoiding flying over the bars in a crash, giving up clip-less pedals. I also intend to ride anywhere from 5-50 miles (average rides are 15-20 miles) with emphasis on safety/stability first and then durability, comfort, looks, endurance and speed in that order. Would be nice if I can lock the bike up on the street occasionally too.

My question/dilemma - should I still stick with the road bike category choosing (perhaps a less-aggressive steel bike), or should I spend my time exploring touring bikes, fixed gear/custom, hybrid/city, folders, mountain bike? Thanks for reading my long post, and I apologize if you feel this is posted on the wrong forum.

Hi,

Sorry to hear about your injuries. You can try either another hybrid or may be a road bike with a more relaxed geometry such as a Synapse or Specialized Secteur/Roubaix.

I would take a look at a cyclocross bike. They support a wider tire and I think generally put the rider in a more upright position. If you still have too much weight on your wrists you can try a different stem. If you have the means a bike fitter can help you out in this area.

I'm not sure what you want to spend, but the first thing that came to mind was a soma ES. It has stable geometry, clearance for wide tires, and an extended head tube io keep the bars more upright. It looks well made and has a prett fair price.


http://www.somafab.com/archives/product/es

If you were so inclined, most of your parts from the caad 10 would fit on here. The crankset, headset, and FD may be the only exception. If you are not afraid of eBay, your caad10 frameset and parts tht don't fit will likely cover the cost of the swap.

Oh, you would also need long reach brakes. Again, depending on what caad10 you have, the swam may not cost a thing.

Do you still have the hybrid? You mentioned you also have a folder.
Just ride more carefully, I don't think a certain type of bike will guarantee
your safety, a lot of it is up to you.

I've been riding for the last 5/6 years in NYC using SPD clipless pedals.
Commuting to work over 30 miles 4 days a week and doing longer Sunday rides.
The last couple of years on my 2009 Fuji Newest 1.0 roadbike. Other than 1
spill I had on a metal plate on the George Washington bridge one rainy day,
I have been crash free.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFf8l6kZtlU&feature=plcp

Hi, what I'll advise you get is a hardtail mountain bike with 1.5inches tires. The only thing I won't like with the set-up is the suspension fork. Suspension forks are heavy and totally unnecessary for riding on pavements. I have an old Cannondale mountain bike (no suspension fork) that is perfect for no frills riding and exercise. Oh, sorry about your spill.

Do you still have the hybrid? Sounds like your first bike may suit just fine. You can add wider tires if needed.

I like the idea of a Cross bike for you as well but I have to say a bike like the Specialized Sirrus (or Trek FX etc) may be a great option.

I use my Sirrus for commuting and you can have size 32 tires so if you slip of the path you'll be good to go plus the more upright position and flat handle bar does the trick. And I believe that they start at about $450 (up to over $1000 of course!)

http://www.specialized.com/ca/en/bikes/multiuse/sirrus

keep your bike, add some 25mm rubber. revisit your bike position. ganglions aren't specifically caused by cycling (just had one drained last week), but hand issues can be solved with correct position, good gloves and using all parts of the handlebar. skills come with time, persistence and hopefully minimal crashing. don't use fear as an excuse.

btw, all bikes can toss you over the bars.

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions.

fstshrk: I have tried the Synapse and Roubaix in the past, will revisit them, but I remember them not feeling so great. Will check out a hybrid too.

bubbagrannygear+manutd: Cyclocross sounds like a good idea to explore. Thanks for the Sirrus suggestion. I used to have a Trek FX, but it was a hybrid not cyclocross.

thirdgenbird: soma looks great, but i'm really not looking to swap parts, etc.

1nterceptor: I am really glad that you have been riding your bike for 5/6 years without any major incident! Good for you. I also know plenty of people who have been riding bikes in NYC (including myself) for decades and have not suffered any major injuries. I really don't want to debate how safe it is to ride in the streets of NYC. And yes you are right, changing bikes won't guarantee anything, and yes safety is up to the rider for a large part. I don't have the hybrid any more, but I do have the folder.

UCIMBZ: I definitely want to move away from the CAAD 10 and not really interested in moving parts around and all that. The bike is too aggressive for my needs.

Jed19: Will look at mountain bikes as well without suspension fork.

pdedes: I had revisited my bike position prior to the accident (second injury) and had it fit in the least aggressive way. I was also keeping the pressure off my wrists, using my core, etc. after the first injury and had no further problems. Btw, I had an occult (hidden) ganglion cyst, around my ligaments - they are very painful and cannot be drained. They can only be removed by surgery. They are commonly a result of stresses over time, and yes biking specifically does not cause this. I should have mentioned that it was biking as well as other activities for me (martial arts, rock climbing, push-ups) and of course a bit of crap luck. My second injury had nothing to do with my wrist and is far far worse. I have essentially broken my elbow and while I know you seem like a tough guy with plenty of skill, experience and lack of fear (as I thought I was too!) I really hope something like this never happens to you. I've known first and second hand about many experienced bikers and triathletes with all the experience, fitness and courage in the world get badly injured. Yes nothing should stop them from recovering and getting back into it and working toward a higher goal, and I respect that, but I don't see anything wrong with some of us taking a step back to re-evaluate our risks and try our best to minimize injuries going forward, specially if I have no goal to race or compete at this sport, it is just purely recreational and casual for me. Thank you for pointing out the obvious that flying over the bars is possible on any bike, I am just trying to minimize that from happening in the event of a crash. And yes, I understand crashes cannot be avoided as well.

I second the idea of a flat bar road bike like the trek fx or the specialized sirrus (I highly recommend the sirrus).

As for cyclocross I think that would be another good option. Check out the Specialized Tricross w/disc brakes and the Cannondale quick cx. All are great bikes and should be more of what your looking for.

P.S I wouldnt consider any of these bikes a real downgrade simply a change of bike type.

Being less-aggressive, and less likely to have an accident is not related to the bike. It's the rider's frame of mind. I suggest you keep the bike and ride slower and more cautiously. If drop bars cause your wrist pain, just keep your hands on the upper bar.

I've had more hand numbing on my Trek FX than on my Allez. Being able to switch up hand positions every 45 minutes or so helps a lot.

I'm sorry to hear of your injuries, but I'm trying to understand why riding a different bike would make you less likely to have crashed?

Sorry to hear of your injuries, I hope you heal fast.

There is a lesson to be learned from your crash, and it's not that you need a different type of bike. It's that you need to pay attention to what you are doing. Its like if you crashed your car because you ran out of gas and then decided that meant that you need an airplane. By blaming the type of bike and "luck" you're avoiding addressing the actual problem. Replay the time right before the accident in your head and think about what you could have done to recognize a hazardous situation, and then what you could have done to make it less hazardous.

The answer to that may be "don't ride bike paths". They're often quite unsafe due to unpredictable pedestrians who are not paying attention to their surroundings. While the roads are safer than they appear to the uninitiated, in part because larger vehicles change direction more slowly.

Does your trek fx have the ergo grips? I have ridden my wife's Vita (the female version of the sirrus) and cause it has ergo grips I have yet to get numb hands while riding it. The longest ride I have done on it is around 35 miles.

The only logical solution.
http://www.backupbarz.com

Thanks - will check those out in a store when I'm ready.

I agree with you, but still feel like I should be riding something setup less aggressively - that would better suited to the kind of riding I want to be doing, i.e. slow and cautious like you say. As I mentioned I had also largely dealt with the wrist issues, I started using my core a lot more, change my saddle position and bar height, and had much less pressure on my wrists.

One of the reasons I got rid of my Trek FX Hybrid last year was hand numbing as well.

Beaker and eric - I'm not really looking into getting into this again, please read the rest of the thread. I think I crashed primarily because it was my own fault. I could have handled things better and I do take responsibility. Other factors that contributed to my crash were stray/careless pedestrians and cyclists, overcrowding on the path forcing me off the curb, my extra twitchy relatively unstable super-light bike with skinny tires that skidded in the dirt and grass, getting off balance after successfully unclipping my pedals instinctively (had I been wearing sneakers or other shoes I might have been able to maintain my balance better), and yes a bit of crap luck and a bad day (they do happen to everyone!). Bottom-line is I don't have a need to ride a CAAD 10, I would be perfectly happy riding something less racy and if that along with being even more careful in the future convinces me that I am reducing my chances of crashing and suffering nasty injuries by even 10%, that is worth it to me personally. I cannot avoid bike paths in NYC if I want to ride for fun. Thanks for reading.

Very interesting, although a bit odd looking!

Too expensive.

It had those when I bought it but they had gotten all covered in some kind of oily gunk and they seemed to be degrading. Rode with them a 3-4 hour rides and noticed the numbing. I bought some gloves and and some of Felt's locking mountain bike grips and I like it. Of course it's most likely poor posture on my part that causes it, but the thinner grips help me feel how I'm actually positioning my hands and whether I'm putting my weight on them while also not having enough padding to pinch nerves.

The Specialiaed Roubaix is the best endurance racing bike in the world. I had to laugh when you wrote it didn't feel so good. I have owned 50 road bikes and the Roubaix feels the best and is taylor made for guys like you...and probably the vast majority that ride but instead choose a less comfortable bike.
Racing bikes tend to put a fair amount of weight on the wrists. Yes position is key to mitigate this but there is no substitute for a higher handlebar which btw will make the drops much more usable.
The twitchy steering you also write about the CAAD 10 is similar to many other race bikes. The Roubaix by contrast is rock steady. This maybe the 'feel' issue you have the Roubaix. Having owned many short wheelbase low trail quick handling bikes...the average rider will have greater control with a Roubaix because it tracks like a slot car.
Good luck in your recovery.