# Falling Off?



## Oldie But Goodie (5 Feb 2011)

Went for a 1 hour ride on my fixie this morning in a howling gale and lashing rain.
I was passing some old tram lines on my route and managed to get the front wheel stuck in the groove! OOps!, yes on smack down my ass again.





On average I come off my bike about once a month with an average of 26-30 hrs riding per month and guess what, the more I fall off the harder the road becomes and it seems to be coming a habit with me!
Good thing was no damage to the bike or my riding clothes, just a few scrapes on my arm so no problem.
I was just wondering how often single speed and fixie riders come off on average OR IS IT SOMETHING YOU MACHO RIDERS OUT THERE DONT WANT TO ADMIT ?


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## MacB (5 Feb 2011)

twice so far, once when trying clipless, not to be repeated, and once when turning into a taxi, entirely my fault and very stupid.

Though I almost fell off yesterday cycling around my close, was getting bar height and reach sorted so kept doing little laps to check angle etc. On the last one looked up to see Royal Mail van arriving, more CRC goodies for me!!! and promptly cycled straight into raised kerb and almost over. Postie probably thought he shouldn't have given me the package as I obviously couldn't use the bike stuff I had.


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## ColinJ (5 Feb 2011)

Road cycling - once every 10,000 miles or so? That would be once every 2 or 3 years. I can't remember the last time.

Oh, I had a very near miss on a forum ride a couple of years ago when talking to Calum. I had my hands on the tops of the bars, looked up and realised that I had ridden off the lane we were on and was heading straight for a wall. I just managed to get my hand on the front brake lever in time and stopped with the front wheel resting against the wall! 

Mountain biking, a lot more frequently because of the technical nature of the terrain I used to ride over (I don't do much MTB riding these days).


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## potsy (5 Feb 2011)

Twice, both at about 2mph





1st one whilst trying to take a banana out of my bar bag on the trans-pennine trail, comical lean over to the right clipped in.
2nd whilst cycling back from Blackpool with Bromptonfb, took a short cut, missed a turn and did a U-turn, unfortunately 23mm tyres and a big patch of slippy mud don't mix so down I went


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## Davidc (5 Feb 2011)

ColinJ said:


> Road cycling - once every 10,000 miles or so? That would be once every 2 or 3 years. I can't remember the last time.



That's all I do, and it's not on a fixed wheel bike. I'd agree with the interval - that's about right for me too.

Last time was on a velib in Brussels last year, in the bl00dy tram lines.


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## rualexander (5 Feb 2011)

Never fallen off on road in 24 years of cycling, used to come off occasionally when mountainbiking back in the eighties.


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## Cush (5 Feb 2011)

Twice, once when I stopped to ask some one the way to the Youth Hostel when I was on the LEJOG and promtly fell over. The person I was speaking too was the hostel warden!!. Who took great delight in telling the other hostlers what had happened. The second time was when I stopped to open a gate on a cycle / footpath and fell in to some brambles on a slope felt very foolish both times and was removing thorns for days after the second one.


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## GrumpyGregry (5 Feb 2011)

mtb'ing - almost every weekend
commuting - was never until y'day in the gale (if you don't count getting offed by cars)
club rides - touches wood, never.


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## markg0vbr (5 Feb 2011)

rolled the trike twice miner abrasions and one demolished back wheel, when going a long, hedge? er that cant be right eek why am i facing that car that was behind me...... bang
and one on a two wheeler last Saturday broke my hip, now sporting three bolts up through my thigh bone.


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## buggi (5 Feb 2011)

twice in 7 years (not counting the 3 clipless moments when i was at a standstill). to be honest mate, i try to avoid it if i can. if you think it's your fixie that's causing it, time to change bike before you become too nervous to ride.


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## Oldie But Goodie (5 Feb 2011)

buggi said:


> twice in 7 years (not counting the 3 clipless moments when i was at a standstill). to be honest mate, i try to avoid it if i can. if you think it's your fixie that's causing it, time to change bike before you become too nervous to ride.



To be honest Buggi all the falls have been down to me and today it was the tram lines.
Your three clipless moments count as falls as I have included those in my calculations.
I did change my hub recently from fixed to single and this week changed back as I prefer the "oneness" you get with the fixed but I guess the secret is not to keep swapping as it leads to confusion.
Thanks for the advice anyway mate


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## Oldie But Goodie (5 Feb 2011)

markg0vbr said:


> rolled the trike twice miner abrasions and one demolished back wheel, when going a long, hedge? er that cant be right eek why am i facing that car that was behind me...... bang
> and one on a two wheeler last Saturday broke my hip, now sporting three bolts up through my thigh bone.



Get well soon mate and sorry to hear about your accidents


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## frank9755 (5 Feb 2011)

On road, my last one was cornering too fast on wet cobbles, about three years ago. I had a clipless moment when I first tried them maybe 4 years ago. Before that, it would have been when I got knocked off by a car when I was at university in the late 80's. So probably > 10,000 miles between falls. 

I fell off mountain biking just over a year ago. I don't do much mountain biking or else I'm sure I would fall off more as I think that is supposed to be part of the fun!


I had a dramatic fall while wearing my cycling shoes in a hall with a polished floor after a race last year. I was carrying a cup of tea at the time and it ended up all over the room.


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## yello (5 Feb 2011)

very very rarely. Offed by a cat (ran in front of me) last year but prior to that... can't really remember.


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## MacB (5 Feb 2011)

Well I was riding with Wowbagger from YACF when he was offed by a badger, alarming at the time but bloody funny afterwards, thankfully no serious harm done to man, badger(we think) or bike.


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## Chamfus Flange (5 Feb 2011)

Road bike so far never.
Commuting bike only one in the last eight years.
MTB too many times to remember


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## Telemark (5 Feb 2011)

Last time was 2 1/2 years ago in Austria, the loose gravel pulled the back wheel of the mountain bike out from under me  . I rode back to the nearest car park and would have cycled back to base, but my dearly beloved and my cousin insisted that I should stop there, with my cousin riding ahead and bringing the car to drive me to A&E to get cleaned up ...

Much to everybody's surprise I came out of the treatment room with a plaster cast (after much digging for bits of gravel  ), as there was a deep hole just below the knee, very close to the Bursa synovialis (or in German: Schleimbeutel, which translates literally as slime bag  ) and they felt it would heal faster if the knee was immobilised ... I spent the next 10 days reading books on the balcony and looking longingly at the mountains in the sunshine  , with the plaster removed just before we left for home again...

Before that ... in 1993  (needed some stitches above the left eye brow)

Before that ... got caught in tram lines when not paying attention, but got off lightly as I sort of managed to jump off as the bike went down.

Before that ... when I was a kid and learnt to cycle (?)

Don't tempt fate too often, if there is an easy solution  

T


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## guitarpete247 (5 Feb 2011)

First in 1976 when left hooked in Sunderland. Second early '80's coming home from beer tent at Sandtoft Gathering. Latest, 6 months ago when I lost a cleat bolt whilst stationary and had to slowly roll onto grass bank to take shoe off. 
They are the only 3 offs I can remember though must have fallen off as a child  .


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## Broadside (5 Feb 2011)

I have come off twice when getting used to clipless, and also twice this year on ice. I won't be riding anymore when there is frost about, i agree with the OP the tarmac gets harder the more often you hit it. it's the scabs that take two weeks to go that I find most irritating. Ouch!


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## Oldie But Goodie (5 Feb 2011)

dandegas1 said:


> Once on a skate park on my mtb- broken wrist in 3 places
> Once on commuter bike getting caught in train line on Bristol Docks, ended up caught in the line, went over the bars into a cafe wall (Brunel Buttery for thoughs who know bristol) and ended up with the bike on top of me. Took me a good 5 minutes to get up but apart from loads of bruising and scratches I was fine. My bike and helmet were ruined though. I now always avoid train lines!!!!!



Dandigas thats exactly what happened to me this morning on the docks by Brunels Buttery
I will always be careful there in the future and will continue to ride fixed.


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## totallyfixed (5 Feb 2011)

Lots, but never on fixed, it always concentrates my mind somehow. One year I had so many spectacular offs that I won the club stabiliser award and most of them were my fault. The 2 worst of recent years was a rear entry through the back window of a hatchback [a whole story in itself] and a front tyre blow-out at over 40mph in the peaks straight into a very solid vertical grass bank. The impact actually drove some spokes out of the wheel and through the tyre. Happy days.


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## palinurus (6 Feb 2011)

Oldie But Goodie said:


> Went for a 1 hour ride on my fixie this morning in a howling gale and lashing rain.
> I was passing some old tram lines on my route and managed to get the front wheel stuck in the groove! OOps!, yes on smack down my ass again.
> 
> 
> ...



I've gone down on the fixed once, a raised paintline on the road encountered at a shallow angle (didn't see it because it was covered in snow). Otherwise it's rare, less than once every three years- even counting the time I came off three times during one snowy commute. Take snow out of the equation and it's almost never.


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## Zoiders (6 Feb 2011)

Almost never unless it's very very icy or I am trying a new section on the MTB.

People who manage to fall off all the time on the road just commuting or going for a pootle puzzle me.


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## skudupnorth (7 Feb 2011)

Only once on the ice ! Went down with grace though and did'nt cry


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## Fran143 (7 Feb 2011)

Maybe about three times......not that I'm counting.


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## Rob3rt (7 Feb 2011)

3 times in a year, twice hit by cars, the other time I stupidly tried to carry my suit in a suitbag on my back, the wind caught it, blew it around my body into the front wheel!


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## GrumpyGregry (8 Feb 2011)

borls. Knew I'd hex myself posting in this thread.

came off this morning; ice, ice, baby. No harm done and only the birds and some sheep saw it.


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## monkeypony (8 Feb 2011)

Came off my bike on unexpected ice last Thursday. Can't ride again yet. It is my fist off on the ride bike for about 14 months though (not counting being hit by an HGV).

Had many offs on the MTB.


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## mickle (8 Feb 2011)

Road bike two years ago on black ice. The Wange Wover behind me was able to stop in time I am glad to say.


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## montage (8 Feb 2011)

almost every other ride


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## Silver Fox (8 Feb 2011)

Twice on the road bike when I was getting used to the clipless thing, one being at a set of red lights which provided great amusement for other road users  

Lost count how many times on the mtb.


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## bwood91 (9 Feb 2011)

ive only ever fallen off once on my fixie but on my bmx its every time i ride it


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## dave r (10 Feb 2011)

Very rarely, not normally without some outside assistance. I think the last off was about 2007, when I was taken out by a Ford focus, before that a couple of ice falls many years ago, one in the middle of a pack and one in the middle of a warm November when I got caught out by the only patch of ice in Warwickshire.


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## BikeCurious (23 Feb 2011)

Haven't fallen off in about 2 years, but when I did I broke my wrist in two places. Only in a cast for 4 weeks but put me off riding for a while until the strength and confidence returned. It happened because I rode over what I thought was water but turned out to be spilt oil!


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