My first "proper" fall

[Angelfishsolo]

Well I am 'happy' to announce that I had my first proper fall yesterday (which oddly coincided with my 1st proper MTB course ride ). I was cycling the Skyline Trail in the South Wales Valleys with a friend when I was thrown over the bars.

I bounced well but the bike was rather confused. The handle bars had turned through 360 degrees and in the process had snapped the front Cantilever brake mech. I managed to right the bars and was surprised to find no further damage so still buzzing with adrenalin decided to finish the ride (Now 90% roads) with only my back brake.

Serious fun indeed :-)

Still I managed to replace the broken mech within 20 mins of getting home so my bike is, well...... bike shape again lol.

 

[Tasker]

Never mind the bike, so long as you're still in one piece and determined to have another go!

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Never mind the bike, so long as you're still in one piece and determined to have another go!

My thoughts exactly

 

[fossyant]

Nooo.. you've got this wrong.....

Check bike first, then yourself.......

I had a clubmate take a nasty tumble in a road race - hit his head, bit out of it....we stopped (racing) when we came across it - ambulance there etc. "Hows my bike" he said.... Fcuk that we said..."How many fingers are we holding up"....... TBH I generally check the bike over first....

What snapped, the lever or the calliper ?

PS Welcome to the club - you are earning your stripes !

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Nooo.. you've got this wrong.....

Check bike first, then yourself.......

I had a clubmate take a nasty tumble in a road race - hit his head, bit out of it....we stopped (racing) when we came across it - ambulance there etc. "Hows my bike" he said.... Fcuk that we said..."How many fingers are we holding up"....... TBH I generally check the bike over first....

What snapped, the lever or the calliper ?

PS Welcome to the club - you are earning your stripes !

LOL. It is strange how we react after a fall I guess. Same thing with a car crash. In fairness I did make sure that I could move my wrist and knees 1st.

It was the actual brake calliper that was buckled and broken. I have also discovered that the quill stem BB's might have been damaged as steering is a little stiff and the headset collar is jammed. I am awaiting a loan of a pipe wrench to loosen it off.

Many thanks for the Welcome BTW :-)

 

[fossyant]

You could have knocked the headset round, especially if the quill stem is pushed down too much - unlikely though.

Weird fall to damage a canti though.. but that's off roading....

I've been head over ass in MTB crashes, then somehow landed on my feet as the bike bounced it's way down the hill..... me and bike were fine.... still ride it everyday, 14 years later......

Although, when I was knocked off by a car recently, I did a quick mental check..... bloody hell new XT rear mech.....scuffed probably.... grrrrrrr..........head still there, arms OK, Legs.........oh sh1t one leg doesn't work (dead leg)... as I was on the road......then I punched the car..........

Turned out I was flipped the other side - so the mech didn't hit the road....

 

[Angelfishsolo]

You could have knocked the headset round, especially if the quill stem is pushed down too much - unlikely though.

I think the stem and headset were knocked slightly out of alignment. That problem is now resolved thanks to a pipe wrench and old inner tube :-)

Weird fall to damage a canti though.. but that's off roading....

Remember, my bike is 20 years old. It has old skool BMX brakes (very poor cousins of the Shimano 105 road breaks)

I've been head over ass in MTB crashes, then somehow landed on my feet as the bike bounced it's way down the hill..... me and bike were fine.... still ride it everyday, 14 years later......

I am glad to here it. The fall did not put me off one bit, although I do think I have found the limits of my rigid bike + current knowledge. Thus the answer is more practise to increase knowledge

[/quote]Although, when I was knocked off by a car recently, I did a quick mental check..... bloody hell new XT rear mech.....scuffed probably.... grrrrrrr..........head still there, arms OK, Legs.........oh sh1t one leg doesn't work (dead leg)... as I was on the road......then I punched the car..........

Turned out I was flipped the other side - so the mech didn't hit the road....[/quote]
My that sounds like me lol