rubiksoval

There's a crazy video on facebook..one of the cycling groups...cyclinghub maybe, posts it... and it shows this exact thing happening: a guy is riding and rolls over some debris and picks up a stick that rolls up into the fork crown and causes him to endo straight away. Looks nasty.

Rare thing, but it happens.

prathmann

There's this one, but it's the more common situation where the object is thrown up by the wheel of a cyclist in front:

But if you hit a curved stick just right with your front tire it could whip around and land in between spokes and then be carried into the fork.
Condolences to the OP - seems like he was just very unlucky.

u235

That video was my thought. Anything that would cause enough force to end you over should do more than bend a spoke a little. Is the amount of force to bend a single spoke enough to toss you over the bars? Maybe the fact OP was standing and going down hill significantly changing the center of gravity or I way overestimate what it takes.

rgconner

I am not saying it was squirrels....

but, squirrels.

50PlusCycling

Been there, done that. Cycle for long enough, and you'll end up with scars to show off your drinking buddies. I had already broken 3 bones by the time I was your age, all bicycle-related. If you ever get into racing, you'll become very familiar with blood, bandages, and doctors. Going fast on paved roads with nothing but a couple millimeter of spandex between you and the road can be a recipe for disaster, and a prescription for silver oxide ointment.

spelger

I went over the handle bars...twice in a week. the first time was because i was going way too fast and could not steer out of a curve in the road. lived in NY at the time and there were lots of rock walls along the road sides from when it was a farming community back in the colonial days. needless to say the wall stopped me quite well and i sailed over it and a tree stopped me. within the same week i was on that same bike (it never should have been ridden again but i was a smart know it all 13 year old) going downhill trying desperately to slow down only to have the front brake come off, wrap around the wheel and hit the other side of the fork. wheel stopped very quickly and i was a bird once again. never felt a thing. woke up in the kitchen only to come around and realize i was actually in the lavatory being cleaned up. i was a bloody mess. it hurts just to think about it. what one poster said about shaking the bike to check for loose items is very sound advice. i should follow it more often. and in case your wondering, this was before helmets were mandatory although no helmet would have spared me that.

Sy Reene

Maybe there's another thread topic opportunity here... ie. the positives/negatives of "bulletproof" wheels. Are we actually potentially better off with break-away spokes vs. immovable barrier solid steel 10 gauge stuff?

CliffordK

Probably no real answer to that, but I over the 4th of July, I was trying a fast powered descent, and broke a spoke at a little over 40 MPH. Fixed the spoke, back on the road, hit 54 MPH, then up another hill, and on the next descent, broke second spoke at 40+ MPH. Fortunately I had thrown 2 spares in my bag that day, but I was pretty leery about the rest of the ride home.

Both times I was able to safely slow down and stop. I'm not quite sure why I was breaking the spokes on descents, but I have to wonder if I was hitting a higher cadence than normal, and perhaps more power than I thought.

Anyway, breakaway parts are just fine, but it is sure frustrating when they break at the wrong time.

On a front wheel... say one hits something hard and pops off 8 out of 16 spokes, one is still likely going down, and may well still tear up the bike.

Kabuki12

I only just healed from a crash at the Eroica Event in Paso Robles California. Only doing 12 mph wearing a helmet and gloves , went down face first(no time to brace) . I broke my face in 5 places , orbital bone and cheek bones with pieces "floating" in my face, also broke my outer metacarpal bone in my left hand. It took 2 months to heal , but worth the wait. I am now back on it , but a bit more cautious about downhill speeds! It can happen so fast and we need to be careful out there. Ride On ......... carefully! Joe

Doohickie

If you remove your spokes the wheel tends to not work very well.

Just sayin'.

Dave Cutter

I took a drink from my water bottle one day, at a relaxed 14 mph. I am right handed... so I had reached down with my right hand and grabbed the bottle. It was a hot day which caused my bottle of iced tea to condensate. When I leaned forward and down to return the bottle.... it slipped from my hand. My first thought was I'll have to turn around. But as my rear tire hit the bottle and popped upwards... my thoughts turned to remaining upright... then my attention turned to keeping my nose from rubbing on the asphalt that was grinding on my helmet.

It didn't last long. The pain in my chest I had at first thought might be a heart attack.... was merely what the emergency room doctor diagnosed as a cracked rib. X-rays later exposed two broken ribs.... that healed nicely. Minor scrapes and scratches were fine. The new handlebar tape... was my first wrap job (not that good... but I've improved since).

Retired...… but with decades in industry and government I decided to do my own accident report. Handling the wet/slick bottle with my right hand left me with a thumb-finger grip on my LEFT-front brake lever-hood. The quick tense grab of the front brake with an elevated rear wheel... I am sure... caused the brief period of lost control. And the wet slick bottle was the initial equipment failure.

I now use the nice insulated bottles (and no ice), and handle the bottles with my left hand... steading the bars with my right hand. It's good to learn from our (own) mistakes. It's easier... to learn from the mistakes of others.

jp911

I had a big road cycling wreck when I was 14 (many, many moons ago). Slid in gravel at high speed, into a ditch, over the bars, and a really nasty break in my right forearm. All told, I was lucky. The result was many years away from road biking. Somehow, I felt safer in the dirt on a mountain bike. When I did get back into road cycling I was gun-shy when it came to speed and I found myself taking it easy on the downhills. For me, hitting really high speeds going down the big hills on my local rides just isn't worth the risk. Not saying others should do the same, but just sharing my perspective. Coming off the bike is never fun, but as speed goes up so do the consequences of hitting the ground.

rubiksoval

I (and a few others I know) have found that sometimes the slowest falls are the most damaging to body and equipment. I've slid out at 30+ multiple times and had nothing but some missing skin. And I've fallen over in a parking lot once and a turn around another time at 3-4 mph and broken a wheel and had some very painful soft tissue damage.

Just depends on how you hit the ground I guess. To be sure, impacts at any speed are going to hurt and potentially be catastrophic.

Swimmingbulldog

Check the spokes first. I would assume that if something got caught in there (most common), then there would be signs of damage even though the debris is not. If you see nothing, I think the front derailleur may not have been aligned well, and allowed the chain to get caught between the outer chainring and the derailleur. That happened to me for the first time recently and really took me by surprise. I broke the chain too. I would have a professional look at it to make sure. Tune-ups are sometimes worth their weight in gold.

cooperryder

Were there any Italians' nearby with a frame pump?


Seriously, I am sorry you had a crash.

No crashes that I am aware of are fun.

I've had my share during my decades of riding.

Actually a frame pump once contributed to a crash I had, but mostly of my own stupidity.

Do you recall if you had both hands on the bars?

Please tell us you were not texting.

I had a crash B4 when loosely holding the bar with one hand and hitting a large bump in the bike path which caused the bars to twist enough to send me to the pavement kissing position.
No sir, no fun at all!

If you are puzzled by my very first comment and like cycling make the next movie you see the old 1979 movie 'Breaking Away'.

On a much harsher note and putting things in perspective and acknowledging things could be worse, a friend emailed me this AM
a guy in his early 40's was killed while cycling in the southern suburb of Dallas, TX (Grand Prairie).

It was a hit and run.

StephenK

You are going to have less distractions during your summer course and get an A with distinction. All Many clouds have a silver lining. Get well quick, don't do anything that moves the bones or they heal slower.

63rickert

So many things not known here. The few facts that are known are questionable. A 2 or 3 per cent downgrade is a good hill and you could get up some real speed. The guessed 20 or 30 mph doesn't mean much, if you don't have a speedometer and aren't familiar with what speed feels like it could have been anything. But if the gradient is a real number do not get out of the saddle. Just don't. Your center of gravity will be too high and too far forward. The hill will give you all the speed you could hope for. Having a high and forward position downhill increases the possibility of this type of accident enormously.

The bike locked up. The road supposedly had zero debris. Well, at speeds you aren't familiar with you might have missed something. Still, debris jamming the front wheel would be a freak accident. It is really rare. Doesn't happen that much even when riding offroad. You first suspected something mechanical. Could be. It's a new bike and you don't know it well yet. "Locked up" could certainly be the chain jamming. Stay in the saddle. If you are standing when a jam begins at minimum from a standing position you will complete the downward pedal stroke and have little chance of backing out. From seated position you would have at least half a chance. The faster you go the more you need to be aware of everything that is happening with your bike. High speed downhill one thing to check is your chain is firmly in gear.

Broken wrist. Ouch. Sorry about that. I don't know exactly how you fell. At speed a lot of stuff could happen even if you did everything perfectly. But it sure does sound as if you put your hands out to break your fall. That never works. Especially with both wrists involved it sounds as if you put your hands out. Instead, face your shoulder to ground, tuck everything in and roll. Sounds impossible when everything is happening at once. If you don't achieve it no one is going to blame you. But there usually is a moment or two of awareness and if you have made a firm decision far in advance you have more chances of doing the right thing when the time comes.

Should add here this is when there is no hope of riding the bike down. Once you are separated from your bike that plan is gone and it is Plan B.

Making a plan and then doing something in the middle of a crash sounds crazy. It is not. A month ago I watched my wife fly over the handlebars. She is 68 years old. You do not ever want to see a 68 year old lady flying through the air. She is completely uninjured. She was already taking evasive action when the jerk (on a bicycle) hit her. So she landed on grass. While in the air, even while thinking about broken hips and thinking about recent shoulder surgery and expecting the remainder of her life could be real different, even while in the air she was thinking about her landing. It was still mostly luck that spared her. Sometimes you can make luck. You should try.

At 14 you are made of rubber. You mostly got away with it this time and will likely get away with a lot of stuff before you get old and fragile. Fragile old ladies can survive falls off bikes. Plan on surviving.

Ricovonsuave

CroMoBu

jbasirico

I disagree, a branch could get in the spokes/fork, break apart, and still flip the rider without destroying the bike. Especially if the bike frame is made of metal.

Lenkearney

WOW, Deja VU all over again! I decided to buy a new bike for my 60th birthday and was test riding several bikes. The SPecialized allez was the second bike i rode that day. I have a routine testing a new bike - slow and easy while I test the brakes, shifters, easy turns both directions, emergency stop etc. Basically making sure the bike was sound and in good shape. Second part was then some sprinting and high speed work. I was in an empty parking lot - no cars, no cracks, no barriers - I had just stood on the pedals and started sprinting-- I remember thinking "wow, this bike accelerates was faster than mine".

Next i remember seeing kaleidoscopes colors and then blue sky. I hurt. I knew I had to get up before some car came by and ran over me. It hurt - but i got up - the bike was next to me- chain off, but no major damage i could see. I limped over to a guy loading his car and asked for help- thank God for good Samaritans. They drive me to a local hospital - and they airlifted me to a trauma center. Bottom line- concussion (broke helmet on left side ) - dislocated left shoulder, 3rd, 4th and 5th ribs and collarbone broken (all left side) - punctured left lung. One good size abrasion on top of my left shoulder and some minor rash on the left hand and elbow. nothing on hips or legs.

Due to the concussion, I have no memory of the accident. This makes me crazy and I can not think of anything that would cause this accident. Based on the pattern of injuries, and the road rash, I went over the handlebars and landed on the left side of my head and left shoulder.

Took me three years to get on a bike again. What is scary here is this was on the same model as the OP. Bike shop said they checked bike out and it had no issues, when I had a friend go to the bike shop to look at the bike it had been discounted and sold.

Len

chainwhip

Did the Wright Bros. worry a lot about crashing??

Redneckroofer

NameTaken

No one wanted to argue over a subjective opinion, that is, no one except for you.

KraneXL

Doing a "pre-flight" is hardly silly, and should be a regular practice by everyone that rides. I do mine before and after my rides. That sounds like an odd solution that reminds me of the military, but its your issue.