May be in the market for a new bike

[Possegal]

or sooner than I thought. I had been toying with looking into an upgrade. I've had my Trek since 2007 and it is the basic entry-level bike. It's done well by me, but I've found myself thinking that it might be nice to go out and test ride some bikes that are a step up or so. I'm signed up to do the best buddies ride in DC in October, the metric century, which would be the longest ride for me. I was telling myself if I could ride my Kona to work 2-3 times a week for the next month or so, maybe I'd look into a new bike.

Well, this weekend I was in Philly with my sister and I had a pretty nice crash on my bike. I've taken a fall or two, but they are always very slow ones, when I'm just starting to clip in, or forgetting that I'm coming to a stop. This time we were going maybe 15-16 mph, flat road, but my front tire got caught in a crack in the road probably just about the width of my tire. I had moved closer to the curb due to some morons riding in the road the opposite direction but on our side. I think I just lost control and couldn't get the tire back out and while I like to think I was also braking, I'm honestly not sure and it is all a bit of a blur. I went down onto the sidewalk pretty hard, massive road rash on my R leg, major abrasion on the R elbow with two huge wounds in it and much bleeding. The shoulder hurts like a son of a gun, but the Xray was clean. We'll see if there is any soft tissue damage. 6 stitches to the elbow. Jammed my L thumb, I'm assuming into the curb. I dragged along for a bit against the curb. My poor sister heard it and honestly in the end, I'm more worried about her than me as she was really traumatized by hearing it and then seeing me on the ground. I didn't speak up fast enough saying - I actually think I'm OK.

So - the chain ring was scraped and bent a bit and the tire was trashed. So I figured I'd get them both replaced. But the mechanic said his real worry was there was a pretty good scrape in the fork and it's carbon and he's worried about what damage may have been done and though he thinks odds are good it is fine, that if it isn't the ramifications are pretty big. Would not want to take any risk, this wreck was bad enough. :) And I'm ready to look for a new bike anyway.

In the meantime, I have the Livestrong Challenge on Sunday and while I was hesitant to ride the 45 mile ride with my shoulder hurting and my elbow stitched up, I bet I can ride my Kona Dew Plus for 20 miles. :)

So time to start thinking about bikes to go test ride. I like my Trek, but when I bought it (before I found you all), I didn't really test ride anything else. Now, I'm going to go test ride a bunch of them. Once I'm less sore, of course.

[Veronica]

OUCH! Take care of yourself.

Veronica

[pll]

Sorry to read about your crash! Sounds very similar to one I had many years ago, where my front wheel went into a crack in the road.

Here's is what I would do: replace the fork so you can continue to ride while you search for bike. The new fork does not have to be from Trek -- it could be from Performance Bike or Nashbar. You don't want the new bike to be urgent. Once you get the new one, the old one can be demoted to the trainer, perhaps to be ridden on rainy days.

[Possegal]

Sorry to read about your crash! Sounds very similar to one I had many years ago, where my front wheel went into a crack in the road.

Here's is what I would do: replace the fork so you can continue to ride while you search for bike. The new fork does not have to be from Trek -- it could be from Performance Bike or Nashbar. You don't want the new bike to be urgent. Once you get the new one, the old one can be demoted to the trainer, perhaps to be ridden on rainy days.

That is another option. I can ride the Kona so I'm not bike-less. But I may look into that as well. I told my sister I don't want to be like when I'm desperate to buy a new car. I don't want to be desperate to buy. I'm taking the Kona to the mechanic I talked with today, on Wednesday, so he can just give it a once-over. I'll talk to him about it options to replace the fork. Thanks for the advice. And for making me feel a bit better about the wreck, definitely sounds like a similar crash. OY :)

[indysteel]

Ouch. I hope you have a quick recovery! That sounds like a painful wreck.

I don't know if I agree with pll. By the time you factor in parts and labor, it might make more sense to invest that money in a new bike, especially if your budget is already tight. But if you want to buy sone extra time or otherwise salvage the bike, then replace what you need to and start the search. Any idea what you want?

[Possegal]

No idea. :) Figure I'll test ride over a few weeks. I've got lost of nearby bike shops, so plenty to test. And since I have started riding the Kona to work, I've got time to play.

I liked this mechanic a lot and I feel like I can bounce ideas off him and see what makes the most sense. He did comment something about it not necessarily being worth it financially to replace the fork.

So, let's say I decide that is the case - what would you all do with the bike? salvage parts? Clearly I'm barely able to stay upright on the bike, any mechanical aspects of it are foreign to me. :)

[Blueberry]

Ouch!!! Sounds like a crash I had (went down hard; don't know why; best guess was crack in the road) - major road rash and a shoulder that was not good. X ray showed a partial AC joint separation. Lots of PT and LOTS of time to heal (seriously, I noticed it stopped hurting after a year!) - but am fine now. Biking was allowed for me after the worst of the pain subsided (I pushed that and rode 40 miles 4 days after the crash - I had paid for the ride!).

Hang in there!!

[pll]

That is another option. I can ride the Kona so I'm not bike-less. But I may look into that as well. I told my sister I don't want to be like when I'm desperate to buy a new car. I don't want to be desperate to buy. I'm taking the Kona to the mechanic I talked with today, on Wednesday, so he can just give it a once-over. I'll talk to him about it options to replace the fork. Thanks for the advice. And for making me feel a bit better about the wreck, definitely sounds like a similar crash. OY :)

OY is totally right! I hit the ground so hard I nearly stopped cycling. Broken helmet (CT scan followed). My elbow hurt for nearly a year, and I had one bruise that deserved a photo blog: the top tube left an psychedelic impression on my thigh.

I went through bike shopping experience in late 2009. My old bike started to fall apart: the rear wheel became 'untruable', with a different spoke breaking in three consecutive weeks; the cartridge in the bottom bracket went... I replaced the wheelset and do not regret it at all. I rode that bike a couple more months and now it is ready to go on the trainer, so I don't put my beautiful new bike on that contraption. I have a hybrid, too, but I like a road bike better for longer rides.