Got my first crash out of the way

I've been having shifting problems for a while but I thought it was because I was shifting incorrectly. Today, I was on the bike path - it was a beautiful, crisp, fall day and I had the path to myself. I went to shift into another gear, and all of a sudden, I heard a grating sound. My chain came off in the middle of my ride and because I was clipped in and I couldn't react fast enough, my legs got stuck and I toppled over! Because I wasn't going too fast, I only ended up with a big bruise on my right hand and on my right thigh.

I put the chain back on and rode back to my car. The whole time, I kept hearing this noise so I took the bike to the bike shop to get it looked at. The guy knew right away that I crashed, said that my wheels were bent and the part that you grip was also bent in. I waited 20 minutes and he said that there was definitely something wrong with the left shifter and that he has to order me a new part so my bike will have to be left at the shop. I was going to do the Trek Breast Cancer ride tomorrow but I guess I can't do it without my bike.

I hope the damage to my bike isn't too extensive. I haven't crashed since I was 10 and back then I had a sturdy steel bike that weighted a ton, not a lightweight carbon beauty that I'm afraid to scratch!

Sorry to hear you crashed. Wow, I would not have thought there would be that much bike damage from a relatively slow crash. Hope they get you all fixed up.

^ This.

Hope you and your bike are better soon.

Thank you. I really wasn't going fast which is why it's so surprising, but I guess I fell pretty hard. Luckily (or not!), my bike sustained most of the damage as I am relatively unharmed.

Yikes! Glad you're okay, hope your bike is back soon and that the repairs aren't too expensive!

Glad you are okay! Sorry to hear about the bike tho :( I hear your pain of crashing a nice new bike...it sucks but its better than hurting yourself. Im also surprised to hear about the extent of . I suffered my first crash this week probably around 15 miles an hour or a little less and as far as I can tell no damage except for scratch on the left shift lever/nameplate and my cheap plastic pedal lol. Personally, I also tried clipless pedals recently and I knew that I would never be good at them and always feel self conscious being attached to the bike especially if I fell haha. Again, glad u r okay and hop back on and ride when u get your bike back. Did u have another bike to do the trek breast cancer awareness ride on?

Thanks All. The shop just called and they fixed my bike. The reason the chain fell off, and the reason I crashed, is because of a faulty shifter/derrailleur which is covered under my warranty. They ordered me a replacement and I don't have to pay for that. They also fixed my wheel. I wasn't going to get the wheel fixed since I am having custom wheels built, but the custom wheels aren't ready yet and I want to take advantage of the good weather. All in all, it could have been worse so I'm fairly lucky.

I will say, I'm new to clipless so they definitely contributed to the fall. If I was able to react quicker, I may not have damaged the bike the way I did but hindsight is 20/20. I ended up not doing the Trek ride even though I have 2 other bikes ( a folder and a hybrid). I felt self conscious about not riding a road bike so I didn't do it. It didn't matter too much because, regardless of whether you ride or not, they keep your donation for charity so I didn't feel too bad.

Thanks for all the concern and well wishes!

Glad to read it was not a huge crash.

Only this year, in bike tour, someone mentioned to me that if you drop the chain, you have a chance of recovering without stopping: stop pedaling forward, very gently backpedal a little bit, shift back to were you were before dropping the chain, pedal forward slowly and gently. This has worked twice for me, once going uphill -- the key in both cases was not too panic. It may not work every time, but it is worth a try.

Great advice pll - I'll have to remember.

I may have actually made out from this whole scenario as I just realized they replaced my double crank with a triple! The best part was that I didn't even have to pay for it!

Sorry to hear about your crash, amazing how much damage to the bike on a slow crash but it's great that so much is covered under warranty and you got a triple for free! Mend soon and like you said, you got that one out of the way.

Did you mention the bike was carbon? Just like with kayaks, although carbon is nice and lightweight, when it gets damaged it can be more extensive than other materials. Glad it turned out well for you.

Rosanna