Got my first crash out of the way

[jyyanks]

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!

[radacrider]

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.

[murielalex]

^ This.

Hope you and your bike are better soon.

[jyyanks]

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.

[OakLeaf]

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

[J9L]

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?

[jyyanks]

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!

[pll]

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.

[jyyanks]

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!

[Bike Writer]

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.