Anyone else come off this morning?

Teuchter

Been commuting since July and I had my first 'crash' this morning! Hit the tarmac on ice crossing Bells Bridge in Glasgow.

No real damage to me or the bike - had to bend the front derailleur back into shape with my leatherman.

On arriving at the office and announcing my misfortune I was greeted with cheers - the other two cyclists in the office had suffered similar fates this morning too!

Anyone else today?

Mog Uk

Bad luck, least you and the bike survived..

Slightly frosty around here this mornign but thankfully no ice on the roads. After the last week it was nice to ride into work with no wind...

andyp

Glad to hear you're off didn't do any serious damage Pete.

Here in London we've got the kind of weather I think a lot of the rest of the country have been having all week, lots of heavy rain.

No crash for me today thankfully but I did come off at comedy low speed on Tuesday evening. My front wheel just went when do a slow turn in traffic and I went down like a sack of spuds. My left hip took the bulk of the impact but there is still no bruise despite it being tender. It was more of an embarrassing crash than anything so I jumped up and carried on quickly as if nothing had happened. :oops:

Teuchter

Yes until I came off I was enjoying the weather after the gales and torrential rain it's been alternating between for the rest of the week! My shoes still haven't fully dried out from yesterday morning's commute!

el_presidente

I had a nice rear-end slide, corrected, slid again, corrected again & rode off. It felt pretty cool actually

redddraggon

Mog Uk wrote:

Slightly frosty around here this mornign but thankfully no ice on the roads. After the last week it was nice to ride into work with no wind...

It was the same in Warrington. Though wlth all the rain we've had recently I was a bit worried about there being plenty of ice on the road.

I was plesantly suprised to find no ice when I got going.

Clever Pun

yeah it was pi$$ing down here this morning, I should have had some waterproof trousers but they were too small so I've had to re-order bugger

I didn't crash but my foot slipped while trying to clip in and whacked my shin... and getting back on the bike after coming through greenwich tunnel I impaled my nuts on the back of my seat in a moment of being retarded.

Totalnewbie

I also got drenched and had to stop after crossing the Hyde Park bridleway because my rims were covered in who knows what and the brakes were making a noise, so I had to brush them off.

My waterproof trousers let the water in after about 20 minutes of hard rain; they are nice and breathable, I guess that is the tradeoff you make eh and at least they kept the wind off. Am thinking I might be better off with some tights with windproof panels for rainy days (current tights are thermal with fleecey insides so they take longer to dry).

Am highly impressed with my new Endura overshoes though, my feet were dry after half an hour of riding through some serious puddles where roads were flooding. Beats messing about stuffing shoes with newspaper at work.

patchy

ooooh - today convinced me that overshoes are needed. the Endura ones work well then?

no crashes today, despite nearly getting flattened by a lorry cutting across a junction. My girlfriend, however, has just switched to SPDs, and i think she's coming off about three times a week... bruise city.

el_presidente

patchy wrote:

ooooh - today convinced me that overshoes are needed. the Endura ones work well then?

Ihad my newish enduras on & was well pleased.

SKUHRAVY

It was absolute murder round here this morning. In fact, it was so bad that, after I came off, I turned round, went home and got a lift in. My commute is along country lanes, and given how icy it was in town...

Not badly hurt BTW - I was going slowly and braking when my front wheel went one way and I went the other. I've some nice grazes to show off round the factory.

Keithp88

Normally, being ill is an annoying chore. Being ill this week has probably spared me sliding down the road on my ar*e at least twice, as we have had some hard frosts this week. Should be back on the bike next week though so bruises should follow in rapid order

swagman

Black ice everywhere at 5.30 this morning on the way to work.Had a couple of warnings wth spinning rear ,thought id made it throught then hit the speed bump at work and was off.Councils again!doh!

Teuchter

Maybe it's time to investigate ice tyres... I could modify an old set of tyres with panel pins stuck through from the inside! Not sure how they'd do with p*ncture resistance though!

Totalnewbie

el_presidente wrote:

patchy wrote:

ooooh - today convinced me that overshoes are needed. the Endura ones work well then?

Ihad my newish enduras on & was well pleased.

Mine were brand new, delivered yesterday. Absolutely nothing got through despite the rest of my waterproofs giving up along the seams, it was really heavy rain.

jefferee

Teuchter wrote:

Maybe it's time to investigate ice tyres... I could modify an old set of tyres with panel pins stuck through from the inside! Not sure how they'd do with p*ncture resistance though!

Probably better to buy a set. At least in Canada, I've seen Schwalbe and Continental studded tires in various LBSs. They seem to run between $50-100 CDN, which seems to be slightly less than double the price of a non-studded tire of similar quality.

The problem with making your own seems to be adequately protecting the inner tube from the heads of the pins or screws. And road surfaces will quickly wear down any stud made of anything softer than carbide.

star_rover

Totalnewbie wrote:

el_presidente wrote:

patchy wrote:

ooooh - today convinced me that overshoes are needed. the Endura ones work well then?

Ihad my newish enduras on & was well pleased.

Mine were brand new, delivered yesterday. Absolutely nothing got through despite the rest of my waterproofs giving up along the seams, it was really heavy rain.

They work well but look the boots from a wetsuit (at least the ones I have do)

daniel_b

star_rover wrote:

Totalnewbie wrote:

el_presidente wrote:

patchy wrote:

ooooh - today convinced me that overshoes are needed. the Endura ones work well then?

Ihad my newish enduras on & was well pleased.

Mine were brand new, delivered yesterday. Absolutely nothing got through despite the rest of my waterproofs giving up along the seams, it was really heavy rain.

They work well but look the boots from a wetsuit (at least the ones I have do)

Yes they do look like they are from a wetsuit, but they do a good job

I have been using mine for 5 months or so, and just recently the seam on the spd gap in the sole has started seperating from the surrounding material.

The other one started going this week, so I will need to get handy with a needle and threa, and a bit of gaffer tape I think.

I don't walk far in them, but i guess it's a combination of that, and the fact I don;t use SPD's on the Carrera, so the pedal grabs the undersole.

Apart from that, i think they are good value for money, and if my repair works, then they will last a good while longer yet.

Dan

clanton

Surrey was wet today but very mild - no ice at all. Lots of standing water though and even my waterproof shoes are soaked through -- water wicks in from above via the bib tights. They stay warm though!

Teuchter

jefferee wrote:

The problem with making your own seems to be adequately protecting the inner tube from the heads of the pins or screws. And road surfaces will quickly wear down any stud made of anything softer than carbide.

Good point. Time for plan B then... sure I've got an old set of the kid's stabilisers kicking around somewhere!

Random Vince

no crashes, just had to take a smaller gap than i'd have liked since my brakes do not work in the wet very well (steel rims)

the over run caused by lack of brakes meant i was already on the roundabout, the safest option pedal hard and get accros the lane with traffic in it - just a little tighter than i like to do

also can't stop for zebra crossings unless i've seen people waiting, people running out of buildings and onto the crossing can cause problems.

got to get home yet

ought to buy water proofs, a hoodie and jeans arent that water resistant :P

Clever Pun

clanton wrote:

Surrey was wet today but very mild - no ice at all. Lots of standing water though and even my waterproof shoes are soaked through -- water wicks in from above via the bib tights. They stay warm though!

yes mine are water proof from the inside as well as outside

Totalnewbie

Random Vince wrote:

no crashes, just had to take a smaller gap than i'd have liked since my brakes do not work in the wet very well (steel rims)

I remember those well, I only swapped over from my ancient but ever so ladylike Peugeot in September. Had quite a few 'aargh I'm not stopping, better put a foot down' moments...

Random Vince

Totalnewbie wrote:

Random Vince wrote:

no crashes, just had to take a smaller gap than i'd have liked since my brakes do not work in the wet very well (steel rims)

I remember those well, I only swapped over from my ancient but ever so ladylike Peugeot in September. Had quite a few 'aargh I'm not stopping, better put a foot down' moments...

got SPD's on so cant put my foot down

got some wheels to put on but i've not quite finished building them yet :S

Totalnewbie

Ye gods, I can't imagine being clipped into that old Peugeot! She has been consigned to my mum's house in the seaside for leisurely summer jaunts...

Random Vince

find the SPD's easier to use than having toe clips

i've got an old peugiot road bike but prefer my carlton
hopefully, one day my gf will agree to come on a roadie ride

Teuchter

Best thing I ever did to a bike was swap the steel rims on the 80's Falcon road bike I use every day for new, cheap alloy rims in August. No way could I be persuaded to rided in the rain with steel rims again!