Crashed but not sure how

rockmonkeysc

I had a bit of a nasty one this morning, on my nice new bike which fortunatly survived un-damaged.
I was riding along a straight-ish bridleway fairly fast. It was dry but a bit loose & I somehow managed to loose the front end, just slid out from under me. Had a wander back up the track, dazed and in a lot of pain and couldn't see what could have caused it.
Any idea what could cause this sort of accident? Or is it jost one of those unfortunate accidents?
Lots of nasty cuts, gravel rash & having x-rays monday for possible broken arm!

Anonymous

bad riding?

capoz77

banana skin?

*runs off*

bennett_346

Possible broken arm? Is your arm in too much pain to move?

rockmonkeysc

Yes my arm is too painful to move, very swolen & black. Nurse thinks its broken but cant do x-ray until monday.
I thought bad riding but it was a straight (but rough & loose) track. Could it have been too much weight over the front wheel? Need to shift my weight back possibly?
There were non banana skins but it was in longleat forest so it is possible that a monkey had escaped from the surfari park leaving a trail of banana skins.[/quote]

Anonymous

well if you fell off on a straight piece of trail, then it must have been bad riding. It was nobody else's fault after all.

bennett_346

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Yes my arm is too painful to move, very swolen & black. Nurse thinks its broken but cant do x-ray until monday.
I thought bad riding but it was a straight (but rough & loose) track. Could it have been too much weight over the front wheel? Need to shift my weight back possibly?
There were non banana skins but it was in longleat forest so it is possible that a monkey had escaped from the surfari park leaving a trail of banana skins.

[/quote]
Yeah that sounds fractured/broken to me.

griffsters

Currently sat here with a fractured fibula after my first major off last Sunday - so I feel your pain :oops:

As a bit of a noob things that cause me issues probably dont more experienced riders, what i've found to be quit hairy moments have involved going over rocky trails where suddenly a larger 'boulder' moves under your front tyre. Sometimes if turning slightly at the same time theres a split second wobbly sphincter moment. Could something like this have caused your accident...these things happen so fast!
Also when going downhill I'm probably too reluctant to use the front brake in case my front wheel goes from under me - which has lead to hot smelling rear brake discs a couple of times :oops:

I've looked at theses things as getting to know my and my bikes limits and improving my riding in the process - although broken bones werent on the agenda!

Hope you have a quick recovery, surprised that no x-rays tho at the weekend. Did you go to A&E?

Anonymous

you need to learn to use your front brake. There are many situations where it is the only thing that will stop you. Also it's worth mentioning that if you're decelerating as rapidly as you possibly can, then the rear will have no effect at all.

rockmonkeysc

Due to "improvements"in our local NHS services our local A&E can do very little and is only open 5 days a week. The wait at the larger A&E in Bath is usually at least 6 hours.
Thinking about it now I probably just hit a loose rock or something which caused the front wheel to slide out from under me.
Starting to wish I hadn't sold my xbox now that I cant do anything.

patchesuk

I feel your pain...

I took a fall at Aston Hill the other week.. been off the bike since. Haven't been to see a doctor however reckon I may need to go get it X-rayed sometime soon as it still hursts like hell. No swelling or bruises so at the worst it could be a hairline.

All I can say is "thank god for body armour"... was a hard impacting fall.. the emabarrsing thing was; mine was on the flat at the top of the Black run!

Was macking it out of the first Burm and clipped a small mound with my pedal that sent me flying... damn the iron horses low bottom bracket! -jersey was ripped to shreds and I now have some impressive grooves & chunks out of my helmet & armour)

Mental Mickey

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Yes my arm is too painful to move, very swolen & black. Nurse thinks its broken but cant do x-ray until monday.
I thought bad riding but it was a straight (but rough & loose) track. Could it have been too much weight over the front wheel? Need to shift my weight back possibly?
There were non banana skins but it was in longleat forest so it is possible that a monkey had escaped from the surfari park leaving a trail of banana skins.

[/quote]

Sounds like your front wheel may have 'washed out' which is quite common, especially for new(ish) riders.

You probably didn't have enough weight on the front, with a little too much on the back.

Listen to this advice in the video, it helped me a lot and is nicely explained.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tBIY07YFCM

Happy Harry

Oh dear. Sorry to hear about that, Rockmonkey. How did you get back with a broken arm? Were you with a mate? I'm usually on my own so I guess I'd be in for a long walk to the nearest road - unless it was my leg that was broken then I'd have to call for a helicopter :shock:

I came off today as well on Stockton Down, not far from Longleat, when my front wheel tucked under coming down a steep bridleway but at least I know what caused it. I was weaving about, hard on the front brake, trying to get my head between low hanging branches and didn't see the fallen branch in front of me. I only got a gash in my leg, fortunately. Strange that you should lose it in Longleat, there aren't that many loose rocks around there - but it only takes one. Get well soon!

BTW - don't forget that Trowbridge hospital has a minor injuries unit with X-Ray facilities, but at the weekend the waiting times are probably similar to RUH :roll:

TowerRider

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Due to "improvements"in our local NHS services our local A&E can do very little and is only open 5 days a week. The wait at the larger A&E in Bath is usually at least 6 hours.
Thinking about it now I probably just hit a loose rock or something which caused the front wheel to slide out from under me.
Starting to wish I hadn't sold my xbox now that I cant do anything.

If you think you have a broken arm then you OBVIOUSLY need to go there BEFORE pub last orders!

rockmonkeysc

It was a pretty painful push back up to the car, on my own & the woods were deserted. Changing gear on the drive back hurt a lot.
Frome A&E were pretty helpful, they didn't think it would be a problem to wait until monday for an x-ray. They strapped me up & sent me home.
The wife has just seen the state of my new Led Zeplin tee shirt that she gave me last week, think I may have some more injuries by the morning!

butcher of bakersfield

I get quite nervous on the commuter bike on loose gravel with the semi slicks pumped up to 70psi.. Totally different to soft nobblies that soak up the rocks. Could that be a factor - iot's amazing the difference a tyre/pressures make?

I had an off the other day on the local run. Coming through a shortcut, there's a wire fence that's trampled down to the ground where people cut through. I'm not sure what happened as it's a regulkar route for me and the fence is flat on the ground, but somehow I got my pedal stuck in it...

This is coming out next to the main road too...over the bars, everyone driving past, probably just as puzzled as myself.. Man, I was embarressed. More fortunate than yourself though. Hopefully the arm's not too bad, a good bit of bruising can make it seem worse than it is. But you'll find out on Monday I guess.

Red Route

Wrong Tyres or pressure?
My Mud Tyres are horrible on dry loose gravel!
Gonna put my Rock tyres on for the Summer now!

rockmonkeysc

Kenda Nevagal tyres at 35 psi. Is that good or not??

rudedog

Which way were you trying to turn and which side did you end up falling off the bike from?

Happy Harry

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Kenda Nevagal tyres at 35 psi. Is that good or not??

I run my Nevegals at 30 psi if it's muddy but at the moment they're at 50 psi for fast rolling on harder surfaces. There are plenty of gravelly tracks where I ride and sure they skip about a bit at speed but don't actually slide away.

I'd have thought 35 psi would make them less likely to wash out as they'd mould round the stones. I tend to let the tyres find their own track and not try to correct the slithery feeling. I do find that a very light touch on the bars combined with smooth body weight movements works best on gravel. Perhaps you were gripping the bars too tightly?

Good luck tomorrow with the X-Ray. Let's hope it's just bruising and will heal quickly.

paul.skibum

Bad luck man but to be honest a fall in a straight line on loose riding suggests ou got our wheel caught in loose trail surface - need to read the trail better and learn to manual through that sh*t - dont let anyone tell you you dont need weight on the front - you do but not on the straight then you need to play with fore aft to get the flow of the trail. Yee had it I fear - bad riding.

Hope the arm is OK and you ar eback on the bike soon.

Anonymous

well, the bad riding was a bit of a tongue in cheek comment, but it's the gods' honest truth, really

Happy Harry

Well, I guess that any crash that doesn't involve anybody else, an animal, a mechanical failure or an act of god has to be rider error.

Which is a brutal realisation considering the number of times I fall off on my own :oops:

But it would be useful for Rockmonkey to know what he failed to avoid so that he knows to avoid it next time I think with my record I'll steer clear of Longleat until he finds it :roll:

rockmonkeysc

It was just a very gentle sweeping RH bend, almost straight. I think I must have caught the edge of a rut or a rock, there must have been something to cause me to crash on what was nearly straight.
Arm isn't broked, but very badly bruised & the graze on my elbow looks pretty nasty. I have cracked two ribs but fortunatly just hair line fractures. The graze on my nipple is getting rather irritating! Hopefully I will have some pads & a new helmet before I'm fit to ride again.
On the bright side, chicks dig scars & broken bones heal.

Happy Harry

That's good news Rockmonkey. You'll be back in the saddle in no time. I'm sure you're right about a stone or a rut flicking the wheel out. It doesn't take much.

I was out today on Great Ridge, just south of Longleat, and all I could think about was what I'd do if I came off and broke my arm I was being very chicken after your experience.

Tinca

I too have come off due to rider error, at Chicksands yesterday, only been there 5 mins too.
Did a short section of single track, then found an area that said 'severe', cool i thought, so picked what looked like the easiest descent, and went for it, jump at the end, took me by surprise, landed on my front wheel, which bottomed out sending me crashing to the floor. Landed on my shoulder with a crack, hit my head hard. I was on my own and rather concussed, took a while to get back to the car, with the help of a couple of dog walkers, where a lad called James (from Turvey) stayed with me, phoned the ambulance etc. My collar bone is now free floating due to ripping the ligaments, but i do feel lucky, as my helmet is cracked where my temple would have been, and when the nurse looked at it, she said it could have been a whole different story if i hadn't been wearing it.
So in conclusion, when i get back on the bike, i will get some new pads as mine were in need of replacement anyway, a new helmet, and i will walk any descents like i used to back in the old days.

Thank's James if you read this