Kennington Tube, I got taken out by another cyclist

DonDaddyD

At the lights by Kennington tube station.

I'm at the front with a guy on a white Create single speed, purple cranks, blue rims (white tyres I think).

The lights go green and we set off, I can see he wants to go ahead; I've seen him in the past he likes to go fast/faster than others, so I don't go any faster. The road is too traffic dense for me to be messing about.

Suddenly he's wobbling all over the gaff and I'm braking. He cuts across me, takes out my front wheel and we both go down.

Turns out that his left crank/bottom bracket sheared off.

He was fine, I think. Hope you're alright mate.

I've got my first ever road rash on my knee - two examples of said rash.

What's worrying me is that when I go to the first gear the chain jumps behind the enitire cassette between th wheel and cassette. Also the 'inch' on each gear feels lower than it should - so whereas I could get up to 27mph in a certain gear (pre crash) the same level of cadence is seeing me only hit 22mph (post crash).

jonginge

Ooh, nasty. Glad you're mainly ok.

Bent your gear hanger in the crash? Sounds like it if the lowest gear now overshoots into the wheel...

DonDaddyD

I've had a look but it looks straight to me.

Is this a full service job at the bike shop. Strip, clean, replace all the worn bits, wires and brake pads?

Could be expensive, no?

snailracer

Check your gear cable outers are all properly seated in the cable stops.

cee

DonDaddyD wrote:

What's worrying me is that when I go to the first gear the chain jumps behind the enitire cassette between th wheel and cassette. Also the 'inch' on each gear feels lower than it should - so whereas I could get up to 27mph in a certain gear (pre crash) the same level of cadence is seeing me only hit 22mph (post crash).

This sounds very much like a bent mech hanger....it only has to be bent a tiny bit (so that it would be very difficult to notice)....to throw the gears out...if the chain is now going beteween the cassette and spokes, where it wasn't previously...then either the hanger is bent towards the wheel....or the derailleur has taken a knock.....

Can you even get the rear mech into the smallest cassette ring?

Full Service? no...just get a new mech hanger and setup your rear mech again. If it still has issues, then perhaps take it in...the mech may be bent...but I would go for the £10-£15 DIY option first.

Gazzaputt

Get behind the rear wheel an look directly at the way the jockey wheel is aligned with the cassette. If the Jockey looks to be at an angle you have either a bent derailleur hanger or as I had in my last off the mech itself is bent at the jockey wheel cage.

If the jockey wheel is straight but slightly out alignment then try the delimiter screws.

greg66_tri_v2.0

Agree that the finger points firmly at the hanger. However... did it take any part of the impact? Did you fall to your right, or did the other rider fall onto your rear drive side (sounds like not).

The loss of speed might be down to a brake pad being stuck on the rim.

DonDaddyD

Thanks for the advice guys!

Post crash the gears felt smaller than they were before. So it took about as much effort to get started but less effort to get to top speed and less overall top speed - I was spinning out sooner.

I just checked cassette, mech - did some wire tweaking and shifting. The chain doesn't go on the smallest sprocket of the cassette and when it jumps behind the casette the rear mech isn't aligned with the casette. In fact during one tweak in banging against the spokes.

Gonner keep it in the middle gear and shift (i) between two gears (ii) only if I absolutely have to.

SamWise1972

If the gears "feel smaller", then you need to check whether it's in the gear it should be. Put it in 3rd, or 1st, or whatever, and then look to see if the chain is on the correct sprocket. If it's not, and 1st is in fact shifting it off the cassette, then it's out of whack, and if that's because of impact, then either the hanger (yay!) or the mech (boo!) are bent.

Clarion

Hey DDD - I met you!

I stopped to check you were both OK, and that your bike was all right (his was knackered), just in case my first aid kit & skills or my onboard tools would be useful. When I was happy that you were OK, I rode on.

DonDaddyD

It's out of whack. 1st is shifting it off the cassette and won't shift to the last gear.

In terms of "feels smaller". All things being equal I ride most of the way in one gear. After the crash that gear (and subsequently other all the gears after it) felt smaller. Presumably i think this has to do with the mech alignment and chain tension....

I hope its the hanger, sigh.

DonDaddyD

Clarion wrote:

Hey DDD - I met you!

I stopped to check you were both OK, and that your bike was all right (his was knackered), just in case my first aid kit & skills or my onboard tools would be useful. When I was happy that you were OK, I rode on.

Ah, Hello!

Thanks for stopping and checking if we were all right. A true Gent!

You were behind us, what did it look like from your perspective?

Clarion

I was a couple of bikes back, so didn't see it happen. I just heard 'Whoa!' and saw everyone stopping. First I saw of you, you were both on the floor. I thought he'd been an arse and taken you out. But then I looked behind with a view to blocking the road so no one came to run you over. That's when I saw the crank & pedal. Then I thought he'd been an arse and let his crank bolts undo. My fault for making assumptions. Another rider picked up the crank before I got back to it, and you were both up, so I came back to you and saw the state of that axle. Shit! Never seen that happen before.

Then I just butted in to check you were OK, and left when I saw you had it in hand. I thought about leaving my details as a witness, but you'd got it all covered. Still happy to be one, fwiw (for all I saw).

Now I know who you are, I'll keep an eye out for you and say hi. I've seen you before, just didn't know who you were.

DonDaddyD

I'm rapid aren't I?

I won't be pursuing him for damages or anything.

His bottom bracket looked like it sheared off - its is what happens when you buy these Single speeds that are more substance and style than quality - Not his thought, just hugely annoying and needlessly costly start to the week.

Clarion

Yeah, that'd be a right pisser.

I've been wondering what those Creates are like. Now I know.

the_hundredth_idiot

Sounds very much like a bent gear hanger (and I speak from experience on this ). If your bike has a replaceable gear hanger (e.g. aluminium frames) then just buy a new one, bolt it into place, check your indexing and off you go. If your bike has a non replaceable gear hanger (e.g. steel frames) then you need to bend it back straight - and it's probably easier to take it to the bike shop than to buy the right tool to do it yourself - don't try and do it yourself by pulling on the derailleur.

A bike shop shouldn't charge more than £20 to do straighten a hanger (based on how much Condor charged me the first time I bent my Fratello's hanger). I've now got a tool to straighten gear hangers - used several times already on various bikes so saved me money.

brucebanner

this is all too odd.

Clarion

Bent hanger sounds very likely, now you mention that.

Rich158

That's a bent gear hanger alright, is it the Giant? You should be able to index the gears to somewhere near normal if you adjust the limit screws, have a look here if you're unsrure how to do it http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=64. That should get you going while you order a new mech hanger, but stay out of the lowest gears, having your mech jam itself in the wheel isn't nice and is very costly.

As for spinning out and the GI being altered, my guess is it hasn't. If you're going by the gear indicator on your shifter then you won't be shifting into the same gear at the rear due to the alignment issues.

Sirius631

I bent my hanger slightly when I came off and broke my collar bone in February. I didn't find this out until over seven weeks later, when I next rode my Condor. The gears weren't syncing properly, no matter how I adjusted the cable tensioner. I didn't work out the full extent of the problem until I tried to put it in the top sprocket, at which point the mech went into the spokes of my Scirrocos, bending the hanger further, bending the drop-out and shearing the mech bolt.

Bike shops vary in their mechanical capabilities. Some don't have the tools to straighten drop-outs by anything more than trial and error.

bails87

Sirius631 wrote:

Bike shops vary in their mechanical capabilities. Some don't have the tools to straighten drop-outs by anything more than trial and error.

So I'd try to straighten it myself, by tweaking it out away from the frame a little bit. Worst case scenario is that you need to buy a new mech hanger, which you'll need to do anyway if you don't try it.

EDIT: if it's a replaceable mech hanger. If its a dropout then best to get it sorted properly.

Then re-adjust the mech, you should be able to get it working (see parktools). It's not worth using a mech that's going to 'overshoot' off the lowest gear, as I found out to my cost (chain + spokes = wheel rebuild).

In the meantime, you should turn the L limit screw in a few turns to stop the chain going over the top of the cassette, just to protect your wheel and mech.

DonDaddyD

Rich, its the Giant.

How do you know if it is a hanger or drop outs?

As for spinning out and the GI being altered, my guess is it hasn't. If you're going by the gear indicator on your shifter then you won't be shifting into the same gear at the rear due to the alignment issues.

I have no gear indicator. Looking at rear cassette I know that the third from top sprocket no longer feels the same or has the same inch as before.

Could this be - and this may not be because of the accident - that the mech iteself where the jockey wheels are is at a different position due to chain length/set up or something.

May have to take that issue to the shop but will tackle the hanger and dialing the gears myself.

Ooo

Gonna need a bike repair stand and maybe a house with a garage.

bails87

DonDaddyD wrote:

Rich, its the Giant.

How do you know if it is a hanger or drop outs?

I guess its a hanger. It should be a seperate peice of aluminium that bolts onto the frame. Just above where the rear mech bolts onto the hanger. It's the green bit in this image:

I have no gear indicator. Looking at rear cassette I know that the third from top sprocket no longer feels the same or has the same inch as before.

Could this be - and this may not be because of the accident - that the mech iteself where the jockey wheels are is at a different position due to chain length/set up or something.

No, it's because all of your gears are one out. So when the shifter is on the smallest cog, the altered tension (due to the bent hanger) means that the mech can only get onto the smallest-but-one cog. So for a given shofter position, your actual gear will now be one cog easier.

May have to take that issue to the shop but will tackle the hanger and dialing the gears myself.

Ooo

Gonna need a bike repair stand and maybe a house with a garage.

It should be doable without. Not quite as easy, because you might need to find someone to hold the bike for you, but I've been doing maintenance for ages without a workstand.

bails87

Oh, and Park Tool Rear Mech setup. Good luck!

DonDaddyD

Thanks for all the help guys!

il_principe

Clarion wrote:

Yeah, that'd be a right pisser.

I've been wondering what those Creates are like. Now I know.

Yeah, they are a load of crap. Sodding death traps, and they weigh about as much as a Boris Bike, whih is some feat considering they're fixed.

@DDD Gald you were ok, but you really shouldn't be letting Create riding hipsters pass you in the first place. :oops:

DonDaddyD

Thanks Prince, hope plans are coming along nicely for you.

I think I was in a state of shock, denial and by the time I got home incredibly angry. Relative to the severity of the accident. It wasn't that severe.

Thing is I'm faster than him, but:

i) I felt wierd that day almost like I could feel an off coming long before the incident. I had a strong feeling that I was coming off the bike at some point that week.

ii) Traffic density and kamikaze cyclists along that stretch of road often makes me hold back on the way into Elephant & Castle. He likes to go fast at all costs so that coupled with (i) made me let him go.

I'm annoyed at myself, had I had more confidence I would have been past him, easily and safe.

Still, he went down on his helmet hard and at the time all I thought about was his neck. Hope he is alright. No I'm not advocating for helmets, I in comparison went down on my knee and elbow while conciously keeping my head off the ground to recover quickly.

Clarion

You back on the road, DDD? I think I saw you today, but it wasn't a red bike.

DonDaddyD

Nope, not me.

Will be back in about 2 weeks.

electric_blue

DonDaddyD wrote:

Rich, its the Giant.

How do you know if it is a hanger or drop outs?

As for spinning out and the GI being altered, my guess is it hasn't. If you're going by the gear indicator on your shifter then you won't be shifting into the same gear at the rear due to the alignment issues.

I have no gear indicator. Looking at rear cassette I know that the third from top sprocket no longer feels the same or has the same inch as before.

Could this be - and this may not be because of the accident - that the mech iteself where the jockey wheels are is at a different position due to chain length/set up or something.

May have to take that issue to the shop but will tackle the hanger and dialing the gears myself.

Ooo

Gonna need a bike repair stand and maybe a house with a garage.

Lidl don;t do houses with garages - but here's a cheap workstand
http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/SID- ... _14168.htm