Faulty freewheel cause of crash... likelihood?
mmxbreaks
Posts: 11
Evening all,
I'm trying to get to the bottom of a bad accident I had two weeks ago that left me with a severed clavicle, cracked rib and all kinds of cuts and bruises.
Cycling along out of saddle down the road at speed, left leg suddenly plummets downwards with no resistance and then, well, I'm not 100% sure what happened. The chain certainly came off and I suspect it snapped in onto the wheel which may have caused it to seize 'cos the bike took me over fast like a ton of bricks. I ride with pedal cages so I can't decide if my foot hit the floor or not.
Anyway, injuries aside, I had had a freewheel replaced a couple of weeks beforehand. I'm trying to figure out if that (or the work associated with changing it) could have anything to do with this incident. I took the bike (untouched since accident) to a new mechanic and he was very perplexed why the chain would come off a single speed like that. He said the chain tension was good and the line was good enough (but could be better with new parts though that'd be a modification beyond the standard as sold bike).
So I'm not sure what to do. 1. I don't trust my bike at all any more; 2. I'm probably going to need an operation and yet more time off work; 3. I can't find anyone to blame! Road wasn't 100% even, but more than good enough to ride, nobody hit me and I wasn't cycling unusually. It's been a very costly process but I suspect I will struggle to prove any third party liability.
At least my helmet saved my head/life. :shock:
Opinions, anyone seen/done/heard of similar incidents? I need some confidence back, especially as when I start to ride again (determined!) it'll be in the cold, dark, wet winter months...
I'm trying to get to the bottom of a bad accident I had two weeks ago that left me with a severed clavicle, cracked rib and all kinds of cuts and bruises.
Cycling along out of saddle down the road at speed, left leg suddenly plummets downwards with no resistance and then, well, I'm not 100% sure what happened. The chain certainly came off and I suspect it snapped in onto the wheel which may have caused it to seize 'cos the bike took me over fast like a ton of bricks. I ride with pedal cages so I can't decide if my foot hit the floor or not.
Anyway, injuries aside, I had had a freewheel replaced a couple of weeks beforehand. I'm trying to figure out if that (or the work associated with changing it) could have anything to do with this incident. I took the bike (untouched since accident) to a new mechanic and he was very perplexed why the chain would come off a single speed like that. He said the chain tension was good and the line was good enough (but could be better with new parts though that'd be a modification beyond the standard as sold bike).
So I'm not sure what to do. 1. I don't trust my bike at all any more; 2. I'm probably going to need an operation and yet more time off work; 3. I can't find anyone to blame! Road wasn't 100% even, but more than good enough to ride, nobody hit me and I wasn't cycling unusually. It's been a very costly process but I suspect I will struggle to prove any third party liability.
At least my helmet saved my head/life. :shock:
Opinions, anyone seen/done/heard of similar incidents? I need some confidence back, especially as when I start to ride again (determined!) it'll be in the cold, dark, wet winter months...
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Comments
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Sh*t happens, no reason , it just does.
Get over it.constantly reavalueating the situation and altering the perceived parameters accordingly0 -
To paraphrase a phrase why don't you call him fat and ugly as well?sub55 wrote:Sh*t happens, no reason , it just does.
Get over it.
read that somewhere My pen won't write on the screen0 -
sub55 wrote:Sh*t happens, no reason , it just does.
Get over it.
There's always a reason for a mechanical failure. Unless you have a special sort of intelligent bicycle that whimsically decides to go wrong by itself?- - - - - - - - - -
On Strava.{/url}0 -
:twisted:secretsqizz wrote:
To paraphrase a phrase why don't you call him fat and ugly as well?sub55 wrote:Sh*t happens, no reason , it just does.
Get over it. read that somewhereconstantly reavalueating the situation and altering the perceived parameters accordingly0 -
Sounds to me like the chain snapped and this was the cause of your demise. Had this happen to me on my mtb a month or two ago and caused a hell of a lurch leaving me bruised and sore. Nobody's at fault and to your surprise there will be no-one to blame.The only disability in life is a poor attitude.0
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Sorry about your injury. Could be a freewheel failure if the pawls fail to engage, or there is a missing pawl or two, or for some reason the pawl springs are not pushing them up against the hub ratchet. Does the freewheel sound right when the wheel's spinning - strong, healthy pawl engagement? I have known freewheels that are overdue for maintenance start to fail to engage and spin uselessly.
@Mouth, I don't think the chain is broken but it did come off.
Here's a scenario: freewheel fails to engage; left leg plummets and causes giant wobble - right leg bangs up against chain just before it runs on to chainring, derailling it and causing even more mayhem. In this scenario you should have a chain tattoo on the inside of your lower right leg.0 -
mmxbreaks wrote:Evening all,
I'm trying to get to the bottom of a bad accident I had two weeks ago that left me with a severed clavicle, cracked rib and all kinds of cuts and bruises.
Cycling along out of saddle down the road at speed, left leg suddenly plummets downwards with no resistance and then, well, I'm not 100% sure what happened. The chain certainly came off and I suspect it snapped in onto the wheel which may have caused it to seize 'cos the bike took me over fast like a ton of bricks. I ride with pedal cages so I can't decide if my foot hit the floor or not.
Anyway, injuries aside, I had had a freewheel replaced a couple of weeks beforehand. I'm trying to figure out if that (or the work associated with changing it) could have anything to do with this incident. I took the bike (untouched since accident) to a new mechanic and he was very perplexed why the chain would come off a single speed like that. He said the chain tension was good and the line was good enough (but could be better with new parts though that'd be a modification beyond the standard as sold bike).
So I'm not sure what to do. 1. I don't trust my bike at all any more; 2. I'm probably going to need an operation and yet more time off work; 3. I can't find anyone to blame! Road wasn't 100% even, but more than good enough to ride, nobody hit me and I wasn't cycling unusually. It's been a very costly process but I suspect I will struggle to prove any third party liability.
At least my helmet saved my head/life. :shock:
Opinions, anyone seen/done/heard of similar incidents? I need some confidence back, especially as when I start to ride again (determined!) it'll be in the cold, dark, wet winter months...
First of all, it's good that you're trying to make sense out of it, rather than just accepting that something bad happened.
A few thoughts:
1. Freewheels usually contain more than one spring/pawl assembly, so both have to fail before something bad happens.
2. As your mechanic said, unless the chain tension is way off the chain shouldn't just jump off.
3. When I had a dodgy freewheel a while back it skipped and then quickly re-engaged rather than dropping one pedal all the way to the bottom.
Does the freewheel still work? If yes then maybe test it by riding very slowly up the steepest hill you can find.
Was the chain still joined after the accident, or had it broken?0
