Has anyone had a bike they just kept coming off, of?

PostieJohn
PostieJohn Posts: 1,105
edited January 2012 in The bottom bracket
My top cycling buddy, and fellow Bikeradarist, is having a terrible run of luck with his pride and joy.

He built up a fabulous looking Colnago, but the bloody thing keeps tipping him off.

After thousands of relatively trouble free riding on his Wilier, he's had 2 spills in about 10 rides on the 'nago.
The poor fella's confidence is shot to pieces, I jokingly said 'the bike's cursed'.

I've been thinking about the falls a lot. Although they can both be explained away (cack road & chain gang in wrong order on a sharp hill climb) it's not stopped me convincing myself that the stiffness of the bike, is interfering with his handling of it.

Is this at all possible, or am I just trying to make it 'better' for my friend.
http://www.bikeradar.com/road/forums/vi ... t=12792776

Comments

  • pauldavid
    pauldavid Posts: 392
    He could always fit stabilisers, it works for my lad :lol:
  • MattC59
    MattC59 Posts: 5,408
    Is this one of those "I have a friend who................" stories :wink:

    It could simple be because he's not used to it. If he's used to a frame that's not as stiff, then he may be compensating for the flex of his old bike, where it's not needed.

    I put some Fulcrum Red Metal One wheels on my MTB a while back and they were noticably stiffer than the FSA noodles which they replaced. As a result they cornered a lot sharper. As a result of that, I found myself turning into corners sooner as I'd been compensating for flex in the old wheels. As a result of that......... I had.... eerm...... one or two incidents where I hit trees/bushes on the apex of bends because I was subconciously expecting the wheels to drift wide :oops:
    Science adjusts it’s beliefs based on what’s observed.
    Faith is the denial of observation so that Belief can be preserved
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,661
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzbn0yR2A-w

    (promise it's nothing to do with loving horses)
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • PostieJohn
    PostieJohn Posts: 1,105
    No Matt, he is a friend, he is real, he has the bruising, grazes & lump to prove it, he is one of us, so play nice.

    Ironically we saw a recumbent earlier in our ride, and he said 'I'm getting one of them, less far to fall'
    http://www.bikeradar.com/road/forums/vi ... t=12792776
  • Yossie
    Yossie Posts: 2,600
    I think that its nothing to do with the bike itself (so long as its been put together properly) I think its because he is paranoid about it - its his shiny new toy and is riding it over carefully because he doesn't want to stack it and smash it up.

    This over caution is causing more issues than its solving and therefore he keeps on falling off.

    Tell him to adhere to Rule 5 immediately.

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