Odd thing happened - possibly blessing

MRLEON83
MRLEON83 Posts: 42
edited March 2012 in Commuting chat
So..last week I was hurtling down a nice incline approaching a junction where you can turn left, there is also traffic from the opposite direction turning into the same road ....... I had right of way yet a white van man went to pull out in front of me(accross my lane) .. he stopped just in time for us not to collide .............

I broke so hard that my back wheel came off ...... why the hell did that heppen ?..... it's a boardman hybrid with disc brakes if that makes any difference .... I did check the quick release and it was tight .. it hasn't happened since ... this ever happened to any one else ?

The thing is , the only reason I broke so hard was to go after him (I've never been so angry, litterally 2cm from impact ) ...... it was probably for the best ....

Comments

  • cyclingprop
    cyclingprop Posts: 2,426
    Can only guess it wasn't in properly in the first place?
    What do you mean you think 64cm is a big frame?
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    If you are braking that hard on your rear you aren't braking properly. Once you've locked up you will be increasing the time to bring the back of the bike to a halt. I think I've seen somewhere on here a comment that research shows that the rear brakes have negligible impact on braking distance anyway.
    The thing is , the only reason I broke so hard was to go after him

    Surely the reason you braked so hard was not to crash into him?
    Faster than a tent.......
  • MRLEON83
    MRLEON83 Posts: 42
    .......... knew that was going to sound bad ... I broke after I passed WVM.... and my wheel did not lock-up for more than a millesecond, I was using my front brakes at the same time , maybe I need to look at the setup .. just thought it was strange,
  • mudcovered
    mudcovered Posts: 725
    MRLEON83 wrote:
    .......... knew that was going to sound bad ... I broke after I passed WVM.... and my wheel did not lock-up for more than a millesecond, I was using my front brakes at the same time , maybe I need to look at the setup .. just thought it was strange,
    Suggests that the rear quick release wasn't done up enough and you lifted the back wheel off the ground allowing it to escape from the dropouts. Lifting the back wheel isn't too tricky with a decent disc brake.

    Mike
  • jonny_trousers
    jonny_trousers Posts: 3,588
    I think the most impressive thing about this whole story is that you were "hurtling down a nice incline." You werent in an Escher drawing at the time by any chance were you?
  • MRLEON83
    MRLEON83 Posts: 42
    HAHAHAHA ... oh man... my mistake ....
  • desweller
    desweller Posts: 5,175
    Your quick release can't have been done up properly.

    As an aside, you are braking at your hardest when your rear wheel is just about to leave the ground. That's the maximum retarding force you can apply to a bicycle via the contact patch of the tyres; any more and you'd go over the handlebars. Therefore you do not need to use the rear brake when applying an emergency stop.
    - - - - - - - - - -
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