Had a crash - please advise!

markiegrim

Just bought lovely new Trek 1.5

Second ride out and came off at about 15-20 mph leaning into a left hand bend at the bottom of a hill

Aside from being pretty depressed about scratching rear wheel quick release, left brake lever and scuffing saddle and tape, I wondered if I am likely to have damaged my carbon front fork? I'm guessing not seeing as how all the damage seems to have been to the extremities..and wasn't massively fast. However, I have read about how carbon fibre does not reveal structural damage until too late and it fails...how can one tell?

Also, I hit my head enough to give me a head ache and slight bruise. I feel OK...but do I need to replace helmet? It looks OK

Also pretty surprised I came off! I know its a new bike, but pretty sure I wasn't doing anything anything out of the ordinary...I may have leaned in a bit more than I usually do feeling all sexy and brave on my new machine...any general words of wisdom welcome!

Thanks

Mark

dnwhite88

Change the helmet-they're only good for one crash. A lot of brands give you crash replacement discount so take your old one with you. As for your forks if you can't see any cracks it is probably fine, just keep using it.

kajjal

Coming from mountain biking I had to calm it down a bit round corners with my 2013 1.5 Trek. With a mountain bike big tyres, different riding position and wide handle bars mean if the bike gives a bit you can pull it back in. On a road bike it tends to just go as I found in a dusty car park, luckily I got the bike back under control.

I would replace your helmet and keep any eye on your fork but carbon is a lot tougher than people tend to suggest. Just out of interest how do you find the brakes on the bike ?

Mine were quite poor and I replaced them with 105's for £50 which improved the braking no end. Apart from that really enjoying the bike

markiegrim

Thanks Kajjal...maybe much in what you say. I upgraded from 20 year old hybrid..so wide bars/thicker wheels..could be I just misjudged what I would be able to do on the Trek. Really peeved about the scratches etc - just 1 week old (also 2013 model)
Re Brakes...funny thing is I had to take it back to the shop after first ride due to juddering...but was down to front wheel needing truing, otherwise they seem OK, but I'm no expert. £50 seems good for an upgrade

Mikey23

Might be worth getting your LBS to give your bike a check out

elderone

As Mikey said,get your bike checked out,just for piece of mind.Also ditch the helmet,its done its job.
Shame about the off and just put it down to experience.

cougie

Cant see that the fork would be damaged in a crash like that. It didnt touch the ground ?

Accidents do happen - so dont worry too much about it.

The helmet people say to replace it after every crash - but they would. If its still OK and not cracked or damaged - I'd probably not replace mine. Its foam after all - if its not deformed - it should be ok still - but its your head.

Hoopdriver

Helmets really are a one use thing. Replace.

Bobbinogs

Don't spend £50 on new brakes until you have tried some decent cartridges like Swiss stop (Flash pro) or Koolstop (Salmons or Duals).

Agree with the advice above, see if you can get a replacement helmet but buy one if not.

Scuffs are an inevitable part of active sport. Learn to look at the marks you accumulate and remember the story behind them. I have a big scar on my shoulder which reminds me to take care with new tyres and slippy roads and big chunks of teeth missing which remind me that sometimes it is best to turn around and go home rather than pressing on regardless! Oh, and I have a big scuff on a brand new white saddle which reminds me not to rest my foot on the pedal when unclipped in case it clips back in just when I need to put my foot down

g00se

Damn shame about the damage - but glad you're basically OK.

I guess a new bike will have new tyres. The may still be covered in the release compound from the mould which can make them a bit less grippy for the first few miles.

markiegrim

Thanks all for advice and encouragement

Fork doesn't look damaged (again, how can I tell though !?!?!?) and dont think it hit road..so should be OK

Looking at helmet this morning, foam is bashed in on side where I hit - no wonder about the headache! (was massively pounding at time of crash - worringly so but soon subsided to a dull ache. Still feel a bit battered this morning)

...so guess need new helmet then

nferrar

the tyres will be crap budget ones with not much grip - I'd change them for something like a Conti GP4seasons to give you some confidence

markiegrim

you spend £850 on a bike and get "crap budget tyres with not much grip" - really? I did ask about the apparent lack of tread in the shop and the guy said that tread is meaningless as far as cycle tyre grip in is concerned

pirnie

He's right, tread is meaningless. In fact more tread means less grip! (Look at an F1 car) Tread is only useful to clear water out from below the tyres

ManOfKent

markiegrim wrote:

you spend £850 on a bike and get "crap budget tyres with not much grip" - really? I did ask about the apparent lack of tread in the shop and the guy said that tread is meaningless as far as cycle tyre grip in is concerned

Alternatively the manufacturer could have put decent tyres on and charged you £900 for the bike. It's an easy way for them to keep the price down, and not a bad one seeing as many of us would change the tyres to our own preference anyway, however expensive the OEMs.

sungod

i) with a head injury you go straight to a&e - it is clear that you have one - do it or go to your gp today, i got a real telling off by the doctor when i left it to the next day

ii) be careful for a few weeks, it's unclear what the risk is, but second impact syndrome can occur after even a mild head injury, it's not a good thing

iii) replace the helmet

iv) road tyre grip depends on compound, slick is best on tarmac, but even good tyres may have traces of release compound on from manufacture, this will take a time to scrub clean, until then grip may suffer

markhewitt1978

nferrar wrote:

the tyres will be crap budget ones with not much grip - I'd change them for something like a Conti GP4seasons to give you some confidence

Yes, the tyres that came with my 2.1 where crappy too. Changed them for GP4000S, much better, there have been plenty of occasions where I've stayed upright when I'm sure with the Bontrager tyres I would have been eating tarmac.

Crouching Peeky

I've also got the Trek 1.5 2013 model. Regarding the tyres, I changed mine fairly swiftly. I found that the stock tyres were quite twitchy in the wet. I went with GP 4 Seasons and difference is huge.

bad_moose

Your fork should be fine. It doesn't sound like a high impact crash in terms of the forks, but if you're worried then take it to your LBS.

Helmet. CHANGE IT NOW. I was pretty sceptical about this whole 'helmets are only good for one crash' thing until last week when my dad came off. It was a pretty minor crash, he just got taken by a gust of wind whilst he was having a drink, we we're probably only doing about 12mph. He landed on his hip, slid and then knocked his head on the ground. He was fine and barely felt the knock to his head. It wasn't until the next day when I got a torch inside the helmet and had a proper look that I realised that there was a pretty nasty crack. Neither of us would have seen it unless we'd done that, and his crash was far more docile than yours. It's not worth risking your life over, just grab a new one and then you can have a bit of peace of mind.