Bike rack accident

dinyull

A colleague's partner had a bit of a mare last night. He borrowed a bike from a mate for an event he completed at the weekend, collected the bike and put on a car rack, shortly afterwards was collected the bike from the middle of the road after it flew off at 40mph as he hadn't secured it properly.

Aside from fixing cosmetic the damage (ripped seat, bar tape) and replacing a knackered shifter what does he need to check before you'd be happy to ride it again?

Alu frame, carbon fork (not looking for an alu is stronger/weaker than carbon thread hijack).

Cheers

cougie

I'd want a new bike I reckon.

What would have hit the deck ? Bars - you'd not trust them.
Cranks or pedals could be bent.
Fork - well thats taken a hell of a bang.

I'd not be happy if that was my bike. Scratches would be the least of my worries.

t4tomo

Expensive event!

Possibly could claim a new bike off his car insurance or accidental damage part of his house insurance if LBS declared it a write off.

he also needs a new mate

Mad_Malx

Was it really you?

KonkyWonky

I'd be looking for a new bike as well.......

sloppyschleckonds

Agreed, new bike.

Colinthecop

KonkyWonky wrote:

I'd be looking for a new bike as well.......

Still looking for the old bike first - last seen bouncing down the road.

crankycrank

I think I would want a new bike. Impacts to the frame or fork could weaken a joint that may show up 6 months later in the form of a crack. Does the offending party have drivers insurance that would cover the loss?

Schobiedoo

Bikes are not made of glass. When the pros crash, they don't stand at the side of the road demanding a new bike from the mechanic just because it's hit the deck - they generally get back on and ride unless 1. they're damaged, or 2. the bike is obviously damaged.

I reckon that a 40mph impact of a bike frame is similar to a 5mph impact with a rider on it (anyone remember Force = Mass x Acceleration from school?, and yes before anyone bites, that assumes that the mass of the person is also transferred through the frame).

Sort out the cosmetics, looks for any bent/cracked items (including frame) and while the bar-tape is off check for any cracks on the bars - I'm not convinced from the OP's post that you'd simply write it off straight away.

Runtothehills

Schobiedoo wrote:

I reckon that a 40mph impact of a bike frame is similar to a 5mph impact with a rider on it (anyone remember Force = Mass x Acceleration from school?, and yes before anyone bites, that assumes that the mass of the person is also transferred through the frame).

I suspect that the amount of damage in a crash is more related to the amount of energy involved - 1/2 mv2 (mass times velocity squared). Assuming the bike is 1/9 of the mass of the rider that means the bike alone at 40mph has over 6 times the kinetic energy of the bike and rider at 5mph, so more damage would be expected.

Added to which in a crash with the rider on tend to put forces more or less in the plane of the bike, unless the rider's fallen off. Falling off the bike rack will put forces at right angles to the bike frame, in which direction it's weaker.

Having said that I'd expect the impact points to absorb most of the energy (as others have said wheels, bars, cranks etc.). If it were mine I'd probably want to get the frame checked out by an expert, not a group of random people on the net.

dinyull

Haha, no it wasn't me.

Cheers for the input, my initial thought to the lass at work would be a full strip down and inspection (of the bike!) - however for me to have any confidence in riding the bike again I'd want an expert inspection and even then it would always be at the bike of my mind.

Slo Mo Jones

What a bunch of wet blankets.

Bicycles aren't that fragile.

ai_1

Slo Mo Jones wrote:

What a bunch of wet blankets.

Bicycles aren't that fragile.

They're not that invulnerable either.
It might be fine but there's a fair chance it's not.
It come off at speed and fell from the top of the car so it's not directly comparable with most cycling crashes.

rolf_f

Ai_1 wrote:

Slo Mo Jones wrote:

What a bunch of wet blankets.<br abp="821"><br abp="822">Bicycles aren't that fragile.

<br abp="823">They're not that invulnerable either.<br abp="824">It might be fine but there's a fair chance it's not.<br abp="825">It come off at speed and fell from the top of the car so it's not directly comparable with most cycling crashes.

This is it. I reckon if you get it checked out it might turn out to be fine to ride. But, if my friend had dropped my bike off his car at 40mph, I'd still expect him to source me a new one - he can keep the old one. As the old grammatically horrible sign in china shops said - you break it, you bought it.

gabriel959

Dinyull wrote:

A colleague's partner had a bit of a mare last night. He borrowed a bike from a mate for an event he completed at the weekend, collected the bike and put on a car rack, shortly afterwards was collected the bike from the middle of the road after it flew off at 40mph as he hadn't secured it properly.

Aside from fixing cosmetic the damage (ripped seat, bar tape) and replacing a knackered shifter what does he need to check before you'd be happy to ride it again?

Alu frame, carbon fork (not looking for an alu is stronger/weaker than carbon thread hijack).

Cheers

Possibly a new bike.

kingstonian

If I borrowed a bike, I'd triple check it was really well secured to the bike rack. Hugely sloppy and disrespectful that this person didn't bother.

As for whether or not the bike is safe, only a really thorough check can determine that.

cougie

If it was your own bike - you might well take the risk. It was your fault after all.

But to lend a mates bike - drop it off a car at 40mph and then hand it back with new bar tape ? Get outta here. The only mistake your mate made was to lend his bike to a muppet. He should get the bike back in the same condition he leant it in - and the only way to be sure is to get a new one.

ai_1

Yep, as others have said. I wouldn't dream of just handing that bike back to the owner with some repairs.
Accidents happen but for that very reason I would never feel comfortable borrowing a bike that I couldn't afford to replace if I had to - sacrifices may be required. On any ride there's the possibility of a crash. If that should occur you can't just make it your friend's problem. It's a horrible position for this guy to find himself in but if he wants to do the right thing he should offer to replace the bike. If the damaged biek can be repaired satisfactorily he can always keep it once repaired or sell it on (hopefully with full disclosure).

SoSimple

This is just the thread I wanted to read as I'm about to head off for the weekend with four bikes strapped to the roof of my car for the first time!

Might just go and do a third and final check!

kingstonian

SoSimple wrote:

This is just the thread I wanted to read as I'm about to head off for the weekend with four bikes strapped to the roof of my car for the first time!

Might just go and do a third and final check!

Haha, I bet when you go over the first bump on the road you will royally shit yourself !!! Best of luck.

diplodicus

SoSimple wrote:

This is just the thread I wanted to read as I'm about to head off for the weekend with four bikes strapped to the roof of my car for the first time!

Might just go and do a third and final check!

Just remember low entrances on car parks etc