Bike Shop Repairs Contributing To Crash

kiwijonesy

Hello All, I've not posted before but was hoping for a bit of advice.

I made the most of the good weather last Friday and went out over Box Hill and then back towards Clapham. Unfortunately I had a pedestrian step out in front of me, I went straight over the handlebars at 20mph, landing on my face, I've had six stitches to my chin, lost part of a tooth and a broken wrist, not a great way to finish a good ride.

My question is this: I recently had my rear wheel replaced at Evans under a warranty claim. This accident happened on my first ride out, and on closer inspection I've realised that the rear brakes have considerably more travel in them now than the front brakes. I'm not saying this was the reason I went over the handlebars so spectacularly. but had my rear brake engaged I might not have gone over.

I don't agree with our compensation based culture, however I am now left with a dentist bill and off the bike for several weeks. Has anyone else had a similar issue where parts weren't installed correctly?

Matthewfalle

hows the bike?

kiwijonesy

Seems to be fine, I went face first in the middle of a two lane roundabout exit, it went over the central island landing on the other side of the road.

I can't see any marks on the frame, but it is carbon, so little worried about the forks/other carbon related issues.

shirley_basso

It's hard to say. If you squeeze the rear brake hard and it can lock up the wheel then I guess you're probably out of luck.

If you squeeze the brake and nothing happens then I would agree it's a cause for concern.

Are you insured?

fenix

Sue the pedestrian ?

kiwijonesy

I think the issue is when I pulled the brake levers at the same time, the front one engaged first, causing my rear to lift, so by the time the rear brake did engage I was already off the ground.

Unfortunately I keep putting off bike insurance as its so expensive! Need to get it sorted.

Too late to undo the inevitable scar in my forthcoming wedding photos though!

kiwijonesy

Fenix wrote:

Sue the pedestrian ?

Pedestrian didn't even stop, just carried on walking whilst I was face down bleeding on the road! By the time I was up and had stopped the bleeding a bit they were long gone. So oblivious to what was happening on the road I don't think they even realised!

fenix

Do you do much cycling ? It sounds like you've panicked and slammed on the front and just tipped the bike over ?

slowbike

It'll be impossible to prove whether the rear brake acting later was a significant contributory factor - I'd suggest that as you pulled on the front brake at the same time and ended up going over then it's "user error" in that you braked too hard on the front (easy enough to do considering the circumstances) - had the rear engaged at the same time it would have had minimal difference in your speed in the time taken for the front to grip.

shirley_basso

I mean 3rd party insurance to cover the litigation costs if you do pursue a claim against Evans, such as BC membership. These people also cover costs if you're involved in a collision with a vehicle and want to claim from the driver's insurance or say, cause significant injury to another rider/pedestrian and need to pay out for their injuries. It costs about 30 quid per annum. You may be covered on your house insurance for some legal expenses so look into that if you want to go down this route.

My view is that it would be a case that you would be unlikely to win unless the rear brake was significantly weaker than the front and actually had noticeably reduced stopping power.

Re your wedding, if you do decide to try and cover up the scar, then go light on the makeup; a small amount will do wonders whereas a shedload will be obvious. The photographer will do the rest.

Enjoy your day.

kiwijonesy

Fenix wrote:

Do you do much cycling ? It sounds like you've panicked and slammed on the front and just tipped the bike over ?

I commute to work daily and out every weekend, clock up about 5,000kms a year. I've been in similar situations before and never lifted quite the same before.

kiwijonesy

Shirley Basso wrote:

My view is that it would be a case that you would be unlikely to win unless the rear brake was significantly weaker than the front and actually had noticeably reduced stopping power.

Re your wedding, if you do decide to try and cover up the scar, then go light on the makeup; a small amount will do wonders whereas a shedload will be obvious. The photographer will do the rest.

Enjoy your day.

Yeah thought it was a long shot, but worth asking. Cheers for your input.

Imagine I will just embrace the scar, just need to get the tooth fixed as don't think the other half will appreciate my wonky grin.

shirley_basso

Join british cycling as well.

Monty Dog

Most of the braking effort is provided by the front wheel and a more effective rear brake probably wouldn't have prevented your OTB I'm afraid to say. I think you'd have a great deal of difficulty apportioning some blame to Evans - did they fit the replacement wheel to the bike? I hope you heal quickly and when back on the road it might be worth practising some emergency stops to give you a better feel for how hard you can pull on your brakes and retain some form of control.

Matthewfalle

kiwijonesy wrote:

Too late to undo the inevitable scar in my forthcoming wedding photos though!

chicks dig scars so all being well you cop off with one of the bridesmaids.

kiwijonesy

Matthewfalle wrote:

chicks dig scars so all being well you cop off with one of the bridesmaids.

Hah the wife to be definitely won't appreciate that! Hard enough work convincing her I am safe to get out on the bike again once my hands healed!

First.Aspect

I don't see how a few hundred millisecond delay could change that you jammed the front brake so hard you went over the bars. And back brakes have a much longer cable run so always feel a bit spongier than the front, so there might not even be a problem.

I sympathise with a crap experience, though. Just console yourself that you were likely either going to brake so hard you flew over the bars and hurt yourself, or collide with the pedestrian and hurt both of you. There probably wasn't an option 3.

proto

Didn't you check that your brakes were operating correctly before you set off on your ride?

Me neither, but I suspect a barrister might ask you if that in a law court, and if you said you didn't then case dismissed.

nuclearred955

I'd assume if there was a fault with either of your brakes you would have noticed it quite a bit earlier. Guessing that a route out to Box Hill & back towards Clapham might involve the occasional bit of speeding up & slowing down.

Frank Wilson

Find the pedestrian and punch his lights out!

lesfirth

kiwijonesy wrote:

I think the issue is when I pulled the brake levers at the same time, the front one engaged first, causing my rear to lift, so by the time the rear brake did engage I was already off the ground.

Unfortunately I keep putting off bike insurance as its so expensive! Need to get it sorted.

Too late to undo the inevitable scar in my forthcoming wedding photos though!

In the circumstances you have described, when you brake i.e.in panic mode,I would be measuring the delay in your back brake being applied in milliseconds, if not then nanoseconds.

Sorry mate its a bad situation but I do not think Evans have contributed to it.

shimanobottombracket

Frank Wilson wrote:

Find the pedestrian and punch his lights out!

This. Shame you didnt crash into the fucker and take her out aswell, rather than just yourself. I detest such people on an epic scale. Don't get me started on phone zombies.

nuclearred955

ShimanoBottomBracket wrote:

Shame you didnt crash into the ****** and take her out aswell, rather than just yourself.

This sort of thing carries a charge of "wanton & furious driving" and a prison sentence!

lincolndave

Am I the only one who checks brakes before I go out on the bike?

milemuncher1

As long as there wasn’t a seriously negligent action, for example the cam was left open on the calliper, and this was due to whoever put the new wheel in for you, not closing it, and you can prove it, I’d say you’ll have to put this one down to experience.

StillGoing

Rear brake has little effect, particularly in an emergency braking scenario and would not have prevented you going over the bars. Stopping effort comes almost entirely from the front. The rear gives very little assistance and if you lock up, you've lost traction. If you're braking hard enough to lock the front up and raise the rear end, you'd most likely have just locked the rear up too making it of little use. From years of riding motorcycles around the track, rarely did anyone use the rear brake because it caused chatter issues, other than in corners if they'd fitted a thumb brake to operate it to help tighten the turn, without risking locking the front trail braking.

StillGoing

NuclearRed955 wrote:

ShimanoBottomBracket wrote:

Shame you didnt crash into the ****** and take her out aswell, rather than just yourself.

This sort of thing carries a charge of "wanton & furious driving" and a prison sentence!

No it doesn't. The circumstances in the case you refer to were much more than that. This situation is a pedestrian walking out in front of you on a road legal bike at safe speed and suddenly having to emergency brake, resulting in you crashing and both parties being injured. The fault would lie with the pedestrian.

kiwijonesy

philthy3 wrote:

NuclearRed955 wrote:

ShimanoBottomBracket wrote:

Shame you didnt crash into the ****** and take her out aswell, rather than just yourself.

This sort of thing carries a charge of "wanton & furious driving" and a prison sentence!

No it doesn't. The circumstances in the case you refer to were much more than that. This situation is a pedestrian walking out in front of you on a road legal bike at safe speed and suddenly having to emergency brake, resulting in you crashing and both parties being injured. The fault would lie with the pedestrian.

If you ride assuming every pedestrian is going to step out you will never get anywhere. Seem's Stop Look Listen, Isn't adhered to these days. Although from what I've read a pedestrians are never to blame....

http://road.cc/content/news/229584-cycl ... prosecuted

sungod

in london you have to ride as if every pedestrian is an inattentive, ignorant, selfish, malicious, idiot, because many are, tbh i find most drivers are better than pedestrians

kiwijonesy

sungod wrote:

in london you have to ride as if every pedestrian is an inattentive, ignorant, selfish, malicious, idiot, because many are, tbh i find most drivers are better than pedestrians

Agree, I have had enough people step out and just look the wrong way! I was in Hampton Wick just coming off the roundabout so normally better further out.

joe_totale-2

sungod wrote:

in london you have to ride as if every pedestrian is an inattentive, ignorant, selfish, malicious, idiot, because many are, tbh i find most drivers are better than pedestrians

This is true unfortunately. The main reason I ride in the middle of the road is not the threat of car dooring but some idiot stepping out on the road who can't be bothered to look.