Front wheel locked while cycling: disc brake or mudguard?

[Diveywivey]

Hi all, seems like mudguards are not considered at all by bike makers and sellers. I'll change the title too if I can. Thanks again for the advice.

[Debs]

Was the 'secu-clip' fitted to the rear wheel by any chance?

[Diveywivey]

I've emailed the shop (local specialised concept store) with photos by the way.

[Diveywivey]

Was the 'secu-clip' fitted to the rear wheel by any chance?

I don't think any secu-clips were used, both wheels have same fittings as far as I can see.

[gaz]

Fairly cheap, non quick release guards too I guess.

Look like SKS Chromplastic to me. IMO they are not cheap.

If they were fitted as standard original kit from the manufacturer I'd be extremely surprised that they didn't fit secu-clips too. If they are SKS and were fitted as an after-sale extra then somebody has ignored the instructions and thrown the secu-clips away.

I like secu-clips.


Hope you recover quickly.

[nsew]

Next time you go over the bars put your hands down first to break the fall and then crumble as gently as you can on to your side. Possibly continuing on to your back if the fall is heavy enough. That way you could of just got up, straightened out the guard and carried on your way being more careful about what you ride over on that thing. Having said that, I wish you a speedy recovery.

[Paulatic]

Another example on a Specialised https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 3693493710

[francovendee]

the mudguard looks as if it was set too close to the tyre at the bottom, too; this may have helped precipitate the accident.

This is a secu-clip;



this or similar ought to be fitted to a front mudguard, especially if the mounting eyes are set low down like yours are.

cheers

I have these on my bike but they aren't a sure fire thing. Back this winter I managed to pick up a stick that jammed between the wheel and the mudguard. I heard the noise and felt something go but it wasn't the safety clip but the mudguard, now in two pieces.The safety clip was still firmly attached to the mudguard stays.
I've fixed it together with Gaffer tape while I consider if I should get another pair.

[Brucey]

a chain will always break first at the weakest link; so mudguards that don't have a metal bridge where the stays attach are often designed to fail there, often at a lower load than a proper stay release.

cheers

[JohnW]

I've had exactly this, and finished in intensive care for a week. I was in busy traffic, and you can't look everywhere for everything, and a large, thin, flat spanner which I must have ridden over, had kicked up off the road, flipped between front wheel and tyre and stopped me instantly.

This was in the days that the quick-releasing seccu-clips were just coming into use, and I'd not fitted them. I don't think that you can buy mudguard sets without them nowadays. I'd recommend anyone to convert - even if you've never had trouble.

[Diveywivey]

Hi all, quick update. Had an email back expressing genuine concern but inevitably saying they are top quality SKS mudguards and always properly and accurately fitted. Otherwise it's just an unfortunate "accident".

Interesting statements from their email:
"if your bike had been fitted with a metal mudguard, the consequences could have been a lot more serious as the material would not have deflected or distorted so easily."

"Ultimately, the fact that the mudguards deflected as they did is precisely what they are designed to do in this instance. Had they been made of a more rigid material, the consequences could have been a lot worse".

Hmm. Clearly very much wanting to ensure they can't appear to be "responsible", even tho I made it clear I'm only interested in them reviewing the products and fitting procedures they use. I urged them to take time out, do some research, review products and procedures, and use secu-clips. A shame but inevitable I guess.

[Brucey]

AFAICT all SKS mudguards eg here

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/mudguards-full/?brand=sks

are supplied with stay releases, e.g. as described in the instructions

http://www.sjscycles.com/Instructions/SKS/SKS_Chromoplastic_Mudguards_Instructions.pdf

For some reason they have chosen to fit your mudguards without including the supplied safety features; their e-mail to you is basically a load of nonsense, and furthermore clearly indicates a complete lack of understanding about the mechanism/hazards involved.

[edit; If the stays are mounted low down and cannot release the metal stay/bracket assembly gets pulled into the tyre and soon jams the wheel solid. I have even seen rims collapse into a 'heart shape', so powerful are the radial forces when this happens. It is rare for this to happen with all-metal mudguards but it can still happen.]

cheers

[Bmblbzzz]

Firstly, wishing you a full and swift recovery.

Secondly, that is an interesting statement about the possible worse consequences of something jamming in a metal mudguard. Putting aside for a moment the fact that a metal mudguard can also be fitted with stay-releases, I would have thought that in a jam of this sort there are three 'components': tyre, mudguard and object (stick, stone, etc). If the mudguard does not deflect and the stays do not release, and the object is hard and rigid, then either the wheel must start moving again or the tyre will deform, possibly to bursting point.

Not suggesting this as a definitive analysis, more a consideration for those with greater knowledge of engineering and physics to improve on.

[Syd]

Certainly made me check the guards on my commuter.

Glad to see that front had the type of release mechanism shown above. Back doesn’t but a rear lockup is much less of an immediate danger.

[slowster]

I would strongly urge you to go to a solicitor with a view to getting compensation for your accident, i.e. for your injuries and any other losses you incurred, e.g. time off work, damage to the bike and your clothes. A lot of people bemoan the so called compensation culture, but the ability to sue for financial compensation serves a very important function of making manufacturers and other businesses take proper care, because it penalises them financially if they don't.

A successful claim by you against the shop will help to discourage the shop from being so careless and slapdash in future not only about fitting devices like Secuclips, but also about not casually dismissing reports and feedback like yours that tell them that there is a problem and they are doing something wrong. I'm surprised it's a Specialized Concept store, because Specialized is a brand which I think is very hot on safety, and I believe they will send safety alerts and warnings to the shops that sell their bikes and components when they become aware of an issue.

Obviously if you are a CyclingUK or BC member you will be able to use their solicitors (or you may have cover under your household insurance or through union membership etc.). However, this type of claim for product liability is a bit different from the road accident negligence cases that those solicitors would usually handle for CyclingUK or BC members, and I would hope that they would have a solicitor in house with experience of product liability claims.

Had an email back expressing genuine concern but inevitably saying they are top quality SKS mudguards and always properly and accurately fitted. Otherwise it's just an unfortunate "accident".

Interesting statements from their email:
"if your bike had been fitted with a metal mudguard, the consequences could have been a lot more serious as the material would not have deflected or distorted so easily."

"Ultimately, the fact that the mudguards deflected as they did is precisely what they are designed to do in this instance. Had they been made of a more rigid material, the consequences could have been a lot worse".

Save their email! IANAL, but I suspect that that they have shot themselves in the foot with that email. They have acknowledged that they fitted SKS mudguards, and SKS mudguards always come supplied with a safety release like the Secuclip for the front mudguard. The mudguard most certainly did NOT deflect as they are designed to do, because SKS designed them to be installed with a Secuclip which allows the mudguard to deflect away from the tyre and permit any object jammed between mudguard and tyre to fall away, rather than causing the wheel to lock up as happened in your case.

As I say, IANAL, but I think you probably have a slam dunk case. I appreciate that you might not want to go through the hassle of going to a solicitor, and you might not like modern 'compensation culture', but I would ask you do it on behalf of the other cyclists who go to a Specialized Concept Store, because making the store pay out for your accident is probably the best way of getting them to be more careful in future, whether it's fitting mudguards or any other aspect of bicycle workshop maintenance and installation that has the potential to kill or seriously injure a customer if they don't do it properly. Even if the bill is ultimately picked up by the store's insurers, it should still be a good wake up call for the store.

In the meantime, get some photographs of your injuries, and save the photographs of your bike (better still, keep the bike in the condition it is now - don't get it fixed, so you have it as evidence).