Corona ride mishaps

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
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foxyrider
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Location: Sheffield, South Yorkshire

Corona ride mishaps

Post by foxyrider »

We've discussed how far, how long, where, and even if you are too old to ride during the current Covid restrictions so having ascertained that for most of the UK its fine to go for a ride on the premise of daily exercise for any uninfected individual, here my starter for ten.

There have been lots of comments in the media about cyclists in particular being more likely to divert NHS resources by being out and or have breakdowns far from home - apparently more likely now than in normal times :roll: I don't follow that logic but we've discussed that too.

So today, i'm out on my ride, a laney affair in the south Cotswolds, I've been making more effort than usual to keep the bike in good order but as i start the last stretch back to base, the chain snaps. On investigation it appears that the quicklink has failed somehow, i think i know the cause and even where in hindsight but thats beside the point. Short walk to a suitable 'workshop' space, five minutes later and the chain is sorted and i finish my ride - yes, i have a chaintool in my seatpack along with the tube, puncture kit etc.

This got me to thinking, has anyone actually had a mechanical (not a puncture) whilst out under restrictions, that couldn't be fixed with what they had with them? If so, how did you/they get home?
Convention? what's that then?
Airnimal Chameleon touring, Orbit Pro hack, Orbit Photon audax, Focus Mares AX tour, Peugeot Carbon sportive, Owen Blower vintage race - all running Tulio's finest!
cyclop
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Re: Corona ride mishaps

Post by cyclop »

One of our group of "old boys" had an accident last week,not his fault,which needed a visit to A&E.Another member,a paramedic,told me he was quiet and A&E was quiet so the argument about "using resources"doesn,t hold water in the real world.
peetee
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Re: Corona ride mishaps

Post by peetee »

I am confused. You seem to be describing the likelihood of injury to start a discussion on mechanical problems. How does a puncture or broken chain impact on NHS resources?
The older I get the more I’m inclined to act my shoe size, not my age.
flat tyre
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Re: Corona ride mishaps

Post by flat tyre »

I clipped a small piece of wood lying in the road and found myself flat on my back on the road with severely damaged and unrideable bike. The piece of wood had somehow caught in the spokes and went round and jammed behind the front forks. I had to phone Mrs FT and persuade her to make a non-essential journey to pick me up. In normal times I probably would have gone to A&E to get checked over after such a bad crash, fortunately I seem to have mended with no lasting damage.
pwa
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Re: Corona ride mishaps

Post by pwa »

The last time I had to walk back home due to a mechanical was about ten or twelve years ago when I let a rim get too thin and it crumbled a couple of miles from home. I have had several car breakdowns since then that needed RAC assistance.

I always have a quicklink and a multitool with chain tool in my pack, so a broken chain should be a ten minute inconvenience.
Postboxer
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Re: Corona ride mishaps

Post by Postboxer »

When I was a kid I went over the handlebars once when the chain came off, I was stamping on the pedals to get up speed to ride up a big pile of soil on the farm, so it's possible to fall off when the chain snaps, as it throws you off balance, likewise a puncture can lead to a loss of control if it hasn't been noticed.
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Mick F
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Re: Corona ride mishaps

Post by Mick F »

foxyrider wrote:............. If so, how did you/they get home?
Not happened to me yet, but I have a mobile phone.
Do and E.T.
Phone home.

I may go out and do a thirty mile circuit, this means that in effect, the furthest I'll be away from home is 15miles.
Me and Mrs Mick F have iPhones, and the Find My app will tell us where I am and she can navigate to me if she doesn't recognise my explanation of where I am.
Mick F. Cornwall
Oldjohnw
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Re: Corona ride mishaps

Post by Oldjohnw »

Mick F wrote:
foxyrider wrote:............. If so, how did you/they get home?
Not happened to me yet, but I have a mobile phone.
Do and E.T.
Phone home.

I may go out and do a thirty mile circuit, this means that in effect, the furthest I'll be away from home is 15miles.
Me and Mrs Mick F have iPhones, and the Find My app will tell us where I am and she can navigate to me if she doesn't recognise my explanation of where I am.


Similarly for me. But android. I leave a copy of my route at home although I do make it up as I go along a bit but within the broad plan. I don't tempt fate.
John
nigel8322
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Re: Corona ride mishaps

Post by nigel8322 »

My chain broke around 8 miles from home (April 2019). I was aggravated that I hadn't got a chain tool with me so had to phone for a lift. When I got home I carefully examined the (almost new) chain and was shocked to find 5 other side plates with cracks. Clearly a deeply faulty chain so not mending it on the road may have saved me from a more serious accident. It was an 11 speed KMC chain, but internet searches seemed to show they were no worse nor better than others for faults. During the Covid crisis I'm carrying a spare chain.
9494arnold
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Re: Corona ride mishaps

Post by 9494arnold »

Not coronavirus but various Bodge repairs at the roadside with the club:

Broken frame, top tube just behind the hear.
Decent branches, zip ties and toe straps.

Gear in the back wheel, spokes broken,no freewheel remover.
Search of saddlebags produced several spokes, the freewheel had a huge top sprocket with big holes so we could get the spokes in with a bit of gentle bending , thus wheel straightened , chain shortened and ridden as single freewheel bypassing (actually removing) the gear Mech.

Split tyre sidewall.

Some old school puncture repair outfits have a strip of canvas for this eventuality.
I have carried ( never used) both Folding Tyres and pieces of cut up tubular tyre outer)

Freewheel fail.
Zip tied the freewheel to the spokes and the large flange hub and ridden gently on the flat.

Bottom bracket broke free (frame failure, seems it hadn't been brazed properly)
Spoke to bloke washing his car, says neighbour used to be a Professional Cyclist. Knocked on neighbous door, my mate who started the ride on a Claud Butler Tourin bike ended it in a 1950's Bianchi on Sprints and Tubs ( we are all VCC members)

Bottom bracket cup stripped out.
Gent whose house we were outside gave us a shopping bike which we dismantled and blagged the bottom bracket out of.

End of cotterlees Axle broke off .. Had to call on a relative to collect me on that one. Fortunately managed not to fall off.

And as already mentioned ...

Call for international rescue ! :lol:

I'd suggest the quiet roads SHOULD make life better, less chance if a "third party" encounter.
I have certainly been enjoying an odd excursion on my trike recently .

Take care
Mike Sales
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Re: Corona ride mishaps

Post by Mike Sales »

There was a batch of Sun Tour freewheels which had a fault which allowed the face plate to unscrew in use.
Mine did so on a club run, spilling balls onto the tarmac.
I collected as many as possible and reassembled the freewheel. A screwdriver and rock completed the job.
I completed the run, freewheeling as little as possible.
It's the same the whole world over
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?
tatanab
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Re: Corona ride mishaps

Post by tatanab »

Mike Sales wrote:There was a batch of Sun Tour freewheels which had a fault which allowed the face plate to unscrew in use.
Mine did so on a club run, spilling balls onto the tarmac.
I collected as many as possible and reassembled the freewheel. A screwdriver and rock completed the job.
I completed the run, freewheeling as little as possible.
The same happened to me in about 1982, half way up The Tumble near Abergavenny. I too completed my ride without further problems. No embarrassing club mates to laugh at me, on my tod.
Mike Sales
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Re: Corona ride mishaps

Post by Mike Sales »

tatanab wrote:
Mike Sales wrote:There was a batch of Sun Tour freewheels which had a fault which allowed the face plate to unscrew in use.
Mine did so on a club run, spilling balls onto the tarmac.
I collected as many as possible and reassembled the freewheel. A screwdriver and rock completed the job.
I completed the run, freewheeling as little as possible.
The same happened to me in about 1982, half way up The Tumble near Abergavenny. I too completed my ride without further problems. No embarrassing club mates to laugh at me, on my tod.


Was it a Sun Tour?
I can't date my problem, but it might well have been about 1982.

This is not a corona ride problem of course. These stories do show that many problems on a bike can be overcome, and would not have been a covid emergency. They also draw on a much larger sampling which indicates how rare they are.
It's the same the whole world over
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?
tatanab
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Joined: 8 Feb 2007, 12:37pm

Re: Corona ride mishaps

Post by tatanab »

Mike Sales wrote:Was it a Sun Tour?
Yes
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foxyrider
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Location: Sheffield, South Yorkshire

Re: Corona ride mishaps

Post by foxyrider »

peetee wrote:I am confused. You seem to be describing the likelihood of injury to start a discussion on mechanical problems. How does a puncture or broken chain impact on NHS resources?


It doesn't but that was the line used to deter us from venturing beyond the front gate
Convention? what's that then?
Airnimal Chameleon touring, Orbit Pro hack, Orbit Photon audax, Focus Mares AX tour, Peugeot Carbon sportive, Owen Blower vintage race - all running Tulio's finest!
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