Had a spill today

[Dave Davenport]

So there I am happily riding along in the bunch on today's club run doing about 20mph when the bloke in front decides to swing across and take out my front wheel, with the not unexpected consequence that I hit the deck rather hard, as did the guy behind after riding over me.
No serious injuries, just a nice set of bruises & road rash (my left buttock looks like a baboon's) but the left hand sti got mashed.
So, if anyones got a Dura Ace 7800 series double left hand sti unit knocking about, please let me know.

 

[ianrauk]

ouch...glad you are ok.
Double ouch for the DA lever.

I hope the chap that caused the crash was remorseful at least.

 

[numbnuts]

OUCH

(my left buttock looks like a baboon's

we don't need a photos thanks GWS

 

[vernon]

OUCH

we don't need a photos thanks GWS

Yes we do. This thread is useless without pictures.

 

[Night Train]

So there I am happily riding along in the bunch on today's club run doing about 20mph when the bloke in front decides to swing across and take out my front wheel, with the not unexpected consequence that I hit the deck rather hard, as did the guy behind after riding over me.
No serious injuries, just a nice set of bruises & road rash (my left buttock looks like a baboon's) but the left hand sti got mashed.
So, if anyones got a Dura Ace 7800 series double left hand sti unit knocking about, please let me know.

Why not ask him to replace it or is that not the done thing? Maybe he has/should have insurance?

I hope your injuries are not too painful, and GWS.

 

[smokeysmoo]

Why not ask him to replace it or is that not the done thing? Maybe he has/should have insurance?

I hope your injuries are not too painful, and GWS.

+1 one, and if not why not. If it was my bike he'd cabbaged he'd certainly be paying for it. Find the part online, cheapest you can, print it off, give him the 'estimate' and tell him you need it in time for the next ride. If he's competent with a spanner I'd probably get him to fit it too.

Hopefully he'll be a lot less reckless in the future.

Don't forget your bar tape may also get cabbaged when it's peeled back, so warn him he may need to dig a little deeper than just the shifter.

and +1 for GWS

[EDIT] a very quick Google mooch suggests it may be tricky to source a single lever from the usual online places. He may need to order it via his LBS. This will probably affect how much discount he gets, but kindly remind him the alternative is he buys a pair, nearly £300! Mind you he could then sell the RH one and re-coup some money I suppose. Hope you get it sorted amicably and quickly.

 

[Dave Davenport]

Having spoken to my mate who came down after hitting me, it appears that a rider near the front moved off his line causing a magnifying ripple through the group. It's just one of those things that you have to accept if you ride in a group and more so if you race.
There are couple of sets of shifters on e bay which I'm keeping an eye on, so hopefully I can pick some up for a lot less than the £300 they are new.

 

[ianrauk]

Having spoken to my mate who came down after hitting me, it appears that a rider near the front moved off his line causing a magnifying ripple through the group. It's just one of those things that you have to accept if you ride in a group and more so if you race.
There are couple of sets of shifters on e bay which I'm keeping an eye on, so hopefully I can pick some up for a lot less than the £300 they are new.

Did he realise that he caused the pile up?
If not, was he told?
If he had any sense of decency he would admit to it and offer at least a few quid for the damage.

Also, as it was a club ride. Do you/the club have insurance for this type of thing?

 

[Dave Davenport]

Did he realise that he caused the pile up?
If not, was he told?
If he had any sense of decency he would admit to it and offer at least a few quid for the damage.

Also, as it was a club ride. Do you/the club have insurance for this type of thing?

I'm not going to get into laying blame, we all make mistakes and a strongly worded reminder of group riding etiquette has been posted on the club forum (not by me).
Whilst we have club insurance, no it doesn't cover damage to bikes.

 

[swee'pea99]

Please don't jump down my throat here, I'm new to all this sort of thing, but is it not up to the guy behind not to go into the guy in front, whatever happens? I know on the road that's the basic rule for cars. It's up to you to leave a sufficient distance. I draft people when I'm riding, but I do it knowing that it's up to me to avoid problems, and that if their movements cause me to crash, it'll be my fault.

None of which, I hope, detracts from my sympathy for your buttock and shifter. It can happen to the best (and most careful) of us. Ouch.

 

[Crankarm]

You wrote in your OP that he was in front. Was your front wheel over lapping his rear wheel so when he suddenly moved across unaware to him his rear wheel took your front wheel out and you went down. Seems like you should pay more attention when riding in a group and don't get too close especially when over lapping wheels. Why weren't you looking ahead and anticipating what was going on further up? Sorry you may not like this. One guy in our club went over the handle bars when another club member did something stupid in front of him which he could not avoid. He smashed up his teeth and face from hitting the tarmac and was off his bike for months as well as requiring expensive dental work.

The worst group to ride in is the middle group as lots of paunchy MAMILs who haven't got a clue how to ride in a group, who won't take instruction, swerve all over the place and who are not fast enough to ride in the fast group where most are good riders who keep their eyes open.

Anyway I hope you GWS.

 

[Dave Davenport]

You wrote in your OP that he was in front. Was your front wheel over lapping his rear wheel so when he suddenly moved across unaware to him his rear wheel took your front wheel out and you went down. Seems like you should pay more attention when riding in a group and don't get too close especially when over lapping wheels. Why weren't you looking ahead and anticipating what was going on further up? Sorry you may not like this. One guy in our club went over the handle bars when another club member did something stupid in front of him which he could not avoid. He smashed up his teeth and face from hitting the tarmac and was off his bike for months as well as requiring expensive dental work.

The worst group to ride in is the middle group as lots of paunchy MAMILs who haven't got a clue how to ride in a group, who won't take instruction, swerve all over the place and who are not fast enough to ride in the fast group where most are good riders who keep their eyes open.

Anyway I hope you GWS.

I know I wasn't half wheeling but can't remember exactly what position the riders in front were in the moment before. The guy whose back wheel hit mine is an experienced racer (ex.semi-pro), he apologised to me for causing me to crash but said he was forced to swerve because of the action of riders in front of him.
But yes, if I'd have left a bigger gap (although I was in the same sort of position as anyone in our group would normally be) I'd have probably avoided him. As for looking ahead, assuming you're not taller, how do you see past the rider directly in front of you? Did you ask the guy from your club who went over the handle bars why he wasn't looking ahead and anticipating what was going on further up?
Anyway, like I said. We all make mistakes and I'm not trying to lay blame on any individual as there are usually a number of factors involved when a crash happens.

Thanks for the get well soon messages, was very stiff first thing this morning but have loosened up a lot now and the road rash has started to scab over already.

 

[Night Train]

I guess, with hindsight, it isn't really a blame thing and maybe just something that happens in a tight bunch on a club ride.

I guess riding a 'safe distance' apart would mean not really being in a group and being a bit antisocial about it. Perhaps the odd bit of contact and tumble is the price one pays to do that.

 

[smokeysmoo]

So that's another reason I shall add to my list for not joining a club.

If this had happened to me I'd be off the road now as I'd be unable to afford the repair costs.

It may well be 'one of those things' but someone started the ball rolling and you're left picking up the pieces, quite literally in terms of your shifter. Accidents don't just happen, they are caused. That's why the emergency services no longer refer to an RTA, (road traffic accident), it's now an RTC, (road traffic collision).

It's someones fault, but I guess if you can afford to stand the cost then happy days, I know I couldn't and subsequently I wouldn't couldn't let it lie.

Glad your moving about though

 

[Dave Davenport]

I guess, with hindsight, it isn't really a blame thing and maybe just something that happens in a tight bunch on a club ride.

I guess riding a 'safe distance' apart would mean not really being in a group and being a bit antisocial about it. Perhaps the odd bit of contact and tumble is the price one pays to do that.

Kind of, but thankfully it is fairly rare. We've been getting quite a few, mostly young (well compared to me) new members lately and a few of them are still learning to ride in a group. There are also the odd one or two who despite having been riding a while, are still a liability and who the rest of us know to give a wide berth.