Rare mechanicals

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shouldbeinbed

Rollin' along
Location
Manchester way
[QUOTE 3868663, member: 9609"]Beginning of this year I had past some shooters gearing up at the side of the road, then about half a mile later someone set a shogun off right next to the road as i was passing, these people just annoy me so I stopped and decided to tell him what I thought, just hate people killing birds, but there was no one there, I clmbed over the fence into the field expecting some twat hiding in a hedge with a shotgun, but no one there - quite puzzling really. Got back on bike to find I had a flat, closer inspection showed ripped side wall, tube must of popped out and went bang - hell of a noise..[/QUOTE]
I had similar with a brand new bike with a tyre, unseen when on the rim, missing a section of beading. It took being inflated ok and ridden for a minute or so then there was a hell of a bang, I wobbled to a stop, found the tyre half off the rim and a 4 inch rip in the tube. Walked it back to the shop and told them to sort it and let me know when it was rideable, got a call next day with some story about 700c tyres being notoriously different sized & some not fitting rims properly & they'd fixed mine with an extra layer of rim tape - sounded odd to me but the shop has a decent reputation so I took it away and it did the same huge bang, tyre half off and ripped apart tube thing a few minutes into riding home.

I walked it home, examined the bits and saw immediately the bead was missing, I called the shop who denied missing it & it must have sheared away through my riding it (5 minutes in total and no, the rubber was intact & you could see from the moulded edge it was a manufacturer fault), they offered to sell me a tyre at trade price. I contacted Schwalbe with pics & they immediately agreed it was faulty and sent another tyre by return delivery. Never been back to the so called reputable shop again.
 
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Pale Rider

Pale Rider

Legendary Member
[QUOTE 3868663, member: 9609"] tube must of popped out and went bang - hell of a noise..[/QUOTE]

I heard a roadie's tyre go bang on climb - quite a noise, as you say.

What was almost as loud in this case was said roadie's cursing.

The puncture denied him the completion of what was a tough climb.
 

Richard Davis

Active Member
Broke the bottom spindle on a Peugeot road bike (circa 1992)- trying to pull away from a standing start suddenly found myself standing in the road, pedal, crank and a cm of spindle still strapped to my foot. Five minute walk home, phew.

Had a rear durellier break off somewhere near the attachment point (campy cheap end of the range).
 
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Deleted member 1258

Guest
A quill stem with the steel bolt screwed directly into the aluminium of the handle bar clamp, not surprisingly the thread stripped and under braking the handlebar moved.
I've also broke a crank, I managed to stay on, unlike a friend of mine who had a brand new crank fail and ended up in the hedge, fortunately without hurting himself.
 

mrandmrspoves

Middle aged bald git.
Location
Narfuk
A few years ago my Shimano Deore rear derailleur snapped at one of the pivots feeding itself and the chain into the rear wheel. The chain snapped, as did 4 spokes. Fotunately I was going uphill at the time so I was going very slowly when my rear wheel locked up. As we were 20 miles from home, I true the wheel (trued would be a great exaggeration - unbuckled it so it would revolve with the rear brake released is more accurate) shortened the chain to get rid of the buckled bit and removed the derailleur so I could ride home on a single speed. Unfortunately despite my attempts at self sufficiency, the chain kept on shifting up a gear and jamming so in the end we had to wait to be rescued.
 

Sharky

Guru
Location
Kent
Another distant memory. Was riding a bike with simplex gears, with those plastic leavers. Arrived very late at the start of a 25 and had no time to warm up. Started in the wrong gear and tried to change, but the lever snapped and went into my hand. Rode the whole of the race stuck in top gear and with an injured hand.
 
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Pale Rider

Pale Rider

Legendary Member
30 odd years ago my cheap and nasty folder commuter lived up to it's name mid ride when the locking mechanism disintegrated, gave me one hell of a shock!

Reminds me of an incident, rather than a mechanical, with my Brompton.

I managed to set off without tightening the central clamp.

For a few yards until I realised what had happened it was like riding a clown bike.

Of course, some people would say that's what riding a Brompton is like even with the clamps tightened.
 

Dogtrousers

Kilometre nibbler
I wish I hadn't read this thread. My collection of spares that I carry with me now seems woefully inadequate.
 

GilesM

Legendary Member
Location
East Lothian
Many years ago riding through the New forest in a group, one guy with a badly maintained bike, the lose brake leaver came off and fell into the front wheel, he went straight over the bars, and brought down a fair few behind, it was unfortunately an ambulance ride for a couple of the group.

Not that unusual when mtbing, but really annoying is a braking the gear hanger, I always have a spare with me now.
 

Asa Post

Super Iconic Legend
Location
Sheffield
About 20 years ago, commuting home on a cheap steel-framed Raleigh, one of the welds attaching the seat stay to the seat tube broke. I didn't immediately realize what had happened, I just knew the ride felt a bit soft. An inspection of the bike once I got home revealed the problem, but I couldn't fix it so I kept using it while I thought about what to do :blush:.
A few days later, the weld on the other seat stay broke as well :eek:. This time I knew exactly what had happened :rolleyes:. It made for a very interesting ride. I remember wondering if a suspension system felt similar to this. The bike still handled quite well, and I got home without mishap.
I thought about having it re-welded, but I'd have to find someone who would do it, and then it would need repainting.....
The realization dawned that Fate was telling me it was time for a new bike. I bought a Kona. I've still got it.
 
I snapped a lay back seat post on my mates Raleigh Burner around 1980 when I jumped off the steps of our primary school, but to be fair it didn't take much as it was already one like this :eek:

5650036273_225c99cf56.jpg
 

raleighnut

Legendary Member
About 20 years ago, commuting home on a cheap steel-framed Raleigh, one of the welds attaching the seat stay to the seat tube broke. I didn't immediately realize what had happened, I just knew the ride felt a bit soft. An inspection of the bike once I got home revealed the problem, but I couldn't fix it so I kept using it while I thought about what to do :blush:.
A few days later, the weld on the other seat stay broke as well :eek:. This time I knew exactly what had happened :rolleyes:. It made for a very interesting ride. I remember wondering if a suspension system felt similar to this. The bike still handled quite well, and I got home without mishap.
I thought about having it re-welded, but I'd have to find someone who would do it, and then it would need repainting.....
The realization dawned that Fate was telling me it was time for a new bike. I bought a Kona. I've still got it.
The wrap-over seatstay on my Carlton broke off in 1987, I had it brazed back together at Sid Mottrams in Leicester. Still OK 28yrs later.
 
I was Just Riding Along down a hill when the plastic cage of my SRAM rear mech cracked. The chain derailled and jammed between sprockets and chainstay, stopping the wheel turning.
I skidded to a halt, thankfully maintaining control. Removing the wheel was a serious workshop job.

Does anyone still make plastic deraileurs?
 
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