a new kind of bike failure

"Chalo" wrote in message
om...
i was applying heavy braking to my bike today, when the downtube
buckled with a distinct 'crack'. the tire met the downtube, and i was
tossed over the bars. both my arms were broken, so please forgive my
abbreviated typing method.

since i have not yet contacted the manufacturer of the frame to
discuss the warranty or anything else, i'll withold the identity of
the makes involved except to say that the frame and parts were
relatively new and had been used for only a few hundred miles, and
that I trusted them pretty well until the time of the failure.

it was a touring frame with a single crown suspension fork [steel
steerer] and a disc front brake.

i have never seen a failure of this sort before. the downtube is
creased perpendicularly to the tube's length maybe 25cm back from the
lower headset race, and arched upwards.

chalo

wow, you're not one of the posters who clown around here and waste
everyone's time so I must believe what you write. Still, this is an
incredible story.

You broke your arms!!! Whoa. There must be more that you are not telling
us. How fast were you going? Were you on a descent? Do you have a digital
camera that you can use? I'd like to see your bike.

Well, sounds like you are going to be OK. Broken bones take time to heal
and that really sucks. I'm nursing some damaged ligaments in my knee right
now. It sucks, however I still get to ride my bike (gently). Doc says it's
theraputic. Good luck to ya.

Dave

(Chalo) wrote:

i was applying heavy braking to my bike today, when the downtube
buckled with a distinct 'crack'. the tire met the downtube, and i was
tossed over the bars. both my arms were broken, so please forgive my
abbreviated typing method.

*ouch* I'm amazed you're typing at all!

Downtube failure isn't common, but it's not unheard of either. Back in
the day, the downtube would fail at the downtube shifter bosses.
Today, BMX jumping and MTB downhilling sometimes results in frame
failure in the middle of the downtube.

I'm pretty rough on all of my bikes. I've broken spokes, pedals,
axles, gear components, and I've had frames break at weld joins twice.
The only break in the middle of a pipe occurred when I got hit by a
car. I also mass about half of what Chalo does.

RFM

Bruce Graham wrote in message .au...
snip
chalo

I'm very sorry to hear this Chalo. You have mentioned that you are a
very large man so I am wondering if the initial problem was the fork
which is under extra stress with a disk brake. Is the fork bent
backwards below the steerer? If that failed first, the tire would hit
the downtube somewhere in the middle of the downtube and buckle it. This
is only an uninformed question, not claiming to be an explanation.

Bruce Graham

I'll second Bruce's question- did the fork or the downtube fail?

FWIW: I had a 531SL Mondia that had a similar failure. Under heavy
braking (and nosestand), the fork flexed rearward far enough to bend
the downtube, resulting in a cracked lower head lug. I'm a semi-large
person (6-foot-4, 215 pounds then), so I stressed the frame pretty
well. Fortunately, the incident happened in a parking lot (a kid ran
out in front of me) and I was able to bail out of the nosestand with a
modicum of grace.

Heal fast, Chalo...

Jeff

On Mon, 04 Oct 2004 14:30:28 GMT, Richard Tack
wrote in message
88d8d.3998$cd1.3594@trnddc03:

Is it a steel or alloy bike?

Now you've done it ;-)

All the best to Chalo. Major bummer, glad to hear it wasn't worse.

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at Washington University

Chalo wrote:
i was applying heavy braking to my bike today, when the downtube
buckled with a distinct 'crack'. the tire met the downtube, and i was
tossed over the bars. both my arms were broken, so please forgive my
abbreviated typing method.

since i have not yet contacted the manufacturer of the frame to
discuss the warranty or anything else, i'll withold the identity of
the makes involved except to say that the frame and parts were
relatively new and had been used for only a few hundred miles, and
that I trusted them pretty well until the time of the failure.

it was a touring frame with a single crown suspension fork [steel
steerer] and a disc front brake.

i have never seen a failure of this sort before. the downtube is
creased perpendicularly to the tube's length maybe 25cm back from the
lower headset race, and arched upwards.

This isn't unheard of with rim brakes, if the brake grabs the tyre, but
a suppose a disc fault could have the same effect.

Is the fork bent backwards? Could the wheel have contacted the downtube
and locked up? I have a photo of a frame that suffered down tube
bending in this manner.

Get well soon.

If you were riding your chopper your forks would've probably had more
clearance. Now's probably a good time to get a unicycle. Hope you can feel
good soon.
Love and Light

"Chalo" wrote in message
om...
i was applying heavy braking to my bike today, when the downtube
buckled with a distinct 'crack'. the tire met the downtube, and i was
tossed over the bars. both my arms were broken, so please forgive my
abbreviated typing method.

since i have not yet contacted the manufacturer of the frame to
discuss the warranty or anything else, i'll withold the identity of
the makes involved except to say that the frame and parts were
relatively new and had been used for only a few hundred miles, and
that I trusted them pretty well until the time of the failure.

it was a touring frame with a single crown suspension fork [steel
steerer] and a disc front brake.

i have never seen a failure of this sort before. the downtube is
creased perpendicularly to the tube's length maybe 25cm back from the
lower headset race, and arched upwards.

chalo

Chalo wrote:
i was applying heavy braking to my bike today, when the downtube
buckled with a distinct 'crack'. the tire met the downtube, and i was
tossed over the bars. both my arms were broken, so please forgive my
abbreviated typing method.

Bugger! I recently bent my front fork from braking, but managed to get
off much lighter than you. Hope you heal swiftly.

--
Dane Jackson - z u v e m b i @ u n i x b i g o t s . o r g
Those parts of the system that you can hit with a hammer (not advised)
are called hardware; those program instructions that you can only curse
at are called software.
-- Levitating Trains and Kamikaze Genes: Technological
Literacy for the 1990's.

Chalo wrote:

i was applying heavy braking to my bike today, when the downtube
buckled with a distinct 'crack'. the tire met the downtube, and i was
tossed over the bars. both my arms were broken, so please forgive my
abbreviated typing method.

I want to join in the "get well" chorus.

I know you've got other priorities now, but it will be good to get more
details so we can perhaps figure out what happened. But so far, it's a
new one on me.

Heal fast, Chalo.

--
Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove rodent and vegetable dot com.
Substitute cc dot ysu dot
edu]

4 Oct 2004 01:19:20 -0700,
,
(Chalo) wrote:

i have never seen a failure of this sort before. the downtube is
creased perpendicularly to the tube's length maybe 25cm back from the
lower headset race, and arched upwards.

Ouch! Damn those stock bikes.

Could that be related to the profile of a butted tube?

I hope you have a voracious smart shark on retainer.
I'm afraid you'll need one for a JRA claim. Get witnesses.

Heal whole. Heal soon. Heal well.
--
zk

i was applying heavy braking to my bike today, when the downtube
buckled with a distinct 'crack'. the tire met the downtube, and
i was tossed over the bars. both my arms were broken, so please
forgive my abbreviated typing method.

No forgiveness needed, pal. Get well.

--
"Bicycling is a healthy and manly pursuit with much
to recommend it, and, unlike other foolish crazes,
it has not died out." -- The Daily Telegraph (1877)