I came off my bike on High St yesterday and got some nasty bruising and cuts on my face and limbs (and wrote off my glasses). A visit to the JR, but seems like nothing that won't repair (I hope), but I'm wondering what caused it so i can make sure it doesn't happen again.
All I remember is that I was going east down High St, quite fast, with nothing ahead of me and nothing behind me, and the next moment I'm on the ground. Could have been a pothole I didn't see, or maybe my feet came off the pedals and the bike lost balance, or maybe I started braking (?). Anyone with more cycling experience than me have any advice on the most common causes of this kind of accident?
Looking at the bike (which I hope can be repaired, though a sprained hand means I won't be cycling for a while), both front and back brakes are both jammed on - not sure what happened there - and the handlebars are twisted 90 degrees.
Hey there, Sorry to hear of your accident and hope you get well soon. Lucky there was nothing behind you! There are one or two very deep potholes on the High St that have been for a while, but are quite small so hard to see in the direction you describe- somewhere in the vicinity of Queen's lane. Perhaps your front wheel fell into one and you went over the handlebars? When going that way I try to remember them as going into them would be dangerous.
Regarding the bike I am sure it can be fixed. Sometimes with a really big crash the wheels become slightly bent so move toward the brake shoes making them difficult to turn. This is totally fixable. Handlebar adjustment should take seconds in the Training Centre's nice shiny facilities!
Ok, I'm pretty much self-repaired now! My hand is still not up to cycling yet, but I should look at getting my bike fixed up so it's ready when I am.
I'm a bit confused about whether the Workshop will do this for me or not - can I drop my bike around and pay to have a mechanic fix it up and make sure everything is ok? I think as JohnEdgar suggests that the damage is mostly minor - handlebars twisted, brakes locked up, cover come off gear switch, seat scraped, etc - but given what happened I'd rather have an expert look at it than rely on my own maintenance skills.
I'm sure somebody who works for the organisation will clarify things soon for you, but here is my personal opinion:
If I were you and had a little time and money, I'd invest in one of the Workshop's Training Centre's maintenance courses, starting with their Introduction to Cycle Maintenance course. I've been on one- they are fun, and should teach you how to tell if your bike is safe to ride even if you are an utter novice. Not only that, I can almost guarantee that they will save you considerable cash in the long run in bike shop fixing fees- while the professional mechanics at bike shops undoubtedly have a wealth of experience and qualifications in performing repairs, most of the day to day niggles or even problems that arise from accidents such as yours can usually be put right with the basic but foundational skills learned on the course.
Having been on the course you can bring your bike to the workshop on a Monday or Tuesday and fix it up using the beautiful, industry standard tools. There is always a mechanic there to look over your shoulder in case you forget that crucial point as described on the course, so you will be in no danger of riding away on an unsafe bicycle.
Hope that helps, and let us see what somebody from the organisation says too.