Bike update

[lethargic_man]

After a weekend away, I've just finally got to look at my bike after my second accident. Turns out the reason my tightening the nuts where the mudguard fastens onto its supports failed to stop the mudguard hitting the wheel again is because that's not where the problem was. Instead, the place where the supports are attached to the front fork is loose. Turns out the thing isn't securely attached at all. There's a plastic mount which goes around the frame, and is tightened in place with two wide cable ties. (I'd link to a picture, but there's no such thing on the Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative website any longer; perhaps other people had problems with them too, and they no longer make them.) I pushed the mount back into place, and tried tightening it, but couldn't get anywhere, so I just pushed it as far up the front fork as I could: as the front fork grows wider higher up, that will jam it into place.

The rear mudguard is secured in the same manner; and I discovered one of the two plastic mounts securing it was also loose, so I did the same there.

There's now a very wide clearance between the wheel and both mudguards, so I should hopefully get a bit of notice if I keep my eyes open before the problem recurs again, but when I take my bike in to get the derailleur looked at (after my second accident, it's now hitting the spokes in first gear, which means no more first gear when climbing Mt Hampstead for the time being, *groan*), I might see if I can get the mounts replaced with something more secure.

Comments

A 'bit of notice - hopefully' is not enough

[miss-whiplash.livejournal.com]

I think you should get that sorted properly - not just for your own safety. If you have any concerns that the problem might recur then you are probably riding the bike in a potentially dangerous condition.

If a motorist used a car knowing that it might suffer mechanical failure in the path of other road users he could - quite rightly - be prosecuted.

More importantly is that the bike has jettisoned you on to the road. If a motorist hits you and injures or even kills you then not knowing the state of your cycle, then it is his conscience that will suffer, possibly for the whole of his life. I say this in the aftermath of my step-son being killed in a preventable RTA, my sympathies are with the unknown driver who was not at fault, but has to live with the fact that he killed a man for the rest of his life. That can break a person.

I hit a pedestrian once; many people witnessed it and they were kind enough to wait for the police to turn up and speak on my behalf. I was in shock for weeks and physically sick, even though there were no serious consequences; I have a colleague whose wife gave up her job because she couldn't cope with driving after a potentially nasty accident. Please look after your bike, and more importantly yourself and other people.

Re: A 'bit of notice - hopefully' is not enough

[lethargic-man.livejournal.com]

I'm not intending to leave it any later than necessary; I spent the ride in this morning obsessively checking the mudguards every few hundred yards. I've just 'phoned the cycle shop and booked the bike to bring in this evening.

Re: A 'bit of notice - hopefully' is not enough

[bluepork.livejournal.com]

I agree with Miss Whiplash (words I never imagined myself writing!)

To me, the idea of getting on your bike when you know it has a fault that has caused two accidents, is plain stupidity. "I should hopefully get a bit of notice before the problem recurs" does not inspire confidence. What if you don't? Why risk it?

Instead, why don't you remove the mudguards completely, and put them in your backpack or something while you ride to the bike shop. If you do this on a dry day, you won't even notice they are missing.

Re: A 'bit of notice - hopefully' is not enough

[lethargic-man.livejournal.com]

To me, the idea of getting on your bike when you know it has a fault that has caused two accidents, is plain stupidity.

The fault that caused two accidents (which would have only caused one if I'd realised what the fault was) is now fixed. Sooner or later the mudguard supports will slip again, but it's taken four and a half years for them to do so once; I don't think it's going to happen again soon.

Instead, why don't you remove the mudguards completely, and put them in your backpack or something while you ride to the bike shop. If you do this on a dry day, you won't even notice they are missing.

All right, all right. I've removed the front mudguard now. Removing the rear one would require taking the saddle bag off too; and given that only one of the mounts for the rear one was slipping, and the other was totally secure, I'm happy to ride the bike like that, at least in the short term.

The fact I was fretting on the way in is totally irrational; I have been aware of this all along.

Re: A 'bit of notice - hopefully' is not enough

[lethargic-man.livejournal.com]

I agree with Miss Whiplash (words I never imagined myself writing!)

Many years ago I knew someone on alt.fan.pratchett (not the same person) who went by the name of Whippy because she, too, had suffered whiplash injuries in a car accident.

She changed that when she realised people were pulling completely different associations from her moniker than she had intended.

Me, I just thought she liked ice cream.

Re: A 'bit of notice - hopefully' is not enough

[miss-whiplash.livejournal.com]

Don't worry about the name, it relates to an old neck injury; the person who set the account up for me was desparate for me to read his journal and thought it was funny and at that time you couldn't rename an account, you had to set a new one up so you lost friends, posts and the lot.

After a while you get used to it (and it really keeps one focussed on keeping work and social life separate).

Maybe I should have a 'rename my online handle' competition.

[curious-reader.livejournal.com]

Lions, tigers, bears and bikes oh mine -:)