Getting Past My Cycling Accident Part III

Getting Past My Cycling Accident Part III

I crashed my bicycle on May 16, 2015. The bike and I somersaulted at 30 miles per hour. I rolled on the pavement and injured myself. I and my bike have been on the mend ever since. This is the third part of my trip back from the physical therapy and getting my bike back on the road.

The Bicycle

I had heard about the common cyclist joke about the cyclist only asking about how the bike is doing after a crash. I asked four times myself before my wife got tired of answering the same question about my bike. She assured me that my bike was fine, that it was in better shape than me. I had a fractured skull and a fractured pelvis and other injuries.

When I got home from the hospital after five weeks of physical, the bike looked okay. But the right brake lever was twisted out of place, the saddle as scratched on the left side and there was a paint chip off of the bottom tube. This paint chip problem would prove to be bad.

My bike is a carbon fiber frame Madone 6.5, that I had ordered through the Trek Project One program five years ago. The benefit of carbon fiber is the lightweight and compliant so that it feels much smoother than an aluminum bike. The problem with carbon fiber frames is that the carbon fiber/plastic resin combination will fail catastrophically if the frame is cracked. There are numerous stories and pictures online about sudden carbon fiber failures.

At first I thought that my bike got the better deal from the accident. The firefighters picked me up and placed me in the ambulance. They did not turn off the Garmin VIRB on my bike, so I saw the firefighters load my bicycle onto the fire truck, and then roll through the streets of Santa Barbara and into the firehouse. I would have loved to have traded places with my bike.

I fixed the brake lever easily and wasn't concerned about the saddle, but the paint chip could be over a crack in the tube. I did a tap test, tapping the tube around the damage to see if the tone changed at all. The local bike shop that sold me the bike did the same test. And a second bike shop did the same test. In all cases, the frame passed the test. The tone from the tapping did not change at all.

However, the owner of the bike shop where I bought the bike was still concerned and would not okay the frame. So I had the bike frame sent to Trek headquarters in Waterloo, WI. There Trek would perform more tests than a local bike shop could do. After a few days, I got the word from the local bike shop owner that Trek would not recommend riding the bike anymore and that I was eligible for a discounted frame from Trek for being a long-time customer. I called Trek directly to get some details. Although the frame looked good, the Trek engineers did not have enough confidence in approving the ride. The lawyers did not want to assume any risk.

Now I am looking for a new frame. Since I am eligible for a good discount from Trek, I will probably consider the new Madone 9 and Emonda SLR frame. The new Madone 9 has an aerodynamic design, with a clean internal cable look and a seat mast isocoupler from the Domane line making the ride more comfortable. The Emonda SLR is lighter than the Madone, and the ride is very compliant. My problem that after riding a Madone for five years it is tough to move to a different model. Another problem is that I just bought the SRAM Red 22 groupset. With the Madone 9, I will have to use the Bontrager brake calipers and lose the SRAM brake calipers. Additionally, I will have to purchase the dedicated the integrated handlebar - stem combination that hides the brake and shifter cables internally. I will not be able to use my two-year-old Bontrager XXX Aero handlebar that I liked. It is a little upsetting to have fairly new components sitting on a garage shelf after only two years to 8 months of use. With the Emonda, all of my components would carry over.

Now with my physical recovery complete, I still have a ways to go to get back on the road. But here in Southern California, even during the rainy season, there are still plenty of opportunities to ride in the months to come. So I am not terribly discouraged. I just miss the rides now.