Cars and Carbon.......

cdhbrad · 02-08-2012

do not mix. Here are some photos of my Fondriest TF2 - 1.0 after a driver turned across our lane and into her subdivision entrance as three of us were riding at about 24-25 just before the end of our Sunday AM ride. We looked left and she was in the turn lane and then turned right onto us and all we could do was grab the brakes and yell "OH SH _ T". Lead rider veered left and missed her, but I was the first to hit the broad side of the car followed by the guy behind me. I woke up in a Ambulance.

I'm better than anticipated, a cut beside one eye and lots of bruises, but nothing broken. While I was being treated in the ER, they brought in to more cyclists from wrecks that happened within minutes of mine. Not a good day to be a cyclist in SW Florida last Sunday morning.

tuck · 02-08-2012

Ouch. Glad you're okay.

Question: When something like this happens, does the driver's insurance pay for your damages, etc? As it would if you were in a car? I'm assuming a report was filed...

**Coolhand** · 02-08-2012

holy crap- hope you're ok.

RJP Diver · 02-08-2012

Glad you're OK.

That's not blood on the downtube, is it?

onespeed · 02-08-2012

"I said 'Go**amn'"

Sheared those right off. Wouldnt think it would do it like that. Especially after seeing the carbon wheel stunt video posted yesterday.

Glad you are ok.

cdhbrad · 02-08-2012

Yes it is, sorry about that....took these photos to share with the Driver's Insurance Co...and haven't cleaned up the bike.

No one with me has told me how I impacted the car to cause the fork to snap like that. I can spin the wheel in the broken fork and it is still true and the tire is inflated.

cdhbrad · 02-08-2012

Yes, a CTS. I'll be on the trainer tomorrow...its driving me crazy not to ride.

cycocross · 02-08-2012

I'm guessing a Cadillac? Get well.

wassler · 02-08-2012

Hi,

I'm glad you 're not too badly hurt.. It could have been far worse.. And as to the damages.. If there's no damage to the frame the carbon is actually better than an aluminum or steel bike.. With a metal bike the chnaces of a bent frame would have been far worse.; adn thus the cost of repairs. A metal fork would have been bent beyond repir too.. so the damage may look more severe.. it may turn out to be a smaller loss overall..

get well and back on the bike soon..

Wassler.

cdhbrad · 02-08-2012

Tuck: I am in FL and we have what is known as "Personal Injury Protection" on our Auto Policies that picks up the first $10K in damages regardless of fault. I didn't realize my Auto policy would cover my medical expense while on the bike, but my agent and Ins. Co say it does. Otherwise, yes, the driver's Auto Insurance should pick up the medicals.

Florida Highway Patrol was on scene in less than 10 minutes and all if covered there. Like I said, it was a busy Sunday, but the Officer came to see me in the ER too and she mentioned the other two bike/car accidents that had happened.

They will be dealing with the property damages for sure. You'll appreciate this: I was wearing my favorite jersey from one of the past 3State 3 Mountain challenges.....don't know if I'll be wearing it again or not. It was pretty nasty looking after the trip to the ER.

gordy748 · 02-08-2012

It could be you hit the front wheel, which would have been turned so you'd have hit broadside. Else you managed to get between the wheel and the wheelarch, and the impact was on a weak point on the fork.

I felt a bit dumb going through the photos. First one I thought, hey not much happened to the bike, second one I thought, ohh, no a lot happened to it. Sorry for your loss and hope you mend up soon.

cdhbrad · 02-08-2012

You are correct. I think only the Fork is damaged and I've already checked with a FL Fondriest dealer and they can get me a replacement fork from the distributor. I've looked the bike over pretty well and that is all I see so far. The bike only has about 1500 miles on it, so basically, "brand new" and I only ride it on weekends so not to many miles on it.

I was riding another Fondriest, a Domino Plus, the last time I was in a crash that sent me to the ER in 2007. I just had to replace the broken carbon bars on that one and I still ride it regularly. It is built even heavier than the TF2, but still a light bike.

looigi · 02-08-2012

Is that blood on the downtube between the S and T? Kewel!

dcorn · 02-08-2012

Damn dude, sorry to hear. Exact same thing happened to me two weeks ago, riding through a city in the bike lane when some dumbass signaled at the last second before turning right at a light directly in front of me. Luckily I wasn't going quite as fast and was able to stop just enough that I lightly tapped the side of the rear bumper and just barely got a foot down. It was the 2nd ride on my brand new bike.

Feel better and hope everything works out with the insurance.

SlurpeeKing · 02-09-2012

glad your ok, did the driver get ticketed?

savagemann · 02-09-2012

Man.....glad you came out as good.as you did.
But i would be very hesitant running that frame or any of the parts again.
A frontal impact like yours that had enough force to sheer the fork has more than likely done some unseen damage to the frame, handlebars, stem and possibly other bits as well.
Id seriously reconsider just slapping a new fork on and using it every day.
But, if the insurance covers everything, and allows you to keep the bike, you have a pretty sweet dedicated trainer machine!
The insurance co will most likely want to keep the damaged bike after paying you out for it.
Make sure you claim any and everything!!!!
Often items like shoes,helmet and kit are overlooked when filing a claim.
Don't forget pedals and anything that was added aftermarket be added as well.....on top of the replacement bikes price.

Zipp0 · 02-09-2012

Get a new bike and make sure she pays. Then make sure she pays for the medical bills. Then make sure she gets a big ticket or fine or loses her license. Then sue her.

Glad you are relatively OK.

qatarbhoy · 02-09-2012

Sorry to hear about your accident, but I'm glad the bike is broken rather than you. I'm on a big group ride in traffic tomorrow so I will be saying my prayers.

All the best for a speedy recovery of your health and a shiny new ride!

cdhbrad · 02-09-2012

Thanks for the comments, I'll keep them in mind. My LBS has handled plenty of Ins. Co. claim estimates and they know how the system works.

Ppopp · 02-09-2012

Glad to hear you're OK, or will be, anyways.

There's been a few well-publicized car-bike incidents here in Boulder in the last year. Fatal, unfortunately. There was one notable picture in the local paper of a fireman clearing a CF bike from the road, and it was nothing more than a limp mess of mangled CF parts held together by cable housing.

cdhbrad · 02-09-2012

We were lucky, I guess, that the driver was entering the boulevard type entrance into her subdivision and that is where the contact was made. If in the road, we might have been hit by other cars, etc., you just never know.

Drivers here "usually" are pretty good with cyclists. For example, one couple on a tandem, our LBS owners, had gotten ahead of us a bit and turned onto the road we use for cool down at the end of the ride and a motorist followed them up that street and told them about the accident so they could turn around as they didn't even know it had happened. That driver could have just as easily kept going, but he chose not to do that.

Ppopp · 02-09-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdhbrad

Drivers here "usually" are pretty good with cyclists. For example, one couple on a tandem, our LBS owners, had gotten ahead of us a bit and turned onto the road we use for cool down at the end of the ride and a motorist followed them up that street and told them about the accident so they could turn around as they didn't even know it had happened. That driver could have just as easily kept going, but he chose not to do that.

A good point that's worth making. There's some bad drivers out there that would just as soon run over you than steer around you if they could get away with it, but there are also a lot who respect cyclists on the road and will do the right thing to help a cyclist out when given the opportunity.

FTR · 02-09-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdhbrad

You are correct. I think only the Fork is damaged and I've already checked with a FL Fondriest dealer and they can get me a replacement fork from the distributor. I've looked the bike over pretty well and that is all I see so far. The bike only has about 1500 miles on it, so basically, "brand new" and I only ride it on weekends so not to many miles on it.

I was riding another Fondriest, a Domino Plus, the last time I was in a crash that sent me to the ER in 2007. I just had to replace the broken carbon bars on that one and I still ride it regularly. It is built even heavier than the TF2, but still a light bike.

No way I would be riding ANY CF bike that has been in an impact with a motor vehicle.
I have a friend who rows.
They use CF oars.
He tells me they have accidentally dropped them on the concrete floor, picked them up and they look perfect. Rowing along and suddenly they snap in 3 places.

If a LBS says it is good to go, get their in-house carbon fibre expert to put it in writing along with a guarantee from them that it will not suddenly fail and that they will cover the cost of your injuries if it does.

hecbom · 02-09-2012

CDHBrad Man! I am glad you are ok! I am not sure if it’s the critical mass down in Florida or just stupid drivers but I used to live in Tampa ( my parents still live there) and in fact I spent most of my racing career 40 years ago in Florida. I went to school at Florida State and to be honest never had an incident such as yours but streets back then were not as crowded. Here in Southern California we have our share of idiots so we have to ride with six senses in order to survive. Make sure you get everything covered by her insurance and stay alert, it is a matter of survival of the fittest!