Bike flies off roof carrier at 70mph - pics
Discussion
A friend of mine lost his bike whilst travelling home at the weekend. Placed his bike in the jaws of the Thule roof carrier but forgot to wind the clamp up and tie down the wheels in the ratchet straps. Made it onto a dual carriageway and presumably got up to speed when the wind caught it and off it flew. Ended up in the storm ditch on the verge and thank goodness nobody else was involved or hurt.
Bike is a 2016 Canyon CF SLX on Sram Red. His LBS has checked it over an said there is no sign of damage to frame but the bars, pedals rear mech all took a hit as you can see below.
Question is what would you do about the carbon (frame/forks)?
Bike is a 2016 Canyon CF SLX on Sram Red. His LBS has checked it over an said there is no sign of damage to frame but the bars, pedals rear mech all took a hit as you can see below.
Question is what would you do about the carbon (frame/forks)?
Assuming Canyon don't offer anything (might need to send it back to Germany) Spesh in the US and Cervelo in Canada offer something similar I believe.
Find someone who does "non invasive checking of CF" (aka Ultrasound). It's still in its infancy generally so rare.
It genuinely might be worth talking to someone like Porsche GB in Reading since they look after 918 and CarreraGT. Or perhaps a company that does work for a F1 team.
Also have a look at this thread.
http://www.timetriallingforum.co.uk/index.php?/top...
Find someone who does "non invasive checking of CF" (aka Ultrasound). It's still in its infancy generally so rare.
It genuinely might be worth talking to someone like Porsche GB in Reading since they look after 918 and CarreraGT. Or perhaps a company that does work for a F1 team.
Also have a look at this thread.
http://www.timetriallingforum.co.uk/index.php?/top...
Canyon can inspect it : https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/service/enquiries/cts...
Or send it here : http://carbonbikerepair.co.uk/wp/
Or send it here : http://carbonbikerepair.co.uk/wp/
Lucky escape there for him and the bike. However when I'm putting my bikes on the roof I check them probably 3-4 times before driving off, i.e. check the clamps done up, check the wheel ties are done up, give it a bit of a shake to make sure it's all secure, make sure I removed anything that can come loose from the bikes - pumps, water bottles etc., give it another shake, drive off....
, saddle had a minor scuff. Speak to Rob Hayles and Re-Carb for carbon inspection/Repair.
I've seen the results of two rowing boats coming off the roof of a Golf. (There were Doubles too, so very long.) They ripped the roof rack off the roof, and just went up in the air, a bit like those catamaran racers do when they catch a wave wrong, and go straight up.
Luckily, no one else involved, but a few quid to repair.
Luckily, no one else involved, but a few quid to repair.
EnthusiastOwned said:
Sorry I can't help the OP with anything, but this reminds me of the time I was doing some naughty speeds in my old Corrado VR6 and the sunroof suddenly disappeared, I then noticed it flailing about 1/2 a mile in the air from my rear view mirror. Luckily it was a quiet day. 
My mate had an XR3i back in the day & where he used to strap a surf ski to the roof the sunroof had rusted out meaning it would lift at anything over 60-70mph, I remember driving to Cornwall in a convoy with his brother holding onto the sunroof!I can't help with advice over the frame but this was just a reply to say that bikes getting loose from their mounts must be a relatively common occurrence?
I came down the Junction 18 ramp heading west onto the M4 not so long ago and had gone 1/4 mile when I passed a bike that was across the centre and outside lanes. The owner's car had pulled onto the hard shoulder a couple of hundred yards further on, with two other bikes still in place on the roof. The bike on the motorway looked to have been the most expensive of the three
I wouldn't have fancied his chances of getting the bike (or himself) back intact.
I came down the Junction 18 ramp heading west onto the M4 not so long ago and had gone 1/4 mile when I passed a bike that was across the centre and outside lanes. The owner's car had pulled onto the hard shoulder a couple of hundred yards further on, with two other bikes still in place on the roof. The bike on the motorway looked to have been the most expensive of the three
I wouldn't have fancied his chances of getting the bike (or himself) back intact.
I lost my old bike off the back of my car at 50mph ish back in 2014. I failed to ratchet the straps on my Saris Bones.
I thought it was a write off at the time, however, the aluminium frame was unscathed and unmarked, the front wheel took all the impact and bent 45 degrees. The only real issues were small cosmetic marks on the saddle, the seat post, bar tape and rear derailleur. Over the time these things were replaced / touched up anyway and you would never have known. The forks would no doubt have had some sort of impact but they showed no sign of it and inspection and testing ( by hand ) found them to be in as good a condition as when I purchased it. So all in all, a new front wheel and an adjusted front brake caliper had me back on the road.
It took me a few months to really trust the bike again owing to the speed involved and the sudden loss of it onto a tarmac surface, but I went on to ride more than 10 thousand miles on it with no issues before selling it 2 months ago.
It was aluminium though, so with CF I would be a little more wary of the fact frame defects and weaknesses may not be so apparent and hard to test for without the assistance of machinery. That said, it could be fine, but I would always bear in mind the possibility of sudden catastrophic failure of a carbon frame where hidden damage has gone unnoticed and been allowed to gradually worsen. I guess it is down to the owner to make a balanced and reasoned decision on whether they feel the risk is worth it. To add to the above I have also crashed my own carbon bike, which had front end and fork damage, and gone onto replace the forks and continue riding it. I still ride that bike today, and so far touch wood, no issues. It was a low speed shunt though and I had that inspected by more than one bike shop.
My advice is to gain more than one opinion and make a sound decision about how you feel about the bike based on the circumstances, as you are going to want to be pretty confident riding a carbon frame that has impacted at those speeds.
I thought it was a write off at the time, however, the aluminium frame was unscathed and unmarked, the front wheel took all the impact and bent 45 degrees. The only real issues were small cosmetic marks on the saddle, the seat post, bar tape and rear derailleur. Over the time these things were replaced / touched up anyway and you would never have known. The forks would no doubt have had some sort of impact but they showed no sign of it and inspection and testing ( by hand ) found them to be in as good a condition as when I purchased it. So all in all, a new front wheel and an adjusted front brake caliper had me back on the road.
It took me a few months to really trust the bike again owing to the speed involved and the sudden loss of it onto a tarmac surface, but I went on to ride more than 10 thousand miles on it with no issues before selling it 2 months ago.
It was aluminium though, so with CF I would be a little more wary of the fact frame defects and weaknesses may not be so apparent and hard to test for without the assistance of machinery. That said, it could be fine, but I would always bear in mind the possibility of sudden catastrophic failure of a carbon frame where hidden damage has gone unnoticed and been allowed to gradually worsen. I guess it is down to the owner to make a balanced and reasoned decision on whether they feel the risk is worth it. To add to the above I have also crashed my own carbon bike, which had front end and fork damage, and gone onto replace the forks and continue riding it. I still ride that bike today, and so far touch wood, no issues. It was a low speed shunt though and I had that inspected by more than one bike shop.
My advice is to gain more than one opinion and make a sound decision about how you feel about the bike based on the circumstances, as you are going to want to be pretty confident riding a carbon frame that has impacted at those speeds.
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