A couple of weeks ago I was hit from behind by a car doing about 40 mph. My spine was a bit broken, along with a rib and a few minor bumps, but all of that is being fixed up.

I haven’t been able to collect my bike yet, but from what I’ve been told, the back wheel is toast, but the rest isn’t obviously knackered. Chatting to friends, quite a few have said that even if it does look straight and OK when I get it back, they wouldn’t want to ride it after it’d been hit that hard. Personally I think I’d be fine with it, though I’ll replace the carbon bars just to be on the safe side – no knowing what sort of smack they’ve had.

So (ignoring the financial aspect):

(a) Am I mad? Would you ride it if, say, a bike shop checked it over and said it looked OK to them?
(b) Any ideas about how I might definitively test whether it’s OK? Clearly if it’s out of alignment then it’s taken a big old whack and is probably best retired, but assuming it _looks_ OK…?

Cheers!

Yes, it’ll be fine. It’ll be obvious if it isn’t.

If it’s not bent or cracked, then I’d ride it.

I’d ride it.

Ummm I beg to differ. You don’t know what was hit and how and you’ll be riding with a previously fractured T12.

Your metal frame with a finite life has been subjected to an impact it was not designed for.

I’d check with your legal representation and possibly speak to someone like Enigma for advice? Also what about the forks?

Would the driver not be replacing it for you?

So ride the new one :0)

bencooper – Member
If it’s not bent or cracked, then I’d ride it.

This – Titanium is remarkably resilient and flaws or damage will be obvious by simply spraying the joints/tubes with a dye penetrant kit and giving the frame/bike a quick thrashing.

Your metal frame with a finite life has been subjected to an impact it was not designed for.

If the impact was above the elastic limit, it’d be bent. If it’s not bent, then the impact wasn’t above the elastic limit. Check the welds carefully of course, but if they’re fine then I can’t see how there’d be a problem.

Of course if the insurance is buying a new one anyway…

Yes

Ti is pretty forgiving; I once managed to pick up a huge sheet of plastic in the derailleur of my Global, bending the hanger, which is part of the frame, through 90 degrees. Two minutes with a wrench and it was straight and I carried on. That must have been around seven or eight years ago (it’s my “for-life” frame) and it’s still fine.

My ti race bmx took a big hit when I snapped some forks. It needed careful examination but they found cracks in the welds at the headtube.

I’d be having the welds checked over carefully. Iirc it was a bit of a pig to get it repaired.

If it’s a frame that you are particularly attached to then maybe look into the non-destructive testing angle (X-ray, ultrasound). I don’t think it could do any harm to ask what might be do-able and what it might cost. A quick google turns up these guys in Witney.

Would the driver not be replacing it for you?

So ride the new one :0)

I’d go with this.

Then when the insurance company doesn’t collect the old one, ride that too (assuming it’s not cracked).

I’d at least expect the insurer to fund a proper assessment (course, I’ve no idea what that would entail) by a competent person/company

If your bothered take it to a local frame builder and get them to put it on on jig for you to make sure it’s all straight and away you go

I had a titanium frame repaired by a mate of mine at work a couple of years ago and it’s been fine, I bought it with a crack on non drive chain stay so don’t know how it happened.

Lots of interesting / useful replies, thanks. I’ve no idea what stance the car driver’s insurance company will take yet. I do rather like the bike though, so (whilst new and shiny does have some appeal) I’m not desperate to justify a replacement if this will actually be fine.

The forks are 12 year old full carbon. I think I’ll replace those to be on the safe side (regardless of who pays). Seatpost I might take a risk on – less likely to be catastrophic if it does go!

I would certainly replace forks bars and post

Replace anything carbon or seriously scraped (gouges into the metal) the rest will be fine. Unless it’s bent, or cracked.

I got knocked off my ti Serotta – taken out from the side, impact on rear wheel so different type of load of course. I had it checked over for alignment etc, the only visible issue is a small dent in the downtube from the front brake caliper when the bars were spun on impact. That was something like 8 years and > 12000 miles ago.

So I’d be happy, with a decent inspection.

I would expect , along with compensation you will get ( regardless of driving conditions the driver hit you and is liable) that you will receive a replacement bike. If the insurance company let you keep it, is a ‘potential’ bonus, as long as you are happy to use it.
From an incident in which a friend crashed his bike, the forks snapped but the rest of the Orange 5 was visually fine, but his insurance didn’t question and paid out in full. Not for another bike sadly, as he now cant walk after the crash.

Are you a British cycling member there legal advise has been useful for at least a couple of people I know who have been knocked off. I certainly would not be spending my own money if someone had crashed into the back of my car so don’t see a bike as any different?

I would certainly replace forks bars and post

For a rear end shunt – WHY?
Personally if i had done it I would ride it if it was an insurance job i would want a replacement/ very thorough testing/proof it wa safe to ride

My Whyte T-130 was hit side on by a car whilst it was on the tow bar mounted rack on my car, the insurers replaced it because the effect of a side load impact couldn’t be determined and they were worried that if I rode the bike and had an accident that the might up with a personal injury claim rather than just a bike replacement claim. A decent bike shop should be able to at least check the main alignment of the frame but I’d be getting an insurance replacement just for the piece of mind.

Hope your injuries heal up quickly!

Post will have had a massive load put into it when the car hit (all the initial impact to the rider will have been through the post, accelerating the saddle forwards). If it’s a carbon post, it could have exceeded its design limit and sprung back, it’d probably cost more to test than it would to just replace. And TBH a post usually fails when it gets a higher than usual load, so i’d say its probably pretty catastrophic, i.e. hit a pot hole, get 3″ of jagged carbon stabbed into the inside of your thigh.
Forks, especially lightweight carbon, don’t really like being clattered along the road vigorously.
Bars, meh, for £30 (aluminium) it’s worth it for peace of mind, they’ll have been clattered along the road too. If carbon, they also don’t like being clattered down the road.

I’m using the CTC solicitors to claim for damage etc. I’ve no idea what the insurer’s stance will be yet. If the frame is actually OK then I’ve no desire for it to be written off regardless. I will replace the bars, forks and yeah, probably seatpost I guess, even if I end up paying myself (hopefully unlikely). That lot alone will cost around £500 – 600, but I’ve no interest in taking risks with a dodgy spine. My initial thought on the frame though were “if it’s not bent, and there are no visible cracks, then surely it’s just sprung and it’s OK”. I think overall the opinion above agrees with that, aside from the “if the insurance company want to replace then let them” factor, which I’m not completely against either. I won’t be pushing for that even if the frame can be confidently regarded as safe though. Thanks again all.

Just rebuilt my carbon Propel (new forks, stem, bars and cables) after a big RTA. I’d ride your titanium bike too, if it isn’t cracked and is still straight.

Heal fast, but take it one step/spin/ride at a time. If you were fit to before the accident, you really won’t lose much fitness, and will recover faster. Mending broken bones takes a lot of energy, I discovered!

Last point – Mine was replaced on insurance, but I asked my insurance company if I could have the old bike when it was returned from the police. They said yes, thereby transferring ownership back to me. Be sure to do the same.

Cheers for the explanation

People lose track of a very simple point regarding collisions and insurance.
The point is that the liable party is to return the damaged property to the condition it (and you) were in prior to the collision.
If it were me and my ti bike I’d have it checked over and then ride it. The liable party should also compensate or replace the damaged bike, like for like.

Get a porky mate to put on helmet & elbow/knee pads and ride it fast over some cobbles! Does it feel right? Better put a new back wheel in before he tries it though! 😉

get a good bike shop to undertake a proper inspection under “crash assessment” protocol – all good shops are equipped to do this work, and normally charge £50 which is recoverable from the insurance company or liable party

I’ve done probably 50 crash assessments over the years on metal and composite bikes. We start with a very thorough visual inspection using a bright light, and follow with frame/fork alignment checks to industry standards using Park frame and dropout alignment tools. We’d generally check with the distributor or manufacturer if we find alignment issues.

An experienced mechanic will have no problem in spotting and measuring damage to your frame.

Many will “write off” a composite frame involved in an RTC with a motor vehicle due to the inherent difficulty of determining internal damage to composite structures.

I inspected a Trek Madone which was according to the toolset was bent yet showed no external damage, Trek UK advised me to fail the frame when I reported the measurements.

RTC and crashes can have a really varied effect on bicycles, some massive impacts will destroy a wheel whilst causing little if any damage to the fork/frame; other more minor impacts can buckle a down tube whilst leaving the front wheel straight and true, i’ve seen bent hangers cause a rear mech to snap the seat stay after going up a hill and catching mech in wheel!

Thanks eshershore – turns out my LBS (I’m relatively new to the area, but they seem like decent blokes) do do this. Not sure exactly what tools they use, but I reckon I’ll take them up on it after I get my bike back, unless of course it’s obviously bent to buggery.

I’ll take the frame off you 😉

I have the bike back now. Few scuffs and scrapes, but really not too bad considering. Here’s the back wheel though:

Yikes. I can’t see that truing out. There was a bit of car bumper wedged in there too!

Rear brake caliper was stuffed into the frame, and has actually snapped (Mavic calipers, quite chunky). Can’t tell if that has damaged the seatstays or bent the stay brace / brake mount, but it might not have…

I’m not going to mess about with it until after a bike shop has assessed it. The brand new Garmin (Xmas pressie!) on the front was still there though, and seems completely OK, which is nice.