Returning from a week away today with the family – just hit 60mph on the main road and –

My sons Giant Fathom found itself leaving the roof rack and bouncing down the road –

Thankfully no one hurt and the road was relatively quiet but everyone concerned pretty shook up

Now we’re all coming down from the adrenaline rush – a look at the bike –

Obviously it hit the road at speed but actually the damage looks minor – bars and saddle are scuffed but unbelievable both wheels are running true and everything feels ok – gear hanger is bent but obviously easily replaceable

I can’t see any dents or damage to the frame at all –

BUT – I’m a bit concerned about it – it’s an alloy frame so pretty tough (I’d be happier if it was steel I suppose!)

Any thoughts on whether to use it??

(& before you ask, the reason it came off the rack wasn’t a rack failure – totally human error and totally relieved no one was hurt when it left the roof of our car 😬)

Bikes are made of triangles and circles, both of which are very strong shapes.

I would check over the frame, especially the forks, for creases though.

the reason it came off the rack wasn’t a rack failure – totally human error

Easily done. Once I forgot to tighten the holding arm on my Thule Proride after a particularly knackering XC epic, so the bike just sat loose in the rack. Fortunately I had a fair amount of country road to navigate before hitting the motorway and a strange rattling an knocking alerted me to the fact.

If it didn’t actually hit anything solid, it’s probably ok. Bouncing down the road won’t really stress it any more than bouncing down the side of a mountain after a crash. Obviously, check around the head tube for any sign of cracks, plus the bars, which is really what you should do after any significant crash.

Yup agreed. Id have. Thought seat/pedals/bars would take the brunt and I’m sure those bits have got somethibg to show for it but frame itself, particularly an alloy one, should be OK. I’d strip it down, clean it, have a real good inspection and rebuild personally.

It’s surprising how well bikes survive a detachment like this, but so long as they’re not hit, they tend to just bounce and roll until they stop. Wheels, saddle and bars tend to stop all the expensive bits in the middle from hitting the ground.

Happened to a mate on the way to MM in 2008. We were behind him on the road when his bike just sort of rolled off the top. It bounced a considerable distance tumbling end over end. The only damage once we recovered it from the carriageway was a broken saddle and a deflated tyre.

I’ve had similar happen where it was rack failure, I only had scratched bars/grips, torn saddle and buckled rear wheel. I pulled the forks out to check (carbon road forks) but everything was ok, 6 years later and the bike is still going fine.

I might take the forks out to inspect the head tube and steerere more thoroughly

I’d be mighty careful to check the bars, stem, steerer and fork give they’re the bits that are both exposed and result in things like steering into a tree at speed.

Frame around the headtube welds to the top and downtube too.

I’d get a professional to check it over.

I’d get a professional to check it over.

A professional what? NDT engineer to do ultrasonic crack detection on components? If you ask a bike mechanic they’ll just tell you to replace anything that looks like it might have hit the road because they wouldn’t want to risk the bit failing that they told you would be OK.