I recently had the misfortune of having to brake quickly on my tri-bike (Felt B12) to avoid a driver who passed me then turned right in front of me. I grabbed both brake levers and was quickly launched over the bars. End result was shattered clavicle and surgery last week. Is the likelihood of going over the bars higher on a properly fitted tri-bike higher than a properly fitted road bike? I’ve got 20 years of riding experience and was curious whether I may have been less likely to go over the bars on my road bike? Thoughts?
It is more likely due to having more of your weight on the front wheel.
Now you just need to get in the habit of not grabbing both brakes to make an emergency stop, the back brake is not going to do anything other than lock the rear wheel under heavy braking. This is true on a road bike and a tri bike.
I don’t think the likely hood is more on either. You slammed on the brakes more than maybe you had to because my guess is you were on the aero bars. This is one of 50 reasons no aerobar riding should be done in a group. Would you drive with a guy whose brake was on the passenger side of the car?
Agreed. I was up on the hoods and riding solo. If I was on my tri-bars, I would never had gotten to the brake levers before hitting him. And I never ride ride my tri-bike in group rides…that’s what a road bike is for…
Sorry to be pedantic but it sounds like you applied the brakes properly (in other words didn’t grab but squeezed then). But overbraked.
In dealing with motorcycles, we always tried to instill a “squeeze” rather than a grab. A grab locks the front wheel and you fallrtight away (then slide) whereas a squeeze allows for weight transfer to load up the front wheel so you have more traction.
With any bike, including a motorbike, if your weight is forward and high you are at more risk of going over the front. Normally this is pretty tough but an experienced rider who knows his braking can do this, especially on a regular bike. On lighter motorcycles I can bring the rear wheel up (witness “stoppies” on a sport bike) but not on heavier bikes or older ones with drum brakes.
The bottom line is that you are skilled enough to maximize braking force and sitting up high without deliberately moving your butt back and down pre braking, you will go over, regardless of the bike you ride.
This is one of the things you can do if you are anticipating a hard stop, out of the saddle, back behind it and down. You will keep your weight lower but apwith a squeeze on the front brake you’ll maximize traction and braking. It may be debatable whether the rear brake will do anything for you if you are doing maximum breaking on the front. Exceptions being less than ideal conditions where you can’t use max braking.
I had a similar situation a couple weeks back at the end of a Time Trial.
I just finished and was coasting down (on my bull horns) … when a junior racer turned around without looking … doing so right in front of me while I was rolling along at 23 mph. I hit the brakes hard, not any harder than I would have on my road bike in an emergency situation and launched over the bars.
Reports from people that saw the accident said the bike went 5-6 feet in the air. I landed helmet first, then shoulder and rolled onto my back coming to an immediate stop. Needless to say it hurt, but other than a broken helmet and some minor cosmetic damage to my bike (and the bottom screw in the stem cracking … which is now being fixed by Ruckus Composites … it was an integrated fork on an Argon E-118), some bruises and road rash I felt OK.
With that said, I think I broke my left thumb but since it was already fused and has a permanent Ti plate holding things tight it wasn’t a big deal (a couple days in a brace and it was functional, but still hurts some) … and may have cracked a rib, but am unsure of that.
So … with all that said … I do think grabbing a handful of brake on a TT bike will launch you more than on a road bike. A big part of this is position on the bike, being more forward on a TT bike. Also, brakes on TT bikes are better these days with the V-Brakes on most bikes, which means more stopping power … which didn’t used to be the case.
no difference.
You over braked that’s all. You should never squeeze both brakes tightly especially the rear because you’ll skid if your rear locks up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMSyXaaLJbI&feature=player_detailpage&t=1888
One of the best mods I made was getting a third brake lever installed on my aero bars.
Being able to stay in the aero position and brake is with it’s weight in gold, priceless going from LP to Keene.
Ron W.
One of the best mods I made was getting a third brake lever installed on my aero bars.
Being able to stay in the aero position and brake is with it’s weight in gold, priceless going from LP to Keene.
Ron W.
dangerous
One of the best mods I made was getting a third brake lever installed on my aero bars.
Being able to stay in the aero position and brake is with it’s weight in gold, priceless going from LP to Keene.
Ron W.
dangerous
Have you used one for 3 years?
Ron W.
One of the best mods I made was getting a third brake lever installed on my aero bars.
Being able to stay in the aero position and brake is with it’s weight in gold, priceless going from LP to Keene.
Ron W.
dangerous
Have you used one for 3 years?
Ron W.
if it was a good idea aerobars would come with brake levers on them.
One of the best mods I made was getting a third brake lever installed on my aero bars.
Being able to stay in the aero position and brake is with it’s weight in gold, priceless going from LP to Keene.
Ron W.
dangerous
Have you used one for 3 years?
Ron W.
if it was a good idea aerobars would come with brake levers on them.
You answered my question you never used one.
Ron W.
Did you get the third brake wired to your front or rear brake?
Using your entire body on the pavement does slow you down faster than just two dime-sized pieces of rubber. If that kept you from hitting the car, maybe it was the better choice.
Did you get the third brake wired to your front or rear brake?
I connected it to the front brake.
With the small brake lever that comes with the JT Engineering kit it is next to impossible to lock up the front wheel. You’re losing a lot of leverage with it being so small.
I have had it for over three years and never close to locking the front and going over the bars.
Ron W.
Sure there is a difference. You are sitting higher and more forward on a tri bike. In an emergency stop you will have more weight on the front wheel, so more likely to go over the bars.
Also worth mentioned FWIM… that it’s sometimes better to hit the object or you may be able to swerve around that you’re trying to stop short of. I think a lot of times the instinct is to hit the brakes. For me, it’s my 2nd option after avoidance. Especially when I rode motorcycles.
On a rlated subject… every time I hear of a car rolling in a ditch to avoid a deer… I always think, they should have just hit the f***** deer! the car got totaled anyway, at least there would be one less stupid forest rat to for the next person to deal with. (You have to live in the midwest to really appreciate how much of a nuisance these creatures are).
Sure there is a difference. You are sitting higher and more forward on a tri bike. In an emergency stop you will have more weight on the front wheel, so more likely to go over the bars.
I don’t know about sitting higher, I’m thinking your CG will be much lower in the aero position? Remember the purpose of the third brake lever.
Normally when you move to the drops to brake you’re rising up on the hoods a bit then if you lock up, yes you are increasing the chances of going over the bars. The combination of sitting up, being more forward & applying brakes hard can be deadly.
Now if you stay in the aero position keeping the CG low, the extra weight on the front wheel (from being more forward) will increase the traction on the tire making it harder to lock up IF you’re the least bit proficient at modulating them. Thus the advantage of the third brake lever.
The disadvantage of staying aero and using a 3rd brake lever is the loss of the second brake, of course there is nothing stopping you from getting a second lever on the aero bars.
OK guys come get me…
I can take it.
Ron W.
In 35 years of riding bikes with a purpose, I’ve gone over the bars once. That was when doing a race-prep ride with the tri bike set in full forward-and-low position and a car pulled out. Grade 3 AC separation.
When properly set up for racing, a tri bike is a dangerous thing to ride on the road. You can’t see; can’t panic-brake; can’t hardly steer.
Training is best left to a bike set up with all the joint angles of the race bike, but rotated back and up so you can see and be safe. Then roll it all forward for the final couple of weeks of race prep to get acclimated.
I was replying to someone talking about the initial topic, road vs tri bike. Not tri bike with a 3rd lever.
You are always sitting higher on a tri bike. When you move the seat forward, you need to raise the seat to maintain the same leg extension. This directly limits the distance you can move your CoG behind the BB without lifting off the seat and fully moving behind it (ie butt close to the rear wheel with the seat in front of you).