First crash...now what

Glad you’re mostly okay. Crashes suck, even when just skin damage.

Have not read other posters responses but wanted to share 2 cents.

My perspective and bias, FYI:

  • I rode a Trek 1200 for a decade before I knew what chain lube was. Beat the snot out of that bike. Same with my Trek 4300 MTB. Ages 15-25-ish. Abused them like heck.

  • I neglected my bikes horribly in a past life. Lack of awareness, no guidance, laziness, no care for performance, and no money.

  • I can now do all maintenance and repairs on a stable of 6 carbon race bikes from TT to XC MTB, 4 of which perform well at the national level.

I now believe that things last, and are safe, for a LOT longer than they are fast/clean/pretty. Like 100x longer. They’re just terribly slow/loud/ugly. Anyone on a bike forum online likely has standards 10x higher than safety standards alone. Performance is a whole 'nother ballgame.

Here’s my 2 cents with that perspective.

If they work, they work. I’ve used multiple-crashed di2 shifters and hacked them together with tape and bits of metal scrap for multiple years. If they stop working, replace them. Who cares if they’re ugly.

They’re most likely safe. Carbon can take a beating. But if you ask the internet you’ll end up replacing them. I’ve crashed carbon bars countless times, scratched all to dickens and never replaced them. Any cracks though, and definitely replace because carbon takes a beating until cracked, at which point it’s wildly dangerous.

If the wheel’s true and has no cracks, ride it. If it comes out of true, take it in to be trued and inspected, otherwise probably fine. Treat this as “internet advice” :slight_smile:

I used to think that it was standard practice to whack shifters back into place after a crash. I didn’t know they were held on by a bolt and ring clamp structure and had never considered that mechanical failure could be a thing. I did this for 10-15 years, with the last 3-4 of those years being on light weight carbon bars.

Either I am extremely lucky, or catastrophic mechanical failures due to damaged bike components are substantially less common than the internet might have you believe. I think it’s the latter.

Virtually everyone on the internet is incentivized to make you believe such, because of liability. If they say otherwise, and you happen to take their advice and claim injury as a result, it feels awfully vulnerable from a liability perspective, since it’s publicly written for everyone to see. Certainly companies are incentivized in multiple ways in the same direction.

I posit that things are safe for a lot longer and with greater degrees of damage than are reported broadly on the internet.

The age group that damages things the most and experiences their non-failure, are also probably not likely the age group that spends loads of time detailing such things on the internet. Age 18-25 males aren’t known for their prolific use of forums and thoughtful consideration of nuanced topics. But they make great test subjects for “it’s broken, but I’m gonna ride it anyway cuz I’m reckless and broke.”

(I did snap a chain once during steady road pedaling without a shift, because I hadn’t lubed it in 7 yrs).

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