Catastrophic Brompton folding pedal failure this morning



An eventful trip to work today. Everything going nicely until the
pedestrian crossing at the bottom of the hill on Pentonville Road from
Kings Cross up towards Angel.

Stopped for the lights. Jumped off and adjusted the saddle because it
wasn't quite right. Lights changed. Set off. BANG! and I'm lying in
the road. This fall was much faster than anything I've ever had
before, even slipping on ice.

The folding pedal has snapped - the cage, not the bolt.

Embarrassingly, I'd got my foot tangled up with the bike (it had
folded up and my foot was trapped between the front wheel and the back
wheel) and I couldn't get up. Fortunately a couple of pedestrians came
to my aid and helped untangle my foot.

To add insult to injury then I had to battle the crowds on the Tube
which included trying to work out how to get into Kings Cross
underground when they've shut the brand new entrance outside KX and
not allowing anybody in. I've absolutely no idea why because when I
started walking down the Euston Road I realized you could get in via
St Pancras and it wasn't particularly crowded at all.

Cyclesurgery had a folding pedal in stock and fitted it for me - only
charged me for the pedal, not for the fitting. I'd expected I'd
probably have to pay a fiver for the fitting.

I'm slightly surprised that it was the left pedal as I always start
with my right foot and I think I favour my right leg slightly when
pushing hard. I suppose I'm also lucky it broke when it did as I can
often be pushing hard and doing 20mph up that hill - if it hadn't been
for the pedestrian crossing lights being red I'd probably have
suffered the same failure while moving at a respectable speed.

I've got a small graze on my knee (no damage to my trousers) and the
little finger of my left hand feels a bit uncomfortable if I
straighten it - nothing serious but I expect I'll struggle to play the
piano for a few days. My knee is also stiffening up a bit - going
downstairs is painful but fortunately, going up stairs (and therefore
I presume cycling) is fine.

I'd done around 5000 miles on that pedal.

I've got the old pedal so I'll post a pic soon.

Tim.
 
"[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote in news:ff849d01-a911-
[email protected]:

> Cyclesurgery had a folding pedal in stock and fitted it for me - only
> charged me for the pedal, not for the fitting. I'd expected I'd
> probably have to pay a fiver for the fitting.


A fiver! I'm gonna have to open a workshop in London ;)

Glad the worst damage is to you pride. For some reason I've always had a
fear of pedals/cranks snapping. Prolly something to do with top tubes and
being male I guess.
 
On 17 Jan 2008 12:40:22 GMT, Mark T wrote:

> "[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote in news:ff849d01-a911-
> [email protected]:
>
>> [3 quoted lines suppressed]

>
> A fiver! I'm gonna have to open a workshop in London ;)
>
> Glad the worst damage is to you pride. For some reason I've always had a
> fear of pedals/cranks snapping. Prolly something to do with top tubes and
> being male I guess.


I've seen a few snap on the axle when I worked in a hire shop, I'm guessing
that was down to them being cheap ****, the shear often left a very sharp
edge on the axle, and in one case cut someone right down to the ankle bone.

Weirdly I remember it causing people to get there feet in the wheels also,
must be something to do with how your leg is expecting to push.

Steve
 
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> An eventful trip to work today. Everything going nicely until the
> pedestrian crossing at the bottom of the hill on Pentonville Road from
> Kings Cross up towards Angel.
>
> Stopped for the lights. Jumped off and adjusted the saddle because it
> wasn't quite right. Lights changed. Set off. BANG! and I'm lying in
> the road. This fall was much faster than anything I've ever had
> before, even slipping on ice.
>
> The folding pedal has snapped - the cage, not the bolt.
>
> Embarrassingly, I'd got my foot tangled up with the bike (it had
> folded up and my foot was trapped between the front wheel and the back
> wheel) and I couldn't get up. Fortunately a couple of pedestrians came
> to my aid and helped untangle my foot.
>
> To add insult to injury then I had to battle the crowds on the Tube
> which included trying to work out how to get into Kings Cross
> underground when they've shut the brand new entrance outside KX and
> not allowing anybody in. I've absolutely no idea why because when I
> started walking down the Euston Road I realized you could get in via
> St Pancras and it wasn't particularly crowded at all.
>
> Cyclesurgery had a folding pedal in stock and fitted it for me - only
> charged me for the pedal, not for the fitting. I'd expected I'd
> probably have to pay a fiver for the fitting.
>
> I'm slightly surprised that it was the left pedal as I always start
> with my right foot and I think I favour my right leg slightly when
> pushing hard. I suppose I'm also lucky it broke when it did as I can
> often be pushing hard and doing 20mph up that hill - if it hadn't been
> for the pedestrian crossing lights being red I'd probably have
> suffered the same failure while moving at a respectable speed.
>
> I've got a small graze on my knee (no damage to my trousers) and the
> little finger of my left hand feels a bit uncomfortable if I
> straighten it - nothing serious but I expect I'll struggle to play the
> piano for a few days. My knee is also stiffening up a bit - going
> downstairs is painful but fortunately, going up stairs (and therefore
> I presume cycling) is fine.
>
> I'd done around 5000 miles on that pedal.
>
> I've got the old pedal so I'll post a pic soon.
>
> Tim.
>


WOW 20 mph uphill!

If it is a "hill" and not a slope I find my max is rarely better than 9 mph.
If it's a "HILL" it will be 5 mph max -- if I am lucky!

A sideline

I got my first visit from the P*nct*re fairy yesterday on my Marathon plus --
that is some 8,000 miles without such an event! I took the opportunity to
remove various bits ( mainly glass) from the tyre ---- only 3 other bits.

--
Trevor A Panther
In South Yorkshire,
England, United Kingdom.
www.tapan.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk
 
<[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> An eventful trip to work today. Everything going nicely until the
> pedestrian crossing at the bottom of the hill on Pentonville Road from
> Kings Cross up towards Angel.
>
> Stopped for the lights. Jumped off and adjusted the saddle because it
> wasn't quite right. Lights changed. Set off. BANG! and I'm lying in
> the road. This fall was much faster than anything I've ever had
> before, even slipping on ice.
>
> The folding pedal has snapped - the cage, not the bolt.
>
> Embarrassingly, I'd got my foot tangled up with the bike (it had
> folded up and my foot was trapped between the front wheel and the back
> wheel) and I couldn't get up. Fortunately a couple of pedestrians came
> to my aid and helped untangle my foot.
>
> To add insult to injury then I had to battle the crowds on the Tube
> which included trying to work out how to get into Kings Cross
> underground when they've shut the brand new entrance outside KX and
> not allowing anybody in. I've absolutely no idea why because when I
> started walking down the Euston Road I realized you could get in via
> St Pancras and it wasn't particularly crowded at all.
>
> Cyclesurgery had a folding pedal in stock and fitted it for me - only
> charged me for the pedal, not for the fitting. I'd expected I'd
> probably have to pay a fiver for the fitting.
>
> I'm slightly surprised that it was the left pedal as I always start
> with my right foot and I think I favour my right leg slightly when
> pushing hard. I suppose I'm also lucky it broke when it did as I can
> often be pushing hard and doing 20mph up that hill - if it hadn't been
> for the pedestrian crossing lights being red I'd probably have
> suffered the same failure while moving at a respectable speed.
>
> I've got a small graze on my knee (no damage to my trousers) and the
> little finger of my left hand feels a bit uncomfortable if I
> straighten it - nothing serious but I expect I'll struggle to play the
> piano for a few days. My knee is also stiffening up a bit - going
> downstairs is painful but fortunately, going up stairs (and therefore
> I presume cycling) is fine.
>
> I'd done around 5000 miles on that pedal.
>
> I've got the old pedal so I'll post a pic soon.
>
> Tim.
>


Hard luck Tim - Hope things aren't too painful ... Stopping at red lights? I thought you cockerney lot never bothered about that ... It's not considered safe (by some) I've heard ...



--
Colin N.

Lincolnshire is mostly flat ... But the wind is mostly in your face
 
On Jan 17, 2:26 pm, "Trevor A Panther" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>
> WOW 20 mph uphill!
>
> If it is a "hill" and not a slope I find my max is rarely better than 9 mph.
> If it's a "HILL" it will be 5 mph max -- if I am lucky!
>

Looking at streetmap.co.uk it looks like it's about two leger lines in
about 700m so something like 1 in 30 to 1 in 40. So no, it's not
really a hill but it's an unusually long sustained noticeable climb
for central London. It is steep enough that one of my collegues
commented that he notices it on his moped.

On the Brompton I'm doing really well if I'm actually doing 30kph+ at
the top. Unless I get a run at it and don't have to slow down at all
for traffic or lights or there's a strong tailwind I've got to be
having a particularly good day to actually manage 30kph at the top.

But I'll often be doing 35-40kph at the bottom and pushing hard up the
hill so that my speed drops to 24-28kph at the top depending on how
much braking or coasting I have to do for lights and traffic. If I
actually have to stop I can rarely get my speed back up much above
24kph by the top. If I have to stop at the bottom, like today, then
usually I get my speed up to 30kph but then it drops off again before
the summit.

On my road bike, when I've cycled all the way to work I've usually
been able to get my speed up to 40kph at the top even if I've had to
stop for the lights half way up. But that's a significantly lighter
bike, more gears and clipless pedals. (Of course the Brompton pedals
are clipless as well but not in the same way ;-)

When on the Brompton this is the first and only significant climb I
have to do. The Euston Road itself is slightly downhill and typically
there's sufficient traffic that my speed is limited enough that I've
not used up too much energy before I start the climb. So while I've
never been overtaken by another cyclist going up this hill (other then
when it's been completely snarled up with traffic and someone else is
prepared to take more risks squeezing between the cars and buses) it
very much is a rigged example for how fast I can cycle uphill.

Tim.
 
In article
<[email protected]>,
"[email protected]" <[email protected]> writes

>The folding pedal has snapped - the cage, not the bolt.
>I'd done around 5000 miles on that pedal.


That happened me, too, just over two years after buying the bike new.
Estimating 10 miles a day commuting to work, that would be about 2,250
miles. I think the shop (Condor) replaced the pedal free.
--
congokid
Eating out in London? Read my tips...
http://congokid.com
 
On 17/01/2008 14:26, Trevor A Panther wrote:
> I got my first visit from the P*nct*re fairy yesterday on my Marathon plus --
> that is some 8,000 miles without such an event! I took the opportunity to
> remove various bits ( mainly glass) from the tyre ---- only 3 other bits.


I haven't had a front puncture since fitting a Marathon Plus at the
beginning of July.

Mind you, I also haven't had a rear puncture since replacing the worn
Marathon Slick with a new one at the end of September, which is pretty
good going for me. (I have a Marathon Plus ready to replace the Slick
when it wears out).

(Swapping the front and rear tyres so that I have the Plus at the back
and the Slick at the front isn't an option, as my wheels are different
sizes. Besides which, the weight distribution isn't the same as on a
wedgie and, with matching tyres, front and rear puncture rates tend to
be fairly evenly matched).

--
Danny Colyer <http://www.redpedals.co.uk>
Reply address is valid, but that on my website is checked more often
"The plural of anecdote is not data" - Frank Kotsonis
 
On Thu, 17 Jan 2008 03:57:02 -0800 (PST),
[email protected] <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> I've got the old pedal so I'll post a pic soon.
>

Some pics here:

http://www.woodall.me.uk/pedal/

The _b versions are the same, just resaved by the Gimp so they're a lot
smaller.

There's also a minute of the video from my ride. The crash is about in
the middle.

Tim.


--
God said, "div D = rho, div B = 0, curl E = - @B/@t, curl H = J + @D/@t,"
and there was light.

http://tjw.hn.org/ http://www.locofungus.btinternet.co.uk/
 
On Jan 17, 3:45 pm, congokid <[email protected]> wrote:
> In article
> <[email protected]>,
> "[email protected]" <[email protected]> writes
>
> >The folding pedal has snapped - the cage, not the bolt.
> >I'd done around 5000 miles on that pedal.

>
> That happened me, too, just over two years after buying the bike new.
> Estimating 10 miles a day commuting to work, that would be about 2,250
> miles. I think the shop (Condor) replaced the pedal free.


shouldn't that be more like 5k miles in two years? Or do you work a
different pattern to 5 days/week full time?
 
In article
<[email protected]>,
"[email protected]" <[email protected]> writes
>On Jan 17, 3:45 pm, congokid <[email protected]> wrote:


>> >The folding pedal has snapped - the cage, not the bolt.
>> >I'd done around 5000 miles on that pedal.

>>
>> That happened me, too, just over two years after buying the bike new.
>> Estimating 10 miles a day commuting to work, that would be about 2,250
>> miles. I think the shop (Condor) replaced the pedal free.

>
>shouldn't that be more like 5k miles in two years? Or do you work a
>different pattern to 5 days/week full time?
>

10 miles a day, five days a week, and 45 weeks a year = 2,250 miles
total. I had seven weeks of holiday each year (which was later increased
to 36 days).
--
congokid
Eating out in London? Read my tips...
http://congokid.com
 
[email protected] wrote:

>An eventful trip to work today. Everything going nicely until the
>pedestrian crossing at the bottom of the hill on Pentonville Road from
>Kings Cross up towards Angel.
>
>Stopped for the lights. Jumped off and adjusted the saddle because it
>wasn't quite right. Lights changed. Set off. BANG! and I'm lying in
>the road. This fall was much faster than anything I've ever had
>before, even slipping on ice.
>
>The folding pedal has snapped - the cage, not the bolt.
>
>Embarrassingly, I'd got my foot tangled up with the bike (it had
>folded up and my foot was trapped between the front wheel and the back
>wheel) and I couldn't get up. Fortunately a couple of pedestrians came
>to my aid and helped untangle my foot.


I remember going down like the proverbial sack of spuds when my crank
snapped as I stood on the pedals to blast up the rise of Vauxhall
Bridge on my way in to work. This was back in the days of clips and
straps and I ended up with the pedal firmly strapped to my foot.
Luckily the other foot was only loose in the clip and there wasn't
much traffic about. That afternoon I cycled home on one pedal a la
Culverhouse.
--
Phil Cook looking north over the park to the "Westminster Gasworks"
 
Quoting Phil Cook <[email protected]>:
>I remember going down like the proverbial sack of spuds when my crank
>snapped as I stood on the pedals to blast up the rise of Vauxhall
>Bridge on my way in to work.


As a kid I had a pedal just come off the spindle with a shower of bearing
bits. Again, clips and straps, so I could use my foot to shove the pedal
back on the spindle and ride home graunch graunch. Not ideal.
--
David Damerell <[email protected]> Distortion Field!
Today is Tuesday, January.
 
Trevor A Panther wrote:
> I got my first visit from the P*nct*re fairy yesterday on my Marathon
> plus -- that is some 8,000 miles without such an event! I took the
> opportunity to remove various bits ( mainly glass) from the tyre ----
> only 3 other bits.


Coincidentally she visited me on Thursday, for the first time in 15
years of regular cycling. I expect I have cycled around 30000 miles in
that time. Her weapon of choice also seemed to be glass and she
punctured both tyres at once. She was making up for her neglect of me in
the past, I suppose.

Incidentally I have made no particular attempt to use 'puncture-proof'
tyres over those 15 years. I may now get some tyres with a kevlar band
in them, for commuting, but I don't think I'll bother to start carrying
a pump and a puncture repair kit.

Bob