I thrashed my bike - where can I find bike specs?

[Guaps]

So it turns out I'm an idiot. I was driving all day coming home from my first century ride Sunday and pulled into my garage with my bike on top of my car. You would be amazed at what a sickening noise that makes. It's the first time i've used a roof rack - and now the last. I had a buddy that rides a lot come look at my bike to tell me what was broken. Here's the list: (I won't even get into the damage done to my car since this is a bike forum.)

-forks bent beyond repair
-stem dented/bent
-handle bars bent
-computer broken into tiny little peices
-saddle torn and broken

So now i need to fix it. Where can i get the specs for my bike online so i know what to order to replace the broken stuff? It's a Cannondale R900 around a 1996 or so. I've searched for the last hour or so and can't find what i think i'm looking for.

I didn't have the cash to buy a bike before the century ride, so this is acutally my dad's old bike he let me use to train and use to ride this century with him. I have to put equal or better quality parts back on. I figure once i find the specs, i can start shopping around.

Thanks for your help.

 

[seriouslysilly]

-forks bent beyond repair
-stem dented/bent
-handle bars bent
-computer broken into tiny little peices
-saddle torn and broken

first of all, sorry to hear abou that. that kinda stinks.
i've read a few posts about this and it is somewhat common.
hope you can find all the parts you need.

i'm just a bit puzzled about the saddle. how fast were you going that you weren't able to realize when the fork/handlebar hit?

 

[Guaps]

i'm just a bit puzzled about the saddle. how fast were you going that you weren't able to realize when the fork/handlebar hit?

not that fast, but obviously fast enough. Probably 10mph or so? Maybe i have slow reactions, but the distance between the front of the bike and the seat is, what, 3 feet? That's a pretty short distance to stop a car even at a slow speed. Plus the driveway into the garage is downhill.

Those are my excuses, and I'm stickin' to them.

 

[Rockslayer]

So it turns out I'm an idiot. I was driving all day coming home from my first century ride Sunday and pulled into my garage with my bike on top of my car. You would be amazed at what a sickening noise that makes. It's the first time i've used a roof rack - and now the last. I had a buddy that rides a lot come look at my bike to tell me what was broken. Here's the list: (I won't even get into the damage done to my car since this is a bike forum.)

-forks bent beyond repair
-stem dented/bent
-handle bars bent
-computer broken into tiny little peices
-saddle torn and broken

So now i need to fix it. Where can i get the specs for my bike online so i know what to order to replace the broken stuff? It's a Cannondale R900 around a 1996 or so. I've searched for the last hour or so and can't find what i think i'm looking for.

I didn't have the cash to buy a bike before the century ride, so this is acutally my dad's old bike he let me use to train and use to ride this century with him. I have to put equal or better quality parts back on. I figure once i find the specs, i can start shopping around.

Thanks for your help.

Dang, I'm sorry to hear about that.. I use roof racks I know people scoff at it but hey. It's easy to routinely drive in especially after a long ride.
I remove and hide my remote so i don't automatically press and drive in as usual or stick something in front of the door to remind me when i get home.

I think this is what you are looking for 1996 here

and the whole R900 list between 1993 to 2006.

A friend of mine said her and her bf's bike got written off the same way driving into a carpark along with the roof racks and the mounts/gutters on the car.

Goodluck mate.

**look on the bright side you will have a new bike.

 

[sogood]

Painful, painful.

Having a sun roof helps in reminding the drive that there's something on top.

Have you told your dad yet? Maybe he has something in mind with that bike. You may be wasting your money should you put on parts that quite meet his plan. Ask him and then offer to contribute the cost of replacement. It's up to him to top up with additional if he should want to do something different.

 

[rcrampton]

I wonder if you were riding in El Tour de Tucson Saturday? I rode the 109 mile section, first time, a tough ride.

I'm with the other poster, it's worth checking into the cost of a new bike, it might make more sense to put the money towards another bike.

 

[hd reynolds]

This mishap happens a lot. I cant blame the person coz that sort of thing is so easy to forget specially after a tiring ride when you just want to get home.

Therefore I have a tip on how to avoid it.

Tip: Make a poster (about A3 size); get it laminated and and hang it on the front of the garage door everytime you take out your bike on the roof rack. Poster can read "TAKE DOWN THE BIKE BEFORE YOU ENTER" or something that will remind you to do so (could be even the picture of your bike... whatever).

 

[mongooseboy]

This mishap happens a lot. I cant blame the person coz that sort of thing is so easy to forget specially after a tiring ride when you just want to get home.

Therefore I have a tip on how to avoid it.

Tip: Make a poster (about A3 size); get it laminated and and hang it on the front of the garage door everytime you take out your bike on the roof rack. Poster can read "TAKE DOWN THE BIKE BEFORE YOU ENTER" or something that will remind you to do so (could be even the picture of your bike... whatever).

roof racks are kinda easy to forget about...i have one but no longer have a vehicle i can use it on. sounds like you need a trunklid rack i need one of them too, i dont think i want a roof rack on a Neon it would look a bit funny

hope you can fix your bike or get a new one...id be lost without my bikes (even during winter when i dont really ride them)

 

[alfeng]

So it turns out I'm an idiot. I was driving all day coming home from my first century ride Sunday and pulled into my garage with my bike on top of my car. You would be amazed at what a sickening noise that makes. It's the first time i've used a roof rack - and now the last. I had a buddy that rides a lot come look at my bike to tell me what was broken. Here's the list: (I won't even get into the damage done to my car since this is a bike forum.)

-forks bent beyond repair
-stem dented/bent
-handle bars bent
-computer broken into tiny little peices
-saddle torn and broken

So now i need to fix it. Where can i get the specs for my bike online so i know what to order to replace the broken stuff? It's a Cannondale R900 around a 1996 or so. I've searched for the last hour or so and can't find what i think i'm looking for.

I didn't have the cash to buy a bike before the century ride, so this is acutally my dad's old bike he let me use to train and use to ride this century with him. I have to put equal or better quality parts back on. I figure once i find the specs, i can start shopping around.

Thanks for your help.

Sorry to say, but if you were able to damage BOTH the fork & saddle, then you undoubtedly damaged the frame beyond economical repair ...

The head tube is undoubtedly damgaged ...

The seat tube is probably damaged ...

The frame is probably, as a consequence, unsafe to ride.

Salvage the components -- either sell the parts on eBay and buy a "new"/repalcement bike OR get a new frame/fork, saddle, seatpost (the size will be specific to the frame), bars & stem, etc. ...

 

[threaded]

Why is it people stick their bikes upright on the roof? Some sort of "look I've gotta bike thing"? Me, I lay it down in the boot, or lay them on top each other on the rack, saves petrol, lots of petrol, and getting them wrecked going into garages...

 

[KellyT]

So it turns out I'm an idiot. I was driving all day coming home from my first century ride Sunday and pulled into my garage with my bike on top of my car. You would be amazed at what a sickening noise that makes. It's the first time i've used a roof rack - and now the last. I had a buddy that rides a lot come look at my bike to tell me what was broken. Here's the list: (I won't even get into the damage done to my car since this is a bike forum.)

-forks bent beyond repair
-stem dented/bent
-handle bars bent
-computer broken into tiny little peices
-saddle torn and broken

So now i need to fix it. Where can i get the specs for my bike online so i know what to order to replace the broken stuff? It's a Cannondale R900 around a 1996 or so. I've searched for the last hour or so and can't find what i think i'm looking for.

I didn't have the cash to buy a bike before the century ride, so this is acutally my dad's old bike he let me use to train and use to ride this century with him. I have to put equal or better quality parts back on. I figure once i find the specs, i can start shopping around.

Thanks for your help.

That is a shame, but like one of the other posters, I would be very worried with an alu bike, that there would be countless other fatigue damages inflicted everywhere with an impact like that. It would be dangerous and economically not justified, to risk riding it, repaired or otherwise.

(Wish you'd taken my Specialized. I can't bring myself to scrap the brute, but it's all it's worth.)

 

[Rockslayer]

Why is it people stick their bikes upright on the roof? Some sort of "look I've gotta bike thing"? Me, I lay it down in the boot, or lay them on top each other on the rack, saves petrol, lots of petrol, and getting them wrecked going into garages...

Maybe for some posers, but it saves the trouble of removing both wheels, putting the back seat down and cramming up the luggage/passenger space in the car is not always practical. The whole remove the wheels pack the bike/s in delicately is a chore. Takes a minute for me to have the bike ready on and off the roof while my mates spend a few minutes more taking the bikes out carefully and putting the bikes together.
Then the same drama loading them back in with blankets etc to stop scratching etc...

Petrol I can't see how much fuel you can save. If that's a concern just ride the bike to where ever you want to be.

The problem is peoples forgetfulness not the roofracks.

 

[Calvin Jones]

Having the original frame spec's will of course be useful. It is also useful to keep track of how you set the bike up, that is, with saddle height, stem length, bar angle, etc. This will help you dial in a new ride quickly, or help you repeat old mistakes.

See
http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=130
A PDF of a chart to record you position is linked near the top.

 

[Guaps]

Thanks for all the help everyone. This has all been great info.

I took the bike into my local bike shop to look into the possibility that the frame is damaged/unsafe. Like many of you said, no reason to replace parts on a bike that's unridable.

Thanks again!

 

[Stunslinger]

i did the same thing to my NEW bike because i'm stupid (not because roof racks are). i felt sick because of it and i will never do it again that's for sure.

in my case, the brake hoods got repositioned (but the braking/shifting still worked after i readjusted), the saddle knicked a bit, the dropouts of the fork snapped off, and the stem was scuffed. the bike flew off the car into the grass (luckily). i painstakingly disassembled everything, got a new fork and put everything back together. 600 miles later and it's still fine.

one of the best things you can do is call the manufacturer and try to get a crash replacement for whatever particular part. this will save you significant money over retail. as much as it hurts, re-enact everything (without actually crashing of course) to determine exactly WHAT took the impact, because chances are the frame didn't get touched! people crash all the time and that doesn't warrant a new bike.