I fell off my bike today riding into an urban parking lot. There was a little crest going from the road into the parking lot and I got unseated as I was completing the turn. My strong feeling was that the crash was caused by pedal strike on the ground. Having the pedal down on the turn coupled with a dip and then a crest on the road meant the bike stopped suddenly. I didn’t go over the handle bars because the speed wasn’t high enough, but the bike became so unbalanced that I fell off to the side of the bike. Luckily, other than a few scrapes on my knees and palms, I was otherwise ok.
I felt the bike I was riding contributed to the crash. It was a bike with 20 inch wheels, similar to a mini velo. Smaller wheels meant the bottom bracket sits lower than a normal 700c wheel bike. The crank length is 165mm which helps reduce the incident of pedal strike. But the height from the ground to the bottom of the pedal is only a dismal 9cm. Compared to about 11cm on my hybrid and road bike. 2 cm can make a big difference on whether pedal strike occurs due to the angle of the lean and undulation of the ground. On my 700c wheel bike I haven’t actively think about pedal strike and can pedal through corners. But on the 20 inch wheel bike, I had to be more careful. Switching bikes from day to day was not a good idea since I became complacent about pedal strike, ultimately causing my crash.
On reflection, I question whether the crash was inevitable. Was it a design flaw in the bike, or that the bike was meant to be ridden in a certain way and the condition exceeded its design tolerance. I think it’s 30% the former and 70% the latter. A bike simply cannot be designed for all road conditions. Even cars scrape their bottoms on some inclines, so the condition of the road is a contribution as well. It is up to the rider to interpret the conditions and control the bike accordingly. I did not do that in that instance.
Going forward, I will minimise the use of the 20 inch wheeler or be extra vigilant when I’m on it. From a safety point of view, not a good idea to be changing bike riding style every day, just as it’s not good to switch between auto and manual cars daily.
All things reviewed 