Here's a short video well worth a good look; showing how easy most crashes happen and underlining just how avoidable spills like this are.
In the clip we see a number of riders going up and over in a small group; all riding bikes fitted with tri bars. The rider who falls is actually on the bars and in the aero position.
If you're in the aero position while those around you aren't; you'll be cutting through the air faster than everyone else.
And you'll constantly need to keep correcting your speed to ensure you don't ride into the back of the rider ahead.
The tri bars effectively take away any margin for error - the inches between your wheel and the one in front; making you much more prone to crashing.
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In this clip, the rider who eventually falls at first rubs her front wheel against the rear wheel of the rider ahead. And while she doesn't fall immediately she becomes completely unstable, wobbling all over the place.
But the real damage is done when, apart from simply rubbing wheels, the rider effectively puts her front wheel spokes into the skewer just ahead and rips her spokes out.
That may not have happened if the faller had been on the drops or hoods on her regular handlebars.
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But because she was in the tri bar position; by the time she gets her hands back onto her regular bars in a bid to control the situation, she's hit the skewer and the situation is beyond rescue.
With the spokes gone and her body and bike wobbling everywhere, she then tries to slow herself down as she veers to the side of the road.
But she hits the front brake too hard, and because the rim is buckled it locks up and throws her over the handlebars.
Tri bars aside, a simple rub of wheels is how many crashes occur.
There a couple of key points here:
- Don't use tri bars in a group when riders are moving around going up and over.
- Tri bars make your movements more unpredictable and if anything goes wrong you simply won't recover your position the way you might when holding the regular bars.
- Always be very conscious of the gap between you and the wheel ahead. A simple touch of wheels can be devastating; not only for you but for those behind you.
- Don't make any sudden movements with your back wheel for fear of someone behind hitting it. Being hit from the back probably won't bring you down, but it can cause absolutely carnage behind.
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