what happened to my daughters bike

[petemurphy]

sooo...

she had an accident where she went over her handlebars and ended up in a&e but is ok.

I didn't see it but she was just turning on a country road outside our house. she has only just learnt how to ride.

the bike looks like below - not sure if this was the cause of the accident or its because of it but

if it was the cause:

should it do that - its 2 months old from decathlon
am i supposed to tighten / check it before use each time ( no idea re bikes and there were no instructions / guide )
is it a fault with the design of the bike and or way it was put together in store?

just a bit nervous of her using it again - I don't want the same thing to happen if it was that that caused it.

thanks

[sc0tt]

Should be a bolt that runs through the top of the yoke. Tighten that up. Will be fine.

[petemurphy]

sc0tt said:

Should be a bolt that runs through the top of the yoke. Tighten that up. Will be fine.

thanks how often should it need tightening?

[anonymous-user]

Actually the headset bolt shouldn't be over tightened, it's quite easy to strip the thread.

You need to tighten the two stem bolts that clamp onto the top of the fork.

[nickd01]

Coin Slot. said:

Actually the headset bolt shouldn't be over tightened, it's quite easy to strip the thread.

You need to tighten the two stem bolts that clamp onto the top of the fork.

Kids bikes don't have stem bolts like that. I beleive they still use a traditional quill stem set up not threadless like adult bikes.

Loads of on-line guides on how to adjust.

Even if it's tightened up correctly, it can be possible to twist the bars and have them pointing the wrong way compared to the wheels. Unless they're really lose (So if you hold the wheel between your leg, and can move the bars easily) I'd say the twisted bars are a result of the accident not the cause.

You shouldn't really need to adjust / check them that often.

[petemurphy]

Coin Slot. said:

Actually the headset bolt shouldn't be over tightened, it's quite easy to strip the thread.

You need to tighten the two stem bolts that clamp onto the top of the fork.

thanks - should this really need doing after 2 months though? ie was the bike set up right? or is it something every biker knows to do bar me?! thanks

[Zigster]

Yeah - looks from the photo like it is a quill stem so the bolt on the top should be tightened to stop this happening again. Quills are the classic stems, but only tend to be found on cheap new bikes these days.

Did the shop put it together for you or did you buy it in a box and put it together yourself when you got home? Boxed bikes will have the handlebars twisted through 90 degrees to make them fit into the box easier, so the bolt will need tightening once you have straightened the handlebars. I'm guessing it wasn't tightened sufficiently from the start.

[petemurphy]

Zigster said:

Yeah - looks from the photo like it is a quill stem so the bolt on the top should be tightened to stop this happening again. Quills are the classic stems, but only tend to be found on cheap new bikes these days.

Did the shop put it together for you or did you buy it in a box and put it together yourself when you got home? Boxed bikes will have the handlebars twisted through 90 degrees to make them fit into the box easier, so the bolt will need tightening once you have straightened the handlebars. I'm guessing it wasn't tightened sufficiently from the start.

decathlon put it together whilst we waited - basically i want to know if i need to go and shout at them + dont want it to happen again

[Zigster]

Not sure.

nickd01 could well be right that the twisted bars are as a result of the accident rather than what caused it. But going over the handlebars must have been caused by something - the front wheel suddenly stopping forward movement would do that.

On the flipside, if your daughter has been riding it for months without a problem, then why now? If it was loose from the start, I would have expected the problem to have happened sooner.

Is it possible anyone (you or one of your family) would have loosened the bolt to move the stem up or down (to put the bars at a better height for your daughter)?

[Gary C]

petemurphy said:

Coin Slot. said:

Actually the headset bolt shouldn't be over tightened, it's quite easy to strip the thread.

You need to tighten the two stem bolts that clamp onto the top of the fork.

thanks - should this really need doing after 2 months though? ie was the bike set up right? or is it something every biker knows to do bar me?! thanks

No, it should not have needed doing. Properly tightened it should have lasted years, BUT, they can work themselves loose and should be checked, especially when new as I have had some that just never seem to hold and others that never seemed to come loose.

Just don't do what's shown in the picture, it's not that type !

Get the right sized allan key, straighten the bars and give it a good tighten, then check it after some use.

Don't swing on it or extend the key, just use one hand and tighten without hurting your palm.

[boyse7en]

petemurphy said:

decathlon put it together whilst we waited - basically i want to know if i need to go and shout at them + dont want it to happen again

I would suspect that the handlebars were twisted on the forks during the accident, rather than before. Pretty much any accident/off I've had on a bike has resulted in the bars being twisted - even with the stem being done up to the correct torque will not prevent it.

You just need to loosen the bolt in the centre of the stem half a turn using an allen key, turn the bars back to the correct position and retighten the stem bolt. It should be done up firmly, such that holding the front wheel between your knees and wiggling the bars with moderate force doesn't cause them to move.

It's not an item that usually needs regular checking

[Zigster]

And, are the bars/front wheel "fixed" in their new position - i.e. use the bars to lift the front wheel off the grounds and does the front wheel remain at the wrong angle to the bars, or does it flop around? If fixed in the current, wrong position, it suggests the stem is at least reasonably tight and the accident possibly caused it. If your daughter has only recently learned to ride, she could easily have turned the bars far too far when going around a corner, causing her to go over the bars.

[Edited for clarity]

Edited by Zigster on Monday 17th September 11:05

[anonymous-user]

petemurphy said:

sooo...

she had an accident where she went over her handlebars and ended up in a&e but is ok.

I didn't see it but she was just turning on a country road outside our house. she has only just learnt how to ride.

the bike looks like below - not sure if this was the cause of the accident or its because of it but

if it was the cause:

should it do that - its 2 months old from decathlon
am i supposed to tighten / check it before use each time ( no idea re bikes and there were no instructions / guide )
is it a fault with the design of the bike and or way it was put together in store?

just a bit nervous of her using it again - I don't want the same thing to happen if it was that that caused it.

thanks

Stand in front of the bike. Point the wheel forwards and put it between your knees. Clamp it there. Try to twist the handlebars back into position.

If they swing back with little to no effort, then there's a loose bolt. It it requires some grunt to move them, then the accident flipped them round.

Often the cause of accidents like that is the rider looking backwards over one shoulder. As they do that they inadvertantly pull the handlebars round too; suddenly the front wheel flips 90 degrees to the direction of travel and flips them over the bars. The ensuing wallop knocks the handlebars out of alignment.

Chances are your daughter would know if the handlebars were loose. I've test ridden a bike which hadn't been tightened up. Disconcerting to come to a corner, turn, and see the front wheel not move...

Hope she heals up fast.

[snake_oil]

Greg66 said:

Stand in front of the bike. Point the wheel forwards and put it between your knees. Clamp it there. Try to twist the handlebars back into position.

If they swing back with little to no effort, then there's a loose bolt. It it requires some grunt to move them, then the accident flipped them round.

Is the right answer. It's a kids bike it's not the type of stem pictured above!

[Matt_N]

nickd01 said:

Kids bikes don't have stem bolts like that. I beleive they still use a traditional quill stem set up not threadless like adult bikes.

Loads of on-line guides on how to adjust.

Depends on the bike really, my sons Frog43 (smallest pedal bike they do) has a threadless fork set up on it.

[JQ]

boyse7en said:

I would suspect that the handlebars were twisted on the forks during the accident, rather than before. Pretty much any accident/off I've had on a bike has resulted in the bars being twisted - even with the stem being done up to the correct torque will not prevent it.

This . . . and you'd be amazed how easy kids can create an accident all by themselves. I was behind my son, who's a pretty competent cyclist (does BMX and MTB) and he was messing about tipping the bike over while pedalling and managed to go over the handlebars on a completely straight flat road with nothing around him. I honestly wouldn't have believed it possible had I not seen it with my own eyes.

[anonymous-user]

My kids Frog bikes have the same arrangement as that picture I posted, but either way you can't say for certain whether the bars were loose or if they took a knock when she went otb.

At least she's ok and will ride again

[petemurphy]

thanks all will take it back to decathlon as you get a free service after 3 months anyway so they can fix it and tell me if i need to do anything ongoing. was a bit of a scare as she was covered in blood but is ok just dont want it to happen again.

talking of which can you not get kids bike helmets with chin guards that arent massive bmx style ones?

cant see any from googling

thanks

[outnumbered]

How old is your daughter ? Some children are absolutely terrible at brake modulation when they start riding, so she might have just "grabbed a handful" on the front brake, and gone over the bars that way.

[Cardinal Hips]

outnumbered said:

How old is your daughter ? Some children are absolutely terrible at brake modulation when they start riding, so she might have just "grabbed a handful" on the front brake, and gone over the bars that way.

Used to do this on purpose as a kid with my brother and friends, pedal up to full speed and slam the front on going over grass, used to see how far we could fly over the bars. Wonky bars was a common ailment of our 90's Apollo bikes, grip the tyre between the knees and turn the bars to align them.

The other favourite stunt was to go full tilt under a tree, arms up and grab a branch, watch the bike "ghostie" away. If you went too fast you wouldn't be able to hang on to the branch as you swung on it, was a horrendous fall, knock the wind right out of you.

No helmets of course.

<insert old man grumble about kids on phones>

OP: Tighten the stem, leave it at that. If you do go down the shop to talk to them make sure you record it all on video and post it here.