Paranoid

[Rich Aitch]

Straddle cable jamming is something I've never seen happen and I think it might just have been exagerated as a scare story to pursuade people to buy Shimano cantilevers which didn't have a full width bridging cable, or better still "Evil" V Brakes made by... Shimano.
If you think about it most bikes had their front and rear reflectors mounted on a dog leg bracket that went underneath the straddle cable, so if it failed the cable would just rest on the bracket.

 

[mechagouki]

Except anyone who cares what their bike looks like pulls those reflectors off first chance they get.

 

[velomaniac]

Componentry failure, well if theres nothing obviously visibly wrong and not having access to X-ray technology I'm not going to worry. Take the fatalist approach, if its going to happen its preordained, the gods have spoken, theres nothing I can do other than pray its not painful.

If you do like to worry about stuff what about bolted together suspension forks, they could fall apart at any moment such as on a steep rocky descent, snapped brake cables, cartride brake pads coming apart under heavy braking, exploding wheel rims/tyres, wheel skewers failing etc.
Jeez why get on an mtb at all, your going to die boy...........WOOHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Seriously though you'll be OK, statistically it cant be that common or there would be legislation in place to stop us riding the things. Check your bike and ride vaguely sensible and you'll live to ride again

 

[mikee]

i had a pair of alpinestars bars break on me a few months ago
just been flying down my fave singletrack and was just bumping up the kerb at my local non anglo saxon shop for some biccies and snap
they broke luckily at 1 mph ,id just come down a trail called 40mph
hill :shock:
dad had a wheel rim explode just out side velos house at about 5mph recently
was in lbs recently and there was the remains of a generalised tarmac
on which the bars had broken just at the lever clamp throwing the unfortunate bloke up the road at 50mph , forks wheel and other bits
ground to atoms

 

[giant-one]

Dude stop fretting or I'll slap you on your bonce when I pick you up int morning.

Seriously though, bring the wheel in tomorrow and we'll have a look.

Don't think the straddle wire over the bars thing is owt to worry about unless your 35, 5'9" and 10st ish and have male pattern baldness, oh bugger thats you. Sorry. :roll:

 

[WD Pro]

Except anyone who cares what their bike looks like pulls those reflectors off first chance they get.

Or sets the straddles lower than the reflector brackets

WD

 

[Drewson]

Fraid this very event happened to me on tarmac as a teenager.....slammed the brake on, front brake cable snapped and sent me straight over the bars........not just urban myth at all my friends!!

Very painful face planting onto tarmac as i'm sure some of you know.....

I left a reflector bracket that bolted from the fork crown in place for years after this so it would catch the straddle wire if it was released. Don't do it now though as i try to keep ahead of it by checking the condition of the cables occasionally....not a failsafe of course however.....

 

[utahdog2003]

Stuff breaks. It happens. Proper maintenance and care and I wouldn't worry about any of it.

There are brittle parts out there, and stuff that shouldn't be used by bigger guys that you could avoid but in general, not chasing grams and building practical and reasonable bikes will go a long way to protecting yourself.

Carbon bits are another story. Scarry stuff.

and Kooka. :shock:

 

[dyna-ti]

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