How Far Have You Had to Walk a Disabled Bike?

[MRC01]

... There should be a thread here on "how far have you had to walk a disabled bike?".
I think my longest was last winter - I got a flat on the Pugsley about 4 km from home, and it was cold enough that I was unable to apply a patch with my fingers freezing. Of course the bike was heaving loaded, and of course it was the back tire, so I had to not only push the bike but also lift the rack a bit so as to minimize the weight on the flat tire. That same tire gave out a few weeks later; it would not grip the rim any longer, so my efforts had been in vain.

Thread started. Be careful what you ask for!

My record is 10 miles through the desert near Moab. I was riding a trail out there, climbing a hill when the drive train had a catastrophic failure. Not a broken chain or sprocket, but it the pawls inside the rear freehub broke / sheared so they would not engage the ratchet. Fortunately I had plenty of water. And could hop on the bike and coast the downhill parts.

PS: when I was a kid, my Huffy 10 speed's frame broke in half while I was riding it home from school. It broke about halfway home, so about 2 miles. I always wanted a better bike, my Dad was always saying there was nothing wrong with that Huffy, so I walked home dragging the 2 halves behind me and left them in the driveway, just to show him what a piece of $hit that bike was. To his credit, my next bike wasn't a Huffy.

 

[Quattro Pete]

About 4 miles, with quite a few uphill sections.

I flipped over the handle bars and bent the rear wheel so it couldn't be ridden anymore.

 

[Lubener]

Luckily on my return with only 1.5 miles to go, the left pedal ripped out of the crank arm. Happened about 2 years ago.

 

[supton]

Mile maybe. Bent a derailleur. Maybe it was 2 or 3 miles. Before I had a license nor common sense to carry tools and stuff while biking in the woods.

Did the walk of shame once at work. Last quarter mile, had a flat. Noontime ride, had done 14 miles, good and sweaty. Do I plop down and change on the side of this busy road—or do later in the comfort of my garage, with a cold beverage in hand? I figured the walk was the same amount of time as changing so I felt foolish but elected for the easy option.

 

[wwillson]

Never had to, but I did have a chain break on a road bike, yes that's rare, about 5 miles from home. I called a life-line and they were there in about 10 minutes to give me a ride home. I have changed a ton of flat road bike tires and have never had more than one flat on a ride, knock on wood. I started using Schwalbe Durano Plus tires on my road bike and have had exactly zero flats since then over probably 15,000 miles. They are tough as nails, glass, and other sharp objects that puncture lesser tires. They are a bit heavy for road bike tires, but I couldn't care less. The last time I raced was never and I hate changing tubes on the road.

 

[Number_35]

Near miss here, but this would have been a long walk (7 or so km) but for the expedient field repair:

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/field-repair-by-the-mississippi.296750/

Ditto here (more like 10 km), but my wife picked me up with the car and the bike rack. Walking that far home in the heat right after a blood donation would not have been fun:

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/bizarre-bike-wheel-failure.313079/

 

[CharBaby]

About 5 miles

 

[Wheel]

So far, only about 1/2 mile. Would have been about 3 miles, but I was able to get my tacoed wheel rideable with the spoke wrench on a multi tool. It wasn't A great fix, and I had enough tire rub that the sew up blew out eventually. It still beat a longer walk I road shoes.

 

[Kestas]

One summer three of us from high school went riding. My buddy broke a chain 4 miles from home. We took turns pushing him back all the way.

 

[vavavroom]

I pushed my bike a few miles after getting hit by a car when I was a kid. I was fine, my bike not so much. I probably should have abandoned my bike but leaving it behind didn't feel right. This happened of course right after I had put on new tires and a new chain.

 

[y_p_w]

Never had to, but I did have a chain break on a road bike, yes that's rare, about 5 miles from home. I called a life-line and they were there in about 10 minutes to give me a ride home. I have changed a ton of flat road bike tires and have never had more than one flat on a ride, knock on wood. I started using Schwalbe Durano Plus tires on my road bike and have had exactly zero flats since then over probably 15,000 miles. They are tough as nails, glass, and other sharp objects that puncture lesser tires. They are a bit heavy for road bike tires, but I couldn't care less. The last time I raced was never and I hate changing tubes on the road.

Chain breaking? Not that rare. I would typically carry a chain tool and used it a few times when my chain or someone else's broke. It gets a little bit tight but pull out one link and it's still usually OK. I even found a bike shop that had my particular chain in the parts drawers where they sold off pieces for chain repairs.

When I used to ride, I'd carry an extra tube and a patch kit along with tire levers. The worst I'd ever experienced was a nail that went completely through the tire, in/out the tube, through the rim strip, and clear through the rim. And it was only a slow leak that was slowing me down. When I finally caught up with the group I was riding with, they all looked at it with amazement. The wheel was still true but I just replaced it with a spare tube. Later I repaired the tube and eventually used it. A repaired tube is usually as good as a new one.

My worst was when I went on a solo ride and a car came out of a parking lot without yielding to me. Cut me off although I tried to swerve around but didn't make it. But I missed broadsiding the car and went over the hood. Had a hairline fracture in my wrist (diagnosed six weeks later) and multiple lacerations. Possibly a sprain somewhere. Ruled to be the driver's fault although she falsely claimed that I was riding down the wrong side of the street (it was divided by a median). But I ended up not having the fire department check me over and walked home after the police report. The bicycle was trashed although I reused some of the parts. It was a Peugeot with lower end parts but a Shimano six-speed index shifting setup. I'd also bought some wheels from a bargain sale at a bike shop - old-style Campagnolo Record with Alpina rims. The hubs were salvageable, but the frame was bent and the rimes were trashed. I ended up walking home looking like that. My shorts and jersey were torn, my helmet was scratched from the skid, but overall I wasn't in too bad a shape. I only managed to get about a mile from home, but it was all uphill, looking like I'd been in a crash, and I was wearing stiff bike shoes with cleats. And these were for traditional toeclips where the cleat had a notch that hooked up to the edge of the pedal, along with thin bike socks. I ended up taking off my shoes and carrying my bike over my shoulder since the wheels were trashed and I couldn't just walk it. It was only a mile, but basically in my socks and up a really steep hill. Good times.

 

[JHZR2]

Maybe a mile? Broke a chain mountain biking, but it was close enough to the starting point that walking out was ok. I’ve generally been lucky with tires and whatnot.

 

[earlyre]

1.3 mi. when i was like 10ish....
Rode my Bike to the local Gas Station to top off the front tire.. forgot to take gauge with me.... pumped it up until it felt solid enough...
apparently too solid... I don't think i was even out of the parking lot before the tube Blew out, and not only debeaded the tire from the rim, but separated part of the bead from the sidewall... that tire was done, and i had to walk it home all the way across the Village... the 1.3 Mi walk of shame.....

 

[NYEngineer]

Never very far. Been lucky. I have to try and find the pic of the day my buddy slipped on ice and broke his carbon handlebars. We did a perfect Flintstone repair. We all carry tool kits and plugs and Quik Links. A few wraps of Gorilla Tape around your pump body may be a lifesaver.

 

[WylieCoyote]

About 2 miles. The master link in the chain turned loose. That sudden no-resistance pedaling can be an eye-opener.

 

[NYEngineer]

Found it.

 

[Pablo]

Found it.

HAHAHAHHhHA

Chain broke.

Not sure how far, but part was up hill and it was the hottest day of the year.

 

[Kernel Potter]

The longest I remember walking pretty much the whole way back was about 7 miles. There have been times when I was further than that but usually I'll ride the bike at about 10mph while putting as much weight as I can over the tire that isn't flat, which is almost always the reason I'm walking.

If it's a rim that isn't high-end or particularly special I don't mind doing this. And as I scan over the rims that this was done to, looking close you can make out a few nicks on the edge of the rim. You really have to purposely look though and it blends in with all the other wear and tear on the wheel. The flat tire and tube protect it quite well with a low load on it.

It's a nice time saving strategy when one isn't prepared for failures on the road.

 

[y_p_w]

It didn't need to be walked per se, but one I was on a daily college club ride where we start at one point and then split up depending of what people want to do. One rider's seatpost actually broke off. I don't recall exactly what he did when he recovered the saddle and post, although I think one could be stuffed in the back pockets of a typical bike jersey. I figured I'd just ride back with him if he needed support and we rode right to a bike shop. At the shop they said they might be able to get a warranty replacement for it since it was a Campagnolo seatpost.

I have heard of seatposts breaking off during races where the racer managed to win. Climbing out of the saddle can be useful for sprints, but it's not terribly efficient.

 

[zzyzzx]

My issue is flats. Normally I can re-inflate a tire even if I have to do it every mile to get home.