[Muaythaibike]

Last week I lost my chain and crashed my bike. Went over the bars and banged up my forearm pretty good. Stills hurts.

Well now I am gun shy. When I ride I find myself slowing down on downhills. I commute on a very old commuter and when I am going over 22 mph or so I think something terrible is going to happen. Like the front wheel is just going to fall off. I feel much better on my new Trek...
Has anybody experienced something like this after a crash...??

 

[JCavilia]

I think everybody has

LWell now I am gun shy.
Has anybody experienced something like this after a crash...??

All I can suggest is to take good care with bike maintenance, and try to ease back gradually into feeling confident. It's okay to take it a little slower for a while.

How exactly did your crash happen? What do you mean by "lost my chain"?

 

[Muaythaibike]

My rear derailer needs adjustment. I was approaching a hill in my area and I quickly dropped to the lowest gear and started to stand to get up the hill. Well the chain completely fell off and got caught in the frame or something. PEDALS FROZE. Right over the bars.. Ouch.

 

[MR_GRUMPY]

It's normal.

 

[fleck]

some get on their horse right away like nothing happened. Most find themselves holding the reins a bit. Some never get it back. The key is to get back on the horse and work through the aprehension.

"bones heal, chicks dig scars and America has the best daredevil to doctor ratio anywhere"

 

[anthrax]

Loosing the edge after a crash is pretty normal.

I Mountain bike, and I suffered a bad crash near the beginning of season (about three years ago). I found it took the better part of that entire season to get my nerve back again...

It will most likely come back as the wounds heal, and the memory fades, but I think it is perfectly normal to be a bit timid right now.

Good Luck!

A

 

[Dinosaur]

Get back on and ride...try to maintain your bike as well as possible. I've had two serious crashes and when got back on my bike when I was able everything went well...

 

[uber-stupid]

And for the love of god, get that derailleur adjusted.

It takes time. If you didn't display any kind of caution, or evidence of being affected, and no ability to learn anything from such things, then you should worry. Stick with it, give yourself time.

 

[Mr. Versatile]

A perfectly normal response. We don't like pain, and when something causes us pain, we try to avoid that. Usually the more pain, the more avoidance. Be gentle with yourself. Your confidence will eventually come back.