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-   -   Stuff getting entangled in a bike's chain? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/ride-safe/136169-stuff-getting-entangled-bikes-chain.html)

Today while coming to office, I saw this biker just ahead of me. He was riding a P220. He wasn't very fast or reckless as I was doing 40-50ish kmph and was able to keep up. Then suddenly I see that his shoe lace on his left leg were untied and were swinging dangerously close to exposed chain( he was wearing a sports shoe, probably a Puma with long laces). I accelerated , overtook him and flagged him down to the side before telling him the reason. He was happy to know and immediately tied it before I left.


This incident made think the consequences if the lace had entangled in the chain and got pulled into the GB :Shockked:(God forbid). I am sharing this so that we all bikers are careful. This applies for pillion riders as well(if the lace is very long, as was the case today morning). Even better avoid using lace shoes or tuck them tightly inside after multiple knots when riding.


PS: I have faced similar issue, the lace of my Woodland used to get entangled in my gearshift lever. They were never untied but being long the knot used to get entangled in the lever. I used to be taken by surprise and have escaped marrowly from falling. After that I do double knots and push it into the shoe, haven't faced the problem since.

MODS: I didn't find any similar thread and thought this incident was a safety concern, so I shared it. Please delete/merge if found necessary.

This reminds me of the number of times I have seen female pillion riders on motorcycles with their duppattas or chunnis dangling dangerously close to the rear wheel. It's such a common site on our roads and has caused many an accident but yet, somehow, people don't seem to learn from it. And these chunnis and dupattas are doubly dangerous as they can easily get entangled in an on coming bike's handle bar or brake lever.

Advice to all lady drivers out there, please tie your dupattas either behind your back or in front to avoid such mishaps.

Good job there Sir by stopping and informing him.
But, I think if the lace gets tangled in the chain, it will stretch till a certain point(until its elasticity allows it to) and will just snap after that.
If you try to stop your bike or change the gear when the lace is stuck then one is ought to fall because one's foot is forced to stay in that same position and cannot move it.

But,what if we press the clutch and brake and get to the side of the road? Would pressing the clutch stop the motion of the chain ?(here the braking will be affected but atleast one can get to the side safely without hurting one's self)
I stand corrected, may be quite wrong here.

A bigger concern is that of what sunny has posted - dupattas of pillion lady riders being dangerously close to the rear wheel. I have myself at several occasions asked some women to take care of their dupatta and take it away from the wheel.

-Bhargav

I agree here but we do have guard on most bikes to prevent this. But the lace being small can get in through the saree guard. Also for the rider there is no guard(in the front part of the exposed chain).

The dupatta getting entangled in the brake lever of the bike coming behind is too much. Anyways it can get entangled in the front wheel, disc, some car/track coming from behind...etc. One just has to be careful.

Thanks Bhargav.

It may not. Today we have nylon laces which are very strong. They might just pull your leg towards the chain very strongly, causing a sprain or something more disasterous.

Just have a look at the this thread:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...ain-stand.html


Exactly what happened with me. But then I managed with my right leg and removed my lace.

It happens in a few seconds and your are caught unaware. If your keep your senses and act as you suggested then nothing happens, else some mishap.

Even I have seen several such cases and informed them whenever possible. I have also seen saree, dupatta sticking out of car doors, doors not properly closed and brought it to notice. These are some incidents which we are aware about and we keep a look out for it. But this lace thing was something new for me and I thought of sharing it.


Guys, please share your thoughts and correct me where ever I am wrong.

Yes you are correct, it happens in the blink of an eye and having the right presence of mind to react in such situations is quite demanding.
But if you have even once prepared your mind to react in a certain manner to a particular situation then the chances are high that your body will react in that manner itself.

And you did a good job by making people aware of the fact that even shoe laces should be taken care of while riding a bike and not only sarees and dupattas.

My 100th post. Hurray!!! :D

-Bhargav

Not a bike coming from behind but a bike coming form the opposite side. As for the saree guard, that is on the left side of the vehicle but there is nothing on the right side to prevent the dupatta from getting entangled with the rear wheel and with most Indian women sitting sideways on a two wheeler, that becomes a real hazard.

Surprising what all is possible, given our traffic conditions. I remember sitting in a restaurant, watching this scene unfold: girl crosses road in front of a bike, as the bike is passing behind her, her dupatta comes loose and gets entangled in the rear wheel of the bike, while she's walking! Fortunately, she had not knotted it around her neck, and fortunately the toss the rider of the bike took did not result in anything more serious than a few scratches.

She was so terrified, that the rider's anger just evaporated and he left after mumbling something about 'being more careful'.

Thanks Sunny, I stand corrected.
That is eye opening for me. Had never imagined such a situation but now I realise that anything is possible in INCREDIBLE INDIA :uncontrol.

On a more serious note, we must always be careful and observant and try our level best to help/warn people whenever possible.

You bet man! If I hadn't seen it for myself, I would have never believed anyone who described such a thing to me. We get used to riding through stuff the way we do, but if you step back and think about it, or just go on top of a high building and observe traffic from above for some time, it's like a video game, the obstacles we ride through/around each day!

I've learned this the hard way, always consciously force yourself to ride slower than you are capable of/traffic allows you to, at any given time on city roads! Gives you that extra leeway to deal with the unexpected.

In about 30k kms of riding my bikes in the last 3 years; there was just one (touche) breakdown that I faced.

On the way back from Keylong, the dusting cloth (tucked under the seat) slipped, got sucked into the crank case and broke the chain! Imagine my reaction. After that incident, I am ok taking off my shirt to wipe my bike but never carry any loose items/ cloth. :D

Be extra careful while riding bikes with extra length of the jeans folded at the ends.
They do get caught in the footrests and can lead to a fall. I have fallen twice. Thankfully it usually happens when you are starting off or stopping. So chances of injury are less.

Just curious to know - if clutch is engaged - wouldn't the chain continue to roll on? (cos of the momentum of the bike?) :)

Same question here Shubz. Hence the question mark.
I will have to see it myself whether engaging the clutch stops the movement of the chain and only the bike free wheels or it isn't so.

Or some one else can disabuse us with what actually happens.

-Bhargav

The chain would continue to roll-over due to inertia but with the clutch depressed; the engine would stop driving the chain and even if something gets entangled; the damage caused would be lesser or minimal as after a certain resistance the chain and the cogs would stop turning.

Dear Friends and experts , AFAIK even with the clutch in.. as long as the wheel turns, the chain too moves due to the rear sprocket. There is no one way ratchet mechanism in the rear sprocket of motorbikes as we see in bicycles. So when the wheel turns, the chain moves :)
regards adrian