Hi Eric:

I can relate to your accident; I have been riding a road bike for 6 years. About 4 weeks ago I was riding with friends on a group ride with local club (Pasadena tri club http://www.pasadenatriclub.com ) we were going on San Dimas Blvd which has a downhill grade when suddenly the front wheel just washed out from under the bike, I lost control went down hard at 27mph and broke my clavicle & 3 ribs.  I guess my point is sometimes accidents happen, was your caused defective equipment? maybe or maybe not.   

You are a pretty big guy at 6’4” at 275lb so it is possible the frame or some other component may have stressed over time causing it to fail when weight stress was high.  

Get well soon.

I realize that this message is not an exact match for the purpose of
this group, but since it is a group I have followed for a while, and
have contributed to, I would appreciate the advice of fellow members.

I have been riding casually for a couple of years, mainly for fitness
to get into shape. Mostly neighborhood rides and trails close to the
inland empire. I am a 43 year old male, about 6'2 275.

Last year, as I was enjoying cycling very much, I decided to buy a new
bike. I purchased a Diamondback Edgewood 19" from Sport Chalet. Apx
$300, this was a hybrid bike that should have been well suited for the
type of riding I was doing. In speaking to the salesman, he assured me
that this was a properly sized bike for me. I had the pre-delivery
checkout of the bike and started riding it last summer and fall. I
have put about 500 miles on it.

A couple of weeks ago, as the weather was warming up and getting nice,
I decided to take a ride. I checked the bike, put air in the tires,
made sure all was well and set out. I rode about 10 miles, and then
headed about a mile up a moderate hill, and turned around to come
down. On the way down, at about 22 mph, I suddenly lost control and
went flying over the handlebars. Ended up with lots of road rash,
cuts, scrapes, and a broken clavicle (one of the few that required an
operation). I am recovering and will be okay and want to ride again.

My problem is that I don't know what happened. My front wheel is bent
about 30% in a smooth curve for 1/2 of the wheel, with the spokes all
mangled. I don't think I hit anything like debris or a pothole. I am
thinking that the wheel collapsed and that is what caused the accident
(as opposed to the accident causing the wheel to collapse). But I am
really not sure. The people in the car behind me saw me, and said that
I just suddenly went flying...nothing else was observed.

The questions that are in my head:

1. Was I too big of a guy for this bike?
2. Could the wheel have been defective?
3. Do wheels sometimes just collapse without warning?
4. Is this perhaps a poor quality bike in the first place?
5. Is there any recourse with the manufacturer?

I know I am lucky I wasn't hurt worse, but it is important for me to
understand why/how this happened (if not for any other reason, to
avoid recurrence).

I would really appreciate any advice or comments from other members.

Thank you in advance.

Eric