Excelsius

I finally had time to go and pick up my CAAD10 4 Rival over the weekend and yesterday AM was my first ride in years. I rode that bike for over 20 miles, did some crazy things with it, and absolutely love the bike. Unfortunately, just as I was getting home (~100 feet away from the driveway) I fell because of an ******* driver. Don't want to get into the details now, but I messed up my wrist really bad and the doc said that I can't ride for at least two weeks and have to wear a brace for over a month. And this was my first ride in years...

So in light of this, I want to ask for some ideas on protective gear. Namely, I want to really protect my wrists and my knees. Do you guys have any suggestions? I know that there are round knee pads, but these look pretty dorky. I was thinking that there must be something with a padding that is wide enough to actually look like a sporting gear (like the ones they wear in tennis or boxing, but with more padding on the kneecap). I wear gloves, but I want something that goes well above the wrists to support the wrist in case of a fall. I play the piano and also use my hands in research, perhaps future surgeries, and can't afford to mess up like this again.

Thanks for the help. Once I get better, I will post the pics of the bike as mentioned before.

LesterOfPuppets

Wrist guards, found at skateboard and rollerblading shops:
https://www.xsportsprotective.com/rec...st-guards.html
will protect the wrist but not do much for your fingers.

You can get elbow pads at skate shops too.

Look to BMX and MTB suppliers for kneepads.

Choices vary from lightweight like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Tsg-Timo-Nosed.../dp/B002DYDLWA

To hardcore like some of these:

https://www.google.com/search?q=bmx+s...d72293f18cd098

LesterOfPuppets

Practice evasive maneuvers in a grass park. Ride hyper-defensively and you'll be able to ride and play piano for a long time.

I_Like_Bike

I hope you get better soon.

In reality, as hard as it is for you to believe right now, this is a rare occurrence (falling/crashing), at least on solo rides. I can't imagine riding with anything protective except a helmet.

You should be fine in the future. Good luck.

banerjek

I'm not sure protective gear is the right way to go. For one thing, it will inhibit motion -- wrist guards will definitely impact how you can grip and move. Also, bike crashes typically work out in such a way that the gear won't do any good. For example, it would take a bizarre crash to hit the end of your kneecap. As for the wrist, did you stick out your hands to break your fall? If you did, that's what the problem is -- you need to keep tucked and specifically not stick a hand down when you're falling.

Sounds like a bit of bad luck and the wrong reflexes got you this time. Heal up and try not to let this experience mess your head up too much.

rkelley23

A Cigarette case...

LesterOfPuppets

I nail my knees all the time. Many pads will cover the sides of the knee pretty well in addition to the cap.
This is crucial. After recovery, practice running shoulder rolls if you have some gym pads around. I can even do them on carpets with a decent carpet pad. Take a tumbling course or the like.

For laydown style crashes try to let your forearm contact the ground and try to roll out of it a bit if going slow.

After lots of practice you can slowly reduce your dependence on protection. I'd ride around in just a pair of shoes if it weren't illegal.

Excelsius

I guess unless I look like batman, I am not going to get a really good protection.

As far as the correct way to fall, can you please elaborate on this more? Is there a guide online how to do this and how to train for it? I searched a bunch of keywords on Google but the results keep going to "falling off/laying down a motor bike," "falling chain" etc. If I learn the correct way to do this, I think I can train and condition my body for sideways falls. I just can't find a good guide on this online.

LesterOfPuppets

Basically practicing shoulder rolls a lot will make rolling second nature and you'll be less apt to straight-arm the ground in a crash. I'd practice them with clinched fists to help learn that as well, which may help to protect your fingers. That's how I was taught to crash on rollerblades.

You'll basically learn to not resist the crash, just flow with it and get less hurt.

Excelsius

But how can I shoulder roll if my feet are clipped in?

LesterOfPuppets

It's pretty easy actually. You'll typically automatically unclip before you contact the ground unless your pedal tension is set way high. I've even seen pics of dudes midair on ye olde cleat/pedal/clip/strap setups and one of their feet was already out. Those things were nigh on impossible to get out of when the straps were yanked.

If you're really concerned about it, when you practice your shoulder rolls, just pretend there's a bike under you, then a bike over you when you're halfway done, then hopefully it's pretty much out of the way by the time you've completed the roll. Imagine yourself throwing it off to the side while you're on your back.

banerjek

I was trained to fall many years ago in martial arts classes, so that might be helping me since on the rare times I've gone down, I've done exactly what I wanted. But in real situations, everything happens so fast that it's over before you have a chance to think.

There are different types of crashes and the exact right thing to do is going to vary. However, the thing to keep in mind is to avoid direct impact and try to scrub off energy by rolling or sliding and you don't want body parts sticking out that can easily be broken.

Generally speaking, you want to keep your hands on the bars with elbows tucked in, feet in the pedals, and try to convert the falling/crashing energy into a roll/slide where impact taken by your hip, thigh, or shoulder depending on what is going on. Because of the way the flesh vs. asphalt thing works out, it will never be fun, but small things that you do can make a huge difference in how badly you are hurt.

urbanknight

As mentioned above, practicing this over some soft grass will help better than any of us could every explain over the internet. If you still want some pads, look into downhill mountain bike gear. They make somewhat breathable pads for just about every part of your body.

Velo Vol 

I concur.

It helps not to do "crazy" stuff while riding.

banerjek

Riding with all those inattentive lunatics out there is crazy...

Velo Vol 

I've never practiced falling. I was hoping it could be avoided.

LesterOfPuppets

The video below features a lot of crashes. At 0:55 a guy goes down in the way I least prefer. He puts his hand out before impact and doesn't roll until after he slides on his face a bit.

At 3:20 you'll see one guy lay it down pretty good, hand isn't out so he gets his forearm and then shoulder into the crash. The guy in blue/white/red kit behind him rolls with his bike. I think I'd rather go that way. Sometimes you can't choose, though.

urbanknight

Although true, that won't pay the OP's bills if he is put out of work. As far as "crazy" stuff, I know someone who messed himself up pretty bad rounding a corner at about 25 mph because his tire flatted mid corner. I am very thankful to have good health insurance and many saved up sick days. It's one of the reasons I became a teacher and not a performer.

zonatandem

First become a better/safer rider.
Crazy things are for kidz . . . grow up! Not all A-holes drive cars; some ride bikes!
Most accidents/hits can be avoided . . . but not all of them.
At age 78 I still ride defensively after over 300,000+ miles of bicycling.
Still pedal 100+ miles a week. Only protective gear I wear is a helmet and riding gloves.
Now go play the piano . . .

Excelsius

Maybe I should elaborate a bit: I fell from a completely stationary position. I was forced to slow down inadvertently and next thing I knew the bike was completely stopped, my feet clipped in. I basically cleanly toppled over to one side and put my arm out to avoid hitting my body. I wasn't doing anything crazy here. Since there was no forward motion when I fell, I wouldn't have rolled if I had presented my shoulder. I still don't know if that would be better in this case. Maybe a cracked rib instead. It must be very hard to overcome your instinct and just stay calm as you're falling.

I have the Shimano 105 pedals and the spring is near the topmost bar. But since my feet stayed clipped in, I will loosen the spring more.

BarracksSi

This reminds me of a zero-mph fall I had once. As I was falling over, I was thinking of "protecting the bike" -- holding the bars, not sticking my leg out too far, and just basically rolling onto my side, from my foot to my shoulder. I got right back up and didn't even feel any physical pain (not counting the embarrassment).

Here's an strange corollary -- I've fallen in marching band, too (actually, drum corps). If I just think of protecting the instrument, I'm not sticking a hand out, and I end up falling a lot like what they teach in martial arts.

BarracksSi

See my post

It's a different instinct, basically, that you'd need to learn. Save the bike, and you'll fall more gradually.

urbanknight

Sorry, I just couldn't resist.

BarracksSi

One time I fell over a BOAT.

No, seriously -- we were doing the closing sets of our Phantom of the Opera show, and one of the props was a skiff that the Phantom piloted with Christine as the passenger. Normally, at that point in the show, it would be out of the way, but since we were skipping between different segments, it happened to be right in my path as I was backing up. I caught it with my heels, went down, rolled onto my butt, then rolled on my back, holding my contra over myself the entire time.

I got up, and everybody nearby was asking, "Dude, are you okay??", while I was checking the horn to see if there were any dents or broken braces.

ScottDD

When riding my mountain bike on steep single tracks, I will use these wrist guards https://www.allsportdynamics.com/
I have also used them on my cyclocross bike (with Ultergra brifters) when riding off road on single tracks. Although I think they are a bit much for road riding.