Originally Posted by iamlucky13
That's pretty much what I was thinking. It's like it occurred to him as he was pushing clear of the bike that it had 7-8 inches of suspension, whereas he had none.
I think the utility of suspension in landing jumps is rather over-rated. The bike looks like an RMX so maybe he has 8" front and rear, plus maybe another foot or so knee-bend aborption depending on his seat height. A hiker just jumping down from a rock can absorb an impact probably over two or three feet worth of knee bending, more if you tuck and roll.
I see this misunderstanding manifested all the time when guys with FS bikes ride off drops to flat and just slam into the ground with their knees seemingly locked. And surprise, the bike breaks sooner or later.
Notice trials riders rarely use much suspension, but they so have very low seats, and drop with the front wheel nice and high to smooth out the landing even more.
In the crash seen on the video, the only advantage of trying to land a bike flat from that high up would be style points.