Originally Posted by
cyccommute
"Have you even ridden a bicycle to the ground?"
You mean crashed right?
Damned tootin'! I've crashed on dirt, I've crashed on pavement, I've crashed on wet pavement, I've crashed on snow, I've crashed on ice. In each and every case, my shoulder and head aren't the first thing to hit the ground. Nor are yours, I'd hazard a guess, unless you have really really broad shoulders...like 6 feet wide.
The first thing to hit the ground when the bike goes out from under you to the side is your thighs and butt. Look at all the videos posted. I don't see a single one...even the girl in the Belgium video who crashes at high speed...hit their shoulders. They hit on their legs, then their hip, then their torso. By the time their shoulders get to the pavement most of the impact has been dissipated by the rest of their body
and their bicycle.
And I didn't see a single one left standing "like a table set after the tablecloth has been rapidly pulled out from under it" while their bike is sliding away from them.
Well they're all using platform pedals! I know your hip/butt hits first(depending on terrain, angle of fall)but your shoulder and head will hit pretty darn hard also. If you look at the video there is one person who make the corner and a few who are left standing up. The people who land the hardest are those who ride the bike into the ground(i.e. do nothing) which is what happens when you stayed clipped in. Some of them tripod around. There is even a gentleman in there who does what i would like todo which is ditch the bicycle down and put both feet down in a sorta jump. He is left standing i will add!
My tablecloth analogy was only to illustrate the differences between pedals. If your glassware is "clipped" into the tablecloth then it's all going flying when you pull that cloth. If the glassware is sitting lose held only by it's weight there is a better chance the glassware will stay vertical when the tablecloth is ripped out from under it. Of course it is only an analogy, but the effect is similar on ice.