Originally Posted by
woodcraft
So your suggestion is to use Jui Jitsu technique but you're not confident so you're not going to, & it will go badly? OK, as far as it goes...
While it is very possible to break a collar bone from tipping over like this, my suggestion is more about using the experience to anticipate landing well in future crashes. I think holding on to the bars and using them as the first point of impact is a good strategy.
You didn't read my post correctly. I said that using the arm to absorb some of the shock of falling is a known Jiu Jitsu technique and comparable techniques may work in cycling. I said that rolling sounds good, but if you aren't sure how to do it, it won't end well. Conclusion is using the bent elbow to absorb shock of the fall is not to be automatically excluded, especially if you are not a gymnast.
Using the bars as a first point of contact sounds good (providing you are on the tops not hoods or the drops), but in most cases the second point is then going to be the tip of the clavicle. How can that be good?