Originally Posted by
Maelochs
All crashes hurt.
True.
Originally Posted by
Maelochs
I used to know how to roll (a little martial arts dabbling which served well in my actual life) but that only works with flat pedals. If you are clipped in your reactions are constrained. And a lot of the time everything happens so fast .... the best thing to do is get up and get out of the road after it is over.
I've crashed too many times to count. Being clipped in is never a problem. My feet have always come out of the pedals but my pedals aren't adjusted to be tight. That said, the idea isn't to "roll" so much as to let the bike take the impact. If you come off the bike, of course roll with the crash but staying with the bike lets the bike do the hard work.
Originally Posted by
delbiker1
Do not panic, stay loose, tuck in towards the torso and roll with the fall.
The first two pieces of advice are spot on. The next two aren't as good. As I said above, stay with the bike. You can't tuck and roll if you are on the bike but that doesn't matter. Keep all the extremities attached to the bike as much as possible to avoid breaking them off. Arms or legs stuck out to "catch yourself" simply won't. They will just break.
Originally Posted by
rumrunn6
hard not to land on hand wrist knee. done it myself & saw a kid get hit by a car & he also landed on a hand & knee. I've read to try to keep your hands on the bars & to go down on your side striking meeatier parts of your body like hip & shoulder. there must be a pro video on the topic. oh yeah interesting searches on giggle & the ytube
Yes, keeping your hands and arms attached to the bike as much as possible is the correct course of action. Your arms
and legs just can't take the impact. Bones
will break.
Originally Posted by
SayWatt
Your body’s natural instinct is to protect your head by extending your arms. Keep this in mind as you land and keep your elbow bent and cushion the impact to the ground to prevent a collar bone fracture. Once you make contact with the ground now it’s time to think about where you are and if your in danger ie sitting in the middle of a busy street. Get to a safe spot before you asses the damage.
Like a broken record, don't put your hands out to "catch" yourself. It doesn't work. You won't "break your fall", you'll just break your arm (or leg). Once you are headed for the ground, there is nothing that is going to minimize the impact. Hang on to the handlebars, stay in the pedals and ride the bike down. If you can take the impact on your hip towards the posterior side (fancy way of saying your butt
) and on the shoulder, again towards the posterior side.
Finally, when it happens, stay as loose as possible. Become a rag doll. "Bracing for impact" will just transmit the impact throughout the body and allow for more injury. You can still get hurt but when the force isn't transmitted, the injuries are lessened.