Nickds7

Just try to shove your bike away from you as fast as possible.. I usually kind of 'stand up' on my pedals during a spill (never right before ha) which seperates me from my bike.. Don't do any stupid s**** like hug a tree or use your body to take the impact.. you will get f'd up and eat sh** the entire way. Always use your arms and legs to take the impact without tensing up.. It is hard to really do much during the 1 or 2 seconds to be honest...

Good way to remember not to tense up your arms and legs is just remember to let your arms and legs to hit first and then let your body hit.. never expect to completely stop a fall with just your limbs, that causes worse injuries.

(always wear a helmet and gloves too, I've seen some people ride without helmets and then try to figure out why they are ******** in the brain and face 2 years later)

z415

I try to hop off the bike and grab something solid (tree branches). I'm not too keen on trying to roll when there are rocks and roots and trees.

Hopper

Definately isn't a great thing but in some situations you are going to hit a tree, it is unavoidable. I'm not saying go out of your way to hug the tree but if you know you will hit one, this method will reduce the damage. Last time I was out riding (was first time since November last year, so 4.5 months off bike) I went DHing at a local DH race track. Steep super rutted and closed in by trees 90% of the track (it's in Nathan Rennie's section in NWD5). One of my crashes i was flung over the bars at high speed towards a tree, I pivoted my body to avoid the tree and walked away with a graze on my hip from where I just hit the tree.

So I agree, if you can avoid the tree do it. Someone mentioned earlier, some of what has been said would take a lot of thought and you don;t have time to react as told. This is true, in a crash it all comes down to instinct and knowing what works from experience. I can tell someone what to do but in the moment of a crash they won;t think of it. Unfortuantely the best way to leanr to crash is from experience.

seosamh

i'd agree with throw the bike away from you if you can and keep your arms out, then roll. i don't let my arms take alot of strain tho, i stick them out more as a way to navigate away from rocks and dangerous things and them tumble onto my shoulder and roll so the arms are always loose and spingy at impact, i wouldn't recommend taking the full force of impact on an arm thats locked out, they will break, for me the secret to crashing is flexabilty, if you can't loosen up and roll and bounce you are really going to hurt yourself and i'd recommend the just don't crash course of action if you can't roll properly....

BugsInMyTeeth

Ok..

Lots of good input, with very different approaches, conflicting opinions, do this, do that, no DON"T do that.. do this... BAD idea, don't do that..

So to summarize..



Suck it up, and hope for the best.

Which pretty much boils down to my original advice to her... "Uh.. well... errr.. try not to,"

XD

Thanks guys. Interesting thread.

seosamh

i'd add one other thing, if you can jump of the back and stay on your feet by running do that, or atleast until you've take enough speed out that you can then tumble fairly safely. i managed that yesterday, slipped of my peddles trying to clear mud out my eye going down i really rooty section(one handed on that was a bad bad idea just missed a tree my inches), but not before i landed on my balls on the saddle which was frigging painful to say the least!!! :shock: so to recap definately don't use yer baws to break a fall! doubt you'll get too many disagreeing with that!

ChuckO

It's the sudden stop that kills you. keep your limbs tucked, don't lead with your head, and try to keep rolling. I've taken some nasty spills on motorcycles and never been hurt seriously, which doesn't necessarily mean any skill was involved in the crash. Sometimes you're gonna get hurt, personally I'd rather have a rib heal than a joint.

Flak

It's funny, we're all talking about controling a situation brought about by a lack of control.

Joe Dirt

Learning how to crash depends on the type of crash involved. There are 3 types of crashes and each one requires a different technique.

The first crash is the high speed collision with a solid object, like a parked car or freight train. You can actually practice this kind of crash by riding into a brick wall at any speed over 20 mph. The technique in these scenarios is to cross your arms in front of your face, the radius and ulna bones will break and disipate the energy before any head trauma results.

The second type of crash is falling onto the ground. An example might be having the bike wash out from under you in a high speed turn. In these scenarios you are generally caught by surprise, and there is little time to formulate a crash strategy. The best thing to do is get away from the bike and pump your legs as if you're running. You may be able to "hit the ground running" and if done properly it looks like an intentional, well executed stunt.

The third type of crash is falling from a great height, such as accidentally riding off a cliff. In these scenarios you will have more time to contemplate your crash plan as well as relflect on your life and recall the details of your life insurance policy. Experts recommend getting away from the bike and entering free fall with a stable, arch position. The freefall phase may last up to 45 seconds so use your hands to deflect the airflow and control your flight. Examine the terrain below you and look for a soft landing spot such as a swimming pool or an abandoned matress. Avoid anything especially springy like a trampoline or canvas awning as these can propel you into a secondary flight. Just before you strike the ground at terminal velocity, swing your arms so that you can land on your feet, flex your knees and keep your feet together, upon landing your problems are not over since your bike may land on top of you, so don't remove your helmet until you're sure the bike has landed.

BugsInMyTeeth

That takes the cake.


Good one.

Tra!l !

+1. Yep your right man. Everyone goes in with the mentality thats what their going to do, but it is all instinct. Thats part of the sport though. If you think about crashing or, how to fall, or what could happen, you become more tense and more likely to fall. I say, shake it off. If its really bad, wait for it to get better, then try again. Just dont aim for that tree.

Tra!l !

hahahahahahhahaha. thats classic.

jm01

nope gracefull way to fall...I've flipped over the bars more times than I want to remember, dislocated both shoulders...fell sideways, usually face first into the dirt...dropped the bike several times on my commute because of cars pulling out of side streets, have been pulled out from under two trucks...and have learned one important thing from all this

...when falling, make sure its not into poison ivy

Maelstrom 

You can practice though. Crash more...you will get better at it

rbrsddn

Too funny!

Tra!l !

haha. ive crashed enough on the trail as a rook and have perfected my own ways. its still hard to think though. its like knowing to stop drop and roll when ur on fire

seosamh

this is true tho, i told my m8 he would need to crash a few times to get used to it and it'll make him a better rider, basically, we can all talk about how to crash and whatnot, but unless you've crashed a few time you're going to have a fear of crashing that'll cause more damage than anything else i reckon...a after you've crashed a few times, you learn to lossen up and lose the fear of it..

jindapee

i agree. it's a little safer at take the initial impact with your arms and let your body take the rest...wrists break easily and take a fair amount of time to fully heal. separated and dislocated shoulders are other injuries that happen as a result of bracing an impact with just your arms.

mikejo

Just watch The Road Runner cartoon. Wild Coyote falls/crashes all the time and he always survives and comes back for more!

bikejack

I learn't from my Speedway racing cousin and carried it through to Road Racing.

Hang on to the bars as long as possible, they lessen anything you might be about to impact on.
Don't look where your falling, thats how you faceplant and break your neck.
Tuck your chin into your chest.
Exhale quickly through nose and bite down(Tensions the muscles for impact).
Never ride with your tongue out (see above)
Roll with the crash (don't fight it)
Don't try to stand up until you stop.

Hope this helps.

bikerboyd

Practice. A lot.

Dannihilator

Stay loose and NEVER land hands first.

Paniolo

Stay loose, try and tuck and roll if going over forwards. If going straight over the bars hang on to them and they will initiate a tuck and roll, otherwise you will assume the superman position ... which is not a good way to impact the earth as I have learned from experiance. If the rear washes out try to get the inside foot out and down to hold you up, or go down in a slide like in baseball.

Usually the best teacher is when you go down and hurt yourself and you think back and say "I'm not going to reach out with my hand again" or whatever the case is.

Edit: I agree with not reaching out with your hands unless it is an extremely slow fall/ tip over. This saved me on a 23 mph road crash where my only mantra as I was going down was tuck and roll ... don't reach out! Hit on the back of my shoulder and rolled ... lots of road rash, but I was able to ride the 10+ miles back to the car.

g0tink87

yes! best advice in this thread so far.

I hate that *****

WannaGetGood

We have a fair bit of stinning neddle, kinda the same thing. Both ennoying.