From personal experience, I can say it works perfectly, if you're skilled enough for it to become a 2nd nature.
I trained judo as a small child, mostly learning falls and cushioning them. I've been using that ever since in countless number of situations - football, cycling, motorcycling. I do those things instinctively. Never hit my head in any fall so far. That includes being hit by a car 4 times (so far :) ).

Just like most boxers move their head and reposition themselves after deploying a hit, regardless of whether the opponent tries to hit them back, or not.

I enjoy several sports that have been good practice for falling in "friendlier", softer conditions: snowboarding, skiing, hockey and mountain-biking. Keeping the arms inboards and wrists off the deck is key for each. I have fallen countless times without wrist, arm, shoulder or head injuries, and presumably built some muscle memory along the way.

I agree with an earlier poster that having less time to react to a collision can be a good thing - 3 weeks ago I was blindsided by an oncoming van driver who basically tried to take a left turn into a driveway though my body and bicycle. My hands were on the bars when I went down. I suffered some bloody knuckle-bruising and my left leg was badly bruised by the car impact. I realize that I was lucky overal - bike commuting again after 5 days and mountain-biking after 3 weeks.

I've gone down maybe 5 or 6 times. About half of these, I went down to the side - tires going out from under me on a curve or something else at low speed, and I kept my arms on the bars, landing on my shoulder and/or hip, with very little injury - some scrapes.

on three occasions, I've gone over the bars, and you better believe I used my arms to break my fall. The fastest of these was at about 19 MPH. The other two were around 15 and 18 MPH respectively (Yeah, I've got the garmin data, I'm not just making up the numbers). The slower two, I got a bunch of road rash, and the faster one, I broke my hand. No head/pavement contact for any of them.

If am going over the bars, you better believe my arms are going out in front if I have the time.

BTW, I've had several minor concussions, though not from bike riding. I'll bet that anybody who's had any post-concussive symptoms, temporary or permanent, would tell you that if you gave them the choice, they'd have preferred a broken bone to a head injury.

In recent memory I've been down 3 times. 19mph low side when tires slipped in a curve, shoulders and head took the hit. Other one was a whole box of stupid and I went down on the side and wrecked a helmet hurt my shoulder to the point I haven't lofted weights in over a month and I can't sleep or sit in any comfortable position at the moment, hands on the bars that time too.

The one time I've been otb was on a cross bike showing off for my kids and hopping up and down curbs. Was trying to do it slow and make it look cool on the last one and I came up short. Otb, used my hands, broke my right thumb and STILL landed on my head/shoulder.

I don't try to use my hands, mcmap and other training always taught me to try to land flat and spread the impact so that's what I attempt to do but frankly otb usually causes panic (in me) and hands go out anyway.

I've been ripped right off the bike when using clipless. I only stayed attached when using clips and straps. Although it all happens so fast, I suspect that one's feet are immediately rotated to an unclip position during the fall process.

Very nice post. Thanks. One can immediately see that they not only don't put an arm or hand out, they do everything they can to prevent their arms and hands from contacting the ground - they even hold them up in the air. When tumbling, they keep their arms bent and relaxed.

On the subject of "no one can possibly prepare for a crash," it's been my experience that one can prepare to execute a plan in milliseconds by running scenarios in one's head. Front tire blows, rear brake; rear tire blows, front brake; bike goes down, downside hand moves in; etc. This works for cycling, skiing, driving, and many sports. Make it a practice to run scenarios in your head frequently. It works. Never think "there's nothing I can do."

Broke my wrist in 2 places last year, sure was better than landing flat on my face from an endo.

In the second video almost every one of them threw his arm out to contact the ground first, and if you look closely some used their legs as well. It's less important though when you're only falling a foot or two like in those motorcycle track low side slides. Just sliding is great of course, if you're wearing leather, you're on a smooth road and can separate from the bike. It doesn't require special skills or training. A hint on that for those with no training: empty your lungs before impact and relax your body. Being relaxed means you won't shove your arms out in instinctive (but wrong) ways and will help distribute the shock. Empty lungs just so you don't bruise them.
[MENTION=210511]Slaninar[/MENTION] is right, if you do have training you don't have to think about it and you do usually have time for the technique, which is not always the one you were planning btw. I'm not expert by any means, just 4th kyu but these are automatic and when you do it right you probably won't get hurt. Not road rash, not skinned hands, not bruised, no injuries at all. It's not that hard to learn basic proficiency.

The clavicle is the easiest bone in the body to break, but it's generally a minor injury. Worrying about your clavicle as you fall is like worrying about your paint job. A broken clavicle heals readily (unless no medical attention is sought) without much ongoing issue. I learned to fall doing gymnastics and football as a kid, and you definitely use your hands/arms, you just learn to do it without holding them out stiffly, and use your hands/arms to direct the fall. Tucking the chin to chest is key however you're falling.

There is no way that taking enough force in the arm to break the clavicle won't be protective of the head. It's just straightforward physics. Ideally you're using the hand/arm in a way that the fingers/wrist/clav don't break, but that force has to go somewhere. If your helmeted head is taking all the force while the arms/clavicles are protected, then the potential for permanent damage is very real. This is why I wear cycling gloves, so I can use my hands and not have a flash of fear about road rash on my hands.

As noted, many falls are too fast to engage conscious thought. This is why one needs to 'practice falling' mentally, so it's instinctive to tuck the chin and try to roll with it. Also, tensing up is probably not a good idea. More internal joint damage that way. This is why drunks are frequently little injured in car accidents.

I posted before I read this. Agree across the board. You can really see how they used their hands in particular to direct their fall. The mention about exhaling is great, too. I still remember landing flat on my back as a kid, and in my panic holding my breath as I fell. Man, that hurt more than the rest of the trauma combined!

This depends on how the crash plays out. I have absolutely completely rolled, though as you point out, that usually does not happen.

But whether or not you actually roll, the idea is the same -- you want to dissipate as much energy from the crash into sliding and rotation with impact distributed over as much of strong areas of your body as possible. You want to avoid direct impact with point areas as that maximizes damage to you.

This stuff is not hokum and if you watch the motorcycle vids that wphamilton posted, you'll see those guys are good at falling. But one difference between falling with a lightweight bike that you're mechanically attached to and falling very heavy motorcycle that you're not attached to is that with the bike you're better off staying fully attached rather than getting partway disconnected and opening up other opportunities for injuries.

I learned to fall when studying martial arts a zillion years ago and found the training incredibly useful in cycling, skiing, and kayak crashes. You rarely have time to think during crashes, but if your kinesthetic sense is trained or naturally helps you do the right thing, it makes an enormous difference.

I have definitely tucked and rolled with my feet still attached and my hands still on the bars. Two guys went down right in front of me in a crit and I had nowhere to go except right over them, ass over tea kettle. My jersey was torn on my shoulder blade/upper back, shorts torn on the butt, and I had a bent derailleur hanger. Could have been much worse.

I have to say, the last time I went over the bars, in August, I probably did it mostly wrong. I hit a an uneven piece of road that was also covered in sand at about 15 MPH and went straight over the bars, with my arms out in front of me, basically like I was trying to fly. My head was up, not tucked in. I did try to roll a little so that I landed more on my side than on my chest.

Net result was a lot of road rash on my right forearm and hip and a couple of raw bruises elsewhere. my chin hit the ground gently - not even a scrape - and there was no injury to my face or head. My gloves prevented any scrapes to my hands. Definitely my right arm, side, and hip cushioned the momentum and kept my head from hitting hard.

So, should I have tried to tuck and roll? I guess somebody with skillz would have done so and been better off. I instinctually turned my body to the side, and that was a start, but I'm sure I could have done it better

(btw, when I first launched, I was clipped in, but that just meant that the bike was up in the air behind me - by the time I landed, I was clipped out - being clipped in had essentially no influence on what happened or my injuries)

Even if there was a better way to handle that particular incident, it sounds like you did just fine.

When you get right down to it, the answer to every question and situation ultimately boils down to "it depends."

It's sort of like asking about braking, cornering, climbing, etc. Some methods are better than others in most situations. But there are often particulars which need to be adjusted for.

I wonder how many people responding to this thread have actually experienced a massive wreck.

Having a front tire wash out during a turn, isn't a wreck. It's a "whoops".

Broken collarbones and wrists, aren't serious inquires. Head and neck injuries can be.

I'll sacrifice my hands and arms everytime they could help protect my head.

Worst one I had was on a motorcycle, 60+ mph and flying clean over the car in front of me. I wasn't injured, but I still think it qualifies as "massive". The bike was totaled.

Cycling, head on with a salmon, I was low 20's and he was 15 mph or so. I wasn't injured there either, except where one of the bikes scraped my arm on the way by - 8-inch scar there.

Cycling, hit a rut at 25 and went over the bars. At some point I hit the curb which snapped my collarbone. I didn't hit my helmet in any of these - it's not necessarily a choice between types of injuries.

When that is the choice one is faced with, it's an easy one to make. However, it is a mistake to equate sticking an arm out with protecting your head/neck. You can very easily wind up with more broken bones *and* dramatically greater impact to your head and neck.

The amount of control one has during a crash ranges from none to quite a bit. But people who know how to fall are more likely to be able to mitigate a particular fall or even choose a controlled crash rather than hang on too long and leave too much to luck.

I personally have been in a couple serious crashes and a bunch of minor ones over the years. In the most significant, I was knocked out even wearing the helmet.

+1 to whoever said, generally speaking, there is NO time to react...it just happens. Judo players, acrobats, etc fall in very predictable ways, out on a descent with a gravel corner you won't have time to react...it is what it is.

I think the best way to learn how to crash to put yourself out there and continue to do it (aka practice crashing) on a regular basis.

IMO it comes down to when to accept a crash vs when to try and ride it out. There is a decision point we all have to make and I think it simply comes down to how experienced of a rider you are. Trying to ride something out, which I see all too often, is a recipe for disaster....as it bailing too early.

I also don't think "tuck and roll" is a great thing to ingrain into muscle memory, landing on the back of my neck / spine on a rocky descent is the last think I'd want.

With a bicycle:

4 times hit by a car on - no serious injuries. Once it was a decent speed of the car (hitting me sideways at about 30 km/h. Once I hit a car sideways at about 30 km/h. Other two - lower speeds.

Countless times - front wheel slide crashes. Especially when younger - taking it to the limit. Both low and higher speed.

Pedestrians running into my path and causing a crash - about 5 times.


Motorcycle:

On and off road slides, low sides mostly. Highest speed at the point of fall was usually reduced to about 40 km/h.



I rode bicycles with Shimano MTB clipless pedals - whenever I'd fall, pedals would disengage, leaving me free off the bike.

All in all, I fall down A LOT! :) Never broke anything. Never hit my head in a bicycle crash (don't wear a helmet when cycling). Always rolled, using my hands (and legs) to position my body into a rolling position. Never holding hand straight out, with a locked elbow.

Most of the times I've been de-biked I've landed on my ass. I'd like to credit all the years of martial arts and other sports like basketball (post play is almost a martial art), but the fact is that's where my mass is. Luckily, no noticeable brain damage in spite of its proximity to the point of impact.:D

The one time I really can credit training was when I was brake-checked with no escape. As my bike impacted the bumper, I consciously elevated (basketball experience: when contact is inevitable, get air-born to avoid injury). I was mildly surprised that I managed to stick the landing after a full flip with a one and a half twist, in sandals no less. Unfortunately, my leg did catch the handlebar on the way up which both transferred energy into the bike (broke the down-tube/head-tube connection) and caused the twisting rotation as well as giving me a painful thigh contusion.

Like many others, I did some martial arts training and learned to fall ... but on a bike, stuff happens so fast there is not always time for the simplest, quickest maneuver.

I used to ride flat pedals and with those, I could dive and roll pretty well---I would launch myself off the bike often, and generally managed to land well. (I have actually dived over a car's hood and fender, and over a bumper onto the hood in another accident---in both cases, likely either saving my life or saving myself from great injury.)

On one occasion my speed was simply too great and I got a separated shoulder---at certain force levels, only 1000 % perfect technique will work, and even then, it only mitigates the impact.

Now I ride clipped in, and I find I have a lot less roll ability. The last time I went down hard, I did twist to take the impact on the back of my shoulder (hands in) and even so, I broke my clavicle (collarbone, for those who prefer (even though I hit flat with the back of my shoulder--the force was sufficient to snap the bone up front)) and also smacked the side of my head. Had I put my hand out, I might have had worse injuries ... or not. Doesn't matter, because it happened so fast I didn't have time to extend an arm even if I had wanted to.

Theory is great. In practice, I find that knowing how to fall is mildly helpful, but the idea that people who have learned to fall always come out better ... chance plays as much a part as anything else.

One last thing---as to extending an arm or not, there is no proof that in Every situation, a certain course of action will result in fewer or more injuries, or more or less severe injuries. We can all pretend to know, based on a very small sample data collected from totally unrelated accidents ... but no one is going to stage a hundred identical bike wrecks to test which works better ... and even then, on the road your collision won't exactly mimic the test so why bother?

The one thing I could recommend---if one has time---would be to try to ht with the back of the hand instead of the palm ... hitting with the palm breaks the wrist, maybe the forearm, and maybe the collarbone. If one can hit with the back of the hand and roll onto the wrist and tuck the arm in, it might mitigate the impact without breaking any bones ... but again, every accident is different, and sometimes the only thing to do is pick up yourself and your bike after it is all over, and assess the damage.

Good falling techniques becoming 2nd nature definitely don't cause any harm, or make things worse... at least in 99,9% of the falls.
Same goes for strong bones and muscles, as well as protective clothing/equipment.

Once in a 1000 times do those things make it worse than it would have been without them.

I tend to agree with you. Maybe people don't expect the worst and want to be up and riding sooner so protect their hands/arms?

Me, I expect the worst and don't want to be drooling like a (bigger) embicile whilst saying "look at my hands, my beautiful hands"

Who said anything about locked elbows?

Pretty much everybody who advices against using hands to break the fall is talking about arms straight out, elbows locked type of position - which is also exactly what most inexperienced people tend to do when they fall.