I used to post on this particular forum a lot, then got worn out by the anger. Reviews of my posts will show you I've been on BF a while.

Not a troll. Just wondering about this. I'm not the best on a bike, but I like learning new things. I tried taking up skateboarding in my 20s, and had one major meeting between my face and the pavement that ended the experiment. I learned from the experience that I should maybe go out and practice/learn this stuff, but after taking a month to recover, just dropped the whole thing. Now I've been riding bikes for the past two years and realized maybe I should give myself a quick primer. Never having played a ton of sports growing up (single mom, no siblings--not all are like that, but some are), and being well into my 30s, I'm not a good natural crasher/body sacrificer.

Thanks for the suggestions, BTW. I think I might just look into some judo/jujitsu/aikido. Did kung fu when I was a kid, but mainly learned lots of offensive-minded activity there.

Falling is easy! Gravity does most of the work for you. I't's getting back up and walking away after the fall that's sometimes difficult. :P

A lot of people recommended martial arts. I'd say falling a LOT in any controlled environment that minimizes the risk of injury will help you know what to do when eventually you fall not on purpose. Although crashing your bike on purpose is a stupid idea, that's one of the many things I did as a child as I strove to train myself for a career as a movie stuntman. Somehow I managed it with nothing more than a few sprains and one chipped tooth, and I know how to take a fall instinctively, but that didn't stop me from spraining my wrist last time I went over the handlebars unexpectedly.

Anyone questioning the premise of this thread should watch street skaters for half an hour. In many situations where you or I would probably get really hurt they can just roll out of it with maybe a bruise or skinned knee, then get right back up and keep going. You can definitely get good at falling.

Thanks. I was actually kind of hoping someone might have thoughts on the most instructive way to set up such scenarios. I think the 63xc(?) site mentioned trying to do this on grass somewhere. But how would people here think would be the best types of falls to attempt? (over the handlebars seems dodgy, unless your landing on a big cushion, but maybe to the sides, or something?)

I got to thinking about this b/c I watched the little NYTimes video piece on LESers who play bike polo. There was one moment where a fairly tall rider took a spill, and it just looked so un-painful the way it happened, even though it was on asphalt. I thought, "I'd like to learn to fall like that."

No doubt! ;-)

Actually, err... yeah maybe a bit of doubt and uncertainty... :-)

Wicked quote though.

Well I spent a lot of time on playgrounds, woodchip surfaces back then weren't too bad, also crashed on grass, and jumped from every platform I could find. It was jumping 20' from a treehouse when I forgot to let my legs roll under, my knee came up and chipped my tooth. Thing is 10 year olds heal a lot faster than 35 years olds. I really wouldn't recommend this type of "Training" for anyone. Foam pads are the way to go. You still get a feel for how your body reacts to flying through the air, and hitting the ground, but without the inevitable broken bones. Martial Arts and Gymnastics both give you a safe padded space to practice flying through the air, though in gymnastics, the goal is NOT to fall, which I think is a much more sensible goal.

Sorry, Per, but you were really brief in your initial post. Skateboarding is definitely a young persons game. I pretty much gave it up myself after I broke my first bone in my early 20's. Oh to have rubber bones like a teenager again ;-)

edit: I'd really advise riding a freewheel (geared or single speed) blke for a while before you try to take on a fixie. Fixed wheel is a beautiful experience once you learn to ride it, but it's pretty dangerous if you can't. Don't worry about crashing, but learn to be comfortable on a freewheel before you take on fixed.

edit agin: maybe it's just best to learn fixed to begin with. That's what our grandparents did I s'pose.

I learned to fall by being incredibly clumsy, and taking karate from an instructor who also taught aiki. That said, I don't think bike falls are really something you can prepare for. It best to try to avoid them, of course, but every situation is going to be different. I tend to go over my handlebars more than anything.

Maybe the thing is to learn to be comfortable with falling. You're more likely to get hurt if you flail about. Also, having the confidence to get right back up and continue on your way (if possible) after a crash. Getting spooked causes lots of people to stop riding.

ha... I'm soon to be 36 and still skate roundwall a lot, (yeah, I wear pads); skate with a guy who is 39 and does frontside airs all day long. Lots of 30+ skaters in the DC area. Not a lot skate street, though.

aikido and judo will definitely make you more comfortable with falling and have a lot to offer beyond that. However, it's a different beast to have someone flip you than to slip out at speed clipped into ~20 lbs of awkward metal between your legs.

my suggestion for learning how to fall on a bike: play bike polo. Not so fast and easy to fall.

I'm trained in the Scottish martial art of fuk-YOOO!

Prepare for impact.......f uck..BAM

one thing to add to the above:

remember to put your keys in your bag, not your pocket.

you never realise how sharp and pointy they are until they're the only thing standing between your hip and some rapidly approaching tarmac.

fsnl
sparky

Just don't put your hands down! My co-worker severely broke his arm riding BMX a few weeks ago by putting his hand down to break the fall.

Also, as a former martial arts student myself... there is practically no situation on a road bike, or a mtn bike for that matter, in which I think a person could safely unclip and do a tuck and roll at speed. No way. Martial Arts is fun & useful so do it, but sorry, it ain't gonna help you break your fall any easier on a bike. That said, don't fall.

Okay Pathetic, I ride at a moderate pace for little while and then head for nearest brick wall. Upon contact I try to "stop, drop and roll" before my head splatters. It might take a few practice runs. But give 'er a go anyway!

judo that way you fall and put the power into the car causing more damage to the vehicle

slightly off topic, but this is perhaps my favorite keirin video ever:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rUD7T4g9Q0

In the 80s/90s national team members were taught tumbling at the Olympic Training Center. Dunno if they still are. The "tuck and roll" does work, although I have always maintained that intentionally unclipping in a crash situation is stupid. The idea is to tuck the head toward the handlebars rather than "superman" into the ground and do your wrists/collarbones. The bike ends up flipping through the air.

Preparing for crashing always seemed a bit defeatist to me, at any rate. I'd consider focusing on bike handling drills instead...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frxfRdcPjVw

in this one, you can see the all the guys holding on to the bars they eats it. good form, I guess

Probably not, but it's still useful and increases awareness of your body and its limits, possibly making your inevitable fall a little less crappy. It's also good to be trained not to break any kind of falls with your hands. And the conditioning strengthens muscles and acclimates yourself to being hit a lot, which does come in handy when you eat it. But yeah, I agree, I don't know how a forward roll would work on a bike.

I have a better idea. Get a safer bike, one that coasts, and you won't have to worry about falling so much.

Fixed gear is responsible for an accident that damn near paralyzed me. My own stupidity (not wearing a helmet) is responsible for several skull fractures.

I'm being totally serious here.

So the fixed gear forced you to fall over. Evil thing. I hope it was arrested, sued, or at least given a good spanking.

Sorry for making fun of your troubles, but YOU are responsible for falling off of your bike. And for not falling off of it.

I don't know, I fail to go with the "just fall" aspect as I've dropped to a knee in wrestling on a big mat and have torn my cartilage.

As a martial artist, I'm also skeptical of the "tuck and roll" method. It seems that most times I've fallen on my bike are due to the rear wheel sliding out from under me, in which case you go down too fast and at the wrong angle to roll. If you're going over the bars it might work better.

In martial arts, the basic principles of how to fall are pretty straight forward:
Never put your hands out! As others have said, this is a good way to break your wrist.

Try to hit the ground with the maximum surface area all at once, to distribute the impact.

Tuck your head in as you hit the ground -- the force of impact will tend to whip your head toward the pavement, you want it to be moving in the other direction to
counteract that.

Oh, and stay loose.

When I've fallen on the bike I usually use something like a sideways breakfall -- the idea is to land on one side of your body, with your leg, hip, side, and arm (the side of your arm, not the hand) all hitting the ground at once to spread the impact out.

As for how to practice, I'd recommend grass or another soft surface. And it's probably best to start without the bike, just falling from a standing position. The bike has hard, pointy bits that complicate the whole process.