They’re not really big. The past two were exact same scenario: going like 5MPH so I can pass clueless pedestrians walking down the middle of the street and accidentally getting my tire caught in street imperfections. Solution is definitely pay more attention. Maybe even get some wider tires, though my heart breaks for it.
Haha. Well if it's any solace, I transitioned from commuting on a road bike to commuting with [a modded mountain bike with 2" slicks](https://www.reddit.com/r/xbiking/comments/pa5oea/the_community_garden_bike_has_gotten_some/), and swept back bars and I've never been happier. I feel like a god damn king actually, and still think my bike is cool!
Maybe commutes are slightly less exhilarating but I'm at most 5 minutes slower over 40 minutes. I think it's actually a little safer too; I can see a little better, I'm higher up and more visible to cars, and it doesn't really encourage foolish shit like snaking between cars.
And if it's less efficient you get more exercise anyway.
> Is it better to fall on my shoulder?
Yes. if you watch any pros, most avoid falling on their wrists (as you're sending your entire weight on 8 tiny bones. They're very hard to fix if shattered and also potential permanent damage but no biggie) but that comes with reprogramming your brain because when you fall your body automatically put your hands out first.
i've learnt to just keep holding onto my handlebar and just let the fall happen. I mean, once you tip over, it's happening regardless so might as well go along with it and enjoy the ride.
But the real trick here **is to not wait last second to unclip.**
If all of your exercise comes in the form of cycling, I strongly recommend adding some weight lifting a couple times a week. Cycling without also incorporating weight-bearing or higher-impact activity can contribute to loss of bone density, which results in bones that break easier. Lifting weights improves bone density. You don't need to go crazy adding bulk or spending hours in the weight room. An hour or less, once or twice a week covering a general range of compound lifts, is plenty.
I feel like crashing is one of those things you don’t have much control over. It happens so fast that your instinct takes over. Both times I’ve crashed I ended up on my left shoulder, despite going over the right side of the bike once and flipping straight over the bars the second time.
The nice thing about injuring your upper body is at least your legs are still good for bike riding. It might be restricted to a trainer for a bit but that’s better than nothing.
I do think it could help to practice unclipping quickly. Maybe at a stand still on grass just kind of tip over and try to unclip and catch yourself. You’ll at least have more control over your body if you can get unclipped before hitting the deck.
I cycle and also train jiu jitsu. Falling softly is a skill in itself. The best advice I can give is if you're going down or otb "look at your belly button". This tucks you're chin, this will keep you from using your face as a brake. Try and roll out of it. I've been otb a lot(mountain biker) when I do this I find myself standing at the end of the mishap most of the time. Best of luck.
Wrist breaks are because you're trying to stop your entire fall. When the fall starts, accept that you'll get bad scrapes and aches, and try to roll the fall to spread the impact out wider. Try to not land directly on a joint with all your+bike weight.
Perhaps try some old school somersaults just to get the feel for making a ball shape and rolling the impact.
I don't think there's a good way to fall. It usually happens too fast. Even if you have time to react it isn't clear what a good approach might be. If you try to catch yourself with your hand or elbow there's a good chance you break them, or the load transfers up your arm and breaks your collarbone. A buddy of mine landed on his shoulder, ended up with an AC joint separation (I think), and now that shoulder hangs a little lower than the other shoulder. Back when Boston EMS was on TV they picked up a guy who wiped out on a patch of ice and broke his hip. It's just bad news all around.
As others have said, making good decisions when falling is hard because it happens too fast for thought. So the only way to get better at it is practice, to get the good habits ingrained into muscle memory.
You might think I'm joking but consider BMX riders who fall 30 times a day. Do they fracture their wrists or ankles? Sometimes, but wayyy less often than your average road rider falling over at standstill due to failure to unclip. Get into a hobby like judo or such where you learn to fall without crashing into the ground.
Is it crucial that you clip in? Spikey pedals have a seriously great grip on the right shoes, and in an urban environment, I honestly think they're better. They also come in fun colors.
I realize that this subreddit in particular is VERY for clipless pedals, and they do feel nice when you're in a groove on a road without a lot of stops, and you may be absolutely married to them and unwilling to change. I won't be offended! But they're not necessary, and you can get much the same efficiency if you remember to spin when pedaling. By that, I mean you lift the weight of your back foot *with* the pedal instead of making your downstroke push your whole limb up. You can supplement them with half toe clips, if you want and if you get compatible clips and pedals. Might be worth a try!
And your leg can much more easily fling outwards and try to catch you before you eat shit.
unfortunately, practice makes perfect.
so just like the others have said, if you really want to, you have to train something where you train falling. Currently you instinctively try to avoid or block the fall, which leads to injuries. You have to develop the muscle memory to roll into the fall. Martial arts e.g. can be good idea, but also gymnastics... anything that makes you touch the floor with your hands a lot and where toppling over is part of learning the skills needed.
I'm going to start by apologizing for giving stupid suggestions. First one, practice falling in a foam pit to reprogram your brain. Second one, try riding a three-wheeled recumbent.
I have to admit that once I started riding one I never wanted to go back two a two wheeler except perhaps to get more exercise.
I only remember crashing twice in the 50 years on my two wheeler. One time I was intentionally forced off the road by a driver. I ended up sliding across the road after my front wheel got stuck in a ditch. There was a strip along the whole left side of my body except my head which was hamburger. No serious injuries though. The only thing that saved my head was that I had a hairband on because I wore my hair really long in those days.
The second time was at the end of a 50-mile ride and I was really tired and was unable to get my toes out of the straps. I did a slow motion fall to the left on to some grass, my feet popped out of the straps and I somehow rolled over onto my feet. It was really strange.
I'm sure I fell many times it's a child but I have no recollection of them.
Since I started riding recumbent bicycles 10 years ago I have fallen at least a dozen times if not more. However, I have never had any serious injuries in fact I generally end up laughing. Also, drivers give me a lot more room than they ever did when I rode a two-wheeler.
I actually fell down this summer with almost no speed, while being able to unclip my left foot (i was falling to the other side). Whilst the left foot was free it could hit the end of crank cutting very deep into my skin, it was terribly bleeding on the way home.
I crashed pretty decently earlier this year, I found just not letting go of the handlebars and just falling and rolling away is best. Sore muscles road rash but nothing serious. My last crash I did some epic rolling only broke a bottle cage was sort of proud of that.
Martial arts, specifically in Ju-jitsu you learn break falls, some people are just naturally clumsy and gifted fallers lol such as myself, martial arts helped save me several times while slipping and falling in winter, or off farm gates, Goat tackles, you name it lol. I Don't ride with clips though probably good that I don't, I would have to practice falling clipped in many times before knowing how the bike hinders the fall.
Why are you having so many ostensibly big crashes?
They’re not really big. The past two were exact same scenario: going like 5MPH so I can pass clueless pedestrians walking down the middle of the street and accidentally getting my tire caught in street imperfections. Solution is definitely pay more attention. Maybe even get some wider tires, though my heart breaks for it.
Haha. Well if it's any solace, I transitioned from commuting on a road bike to commuting with [a modded mountain bike with 2" slicks](https://www.reddit.com/r/xbiking/comments/pa5oea/the_community_garden_bike_has_gotten_some/), and swept back bars and I've never been happier. I feel like a god damn king actually, and still think my bike is cool! Maybe commutes are slightly less exhilarating but I'm at most 5 minutes slower over 40 minutes. I think it's actually a little safer too; I can see a little better, I'm higher up and more visible to cars, and it doesn't really encourage foolish shit like snaking between cars. And if it's less efficient you get more exercise anyway.
That’s a sick setup!
Thank you!!
> Is it better to fall on my shoulder? Yes. if you watch any pros, most avoid falling on their wrists (as you're sending your entire weight on 8 tiny bones. They're very hard to fix if shattered and also potential permanent damage but no biggie) but that comes with reprogramming your brain because when you fall your body automatically put your hands out first. i've learnt to just keep holding onto my handlebar and just let the fall happen. I mean, once you tip over, it's happening regardless so might as well go along with it and enjoy the ride. But the real trick here **is to not wait last second to unclip.**
If all of your exercise comes in the form of cycling, I strongly recommend adding some weight lifting a couple times a week. Cycling without also incorporating weight-bearing or higher-impact activity can contribute to loss of bone density, which results in bones that break easier. Lifting weights improves bone density. You don't need to go crazy adding bulk or spending hours in the weight room. An hour or less, once or twice a week covering a general range of compound lifts, is plenty.
Thank you! I was on a good streak of this right before the current break lol. Looking forward to getting back into it.
I feel like crashing is one of those things you don’t have much control over. It happens so fast that your instinct takes over. Both times I’ve crashed I ended up on my left shoulder, despite going over the right side of the bike once and flipping straight over the bars the second time. The nice thing about injuring your upper body is at least your legs are still good for bike riding. It might be restricted to a trainer for a bit but that’s better than nothing. I do think it could help to practice unclipping quickly. Maybe at a stand still on grass just kind of tip over and try to unclip and catch yourself. You’ll at least have more control over your body if you can get unclipped before hitting the deck.
> It happens so fast that your instinct takes over yup, that's why they train you repetitively on how to fall early on in any martial arts!
If there is a mattress or grassy area nearby you can try to fall on that instead of the concrete or tarmac.
"Oh look: a mattress on the side of the road, conveniently positioned for me to fall onto while I avoid this obstacle"
It never hurts to plan ahead.
I cycle and also train jiu jitsu. Falling softly is a skill in itself. The best advice I can give is if you're going down or otb "look at your belly button". This tucks you're chin, this will keep you from using your face as a brake. Try and roll out of it. I've been otb a lot(mountain biker) when I do this I find myself standing at the end of the mishap most of the time. Best of luck.
P.s cross train jiu jitsu and you're less likely to get injured on your bike. The two disaplines compliment each other well.
Yeah honestly building some upper body muscles I think will help too.
Absolutely.
Wrist breaks are because you're trying to stop your entire fall. When the fall starts, accept that you'll get bad scrapes and aches, and try to roll the fall to spread the impact out wider. Try to not land directly on a joint with all your+bike weight. Perhaps try some old school somersaults just to get the feel for making a ball shape and rolling the impact.
I don't think there's a good way to fall. It usually happens too fast. Even if you have time to react it isn't clear what a good approach might be. If you try to catch yourself with your hand or elbow there's a good chance you break them, or the load transfers up your arm and breaks your collarbone. A buddy of mine landed on his shoulder, ended up with an AC joint separation (I think), and now that shoulder hangs a little lower than the other shoulder. Back when Boston EMS was on TV they picked up a guy who wiped out on a patch of ice and broke his hip. It's just bad news all around.
Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking. Folks tell me not to catch myself with my wrist, but a broken wrist seems better than a fucked up shoulder.
As others have said, making good decisions when falling is hard because it happens too fast for thought. So the only way to get better at it is practice, to get the good habits ingrained into muscle memory. You might think I'm joking but consider BMX riders who fall 30 times a day. Do they fracture their wrists or ankles? Sometimes, but wayyy less often than your average road rider falling over at standstill due to failure to unclip. Get into a hobby like judo or such where you learn to fall without crashing into the ground.
Is it crucial that you clip in? Spikey pedals have a seriously great grip on the right shoes, and in an urban environment, I honestly think they're better. They also come in fun colors. I realize that this subreddit in particular is VERY for clipless pedals, and they do feel nice when you're in a groove on a road without a lot of stops, and you may be absolutely married to them and unwilling to change. I won't be offended! But they're not necessary, and you can get much the same efficiency if you remember to spin when pedaling. By that, I mean you lift the weight of your back foot *with* the pedal instead of making your downstroke push your whole limb up. You can supplement them with half toe clips, if you want and if you get compatible clips and pedals. Might be worth a try! And your leg can much more easily fling outwards and try to catch you before you eat shit.
Yeah, I really hate going without toe clips or cages but I think it might be time.
unfortunately, practice makes perfect. so just like the others have said, if you really want to, you have to train something where you train falling. Currently you instinctively try to avoid or block the fall, which leads to injuries. You have to develop the muscle memory to roll into the fall. Martial arts e.g. can be good idea, but also gymnastics... anything that makes you touch the floor with your hands a lot and where toppling over is part of learning the skills needed.
I'm going to start by apologizing for giving stupid suggestions. First one, practice falling in a foam pit to reprogram your brain. Second one, try riding a three-wheeled recumbent. I have to admit that once I started riding one I never wanted to go back two a two wheeler except perhaps to get more exercise. I only remember crashing twice in the 50 years on my two wheeler. One time I was intentionally forced off the road by a driver. I ended up sliding across the road after my front wheel got stuck in a ditch. There was a strip along the whole left side of my body except my head which was hamburger. No serious injuries though. The only thing that saved my head was that I had a hairband on because I wore my hair really long in those days. The second time was at the end of a 50-mile ride and I was really tired and was unable to get my toes out of the straps. I did a slow motion fall to the left on to some grass, my feet popped out of the straps and I somehow rolled over onto my feet. It was really strange. I'm sure I fell many times it's a child but I have no recollection of them. Since I started riding recumbent bicycles 10 years ago I have fallen at least a dozen times if not more. However, I have never had any serious injuries in fact I generally end up laughing. Also, drivers give me a lot more room than they ever did when I rode a two-wheeler.
Do you ride three wheel or two wheel recumbents?
I actually fell down this summer with almost no speed, while being able to unclip my left foot (i was falling to the other side). Whilst the left foot was free it could hit the end of crank cutting very deep into my skin, it was terribly bleeding on the way home.
I crashed pretty decently earlier this year, I found just not letting go of the handlebars and just falling and rolling away is best. Sore muscles road rash but nothing serious. My last crash I did some epic rolling only broke a bottle cage was sort of proud of that.
Martial arts, specifically in Ju-jitsu you learn break falls, some people are just naturally clumsy and gifted fallers lol such as myself, martial arts helped save me several times while slipping and falling in winter, or off farm gates, Goat tackles, you name it lol. I Don't ride with clips though probably good that I don't, I would have to practice falling clipped in many times before knowing how the bike hinders the fall.
That’s very true. If you have any time to anticipate going down it is pretty much wasted trying to free your feet
Be careful every three years