[Closed] How often do you fall off?

Pretty much every ride here too, though it depends where I'm riding. Will get around trail centres usually without crashing, though over cooking it on berms is a favourite of mine. Natural trails and other less manicured trails are a different matter though. Usually a combination of a lack of skills and pushing too hard.

not going to say! Will tempt fate too much, a lot less than I used to due to a lot more skills and ability.

Not that often these days... Used to be more often, but as I've got quicker the consequences have got bigger 😆 Most of mine are pretty low-speed now, techy bits rather than speedy bits.

Pretty infrequently. But it seems that when I do fall off it's usually serious...

Kinda depends on my Hardtail I can be guaranteed to have an off most rides, on my full sus less frequent but generally bigger in nature...

Not that often but every fall results in A&E or at least an overnight stay.

I go through phases. Lately, not much, touch wood...

Normally I crash on my 3rd or 4th go at a jump or difficult bit of trail when I've easily cleared it the first 2 or 3 times, then start thinking about it and BAMM I'm off

mikewsmith - Member

What do you think I'm some kind of fool?

Not very often, but you know what they say - the bigger they are the harder they fall.

I'm 6'4".

Most rides. This year has been pretty bad including a broken wrist. I do get bored/annoyed of being in pain after rides but not enough to slow down when out riding 🙄

I fall off much less than I used too but I think it's made me more afraid of falling off so I don't push as hard.
Having said that I came off a fair amount in Les Arcs last month.

Not very often.
I think it's because I

A) have Awesome Skilz and ninja reactions.

or

B) don't try hard enough and ride so far inside my limits that I
look asleep.

or

C) I am old and take longer to heal,so my risk assessment scanner is set to Max

🙂

Not had a proper crash for ages, probably this time last year on the bmx track in my lunch break. Funnily I haven't ridden there since. On the mtb I havent fell off since my big one at the FoD which must have been in 2010! Not even for lack of pushing myself, its just I don't really come off since my skills day - massive confidence booster and being able to identify why I was crashing beforehand have helped. As has the mindset of "well if I didn't crash on that smaller gap then what makes this one any different?" 🙂 I hate to sound like one of those preachy "skills day will transform your riding" types but it really did - I don't think its any coincidence that i haven't had a serious off and have been consistently pushing myself since spending the day with Tony!

The only times I come close to crashing is when im riding something rooty or rocky and techy - most of my riding is at woburn so I don't have loads of experience riding anything techy most of the year!

not as often as i used to...having said that i am a qualified instructor (doesnt make me a better rider though) and i've had all the risk assessment training etc...and i find that these things are what stops me from pushing myself too hard in terms of how i ride...but i think as a general rule we as riders become less reckless as we get older as we have more things to consider i.e. big jump - goes wrong - serious injury - stress for loved ones - time off work etc...

most rides,but I know when its about to go tits up and im good at ejecting myself off the bike so rarely get hurt beyond a few cuts/grazes and bruises.

As infrequently as possible. Had a couple of minor offs this year mainly through inattention but as I'm an insurance underwriter during the day I'm pretty risk averse anyway.

I used to hardly ever fall off, but it's been happening more and more this year - culminating in three of my worst ever offs in the Alps this year.

- OTB onto my head on rocks off the ladder drop on the Mega quali track, escaped with just a sore neck and broken helmet

- OTB landing hard on a rock with my chest when wheel feel through a hole in the snow on a steep chute high on the mega track, bruised ribs

- Some utter **** deliberately pushing me off during the Mega (Amateurs) race, leading to a broken arm and some nasty flesh wounds

Might take it easy for a bit when I eventually get back riding

Not enough. I think half the time i like to push it but i'm a little wary of consequences and always expect the worst so won't push it enough to find my own limits.

Think I have 1 or 2 "crashes" a year these days. Not including times when I've backed out of a corner and sometimes had to put my foot down.

That's not from holding back on descents either. I wouldn't go the speeds I do if I thought I was ever going to crash, or find myself in a situation I couldn't deal with.

If I was crashing more frequently than that I'd consider a skills course or looking at my equipment to make sure it was up to the job.

Too often, don't mind in the winter on cross as it's usually grassy and soft, and most are throwing themselves into the scenery, but it hurts more this time of year.

Yeah I seem to be having about one decent off a ride at the moment, mainly due to trying to ride hard stuff. I nutted a tree last night on an off camber run out from a rock drop I found and broke my new helment 🙁

Rarely, because I ride like a pansy. I always end up thinking about the consequences of crashing, then just slow down, the consequences of which are that I get down a trail 5 seconds slower. Then I get annoyed with myself for riding slowly. Repeat.

I seem to crash badly on a fortnightly basis*, so every 6 mountainbike rides or so.

*I'm not counting minor tumbles, there'll usualy be a couple of dives into hedges or gravity enforced high speed rests on each ride. The last two crashes tore my rotator cuff so I can't lift my arm up properly from my side, and broke my arm.

I was thinking about this the other day. I don't crash anywhere near as much as I used to. I honestly think that part of this is because I have got a lot better.

But I think annoyingly it is mainly because I now ride within myself (all be it at a higher level than before) and don't push my limits. One of the biggest things that holds me back downhill is my fitness. On a long shallow DH I just can't keep up the pace so end up going slower than my skills can cope with. On short, sub 2 min, DHs I can sprint most of it so go a lot faster.

If I was crashing more frequently than that I'd consider a skills course or looking at my equipment to make sure it was up to the job

Watch the "This is Peaty" series somewhere. You tend to notice the pro's crash all the time but just seem to be used to it that much they seem to be able to brush it off and forget about it (edit: I'm not talking about big off's and obviously not hurt enough to stay off bike). Falling off is nothing to do with not being up to the job, its just finding your own limits and pushing them a little bit too much. If you can learn from the crashes then ultimately you will become a better rider.

Every other ride I probably have some sort of small off, but I have only had one rag doll moment this year.

as my username would suggest - i fall off alot - and now have a full face helmet 😆

i used to crash all the time riding downhill but over the years it has definitely decreased in regularity from literally 5-6 times in a day of DH to maybe a proper off once in every 10 rides or so with a few little stumbles in the middle. now i tend to ride more xc/trails/all mountain style so this is likely to be part of it, but also i feel like i know my limits better now, riding to enjoy the trail as opposed to my previous bull-headed/trying to race every last mm of track attitude (although this comes out every now and again when needed 😉 ). last big spill was from a tree sapling that caught my handlebar on the inside of a fast sweeping turn and pinged me over the bars at 20mph+ into a tree. luckily nothing more than a banged up knee/minor cuts and bruises but that put a bit of a dampener on my riding for a few weeks!

I never fall off, it was not a fall. I'm just resting at moment and not recovering from a fractured femur. it was a scratch.

I didn't used to fall off much, but I do seem to be falling off a fair bit at the mo. Luckily it's mostly silly stuff that just results in cuts and bruises.

I'm not sure why it's gone up though. I think it may be because I'm trying a but harder which combined with the hard trails equals more speed. I crash on the BFe the most, normally over the bars!

Falling off is nothing to do with not being up to the job, its just finding your own limits and pushing them a little bit too much.

I beg to differ, here's why.

A crash of any sort, however you look at it, is normally the result of something going wrong and therefore is usually preventable. The cause of it can be one or several of many variables. If you want to learn from any crash, as you should, then analyse the likely causes. E.g. loss of grip from front tyre, too much speed, unfamiliar with trail etc.

All stuff that can be rectified really with skill and experience, we all assess things like this whilst we're riding anyway. The better you get at it, the better you'll get at maximising speed for any given situation.

Yes I know the pro's crash a lot, but in a race situation it's about finding every last bit of speed possible and the only true way to find the limit is to go beyond it. Which explains the scars over my arms and legs over the years and numerous trips to the hospital 😀

Local loop and stuff I ride almost never and when I do it is just bad luck rather than a total mess

Big rides I break my ribs about every two years going OTB- last one [ 2 months ago ish] after clearing* dollywaggon I did on the lower bits due to relaxing and thinking it was all easy and just not paying attention. Its the attention bit I usually mess up on

Problem is the stuff outside my comfort zone/pushing is steep and rocky so the penalty for error is high. Not sure whther to keep pushing to get better or just accept this is where I am as recovery takes so much longer with age

* i mean got down alive rather than actually clearing

I always fall off due to getting carried away.
Never had any serious injuries despite some dramatic OTB.
In a perfect world I would have a few scares every ride with out actually falling off that way I would know I was on the limit of my skill level with out he pain, bike damage and embarrassment of falling off.

That said if I never fell off I would know I was not pushing myself and not have the thrill you get when riding on the edge of control, and the only way you can determine you are on the edge is by overstepping it every know and then.

mindmap3
I crash on the BFe the most, normally over the bars!

Its the forks. You need forks with more compression support. Maybe you should swap them for some new Pikes?

Not often but if I do it's on a technical section where speed would be slow.

I much prefer fast, flowy and open as opposed to slow tight and technical, sometimes they scare me 😳

The riding's fairly open and not all that technical round here, so I can ride it all pretty much flat out without much trouble. However, when/if I next crash, it is going to be a monumental stack.

Patriotpro earlier.

I had an interesting fall off the Extreme Canal Tow Path in the Sierra Nevada mountains, and I was walking the bike at the time on account of being sheet scared. My potentially long fall was arrested by a big thorn bush, and the bike too. Good job as it was the guide's!

Pratfalls off the bike are not infrequent and quite random; I love my knee pads for that. My main tip is that [i]staying off the brakes when it gets dicey is the best way to stay on your bike[/i]. Bloody dangerous things brakes.

hardly ever fall off these days. Sometimes have a 'more luck than judgement moment' but that's about it. Last couple of times I did come off have been really silly mistakes at slow speeds trying to hop out of deep ruts where I just end up stepping off the bike because it goes where I don't it to...

staying off the brakes when it gets dicey is the best way to stay on your bike.

Theres an element of truth to this, right?

I seem to bottle nearly every drop I come across these days, and its touching the brakes that scrubs my speed and has me crashing more often than not.

Although, being a fat lad means if im not at least dragging a brake on a decent, them im hitting warp factor 9 and its going to end in tears regardless..

I reckon I need another day with Jedi to get my head right after cracking my knee on a piddly 2ft drop this summer - its blown my confindence. And its only 300yds from my house at the start of every ride I go on! I'm still taking the walk of shame when I approach it.. 😳

Every time I forget to unclip.

I only seem to fall off when listening to music last time it was Iron Maiden.
Not crashed for about a year or more.
Get sketchy on most rides tho 🙂

Not for ages until last night, a damaged chain forced it to jump off when I was pedaling hard, next came kneeing the bars then over the top.

I had one of those out of the blue offs last night. Riding narrow track between bushes and barbed wire at dusk I failed to see the substantial sawn off branch protruding into the trail and rode into it at speed. First I knew was my hand punching the tree and my hip hitting the deck. Ouch! Actually got off pretty lightly.

I hate unseen trail obstacles.

The ride before that I decided to roll a jump because I didn't have enough speed to launch it. It was a gap jump. D'oh!

I crash fairly frequently. Like the pros. Ahem.