Crashing

[Sam Nichols]

Has anybody noticed how bmxers have some really gnarly crashes yet they seem to get back up and try the trick again.. It doesn't really seem to hurt them that much!

Does anybody know why this is possible? I've come up with a few ideas but I can't work it out.

• They work out a lot and are really physically fit, so somehow their muscles are stronger meaning they don't get pulled/strained as easily
• They are so relaxed and fearless that they never tense up
• They are so pumped with adrenaline that they don't feel pain
• They stretch/warm up really well before riding so everything is lose
• They are on drugs

What dy'a reckon? I'd love to not hurt when I crash!! Edited June 18, 2006 by nichols_sam

[SamHolmes]

They are so pumped with adrenaline that they don't feel pain

Edited June 18, 2006 by SamHolmes

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They just dont care, and they want it more.

[King C]

[*]They are on drugs

[yoyoyo]

• They are so pumped with adrenaline that they don't feel pain
• They are on drugs

Plus they tend to hit limbs and things instead of heads/backs.

[Krisboats]

[*]They are so relaxed and fearless that they never tense up

[*]They are so pumped with adrenaline that they don't feel pain

Those are the two right there... you dont get hurt as much if you just go limp and let it flow and your already so psyched that you don't care.

[Endohopper]

Also , in the presence of cameras there's a kinda " I'm fine " shrugging off vibe going on .

[zoo]

Also , in the presence of cameras there's a kinda " I'm fine " shrugging off vibe going on .

Exactly what he said

zoo baby!

[Mark W]

Because they fall off in totally different ways to trials riders? If you're doing a BMX trick, e.g. on street, you'll usually be going faster, and when you fall off it'll tend to make you roll more. With trials, when you f**k up it tends to be a lot more sudden and unexpected, plus you tend to end up flipping more one way or the other (either due to a mechanical or not landing something properly). That's why Steven Hamilton can get up after f**king up a 20-set drop gone wrong with no problems, yet trials riders stay down after f**king up an 8ft gap to rail or whatever.

But yeah, that's mainly the reason why, just 'cos the physics involved are different.

[Greetings]

I think it's adrenaline. Ever crashed badly and felt nothing? That's it.

Also, you need to know how to crash. I've seen my mates crash riding freeride, some would end up braking bones, whereas another friend of mine (almost a pro) walks out of major crashes with mild injuries.

Repeating things might be due to the "now or never" saying. If you don't do something strait away after crashing, you'll be scared of it for days to come.

[Mark W]

From my experiences with taking it from on both trials bikes and BMX, and to a lesser extent DH (back in the day ), it was largely just the fact that the extra speed means you can kinda roll out of stuff, plus you can feel when it's going wrong sooner. Trials is very much an instantaneous f**k-up sorta sport; if a chain snaps or you miss a rail you're gapping to or whatever, it's a split-second thing. If I f**k up a 360 down some steps, I can feel it almost as soon as both wheels leave the floor, so you can prepare for it.

There's also the thing that with trials, if you're doing a move it tends to be an airborne thing. If you're gapping to a rail, upping something, doing a drop-gap or whatever, you're just floating up there, with a lot of stored momentum. With BMX, you aren't in such a shit place if you f**k up 'cos you're generally doing something to a landing, or have some landing point in mind.

[RicH_87]

when i fall off my bmx, usually one of two things happen. I eather sliiiiiiide along the floor, or i come to a sudden stop. Both hurt, el mucho, but only for a few minutes then i can usually get back on and try again.

I've definatly hurt myself a lot worse on my bmx than i ever did on my trials bike, but with trials, when i fell i would end up winded or something like that, which makes you lay on the ground longer.

In bmx you don't have time to get winded or anything like that because like mark said, you either have enough time to prepare for impact, or you're too busy scraping 3 layers of skin off you shoulders/hips/face.

[Mark W]

Or the OBM favourite; The Run-out.

[RicH_87]

Or the OBM favourite; The Run-out.

if only, i'd still manage to catch my shoelace or something. my bike comes with unlimited grazes as standard.

[Mark W]

Or the 360-down-steps-to-stamp move. Always fun. Realise it's f**king up, just land with your legs dead straight and don't move.

Knee-jarringly good.

[Sam Nichols]

The physics thang makes a lot of sense actually, never really thought of it like that.

On a similar note; Does anybody else find that when they ride bmx they tend to catch their achilles tendon or the bone on the inside of your ankle on bits of the BMX like the drop-out, pegs, the area of the bolt on cranks?

I do it all the time

The more I think about the whole crashing thing the more I remember all the crashes I've had on my BMX and how different they were to any trials crashes. I hate hurting myself

[Mark W]

I used to hit myself mid-calf with the nose of my seat, but my SL's a bit shorter than my Fit slim was, so it's not such a problem I'm pegless though, so I'm OK with the peg-hitting thing

[PaRtZ]

Yeah crashing doesn't bother me in the slightest Youll see in my next video what I mean.... I've just done a rather large and cringing crash but i only recieved 2 scratches

Stop being a poof and suck it up :P

[ManxTrialSpaz]

It's because you trial riders are all a bunch of pansies.

Oh wait, that's me...

It's probably just because they're going fast along a horizontal plain rather than travelling in a more vertical plain. If you think about it, they always bunnyhop over stuff or down long stuff, so all of that momentum is propelling them across the ground. With trials, we're genrally going down stuff or across stuff which is at that kind of position were all momentum will be directed towards the ground rather than along it when we f**k up.

[Tomm]

It's like when you're ice skating and you fall it hurts ten times as much as if you're running. Even though you're falling from exactly the same height and position. On ice you just fall and don't roll at all.

[N.Wood]

I crashed on the Les Gets World Cup DH course a few years ago doing 30mph+ (you'll know what i mean if you've ridden/seen DH) and came out of it fine, cos i just slid and rolled about 10 meters.

Fun-est crash ever.

Worst grammar ever.

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Also they have loverly slippy ramps sometimes, designed for "landing" on so they are the correct shape.

[Davetrials]

cos real bmxers are hard nuts on drugs.

[ramps]

Most of the bmxers at the local skate park are quite drunk/stoned/exctasy up. As a result they usually can't tell if they have fallen or if they just fancied a little nap in the middle of the park.

All of my worst crashes have been on my xc bike, yes I slid, but on my face down a road and ended up with a lovely hole above my to lip. That f**king hurt.

[Sam Nichols]

Perhaps the key is ultimate speed trials then?

Flat out don't stop give it some welly never brake fight the system super quick think outside the box rage against the machine.