Does bulk help in a crash?!

[ChrisCurvyS]

Anyone have any opinions/anecdotal evidence on whether muscularity/general bulk helps or hinders you in a bike crash?

I always thought the heavier you are, the worse off you're going to be as whichever bit of you hits the ground/car/tree impacts with more force. As in the difference between a feather and a brick falling from the same height.

However, saw the aftermath of some bike crashes on an air ambulance show this week and one of the paramedics was saying how bigger and more muscular riders tend to fare better than skinnier ones as the bulk cushions the impact and reduces breaks/internal injuries. I've heard it said before in general pub talk but dismissed it as nonsense.

If it's true, I'm well on the way to invincibility at 16+ stone...

[widepants]

can you get that curvy over 30 with all that resistance

[Mr Speirs]

Makes sense really. An unprotected stick will break a lot easier than a stick wrapped in bubble wrap.

Although I think it's a pretty weak excuse for being a big fat ****er ;)

[davepreston]

fat absorbs shock better than bone and that my friend id a 4 fingered fact
but a glass tube wrapped in a pillow and throw it at the ground
then wrap it in 2/3/4 pillows what do you think will help the glass tube survive

[ChrisCurvyS]

Ha - it struggles a bit but I've got an aftermarket exhaust and air filter, so it's probably putting out 50/60hp over standard...

[ChrisCurvyS]

fat absorbs shock better than bone and that my friend id a 4 fingered fact
but a glass tube wrapped in a pillow and throw it at the ground
then wrap it in 2/3/4 pillows what do you think will help the glass tube survive
Yeah but what about your glass tube having a f*cking anvil glued to the back of it?! Wouldn't that extra weight pushing it forwards cancel out the extra cushioning?!

Always thought skinny people would fare better in bike crashes as they'd bounce more....

[ChrisCurvyS]

Prob a better way of putting it - if I come off and land on my shoulder, aren't I more likely to break my collarbone than someone of the same frame with less weight cos of the extra force pushing down? Ditto if I come off and land on my hands - aren't I more likely to break my wrist?

[davepreston]

more pillows more weight, more fat more weight, more pillows more shock absobsion more fat more shock absorsion ,tis all relitive my friend
and trust me i dont bounce better than you
signed skinny barsteward

[davepreston]

more direct shock with skinny people eg say 4mm to bone while fat people it would be 7mm the extra 3mm will help disapate more of the shock

[Fallout]

I think that's too general mate. A big blubbery fellow will have a lot of elasticity to decelerate his mass more slowly which is good, but also have more inertia. I'd rather be chunky in a stop dead impact, but if I was going to hit something with a glancing blow the skinny bloke will change direction much more easily.

In summary:
Right into the side of a car = best to be fat
Glance it with your knee or shoulder or hip = best to be skinny!

[ChrisCurvyS]

Ha - good way of putting it!

Suppose if you're stocky and/or exercise regularly, you're likely to have stronger bones too. Mate of mine who's probably 6'2" and 18-ish stone, mainly muscle, got SMIDSYd at 40 by a car turning right across his path - he somersaulted across the bonnet and landed on his feet without breaking a single bone.

He had deep bruising up his heels which lasted for months though and he couldn't walk up the stairs for weeks afterwards.

[jambo]

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/funny-tshirt-fat-bikers-bounce-better-grinfactor-/00/s/NjY3WDUwMA==/$(KGrHqN,!qEE9d2p+Jf!BPY6JBdSn!~~60_35.JPG

I weigh naff all.

Jambo

[ChrisCurvyS]

I bought him that very T-shirt.

Bandit 1200s are made of sturdy stuff to it seems - there was more damage to the woman's Ford Ka than the bike.

[Bibio]

take up Judo and learn how to fall. you would be surprised just how much injury can be avoided by learning to relax.

[davepreston]

take up Judo and learn how to fall. you would be surprised just how much injury can be avoided by learning to relax.

and or pararoll
signed
master of motorcycle dismounts

[-Ralph-]

Well I'm a 16 stone fat fecker, and wrapped in lots of layers, tracksuit, fleece, and winter textiles, feeling like the michelin man for a 12 hour ride in sub zero temperatures one December, an icy road sent me off the bike, colliding with the tank and front of the bike, then busting clean through a three rows of barbed wire, then travelling a good way into a field at about 55mph.

I got up and walked away with two broken ribs, a leg like a bottle of ribena, and internal bruising (going to the toilet hurt for a week). I'm convinced if it had been in the middle of summer, I'd have left that field on a stretcher or in a body bag. The michelin man outfit saved me.

Sent from my Galaxy S3 using Tapatalk

[Iansv II]

Well I hit a traffic island at about 40mph and got nothing more than bruises... the bike got far worse, so I guess fat people do bounce better

:p

[widepants]

does it help if you have a fat neck

[Littlepeahead]

I'm 8 stone 6 and came off at 20mph and smashed my elbow. Now I'm having an x ray next week on a suspected stress fracture in my foot from paddling in the sea. Anyone got any bubble wrap or should I just eat more cheese?

[DJ123]

depends if your bulk is muscle or fat. I'm 11 stone, had many a spill over the years and (touch wood) not broken anything yet. Have t boned a mini, flipped over the roof and landed on my back. On another occasion i came off at 50mph round a corner. Bike came off far worse than i on both occasions.

[-Ralph-]

LPH, I don't want to worry you or be grim, but have you thought about early onset osteoporosis? PM Northwind if you have any suspicions.

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[joe_f59]

From personal experiences, it's a double edged blade really. I am 5ft6 and weigh in at 85kg and have played rugby and bodybulit for nearly 8 years. And yes my impact trauma resistance appears very high. However I lost a car on a patch of frost at 40mph straight into a big wall! And while none of my bones broke, they did flex heavily transferring energy to my ligaments in my forearms which is almost certainly worse due to the healing time involved :(

[Fallout]

Reading everyone's input in this thread, I've concluded it's best not to crash at all.

[Fruity-ya-ya]

Only had a slow speed off but my 17st backside seemed not to play much of a factor other than being able to easily hump the bike off myself after kissing the tarmac.

[littleoldman2]

Reading everyone's input in this thread, I've concluded it's best not to crash at all.

Right, but when you do (and we ALL do)..............

[littleoldman2]

BTW crashing at 17 was a lot less painful than crashing this year at 57

[Fallout]

I remember my DAS instructor saying he'd never crashed in over 30 years of riding, but I do think he's the exception to the rule!

[-Ralph-]

Reading everyone's input in this thread, I've concluded it's best not to crash at all.

:winner:

The conclusion I only came to a couple of years ago. I used to take the approach that I loved biking so much that I could cope with a few weeks in hospital and so long as it didn't disable me or kill me the risk was acceptable. So long as none of my crashes were really bad ones, that was OK.

I now realise that was young naive stupidity.

The reason being, there's no such thing a 'good one', or a 'bad one'. Any crash on the road, at any speed, can be a 'bad one' as you can't control what you hit after you come off, or how/where you hit it. A fence post, a road sign, or a piece of armco can kill you, and if you hit something solid there's no piece of leather or body armour that's going to save you. Even your helmet won't save you if your head bounces off something hard enough, and 30mph is easily hard enough.

Forget body bulk, riding gear, etc, the only thing that's going to guarantee your health/life is keep it rubber side down in the first place.

I know a 22 yr old (good friends little brother) that hit the back of a transit van on a push bike, closing speed couldn't have been more than more than 10mph, he's in a wheelchair paralysed from the neck down. He went over the handlebars and hit the crown of his helmet on the back of the van and that compressed his spine damaging the vertebrate. There's no bit of motorbike riding gear that would have stopped that had he had the same accident on a motorbike.

I remember my DAS instructor saying he'd never crashed in over 30 years of riding, but I do think he's the exception to the rule!

It's what we should all be striving for though. There's no more successful biker than one that get's too old to ride without any serious injuries, and the only way to achieve that is to keep crashing to an absolute minimum. The more often you crash the more likely you are to disable or kill yourself.

[Specialone]

I can't be bothered to read whole thread tbh but bone density will play a part in any accident not just an off on a bike, dense bones are less prone to breakage than 'normal' ones.

I have dense bones but a lot of padding round them too :)

Oh Btw, Im with ralph on the above, not crashing in the first place is the best protection.

[Littlepeahead]

I think my bones are strong it's just on both occasions I fell awkwardly. I eat so much cheese and drink milk that my calcium levels are good. I recently had a third bone spur removed from my heel. I think I've got so much calcium I'm growing bones where I shouldn't. I'll be sprouting horns next.

[Fallout]

I think my bones are strong it's just on both occasions I fell awkwardly. I eat so much cheese and drink milk that my calcium levels are good. I recently had a third bone spur removed from my heel. I think I've got so much calcium I'm growing bones where I shouldn't. I'll be sprouting horns next.

I think that's only half the battle. I think you need to do a reasonable amount of impact based exercise (running etc.) which causes micro fractures which heal and keep bones strong. Not saying you have brittle bone disease, just throwing in my vague knowledge about it.

As for NOT crashing. 4+ years riding without an accident or drop so far, touch wood, cuddle an angel, bake Fate a cake, wink at Jesus etc. :riding:

[DJ123]

I think my bones are strong it's just on both occasions I fell awkwardly. I eat so much cheese and drink milk that my calcium levels are good. I recently had a third bone spur removed from my heel. I think I've got so much calcium I'm growing bones where I shouldn't. I'll be sprouting horns next.

You should become a bone donor (make any jokes you like) :lol:

[thulfi]

They should do a test by tossing this guy
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_RGDWD43dHXE/SYakrp-y8rI/AAAAAAAAALo/nWA1NU7w2fA/fatbiker.jpg

and this guy
http://static.rcgroups.net/forums/attachments/2/3/9/7/0/9/t3906895-11-thumb-skinny%20biker.jpg?d=1301523918

from a KTM Superduke at around 30mph and see who fairs the best. I know who I'd put my money on.

[yorkie_chris]

I think that's only half the battle. I think you need to do a reasonable amount of impact based exercise (running etc.) which causes micro fractures which heal and keep bones strong. Not saying you have brittle bone disease, just throwing in my vague knowledge about it.

So impact stuff is good for the bones now? But bad for the joints?

[Fallout]

I think so. Same as red meat is good for iron levels and various other things but gives you bowel cancer. :rolleyes: You can't win.

[Littlepeahead]

Well I think I'm in the best position not to crash at the moment - one foot in a cast, broken bone in the other so I can't ride at all so 0% chance of crashing.

But after the lunch I had today I have probably put on about 2 stone.