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Buy a bike with matching frame for your height, with good double suspension, e.g. with front and rear RockShox or better, and raise the handlebar to a comfortab

by drran 5y ago

Buy a bike with matching frame for your height, with good double suspension, e.g. with front and rear RockShox or better, and raise the handlebar to a comfortable height. Your back will thank you. Install all safety systems: front and rear bike lights, mirror, reflectors, use helmet, reflectors, wear reflective jacket, etc. You must be visible at the road at all times. (I use no helmet, because I'm trained to fall properly, but I recommend to wear helmet until you fall at least 10 times.) Ensure that your legs are working for the full length, by raising the seat as much as you can, to avoid problems with joints. I'm raising my seat so much, that it feels like running, because I press pedal with toe instead of whole foot. Otherwise, you will have powerful legs, but weak foots, so you can break your heel just by running. (I did). If you ride in winter conditions, lower the bike seat until you can reach the ground with the tips of your shoes instead, so you can reach the ground quickly when the road is slippery. Bike will make your legs strong and healthy, but your upper body will require additional training. AFAIK, the best way to keep the whole body in good condition is to combine biking with swimming or sport dancing. (I use biking + ballroom dancing). Ballroom dancing also improves situation awareness a lot: I never had a collision with somebody else after few years of ballroom dancing.

CorrectHorseBat 5y ago
> with front and rear RockShox or better If you're only biking on the road I wouldn't get that, only slows you down. >(I use no helmet, because I'm trained to fall properly, but I recommend to wear helmet until you fall at least 10 times.). Not sure if you're serious...
- boomskats 5y ago
  I used to work with someone who was an avid cyclist, in his mid 50s, and insisted you didn't need a helmet when cycling because 'if you think about it, when you're falling, you will use your hands to stop yourself - so all you really need is a decent pair of gloves'. He was totally serious, and I assume the previous poster might also be. It's a slightly bizarre viewpoint, but not that dissimilar - this idea that you should wear a helmet to start with, and then stop wearing it once you're confident that you no longer need it because you know how to fall without it.
  - eurekin 5y ago
    Has he seen the "I love helmets!" video?
  - bradfa 5y ago
    I’ve been biking for over 30 years. I’ve broken a helmet in a fall. I know how to fall. ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET! It very well may save your life. Many crashes happen much too fast for you to react to. It’s like a seatbelt or airbag in a car. Useless 99.9999% of the time. But when they’re needed they can dramatically improve your chances of survival.
- drran 5y ago
  > If you're only biking on the road I wouldn't get that, only slows you down. They will make you feel like you are moving slower, but my bicycle computer shows that I move faster. Moreover, wheels follows ground more precisely, which reduces risk of losing contact with ground. I'm crossing road bumps at full speed, while sitting and continuing pedaling. > Not sure if you're serious... I'm serious for both recommending to wear helmet for first 10 falls at least (because newbie is like a toddler), and I'm serious that I don't need helmet (because I'm not a toddler anymore). Bicycle is safer than walking per km traveled. Are you wearing a helmet when walking? It's dangerous!
  - CRConrad 5y ago
    Funny how professional competition cyclists probably have even more experience than you... And all wear helmets.
  - meristohm 5y ago
    I hear you, and acknowledge the strong opinions around Helen’ helmets while bicycling. I usually wear a helmet (I’m in the USA), and for slow trips on known routes sometimes I skip it. If I lived in the Netherlands (or anywhere with a robust bike-commute culture) I might never wear a helmet, because I’m not so fast anymore and I’d be doing known routes at moderate speed. I lean towards wearing helmets, and support wearing them in cars (I don’t do that yet because of social stigma, though maybe I’ll work up the gumption now that I think about it).
    - drran 5y ago
      Helmets, and other protective equipment, works, so it may help you to survive many kinds of incidents: road incident, train wreck, fall from sky, etc. There is no doubt. However, cycling to work is the safest mean of transportation per km traveled. Nobody will force me to do downhill on a bike without full gear on, because I can fall, puncture my artery, and then bleed out in 2 minutes. One of my earliest memories is: I'm laying on the ground on my back and watching as my bike flying over me, like in slo-mo. However, I see no sense to wear a helmet when doing one of the safest routine on this planet. I had two road accidents (I hit another cyclist, I hit a safety pole with handlebar when a car in front of me suddenly closed the path for me) and a dozen near-misses while biking in about 40 years. I had much more near-misses in the city (dozens) when walking.
tremon 5y ago
Ensure that your legs are working for the full length, by raising the seat as much as you can, to avoid problems with joints Raising your seat isn't the first step: first make sure that you're pushing the pedals with the balls of your feet, not close to the heel. I used to get terrible knee pain during prolonged bike rides as a kid, and nobody could tell me why. It took me many years before I finally figured out what I was doing wrong: if your feet are too far forward on the pedals, you effectively lock your ankles in place, and all propulsion must come from your upper legs through your knees. If you can bend your ankles, you have two joints and three sets of muscles to share the load. This gives you better range of motion and less muscle strain for the same amount of propelling power. If you ride in winter conditions, lower the bike seat until you can reach the ground with the tips of your shoes instead This is the correct seat position all year round.
dahart 5y ago
What does trained to fall properly mean? Are you absolutely sure there is such a thing? I doubt that there is, because the human neck is not strong enough to withstand many kinds of flat falls (just watch FailArmy for a while), and assuming you can prevent a flat fall during an accident is a bad assumption. Assuming you can avoid a head-first fall is a bad assumption, and assuming you’re not going to be struck by a car is a bad assumption. Have been biking many decades, fallen more times than I can count, and am as trained to fall properly as one gets, I think. I’ve had two falls in the last decade that would have put me in the hospital without a helmet, and one that may have killed me - head collided with a rock at high speed, but I had a good helmet and walked away. My belief is the opposite - that my need for a helmet has only grown the more skill I have. As I’ve gained expertise, I ride faster on average, I’m in traffic more, picking more difficult routes, riding in a wider variety of weather and conditions. All reasons to
- drran 5y ago
  When I was in school, our trainer was ill, so he was replaced by a craft teacher, which was fresh from the army. He was a soviet paratrooper, so he told us that he knows nothing about training, but he sure that we will fall a lot during our life, so he will train us to fall properly. We did about a hundred of jumps and falls and rolls per lesson, up to 2 meter height, in military style for 2,5 months, up to 1000 falls in total. When I'm falling, I'm rotating my body to fall flat on the back. I'm wearing a bicycle backpack with thick absorber and protective plate (Wolf Skin, Kite, etc.), so it absorbs energy and protects my back. Bad for backpack and notebook, but good for me.
  - dahart 5y ago
    FWIW, I had a whole skydiving career before I started biking seriously. Drop & roll is not really a viable head injury prevention plan. You’re prepped for a few kinds of accidents with a backpack and trying to roll if/when there’s time, if you’re really lucky, but you’re leaving a mile wide blind spot to many possible accidents that you don’t have control over. Good luck, I hope you don’t have any of those kind of collisions.
prodent 5y ago
Do you ever take your bike off any sweet jumps?

by drran 5y ago

CorrectHorseBat 5y ago

> with front and rear RockShox or better If you're only biking on the road I wouldn't get that, only slows you down. >(I use no helmet, because I'm trained to fall properly, but I recommend to wear helmet until you fall at least 10 times.). Not sure if you're serious...

boomskats 5y ago
I used to work with someone who was an avid cyclist, in his mid 50s, and insisted you didn't need a helmet when cycling because 'if you think about it, when you're falling, you will use your hands to stop yourself - so all you really need is a decent pair of gloves'. He was totally serious, and I assume the previous poster might also be. It's a slightly bizarre viewpoint, but not that dissimilar - this idea that you should wear a helmet to start with, and then stop wearing it once you're confident that you no longer need it because you know how to fall without it.
- eurekin 5y ago
  Has he seen the "I love helmets!" video?
- bradfa 5y ago
  I’ve been biking for over 30 years. I’ve broken a helmet in a fall. I know how to fall. ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET! It very well may save your life. Many crashes happen much too fast for you to react to. It’s like a seatbelt or airbag in a car. Useless 99.9999% of the time. But when they’re needed they can dramatically improve your chances of survival.
drran 5y ago
> If you're only biking on the road I wouldn't get that, only slows you down. They will make you feel like you are moving slower, but my bicycle computer shows that I move faster. Moreover, wheels follows ground more precisely, which reduces risk of losing contact with ground. I'm crossing road bumps at full speed, while sitting and continuing pedaling. > Not sure if you're serious... I'm serious for both recommending to wear helmet for first 10 falls at least (because newbie is like a toddler), and I'm serious that I don't need helmet (because I'm not a toddler anymore). Bicycle is safer than walking per km traveled. Are you wearing a helmet when walking? It's dangerous!
- CRConrad 5y ago
  Funny how professional competition cyclists probably have even more experience than you... And all wear helmets.
- meristohm 5y ago
  I hear you, and acknowledge the strong opinions around Helen’ helmets while bicycling. I usually wear a helmet (I’m in the USA), and for slow trips on known routes sometimes I skip it. If I lived in the Netherlands (or anywhere with a robust bike-commute culture) I might never wear a helmet, because I’m not so fast anymore and I’d be doing known routes at moderate speed. I lean towards wearing helmets, and support wearing them in cars (I don’t do that yet because of social stigma, though maybe I’ll work up the gumption now that I think about it).
  - drran 5y ago
    Helmets, and other protective equipment, works, so it may help you to survive many kinds of incidents: road incident, train wreck, fall from sky, etc. There is no doubt. However, cycling to work is the safest mean of transportation per km traveled. Nobody will force me to do downhill on a bike without full gear on, because I can fall, puncture my artery, and then bleed out in 2 minutes. One of my earliest memories is: I'm laying on the ground on my back and watching as my bike flying over me, like in slo-mo. However, I see no sense to wear a helmet when doing one of the safest routine on this planet. I had two road accidents (I hit another cyclist, I hit a safety pole with handlebar when a car in front of me suddenly closed the path for me) and a dozen near-misses while biking in about 40 years. I had much more near-misses in the city (dozens) when walking.

tremon 5y ago

Ensure that your legs are working for the full length, by raising the seat as much as you can, to avoid problems with joints Raising your seat isn't the first step: first make sure that you're pushing the pedals with the balls of your feet, not close to the heel. I used to get terrible knee pain during prolonged bike rides as a kid, and nobody could tell me why. It took me many years before I finally figured out what I was doing wrong: if your feet are too far forward on the pedals, you effectively lock your ankles in place, and all propulsion must come from your upper legs through your knees. If you can bend your ankles, you have two joints and three sets of muscles to share the load. This gives you better range of motion and less muscle strain for the same amount of propelling power. If you ride in winter conditions, lower the bike seat until you can reach the ground with the tips of your shoes instead This is the correct seat position all year round.

dahart 5y ago

What does trained to fall properly mean? Are you absolutely sure there is such a thing? I doubt that there is, because the human neck is not strong enough to withstand many kinds of flat falls (just watch FailArmy for a while), and assuming you can prevent a flat fall during an accident is a bad assumption. Assuming you can avoid a head-first fall is a bad assumption, and assuming you’re not going to be struck by a car is a bad assumption. Have been biking many decades, fallen more times than I can count, and am as trained to fall properly as one gets, I think. I’ve had two falls in the last decade that would have put me in the hospital without a helmet, and one that may have killed me - head collided with a rock at high speed, but I had a good helmet and walked away. My belief is the opposite - that my need for a helmet has only grown the more skill I have. As I’ve gained expertise, I ride faster on average, I’m in traffic more, picking more difficult routes, riding in a wider variety of weather and conditions. All reasons to

drran 5y ago
When I was in school, our trainer was ill, so he was replaced by a craft teacher, which was fresh from the army. He was a soviet paratrooper, so he told us that he knows nothing about training, but he sure that we will fall a lot during our life, so he will train us to fall properly. We did about a hundred of jumps and falls and rolls per lesson, up to 2 meter height, in military style for 2,5 months, up to 1000 falls in total. When I'm falling, I'm rotating my body to fall flat on the back. I'm wearing a bicycle backpack with thick absorber and protective plate (Wolf Skin, Kite, etc.), so it absorbs energy and protects my back. Bad for backpack and notebook, but good for me.
- dahart 5y ago
  FWIW, I had a whole skydiving career before I started biking seriously. Drop & roll is not really a viable head injury prevention plan. You’re prepped for a few kinds of accidents with a backpack and trying to roll if/when there’s time, if you’re really lucky, but you’re leaving a mile wide blind spot to many possible accidents that you don’t have control over. Good luck, I hope you don’t have any of those kind of collisions.

prodent 5y ago

Do you ever take your bike off any sweet jumps?