“Jeff, I would like to see you do a video on the proper way to crash. Every mountain biker is going to crash at some time. What steps should a rider take to maximize the chances they ride or walk away from a crash?” – Eric of the Patrons
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After a summer saturated in a multitude of epic adventures, it seems like an apt time to share some 101s about how to crash. You may be thinking, “what about ‘how NOT to crash’???” But alas, just as the sun will inevitably rise tomorrow, you will inevitably crash at some point in your mountain biking career. Knowing some technique – and wearing the right protection gear – will help temper the extent of injuries from those eventual crashes.
If you’ve been mountain biking for a while, you’ve probably already crashed. At the tail-end of summer, trails are dehydrated and slippery – and soon, they’ll be soaked and slippery. What better time than now to dive into some technique to handle the current and upcoming conditions for the foreseeable future?
Today’s post is brought to you from Jeff’s Patreon – “How to Crash Safely” was the feature for July’s tutorial, exclusively available for Patrons. If you’d like to learn more about crashing and sign up for monthly tutorials that aren’t shared publicly, you can sign up here for less than the price of a coffee.
I (Savannah) remember when I first started mountain biking, only a couple of years ago. One of the questions that sat at the back of my brain was, “how do you crash the right way?” No matter who I asked, they told me there was no real technique behind it, because it happened too fast for reflexes to kick in.
Disclaimer: during those couple of years, Jeff wasn’t around for me to pick his brain. There are in fact techniques to mitigate your crashes! Who knew?!
I went a few months without truly crashing, and went over the bars for the first time on a large teeter-totter. At this point, my learning curve was a naive one, and I would do anything anyone told me they believed I could do. I chalk this up to being a lifelong athlete, having over a decade of CrossFit as my physical foundation, and an abundance of Navy SEAL-esque mental toughness training to face fears from a grounded headspace. Despite not riding my bike since a crash in 5th grade, stepping onto the bike was, well, like riding a bike.
So, I successfully navigated this teeter-totter, thinking that this is something everyone does. I am just a wee beginner, after all. A few days later, I went riding with a couple of more experienced riders who claimed they had never done this feature before, because it’s “so janky.” Pride filled my chest, and I went off to demonstrate my skills… Until my chest suddenly deflated as I was lying face-down on the ground with my water bladder hose leaking below my hip. The flash from pedaling with confidence to lying on the ground happened in an instant – and with that being my only truly painful crash, I could understand what people had been telling me: that there isn’t really a technique to crashing when your life blinks before your eyes.
Fast forward a year or two later, and I have had plenty more scuffles. There have, in fact, been situations where I go over the front of the bike (not on a silly gravity-defying feature), and time does seem to slow down. In these moments, I’ve been able to apply some finesse to hopping away from the tumbling bike.
I am first and foremost a dog person, so it pains me to admit that in these moments, I feel some cat-like grace. But, maybe it can be dog-like grace? It’s not like we have trail cats accompanying us on the trail, anyway…
The last thing I will note from my own (very shortly lived) crashing experiences is that I believe greatly in building up your musculature to prevent bones from breaking. I myself have had pretty minor injuries with all of my adventure activities, and I credit a lot of strength training – as I have said in my own coaching practice, “building your own bulletproof armor.” Muscles are going to go a long way to protect your bones and joints, and only add to the support of your purchased exoskeleton. Money can buy a lot of things, yes – and you can also do your part to build up your protection yourself!
Without further ado, let’s dive into some professional crashing technique!
Editor’s Note:
These articles are adapted by Savannah from Jeff Kendall-Weed’s YouTube videos for riders who prefer reading over watching. They’re written in Jeff’s first-person voice to stay true to the style and storytelling of the original content, although I did enjoy more creative freedom and script-writing with this one!
After publishing June’s tutorial about “How to Drift” (also “Safely”), Eric requested in the comments a breakdown on crashing technique:
“Jeff, I would like to see you do a video on the proper way to crash. Every mountain biker is going to crash at some time. What steps should a rider take to maximize the chances they ride or walk away from a crash?”
Eric – thanks for the request! Everyone else – always feel free to reach out with a comment to request a tutorial of a skill you’d love to breakdown. As of this writing at the beginning of September, August’s tutorial went live a couple of weeks ago – How to Wall Ride – which was yet another request! Keep ‘em coming!
Anyway, this summer was a big one. Team JKW started July with a big tourism trip to Crested Butte, CO; I finally nailed my (two years in the making) pedal boat-bike mission across Lake Whatcom; and July ended with a first-time exploration to Revelstoke, BC. I’m currently finishing up a fun ride vlog featuring one of the backcountry trails up in Revelstoke, with a cameo appearance from – you guessed it! …or did you? – a billion mosquitoes.
But back to crashing. As we’ve already covered: Crashing happens. AND there are techniques to minimize the damage to your body.
As it just so happens, I’ve been saying for weeks now that it would do me some good to get a low-impact crash on the record – you know when it’s been a while, and you feel like you’re just waiting for the next one to come around a corner? Well, life seemed to hear me and finally delivered. I had a fairly gnarly crash a couple of days before filming this video. Fortunately all was okay, and hey – it can be a good reminder to go down, instilling confidence in yourself that you do indeed know how to crash with minimal damage, and that usually, it isn’t so bad. That in turn can build some extra confidence to push limits to get to the next level of your riding skills – especially if you’re feeling like you’ve plateaued a bit.
You can go over the bars, you can go under the bars, and you can even go around the bars – but when there is a better way, why not do all you can to minimize the damage?
Of course, when we crash, we don’t want any part of our body to suffer significant damage. But the most important thing is protecting the head and neck. Crashing technique comes only from experience. But, that being said, if my own misfortunes can better guide you, this is why we are here.
First, let’s dive into safety fear. Our external armor somewhat dictates the strategies deployed when crashing.
HELMETS
The helmet is the single most important piece of gear for injury prevention. Can you even imagine riding a bike without a helmet today? Or skiing, snowboarding, or scootering for that matter? Perhaps your imagination takes you back to the simpler times of the 80s, watching Sylvester Stalone ride helmet-less on the Yamaha XT250 for an epic police chase in Rambo First Blood; or Kevin Bacon zoom haphazardly through rush hour traffic in Quicksilver. But even when it doesn’t seem high consequence (like harmlessly bike-break-dancing for your neighborhood block party), a head injury is still a broken noggin, and best to be avoided.
Fun Fact: I (Savannah) was doing some research to find nostalgic helmet-less 80s scenes for the tutorial, and stumbled upon the chase scene in Rambo: First Blood. Neither of us had seen the movie, and Jeff suddenly realized that the new trail up in Hope, BC was named after the movie! Thus began a very fun and creative video project about the trail. You can’t miss it! Dive in over here. 😁
But I digress. I did a few comparison videos on my public YouTube channel; the most recent one featuring a deep dive on the top six helmets I tried in 2025. (You can also read all about that over here: The Helmeted Truth). I trust the simple technology of MIIPS, and I cross-reference Virginia Tech ratings.
Endura MT500 MIPS – Bluegrass Rogue Core MIPS – Troy Lee A3 – Leatt Enduro 4.0 – Giro Tyrant – Fox Dropframe Pro
When it comes to big hit riding, I have to insist that a full-face helmet is a must; but for casual day-to-day trail riding, you’ll catch me in what I call an “almost full face.” Yes, it’s totally a technical term. It’s a lot more coverage than the average brain bucket, but so much more practical.
Perks of Not-Quite-Full-Face Helmets?
- You can see a wider periphery of the trail.
- You can be social (remember that pandemic thing where everyone covered their faces in masks and it created a feeling of disconnect, and not wanting to talk to people? Remember the lingering side effect of everyone wearing headphones to show they don’t want human interaction? Yeah, it’s kinda like that. Body language crosses over to gear, and an open face is an invitation for human connection!)
- You can eat without having to squeeze tiny nuggets of food through the faceguard.
- You can hydrate yourself without giving forced consent to a water bottle squirting challenge.
Win-win-win-win? I don’t know about you, but I’d say so…
SHOES
When you started your mountain bike journey, shoes probably weren’t the first thing that came to mind.
I (Savannah) went on plenty of rides without “mountain biking shoes.” Starting with a blank slate of mountain biking knowledge, I had no idea what made a MTB shoe special – or why you needed it. This was a prime example of the idea: you don’t know what you don’t know. Surely you can wear any old pair of athletic shoes, no? Case in point, it wasn’t until my foot slammed into a root that I learned that MTB shoes have a little more foot protection than the average athletic shoe. Some things you don’t learn until you experience them yourself…
For aggressive riding, I recommend using shoes that allow for safe running. (Yes, I really mean running – this is not a confusing bike analogy; more on this when we segway from gear to technique). I’ve kissed XC race style shoes goodbye, after breaking too many toes riding into roots – both times with the 5.10 Trail Cross. With that in the past, I look for a stronger toe box. For legit bike park action, the 5.10 Impact is my shoe of choice.
KNEE PADS
Another obvious piece of gear, and one that you won’t see many riders without. I love my lightweight RaceFace pads, trading them out randomly for some comparable ones by Endura. On the rare occasion I wear shorts rather than pants, or have an epic bike park day, I commit to my Endura pads.
CHEST + PELVIS PROTECTION
Now, for a little less obvious gear. With three separate breaks to my pelvis, I never leave home without the protector under shorts. I’ve used a variety of models from Troy Lee – great for protection, but a little bulky for my liking. My favorite protector comes from Endura – a little more streamlined, and made with D30.
For big bike park days, I add a Leatt vest to the mix. The armor covers the ribs, chest, back, and shoulders. I consider shoulder coverage equally important as spinal coverage.
But if you’re in a pinch, even a simple chest protector is good for high speed action. I use these when running high performance laps on repeat at Blue Steel, or Whistler Bike Park.
ELBOW PADS
Wearing elbow pads seems to send a silent, unspoken message to your brain that they are protected – and as a result, your reactions will favor sliding out on them, rather than slamming your hands down for what would likely result in a slow-healing wrist injury.
So, yes, pads will protect your elbows; but more than that, they’re a silent messenger to save your wrists (because, no, we will not be wearing wrist pads).
GLOVES
No wrist pads here, but though it may seem obvious, adding a pair of gloves (I may be biased, but I do love Endura) as a finishing touch is non-negotiable. You might enjoy the feeling of freedom that comes with naked hands – ahhhh, there’s nothing like that feeling of bare skin on rubber. But when you tumble off your bike and throw your hands in front of yourself, your skin is going to be the first thing to go. And we don’t want that!
Hands-first instinct: why gloves matter. Skin grows back, but slow.
EYE PROTECTION
Eye protection is another piece of gear that many take for granted, and often dismiss.
When I (Savannah) was new in the world of biking, I was riding for at least a year without protective glasses. My beginner mindset thought: I have a fender, why would I need glasses on top of that? After getting glasses, I realized that it wasn’t just about mud or rocks catapulting toward the eyes, but also tree branches and bugs slapping you in the cornea. This may not seem directly related to crashing, but lenses just might shield you from trail obstacles you’re crashing around; and, prevent you from crashing just because a bug decided to bid sayonara to life in the middle of your eyeball.
And a bonus perk I learned? Shielding wind from your eyes makes it sooo much easier to boost your speed without tears running down your face!
NECK PROTECTION
Getting into the nitty gritty, we can add on a dosage of neck protection. Many companies make braces to take your spinal protection to the next level (as far as I know, this armor requires having a full-face helmet).
And finally.. THE FUTURE IS COMING…
Before we know it, we’ll see airbag technology get simplified into a mountain-bike-sized package – which will be a huge advancement in protective gear!
These airbag vests are amazing when it comes to motorcycle gear, and costs are beginning to come down. Once these become available in a mountain bike version, I’ll be one of the first to rock them for bike park and shuttle days.
Armor can only take you so far. The real difference between hobbling away from a crash and walking away with a grin is knowing how to fall. That’s what we’ll cover coming up in Part 2: the actual techniques that keep your head clear and your body intact when gravity decides to win.
But now over to you, because I’m curious! Which piece of protection has saved your hide the most? Let me know in the comments!
Peace & Wheelies!
As always, thanks so much for your support! Your purchase helps support the channel, and I genuinely appreciate it.
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Extra thanks to Endura for supplying an abundance of my riding kits. andprotective gear, which you can find over here.
And, of course, thanks to LMNT for keeping my hydrated with plenty of electrolytes! Get a free sample pack with your purchase here. Be sure to grab some sparkles before summer runs out!