Thread: What's more dangerous... Road biking or DH mtb

So I got a little banged up at the bike park this weekend, and I have been thinking about the above question. Would like to hear other people's opinions or stories.

So I dropped a 12' feature at the bike park, but the landing dropped me. Taken off on a board with a free ride to the ER. A lot of concerns when I got there, spleen and spin, but walked out with a concussion and some really good bumps and bruises. I did reaggrivate some old road bike injuries.

7 years ago I got taken out on my road bike. While heading in one direction, a car coming in the other direction took a left turn in front of me where I met his front passenger panel and then through his windshield. He didn't see me, and thought I fell out of the sky. Worst concussion of my life, displaced jaw, three compressed vertebrae, broken sternum, collar bone, multiple broken ribs, punctured lung, splintered humorous, torn rotator cuff, torn mcl, partcial tear of acl and pcl, torn miniscus, cracked tibia and some good bumps and serious bruises.

Both times my helmet saved my ass, especially on my road bike. I should be back on my bike in a few weeks to a month. My wife is freaked about DH, even though I have a worse history with spandex.

What are your thoughts????

What bike park has a 12' feature?

After Friday I would say road bike is more dangerous. I was within a foot of getting hit by right turning car in front of me. Went a half a mile and had it happen again. It pisses you off.

As an ICU nurse I'd say road biking is without question way more dangerous than downhill. You could get killed doing either if you're unlucky though.

I would bet that road biking sees more fatalities per rider days and more serious injuries but i have never searched the literature.

what bike park has a 12' drop? (unlike kidwoo, i want no part of it, but I am curious).

read the literature or at least a review of it. the 'helmets saved my ass' line is very, very debatable. there is a reason they are also called 'brain buckets'.

It's a control thing.

No metric relative to DH, but on my road bike I've broken a thumb and a pelvis and lost plenty of skin.

Well it all depends on how you do it. At least on my mtb I feel that I only have to fear my own mistakes.

Personally I feel that minor to major injuries are far more likely on a mtb (downhill or otherwise) while catastrophic to fatal injuries are more common on the road bike.

Although it's also worth considering that an average enthusiast road cyclist probably spends far more hours on the bike than an enthusiast DH rider.

I'd bet road biking wins for deaths per user day and overuse injuries per participant.

I'd bet that DH wins for non-mortal trauma per user day.

the amount of danger on a DH bike is mostly up to the rider.

the amount of danger to a road biker is mostly outside the rider's control.

Originally Posted by Summit

I'd bet road biking wins for deaths per user day and overuse injuries per participant.

I'd bet that DH wins for non-mortal trauma per user day.

Some surgeon at Lions Gate Hospital in Vancouver did that very study and the numbers were pretty much what Summit said

Originally Posted by kidwoo

What bike park has a 12' feature?

Highland... I would say the drop is 8-10, but the bike patrol told the EMT it was 12'.


Interesting points from all.

Doing DH seriously long term will almost certainly result in injuries and a lot of wear and tear. On the road, you may skirt by your whole career without a crash, or be killed by the only one you ever have.

DH = lots of crashes/injuries, less potential life ending catastrophe (unless you're doing Josh Bender type shit)
Road = few crashes/injuries, high consequences for the few times you do (even if cars aren't involved).

Originally Posted by marshalolson

the amount of danger on a DH bike is mostly up to the rider.

the amount of danger to a road biker is mostly outside the rider's control.

Yeah, that's what I was trying to say.

It seems to be a widely spread misconception that it mostly has to involve third party to take you out on a road bike for a severy injury. More often recreational road riders plain shatter their scull and body on the concrete when doing what a roadie is meant for - going fast.

Originally Posted by emr

Highland... I would say the drop is 8-10, but the bike patrol told the EMT it was 12'.


Interesting points from all.

Was it the reef drop on Threshold?

I would say that's definitely in the neighborhood of 10-feet, more so if you were to not touch your brakes and miss the transition. The B-line on that is just as sketchy. Fun trail, but I've only ridden it once because of that feature.

What MO said.

Trees and rocks don't come at you at 70 mph while under the control of a 17 year old texting, rocking out and getting stoned at the same time. So while both are dangerous, mountain biking only has to worry about one operator.

I did sell my road bike two years after moving to tahoe.............and immediately bought my first dh bike.

Too many friends getting hit and I just couldn't wrap my mind around driving somewhere to ride my road bike.

Originally Posted by marshalolson

the amount of danger on a DH bike is mostly up to the rider.

the amount of danger to a road biker is mostly outside the rider's control.

Exactly.
You control the level of risk in DH.

Another thing to consider is protection. With DH, you can wear a suit of armor if you choose.
I suppose you could for road but...

DH = you determine your risk.

Road = others determine your risk.

No brainer to me.

Originally Posted by Roxtar

Exactly.
You control the level of risk in DH.

Another thing to consider is protection. With DH, you can wear a suit of armor if you choose.
I suppose you could for road but...

Unless you're wearing full motorcycle leathers pads and helmet, I dont think there is much protective gear that will matter when you get hit by a car.


XC riding is obviously the happy medium.

Originally Posted by Hicks

It seems to be a widely spread misconception that it mostly has to involve third party to take you out on a road bike for a severy injury. More often recreational road riders plain shatter their scull and body on the concrete when doing what a roadie is meant for - going fast.

typically that would include either:

1. being cut off by a car and loosing control
2. hitting an unexpected gravel/oil spot on the road and loosing control

MOST roadie injuries other than the 2 above examples are folks trying a crit race and getting tangled with someone or pushed into a barrier.

"have fun with that"

anyhow, if you don't want to get hurt DH'ing, don't do things you don't have the skill to do. and if you want to continually push yourself, accept that you will likely get hurt occasionally. same with skiing, climbing, kayaking, whatever. if you choose to continually push your boundaries, you will sometimes find that boundary and get hurt. but you got hurt because you CHOSE to hit a specific feature or took way too much speed into a rock garden or something else super dangerous. the difference is that simply choosing to road bike is inherently dangerous. you could literally get hit by a car every time one drives past you.

every time I get on my road bike I think of it as being more dangerous than my mtb bike. echoing the reasons above - lots of drivers not paying full attention to the road and probability of crash resulting in severe injury. that said I'm not a real DH rider

I'll bet that, if we put all the cyclists from this forum into a room, the DH dudes would have the most injuries. Most roadies I know have never been down, and the rest just wind up nursing road rash and bruising, although I know of one broken hip. Now, riding down a mountainside as fast as you can with abandon, well....