Is Mountain Biking Dangerous? What about Road Biking?

Almost 3 weeks post concussion I did my first mountain bike ride. We rode the Prospect Trail in Telluride. The Dr. warned me to not ride for a week or two after my fall. A secondary concussion is serious and he didn’t want me to risk further brain damage. Which got me thinking that maybe I should just road bike for awhile. Road biking is probably safer, right? I kept thinking about road vs. mountain biking safety after my crash. Is mountain biking dangerous? What about road biking?

We are a road and mountain bike family. We do both about equally while dabbing in a few road or mountain bike events and races throughout the year.  I have had one bad crash on my road bike and now two bad crashes on my mountain bike. In between I have had dozens of smaller mountain bike crashes and no other road bike crashes.

I would say that most of our friends fall into either the mountain bike or road bike camp…not both. Roadies think mountain biking is too dangerous and too risky and mountain bikers say the same about road biking. We have a friend that says his wife will not allow him to do any type of road race because of the danger yet he races and rides pretty extreme mountain bike terrain.

Road Biking

Road biking does have an easier learning curve. If you can ride a bike you can get on a road bike and call yourself a roadie. And you can minimize your chance at crashing by riding slow. Going slow does not hinder your safety as it does in mountain biking.

But when you crash it’s usually bad and not your fault. Because you are riding with traffic and/or in close proximity to other riders you can’t assure your safety.

When I crashed on my road bike I was on a training ride in Boulder with 10 other women. They were all pro riders except for two junior women. As our group came to a sudden stop the juniors failed to warn those behind them (me). Since we were riding in a tight pack I had no time to respond to the sudden braking in front of me. I touched a wheel flew and off my bike into traffic. Cars missed me (thank goodness). I was able to get up and ride back home but I had some serious road rash. It took me a long time to ride in a group after that and I’m still selective of those people that I road ride with. On the occasion I do a road race or crit, you’ll find me up front in the first few riders or way off the back. I guess you can say that crash still has me a little nervous.

Riding in Tuscany, Italy

Mountain Biking

Mountain biking involves skill and the right amount of speed and momentum to stay safe. As your confidence and skills grow you crash less.  But when you’re confident enough to go 30 MPH down a rocky slope and you crash- well it sucks!

According to a study at Whistler Health Clinic in one year they had 1759 specific injury diagnoses made from downhill mountain biking. 420 fractures in 382 patients (42.5%). Upper extremity fractures predominated (75.4%), 11.2% had a traumatic brain injury, and 8.5% were transferred to a higher level of care: 7 by helicopter, 62 by ground, and 5 by personal vehicle. So injuries are serious yet under 10% need to be taken to an actual hospital.

And what about protective gear how does that come into play with the extent of injuries? 95.1% (854) of patients had no documentation of using pads or armor beyond the mandatory helmet. Of the 24 remaining cases, 1 was documented as not wearing armor; the rest (23) were documented as wearing a variety of protective devices beyond a helmet, including knee and elbow pads as well as full body protective suits and neck guards.

In general cross country mountain biking might be safer than downhill mountain biking but the trails aren’t taken care of and groomed like the bike park so you’ll need to pay more attention to the conditions.

Ways to Minimize Risk

So what are some ways to minimize the risk of both mountain and road biking? Here are some tips.

Research your route

Spend time on Trailforks or Strava learning your route and understanding the difficulty, traffic, and any obstacles. A little planning goes a long way in minimizing risks.

Have the right gear

Bike helmets reduce your risk of a brain injury by 39%.  That makes wearing a high-quality helmet a no-brainer (ha ha). We like helmets with MIPS like the A3 by Troy Lee for mountain biking or the Smith Trace for road biking.

Helmets are essential but remember the other gear as well. Mountain biking gloves to protect your hands, quality shoes, and pads and/or armor at bike parks. At bike parks you should have elbow pads ( I know the cool kids don’t like them), knee pads, and shin guards and possibly a chest or neck protector. If you’re a beginner put it all on!

Check Bike Fit and Bike Settings

Make sure you have a bike that fits you. The worst thing is a bike too large because they are harder to control. Also make sure your shock is set up for your weight, check your rebound settings, tire thread, frame bolts etc…Basically know your bike and keep it running well.

Hydrate

Since over 70% of mountain bike accidents are human error make sure you’re brain is functioning on 100% by staying hydrated and well fed. We all know it sometimes hard to stop and drink/eat when you’re out having so much fun but plan ahead and make a plan for your on the bike nutrition. We always have a bottle of Skratch on our bikes and Honey Stinger chews or waffles in our pack.

Take a Skills Clinic

Whether you’re riding a mountain or road bike skills have come a long way in the last few years. If you haven’t taken a skills clinic or received tips from an expert rider now is the time. The better you are the safer you are!

I’m still not sure which activity is ‘safer.’ On one hand mountain biking, while full of inherent risks, is safer because you are usually in control. Cars and other riders don’t interfere with your riding. When I crashed 3 weeks ago it was my fault. While I’m still not sure what happened, a rock didn’t just jump out at me. I made an error. On the other hand when road riding there is less opportunity for a crash. You don’t have rocks, roots, and other obstacles to worry about yet you have to worry about other people’s errors.

For me it’s doing what feels right at the time while being mindful of the risks. I can’t fully control accidents while mountain or road biking but I can control my fear and be as prepared as possible.

Boy jumping his bike on a mountain bike trail.
Getting a bit of air time.

Would love to hear your thoughts…is one safer than the other?

Jen

I am an avid cyclist, wife, sometimes racer, full-time tech worker, non-profit founder, and, of course, mom. Cycling is my passion. Heck all the socks in my sock drawer are bike socks!

17 Comments

  1. I used to lead weekly women’s mountain bike rides at a park that was beginner-friendly. One week a woman showed up on a borrowed bike. She did quite well.

    After the ride she said she was trying to decide if she should take up mountain biking or road riding. “Which is safer?” she asked. I said that in mountain biking you fall a lot more but when you go crash on the road it’s usually worse. Her response: “I think I’ll take up running.”

    Another week I got two women who also rode horses. They didn’t mind falling off their mountain bikes. “It’s a lot less painful than falling off a horse.”

  2. I asked that question myself a couple of times….we have a lot of road cyclist & mountain biker in our local womens bike club.

    If somebody asked me, I prefer to hurt myself on a mountain bike instead of getting hurt by somebody else (car)! Well I think my legs would have less scars if I would have started road cycling instead of mountain biking.

    1. I say mountain biking is more dangerous, because, aside from rocks and trees you can run into on twisty trails(one guy got impaled by a tree branch while MTBing (https://consumer.healthday.com/fitness-information-14/cycling-health-news-245/mountain-biker-survives-after-neck-impaled-by-tree-branch-701801.html)), you can run into bears, mountain lions and snake. In many cases, injured mountain bikers have to be airlifted because they’re miles from civilization. This is also why mountain bikers carry first aid kits and road cyclist usually don’t.

  3. I’ve blown out a knee (15 years ago) and separated a shoulder (this year) on my mountain bike. Never seriously hurt myself in thousands of miles of road, but I totally agree you’re depending more on other people to not do something dumb. Road is also harder on your body for chronic injury, I think, like aggravating a tight neck/shoulders already messed up from office worker syndrome. My husband doesn’t like me to tow my 4-year-old on the road because “it’s too dangerous” so we mostly stick to paths and across-town transportation. I can’t wait until she’s big enough for a tandem!

  4. I’ve been debating this with my son in law- which is safer? But I am comparing his mountain biking to my riding on a rails to trail route on a road bike. Minimal intersections with zero car traffic on the actual trail (paved just like a road) just fellow cyclist and occasional walkers joggers. I’ve gone mountain biking with him 3 times and look like a wounded soldier after every ride- bruises,scrapes, bloody chins. My daughter recently came home from a Mb ride with what appeared to be a bruised and broken nose but fortunately was not broken. I’ve ridden over 2000-3000 miles a year and have had less than that many scrapes in total. Just my “mother in law opinion” but I’m sticking with it: Road is safer, especially a rails to trails road!

  5. i used to love at first a road bike but when i got a chance to buy a mountain bike, i didn’t like that much but as i was biking i was liking it especially the aggressive looking and suspension of mtb has, and it is also versatile whether on and off road, unlike road bikes which is only suitable for road but mtb is also good not as road bikes(aerodynamics) but i don’t like seeing rim brakes especially on a wet weather plus it didn’t have suspension, but gravel bike has disk brakes even though no suspension. you can enjoy mountain biking with no pollution and enjoying it with nature and no peoples error, just you lol. its a bit more risky on road bikes since you got to bike it on road, i remember i never been crashed on a rough trail where there’s bumpy muddy and descents downhill uphill etc. no matter how fast i’m going but i just crashed on a road having a whiplash on later day

  6. I’m a mountain biker but took my raw attitude a few times on the road. That led to car a t-boning me at an intersection at around 45mph. Luckily I got hit on my calves and was launched in the air and landed on my back. Was black n blue everywhere n I am extremely lucky to be typing this.

  7. I ride both. And I say mountain biking is definitely more dangerous. All my injuries came from mtb and none from road biking.

  8. Loved road but no more. Too dangerous and until the states and community really take the distracted driving seriously we will not ride road. We switched to gravel bikes and keeping on the mtb as well.
    Most communities in the US view road cycling an a annoyance and not a vehicle.

  9. At the end of the day mountain bikers sustain quite a lot more injuries than do road bikers. However mountain bikers rarely die on the trail do to crashes. Obviously some do but it’s usually a fluke accident. Road bikers on the other hand are constantly killed by no fault of their own. A close family friend of mine was run down by a truck, he was a new father. The basic conclusion is that mountain biking will injure you more, but it probably won’t kill you. Road biking won’t bring you home covered in cuts and bruises, but there is a chance it won’t bring you home at all.

  10. Hi I believe road cycling is more dangerous since when I mountain bike I only do trails that are appropriate for my skill level. Maybe I do have many more bruises as I tend to fall off often on slippery and rocky uphills. But I laugh more often than not. Not a laughing matter when I am flying over a vehicle. I do a combination of riding since I ride from my front doorstep. I am always more fightened on the road.

    1. Agree, I’m always more scared on the road and try to avoid busy roads but anything can happen.

  11. Knowing numerous people who have died while riding on the road and having been hit multiple times on the road myself. I’ve been lucky and lean more towards the mountain biking is safer. I’ve also seen my fare share of serious crashes during my racing career on the road. All my MTB crashes I’ve always been able to walk away from. I’m knocking on wood right now since I’m riding a little bit later today.
    Thanks for the article and keep rubber side down. Be safe.

  12. I really depends. i am primarily a road cyclist. I commute everyday but don’t race. I have come off badly about 6 times. I was knocked out for 2 hours on my My Mountain Bike (Brake Failure). Hit a car once that was pulling out (not bad – put it down in time). I now ride on the road much more slowly and defensively through town – checking all side roads. I always take side roads – and plan my route; take cycle lanes where they exists. I don’t ride in Groups. Have not come off now for 8-10 years. Touch wood. Sot it depends on your skill and defensiveness. If used to ride more aggressively – like a Jack-ass – and got hurt.

    1. Here’s to more safe miles! They both instill a bit of fear in me but I love them both.

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