Is a Flat Landing Really That Bad?

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Is a Flat Landing Really That Bad?
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flag redridesrule
Posted: Oct 7, 2007 at 14:01 Quote
well... Lately i've been wondering about all this "flat landing" business... All of us "hardcore" mountain bikers seem to be scared of landing anything to flat. why is it that mountainbikers, with our suspension technology and big tires are scared of a flat landing while skateboarders (i am in no way a skateboarder, and suck at it immensely) can huck HUGE gaps/drops to flat, ON CEMENT, while just standing on a tiny little piece of wood with little acrylic wheels that suck if you hit the tiniest pebble...
Unsecure image, only https images allowed: http://blog.cyberworksmedia.com/bill/Eric_Koston11.jpgthen there are BMXers, with their 20 inch wheels, rigid forks and no rear suspension hucking pretty big gaps, a lot of them to flat. I once saw a guy on a BMX cruise into the side of a half pipe going pretty fast, air 10 feet up out of the halfpipe over a few peoples heads that were just standing there, land to flat and ride away.

so why are we so freaked out by this? im just kindof wondering... and im not flaming mtb in anyway, in fact i love it, and wouldnt change sports for anything, but it's just something that im kindof curious about..
flag gibson19
Posted: Oct 7, 2007 at 14:03 Quote
Its not that our bodys cant take the pressure... its our wheels/pedals/handlebars and whatnot that will break if someone goes to hard to flat
flag bikernate456
Posted: Oct 7, 2007 at 14:04 Quote
alot of it is that our suspension is made to soak up small bumps on the trail. so it bottoms out doing large drops and then it damages your fork or frame
flag redridesrule
Posted: Oct 7, 2007 at 14:06 Quote
then why, might i ask, do so many people when they see a pic of somebody landing to flat say "woah man! didnt that hurt!" or something like that... plus breaking stuff (ie pedals, handlebars) doesnt seem to be a problem for BMXs

just a thought..
flag bikernate456
Posted: Oct 7, 2007 at 14:08 Quote
because our frames are higher than bmx frames. and since most mtn. bikers are guys when your suspension bottoms out you tend to slam into the seat
flag bomberdave
Posted: Oct 7, 2007 at 14:10 Quote
well.....

1. our wheels are bigger and are more likley to take damage from the force of the landing.

2. bmx's weight in at bit more then the average MTB, thats because theres alot of material and theres compact cromo frames mostly., less stress as a longer MTB tube would have more leverage stress on each weld, plus less material, so more likley to break or crack the frame

3. a head tube on a bmx is steeper then say a dh bike, by a lot. and the forks are much shorter, so again a leverage thing, a dh bike with a huge long fork and an extreme headtube angle is more likely to crack or cause stress.

these are some of the reasons, there are more but im lazy and not going to type more lol
flag dobersteeze
Posted: Oct 7, 2007 at 14:16 Quote
You don't bmx then do you? I go threw pedals quickly, and I know alot of pros break em like crazy.

Alot of it is speed and what your doing. When someone pedal kicks off their shed on a fully, that will hurt because your going straight down. When you hucking over something its so much smoother with forward momentum. I wont just straight drop a stair set, but I'll spin it. It's weird.
flag ezekiel
Posted: Oct 7, 2007 at 14:20 Quote
Definitely bars breaking on BMXs isn't all that common but pedals and crank arms tend to take the brunt of force on flat landings.

As for skateboarders doing huge gaps to flat, check back with them in a couple years and see how their legs are doing. I've seen the damage over time and it definitely is not something I would want to willingly inflict on myself.
flag scaliwag
Posted: Oct 7, 2007 at 21:45 Quote
flat landings on skateboards and BMX aren't any less shocking then on an MTB. I think a big reason MTBers hate it is because we're used to doing things on the mountain and always landing on some sort of slope. There's no doubt it feels better. It's the same with snowboarding. On the mountain, you would never build a jump with no landing. It hurts. But, when they're downtown riding rails, they'll land on the flat. Which brings me to skating and BMX. By nature of where these guys ride, they do flat landings. And their bodies, bikes, and boards suffer as much as an MTBer or more. Skateboarders land with an incredible force. And they constantly snap trucks and boards in half. Lastly, snowboards and MTB in general go a lot bigger than BMX and Skate. The size of the air makes a big difference.
flag gwehrhahn
Posted: Oct 7, 2007 at 23:06 Quote
what scaliwag said is the main reason in my opinion
we as mountainbikes know how good is to fly high and land soft, same as snowboarders. skaters have to ride in the city because of the small wheels, and there is weird to find a good tranny, same as bmx
flag SAVAGE-RIDER
Posted: Oct 7, 2007 at 23:29 Quote
i jump on flats all the time with my bike and guess what? i have 2 bent rims and a shitty rear shock cause of it it just can't take that kind of impact..but i make it anywaysBig Grin
flag JayVoh
Posted: Oct 7, 2007 at 23:58 Quote
Well the 20 inch wheels on a BMX make a huge difference. I belive they are a lot stronger as they are smaller.
Also the whole landing to flat being bad for you(r bike) is because of the angle of the impact force, I cant exactly remember how it works but it something to do with if you land on a slope the force of impact being smaller or more gradualy applied.
flag squamishturtle
Posted: Oct 8, 2007 at 0:14 Quote
mountain bikers can do drop to flat but we usually dont because it is bad for our components, comparing a bike wheel to a skateboard wheel isnt very fair because they are totally different, and i rode my friends bmx for a day and if you dont know how to shock a landing it still hurts like hell, but the wheels are also smaller and therefor stronger.
flag strech
Posted: Oct 8, 2007 at 18:43 Quote
JayVoh wrote:
Well the 20 inch wheels on a BMX make a huge difference. I belive they are a lot stronger as they are smaller.
Also the whole landing to flat being bad for you(r bike) is because of the angle of the impact force, I cant exactly remember how it works but it something to do with if you land on a slope the force of impact being smaller or more gradualy applied.


fur sure eh like i ride a specialized big hit and landin flat is no problem but ya eh them bmx guy's take huge hits y cant we eh
flag kinged
Posted: Oct 8, 2007 at 18:45 Quote
Doesn't it also have a lot to do with the amount of spokes that you have in your wheel?
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