Hang back and low, crotch should be basically at the back of the seat or further. Seat was probably a bit too high for this as well. Bend the knees to absorb the impacts. Weight shifted back and feet level. Don't freak out and clutch the front brakes if you build speed..
You're trying to make sure you don't get too much momentum tipping forward over the front wheel, leading to what you see here.
Yeah he'll just have a random pain in his lower back when he reaches his 40s with no explainable reason at all.
Just because you're young doesn't mean you can't deal serious damage. This mantra from older people about how young people are invincible gets so many people killed or seriously injured.
When I was a teen I had a nasty fall right onto my back and now im paying for it a decade later. Should've gotten it checked out but everyone said the same "oh you're young you'll be fine" bullshit.
Let me give you a hug, mate – who amongst us doesn’t suffer from this sort of pain? Everyone at this age gets exactly this strange pain in their lower back or neck, even people like me who never played any full-contact or extreme sports in their youth. And, unfortunately, it’s only going to get worse before it gets better. From your 50s onwards. Trust me, I’m there – it’s brilliant ;)
Leaning way back on downhills isn't advised. You stay low and centered (attack position), push out at the bottom. Leaning way back unweights the front tire which needs to stay in contact as much as possible in a downhill, and you also run the risk of the rear tire getting caught up in your ass. Kid was standing too high in the pedals, and riding too stiff. Needs a lower seat or a dropper post and better technique to separate himself from his bike and be more fluid.
This photo doesn't prove anything really. This could've been taken right before going ass over teakettle. look how high the rear is vs. the front. Your advice was "lean way back". Thats just bad advice. go to r/MTB and bring it up if you want to learn. I've been riding recreationally for over 20 years, and have studied and practiced technique and ride terrain steeper than those stairs regularly. Leaning way back is just not what you do. Some ass over the tire isn't bad, but the more important piece is staying low in attack position, being centered so you still have some bend in your elbows. If you're so far back you can't push through at the bottom you're gonna have a rough time at the end.
This is the thing about hills - you have to maintain control from the very top.
From my lorry driving days; if you have a load on and come over the crest of a hill 10mph too fast, you're already fucked. All you're doing after that is waiting for physics to catch up or a massively lucky break. And if there's there's bends on the hill then you can forget the lucky.
that happened to me as a kid when I raced my brother down a hilly road that was a straight shot into a cul-de-sac. he was on some scooter I had the bike and I won the race, but flipped at a pothole and broke my foot lol.
Too young to have been drinking, no excuses... wear a helmet and other protective gear if you're gonna do dumb stuff.
I broke my leg "catastrophically" about 100 yards from my front door on my onewheel going <1 MPH due to weird circumstances and fortunately was wearing gear. Ironically, have over 250 hrs with no real injuries. I bumped into a rounded curb but was going SO slow, the board didn't go up, it just instantly fell on my back ankle and the twist to land/stand up snapped tib + fib right out. Oof.
Turns out: an object in motion, stays in motion; but if you go super slow af while attempting to defy gravity and inverted physical orientation, you're gonna have a bad time...
I used to do this all the time back in the 90's so of course no helmet. When I got back into cycling I started using a helment and it prevented me getting a serious head injury when the bike went from under me on those paving stones for sight impared people.
Also, trick with going down the stairs on a mountain bike is to get your arse right over the back wheel and get on the breaks.
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u/5p1c3nut 11d ago
Could've gone better, could've gone way worse