Mountain biking

Is mountain biking safe?

For staying alive, yes. For staying in one piece, less so. The best death data come from Austria, where the Alpine Police record fatal accidents in the mountains. In 2013–2017, 25 mountain bikers died, while about 1.4 million locals and tourists rode in a summer. That is about 3.5 deaths per million riders a year. For a rider who goes out 10 to 20 times a year, that works out at roughly 0.2 to 0.4 micromortsMicromortA one-in-a-million chance of death. It lets you compare the risk of very different activities on one scale.More in the glossary per ride, less than a day on the ski slopes.

The data are thin, and the number of rides per rider is our assumption, so we rate confidence as low. What is clear is that broken bones are common, and a small number of riders suffer brain and spinal cord injuries that change their lives.

Who dies, and how

The Austrian study covering 2006 to 2021 recorded 97 deaths, and it overturns the picture of young riders crashing on jumps. All but one were men, and their average age was 55.6. More than half (54.6%) died of a non-traumatic cause, mostly heart problems, and three quarters of those happened on the climb. Crashes accounted for 41.2%, and 70% of those happened on the way down.

The rise of e-mountain bikes is part of this story. They make long climbs possible for older and less fit riders, and many e-bike riders in Austria took up the sport in the last five years. That means less experience on technical descents.

The injuries that matter

Mountain biking crashes are mostly about going over the handlebars. In a 2025 analysis of 534 filmed crashes, 55% were over-the-bars falls, often after a poor jump landing or a sudden stop on a moderate descent, at an average speed of 33.7 km/h. Riders tend to land on the shoulder and outstretched arm.

Bike parks show the scale. In a single season in 2009, the clinic at Whistler Bike Park in Canada treated 898 injured riders. 42.5% had fractures, mostly of the arms and collarbone, 11.2% had a traumatic brain injury, and 8.5% had to be transferred to a bigger hospital, 7 of them by helicopter.

The rare injuries are the ones to fear. A Level 1 trauma centre in Vancouver treated 58 people with spinal cord injuries from mountain biking between 2008 and 2022, about 4 a year. 93% were men, average age 35.5, and 27 were left with complete paralysis below the injury.

How it compares

Unlike road cycling, mountain biking rarely involves cars, which is why crashes are frequent but deaths are rare. Most of the risk is in the rider's own choices about speed and terrain, much like skiing.

How to ride more safely

1. Ride trails that match your skill. Most serious crashes happen on descents and jumps; check a trail's grade and walk features you are unsure about.
2. Control your speed on descents so you can stop within the distance you can see, and learn to keep your weight back on steep ground.
3. Wear a helmet every ride, and a full-face helmet, knee pads and body armour for downhill and bike parks. Gloves protect hands in the most common falls.
4. Learn jumping in a skills park with progressive features before trying big jumps on trails.
5. Pace the climb, especially if you are older or new to e-bikes. Get your heart checked if you have chest pain or breathlessness on exertion, and stop if symptoms appear.
6. Do not ride remote trails alone, or tell someone your route and carry a charged phone. A crash-detection feature on a phone or bike computer helps if you are knocked out.
7. Check your bike: brakes, tyres and the headset. Mechanical failure on a descent ends in the same over-the-bars crash.

How we scored it

Fatality risk (88) is low, at roughly 0.2 to 0.4 micromortsMicromortA one-in-a-million chance of death. It lets you compare the risk of very different activities on one scale.More in the glossary per ride, though that estimate rests on few studies. Serious injury risk (50) is the weakest factor, driven by fractures and rare spinal cord injuries. Controllability (65) is fairly good because speed and terrain are the rider's choice. Rescue (68) is quick in bike parks and slow on remote trails. Compare hiking, which also involves remote trails and heart deaths among older people.