Oh shift: Crossbar bikes under scrutiny for all the wrong reasons, says cyclist union

So there’s a campaign in the Netherlands, where they know a thing or two about bikes, to get rid of the traditional boys’/men’s bike model, for safety reasons. Not so much because of the problem coyly alluded to above, but because – according to research from Sweden – if you fall from one of those crossbar bikes, you’re more likely to hit your head than you would be on a bike without a crossbar.

The reason is that the crossbar makes it harder to disengage yourself as you fall, so your hips and  shoulders take more of the impact. So should we do the same in Flanders? Not according to the institute for road safety (BIVV) and the cyclists’ union Fietsersbond.

Both organisation argue that such a measure would have little effect on the numbers of accident victims. BIVV points out that the Swedish research involved a small sample in simulated conditions, and that a hip injury for an older person could be just as dangerous as a head injury. Fietsersbond suggests that lower speed limits for cars would have a far greater effect.