Racing with Protective kit

CraigH

waiting for comments,

but...

A crash last year has left me with large skin grafts on my right arm and elbow. I have been advised to ride with an rigid elbow guard for teh rest of my days in case i crash and rip it all off again..
Are elbow guards permissable in BCF racing? How far can one go? knee, wrist, full down hill gear? surely there must be a limit to what is allowed? as in if you had all the kit on you could be a looney..or is it a case of bulk/ heat etc?
This then begs the question, in todays health and safety molly coddling society, how come this PPE is not enforced by those risk assessing races?


discuss

C

beckenham

I'd imagine that you can wear what you like but it's all going to add weight.

On whether they should enforce the use of PPE they do already with helmets? Personally I don't think that they should even go that far.

Speaking as a cyclist I hope we don't start to get a claims culture within the sport where if you fall off and injure yourself it has to be someone else's fault :x

Speaking as a H&S lawyer "volenti non fit injuria" springs to mind. In other words "to those that are willing no harm can be done". 8)

In your case you probably need to wear a bit more than most but couldn't you put some bandages over the scar area to add the protection you need?

robbie the roadie

beckenham wrote:

In your case you probably need to wear a bit more than most but couldn't you put some bandages over the scar area to add the protection you need?

Arm warmers? Sacraficial layer that get shreded before your arm gets injured (hopefully)

homercles

Here's a bonkers suggestion - for those of you who saw the new free mag 'Shortlist' being handed out in London yesterday, you may have seen the article on the race suits (mainly for skiing) that stiffen as you fall, protecting covered areas almost like proper guards. Some technowizardry in the way the fibre is made and reacts apparently. Not cheap though!

http://www.wintersport.tv/store/product_info.php?products_id=3812

You can see the article online by going to
http://www.shortlist.com then looking at the mag online - it's on P7.

spen666

beckenham wrote:

...

Speaking as a cyclist I hope we don't start to get a claims culture within the sport where if you fall off and injure yourself it has to be someone else's fault :x

Speaking as a H&S lawyer "volenti non fit injuria" springs to mind. In other words "to those that are willing no harm can be done". 8)

...

That is probably exactly why helmets etc are compulsory. Helmets/ other equipment help reduce injuries ( so the argument goes - ignore helmet debates). They also add weight to rider and this can restrict their ability to compete ie against lighter riders. Thus to compete rider foregoes safety equipment he would like to wear. He has accident and is injured ( injury which would be less if wearing safety kit)

Injured rider sues race organiser for not providing a safe racing environment ( similar to employer and safe system of work- no one forces worker to work for that company)

Monty Dog

A further suggestion - you can buy protective armwarmers for inline speedskating - they have an extra layer of kevlar-like material to cope with abrasions. Search ebay for 'powerslide' and there are online sellers from Germany e.g. Weberspeed. The question about extra protection for bike racing is whether they would present an additional hazard to other riders e.g. would a rigid armguard cause an injury to other riders in a crash? The basic rule is to be sensible. In terms of the needs for extra protection for racing, I don't think there's any need - nobody would be prepared to wear anything that would hinder movement or comfort.

cougie

I'd think that two armwarmers on the affected arm would probably do the job ? Poss the cheapest option. hey - if its warm you dont even need to buy two pairs !