Body Armour for XC

hadouken*

I understand every point here, but i come from a time (mtb wise) when getting a smack in the shin with your pedals was part of the ride. Instead of wearing protection expecting to come off, why not pick better lines and try to stay on?

I ride some of the most challenging trails in the country (Peaks/Lakes/Brecon Beacons etc.) on a weekly basis, and don't wear pads for them.

Whitedog

I use a pair of 661veggie's when on xc duties and a helmet, i think full body armour would be too restrictive. The most common incident's i have are with my flatties meeting my shins

The only differece when i play at FR on the mountainside at home are some elbow pad's and a full face and goggle's instead of my normal helmet. I'm 2 tight 2 shell out on full armour.

Thermo1

Travis_M wrote:

I have the 661 D30 Knee pads, and the wife wears the Chicken Wings and Veggies.

It's more of a pyscho factor for her, she's fed up of the grazes from falling, now she feels better.

That's good to hear actually because I'm actually looking into getting the same padding set for my wife (veggies and wings). She had a fall on our first ride and grazed herself pretty badly. She thinks that some padding would boost her confidence.

Thermo1

hadouken* wrote:

I understand every point here, but i come from a time (mtb wise) when getting a smack in the shin with your pedals was part of the ride. Instead of wearing protection expecting to come off, why not pick better lines and try to stay on?

I ride some of the most challenging trails in the country (Peaks/Lakes/Brecon Beacons etc.) on a weekly basis, and don't wear pads for them.

Yeah I would probably agree to a point but if getting my wife some pads means she will come on rides with me, then that's a price I'm willing to pay.

mattsccm

Sometimes wear Veggie knee pads and m/c elbow pads at stoney FC centers like Afan as I feel that there is more lilelyhood of me overdoing things whilst keeping up with the youngsters. Otherwise never. Too bloody hot for a start plus my local trains have 1 stone every 7 miles. SPDs help but must admit I have never had a serious shin scratch yet. Seen the bone several times but that heals.
As for the helmet thing. Its no difference except that seriuos knock tend to do more damage than a banged knee. In time we will all be called idiots by the nanny state for not wearing body armour just like we get now for lids. I wera mine most of the the time but rarely on the C/X bike

Northwind

All a bit silly this... Wear pads if you want, don't if you don't. I wear pads, because I'm a bit fragile, but even people with fully functioning bones and joints can hurt themselves very easily in a tiny crash. I've seen a guy break an elbow in a simple unclipping accident, if he'd had a set of chicken wings on or similiar he'd just have been embarassed instead of hospitalised. And likewise knee pads, knees are complex joints that tend not to heal well, and even a minor slip can lead to you catching a knee on a rock and doing yourself a mischief.

It's frankly silly to say that there's no reason to wear pads for XC, a large number of hospital visits are from fairly tame XC riding. It's no more silly than saying you have to wear pads of course

Then again. I suspect some of the people saying "No pads for XC" are doing some very tame XC riding

Roy Baty

Drives me nuts seeing all these middle aged men riding around suited up looking stupid on basic xc tracks.Is this mid life crisis trying to look the part.Im of the opinion that maybe some peeps need to learn to ride a little better.The other thing is if these guys r so hard core why havnt the got full face helmets on.Surely the heads vulnerable on these" hardcore" tracks theyre riding

mcbazza

Roy Baty wrote:

Drives me nuts seeing all these middle aged men riding around suited up looking stupid on basic xc tracks.Is this mid life crisis trying to look the part.Im of the opinion that maybe some peeps need to learn to ride a little better.The other thing is if these guys r so hard core why havnt the got full face helmets on.Surely the heads vulnerable on these" hardcore" tracks theyre riding

Well, at 37yrs old I hope I'm close enough to 'middle age' to answer your points.

Speaking for myself, I've noticed that I:-
1. Take longer to heal than when I was a teen.
2. Get injured easier.
3. My reactions are worse, therefore I'm less likely to recover from a mistake.
4. Am scared of pain in a way I never was in my teens.
5. Have a Mon-Fri, 9-5 job that requires that I turn up. So, no using half-term/holidays/etc to recuperate.
6. Employers take a dim view of employees with hobbies that mean they turn up for work on Monday looking like members of Fight Club.
7. If I don't get paid then I don't get the money that gets me all this stuff I've become accustomed to.

Re: pads
I only have one set of pads, and they are Raceface DH/FR ones. They're pretty full-on. Get very sweaty in the Summer. But, going by the number of deep gouges on them, they have saved my arms/elbows/shins/knees on more than one occasion.
That said, if it's warm, then chances are I won't be wearing the pads on the 'up' and will only don them for the descent, so that I can give it some. If the days ride is to be a gentle XC one, and I know the terrain is soft/forgiving, then I just might ditch the leg/knee pads

Re: why not full face lids?
Again, speaking for myself, I have both XC and FF lids. I wear the FF when I am doing uplift days, in the Alps or when there is an increased risk in me going over the bars and smashing my jaw/teeth to pieces. For all other times, it's the XC one. Given how much private dentistry costs (and how much I enjoy chewing food), I wish I could wear the FF more.


The only protection I 100% back (for riding) is head protection.

If you are out riding without arm protection, and land on a rock, you will break your arm and survive.

If you are out riding without leg protection, and land on a rock, you will break your leg. If you are unlucky, you will smash your knee to pieces and find it difficult to walk again.

If you are out riding without head protection, and your head hits a rock, you have little/no chance.


Pads/protection is all about personal risk assessment. But, no matter how good your riding is, you should always take the unknown into account.
e.g. I know this descent like the back of my hand, and that my bike is in tip-top condition, that the trail condition is good. But, let's just assume that when I get to that next switchback and my pads were to fail. What would I do?
Or, what if I was coming round a blind corner at speed and came across a sheep/dog/person? What would I do?

Pads - wear them, don't wear them. It's *your* personal risk assessment. Just don't look down on someone who assesses their personal risk differently to you.

Northwind

Roy Baty wrote:

Im of the opinion that maybe some peeps need to learn to ride a little better.

And while they learn, they should probably wear pads eh :roll:

Nero50

I am a novice, and not that fast, but determined to get better.
The first few times I fell off I bruised/scratched my knees, thought "enough of this, I need knee pads" (have the 661 Kyle Straits, and i hardly notice them). This encouraged my confidence again, but then I fell off again, knees survived this time, but i bashed my elbow/forearm pretty bad, to the point i thought for a few minutes that it was broken. lost confidence again, so got some elbow/forearm guards (661 2X4's, were really hard to get hold of tho), and again am feeling more confident and willing to push myself further.

I am totally aware though that one day i will fall off again, its to be expected, but coupled with the reasons mcbazza gave, and the fact that my other half would have wasted his money buying my bike in the first place and would not be best pleased if i just wussed out, i think if you feel you want to wear protection then do, especially if it helps build your confidence to up your skills.

Was at Dalby today, and Steve Peat's Van was parked next to our car whan we got back!!! Maybe he does XC?? Didn't see him tho!

Jellyyacht

Hi all,

I'm new to the site and found this thread because I was looking for some advice on XC knee protection. I have never worn it in the past but had a pretty bad "off" at Cwmcarn on Sunday and bashed my knees (amongst other bits!) pretty badly. Given that I had knee surgery on both knees in February and it was my first real ride since I thought that to ignore that I could have seriously damaged my knees again would be plain silly so I am going to invest in some knee/shin protection.
I won't wear it all the time of course but when I know I'm going to somewhere like Cwmcarn it'd be nice to have the choice of wearing it or not.
I too am the wrong side of 40 and agree with others that we do heal slower than we used to. My knees are still sore from the "off" and the lump missing from my shin is still missing. Oh the joys of getting old!

Northwind

If you want knee-and-shin, it's hard to beat the Raceface FR pads, they're ace. If you just want knees, then kyle straits are great, brilliant combination of comfort and protection.

CoticSoda

Thermo1 wrote:

Yeah I would probably agree to a point but if getting my wife some pads means she will come on rides with me, then that's a price I'm willing to pay.

I 100% agree with this. I love riding with my wife, she wouldn't be seen dead in pads though, last time she came off, she ripped through her rotator cuff, and even that didn't put her off!

lane ranger

Looking at getting some for my 10yr old daughter, could anyone recommend some reasonable priced knee & shin guards?
Her shins and inside of her knee are getting some serious battering on the Dalby forest trails. Shins battered by pedal slap and knee's from a few falls, but mainly from her knees coming into contact with top tube.

M6TTF

hadouken* wrote:

I understand every point here, but i come from a time (mtb wise) when getting a smack in the shin with your pedals was part of the ride. Instead of wearing protection expecting to come off, why not pick better lines and try to stay on?

I ride some of the most challenging trails in the country (Peaks/Lakes/Brecon Beacons etc.) on a weekly basis, and don't wear pads for them.

Snap - I think it's an age thing. I myself have ridden mtb on and off for 20 years. When we started out all this body armour didn't exist, we still rode the same trails but we wore flourescent Lycra LOL. I don't feel the need for pads on my rides, too hot for starters surely!? But each to their own.

Northwind

They're not really hot at all. You're right though, it's a difference in approach- I find it dull to stick to rides where I can be sure I won't come off.

Grimy

Got to agree with Northwind

If you dont come off now and again then your not pushing your limmits. Not that there's anything wrong with being sensible. Horses for courses.

I'd quite happily ride all the rocky loose stone paths and stuff with out my pads on if i was going a lot slower and just enjoying a casual easy ride. But then I ride for the thrill of being a little on the edge of control, where theres's an increased risk of falling. Its a good way to learn and ups my skill a little, helping me tackle something that bit scarrier the next time.

you may have rode the same trails 20 years ago without pads, hell I rode everywhere when I was younger without a helmet, nobody wore helmets int he 80's, but now your a bit daft if you dont. Ill also wager you didnt ride half as quick over the same bad terain 20years ago because the technology to do so was as absent as the pads. My old mountin bike would have fell to bits, the wheels would be square, and I certainly wouldnt have hit the decents as fast as the v brakes wouldnt have stoped me in a million years before the bottom.

M6TTF

Actually I rode a lot quicker in those days! Young and no consequences to worry about like mortgages etc. Don't get me wrong, I still class myself as a very able rider and I still push myself, but just don't feel the need to pad up. As I'm sure you're aware the trails in the peak district are pretty rocky! The only thing that takes a beating are my rims LOL

harveyg77

Really interesting thread.

I never bothered with anything other than a lid and gloves. But I am now self-emp and so only get paid when I work! Accordingly I now have a forcefield long sleeve base layer top. Its got elbow, shoulder and chest pads, I also have some Fox liner shorts with extra padding on the hips, coccyx and crotch.

I have to say I am seriously looking into a short sleeved 'torso armour' thing, i.e. back, shoulders, chest armour and padding around the gut, kidneys and lower spine. In addition I will also get some long shin/knee pads and shoulder/lower arm pads.

I know some people will take the Mick or thing I am a prat, but really that is my choice. I enjoy the riding and accept the inherent risk, but I can also protect myself so I can relax and enjoy myself. Should the worst happen I will not get away without injury, but I can reduce the severity.

I am sure there was resistance to motorbike helmets, leathers, car seat belts, etc. Its peoples right to decide and I choose to protect ;-)

Harvey

harveyg77

Really interesting thread.

I never bothered with anything other than a lid and gloves. But I am now self-emp and so only get paid when I work! Accordingly I now have a forcefield long sleeve base layer top. Its got elbow, shoulder and chest pads, I also have some Fox liner shorts with extra padding on the hips, coccyx and crotch.

I have to say I am seriously looking into a short sleeved 'torso armour' thing, i.e. back, shoulders, chest armour and padding around the gut, kidneys and lower spine. In addition I will also get some long shin/knee pads and shoulder/lower arm pads.

I know some people will take the Mick or thing I am a prat, but really that is my choice. I enjoy the riding and accept the inherent risk, but I can also protect myself so I can relax and enjoy myself. Should the worst happen I will not get away without injury, but I can reduce the severity.

I am sure there was resistance to motorbike helmets, leathers, car seat belts, etc. Its peoples right to decide and I choose to protect ;-)

Harvey

harveyg77

I've got some 661 knee and elbow pads, but never used them. But I've cut my shins several times with small falls. Its hard to cover against all injuries.

Protection will never stop injury, it will just reduce the severity to a degree. If you fall off riding at 5mph on a pavement wearing body armour, helmet, gloves, wrist, elbow shin, knee, thigh, etc. etc. pads chances are you'll be injury free do the same at 50mph and you'll be in a poor state.

Having said that its down to individuals, I like things to be right and little imperfections annoy me - like sunglasses rattling in a glovebox when driving. So bad body armour is going to make me crash as I will be distracted by it and not concentrating.

But I have now purchased a 661 Assault Suit, I won't take bigger risks with it, stop crashing or escape injury when I crash. But I do know that all being well, when I crash it will reduce the severity or damage.
Its the same as with cars, my Mondeo has 7-airbags, but I don't drive more dangerously than in my first car - a Nova with nothing to protect me!

Harvey

Northwind

harveyg77 wrote:

Protection will never stop injury, it will just reduce the severity to a degree.

That's not really true, it can reduce the severity to nothing at all and completely prevent an injury. It's not guaranteed to of course and there's always the risk of injury even if you're wearing a full on stormtrooper suit but it can definately stop injury.

harveyg77

Northwind wrote:

That's not really true, it can reduce the severity to nothing at all and completely prevent an injury. It's not guaranteed to of course and there's always the risk of injury even if you're wearing a full on stormtrooper suit but it can definately stop injury.

I think were getting tangled in pedantics here arguing the same point.

Agreed that wearing armour of any form will not guarantee being injury free, but it can contribute to reducing the severity of the injury. But you are right in saying that in some cases this reduction can amount in no injury.

Harvey

ed_arnold

I use a HexPad top, which is really just a sports compression top with a small amount of padding on shoulders, ribs, hips etc - really good. I got it mainly for when I was recovering from a broken rib (and fractured pelvis!). I tend to wear it all the time now, simply because its just like a normal top. Have to admit there is a fair amount of psychology involved with armour - I thought I was invincible before I had a bad crash...
To be fair, this top probably wouldn't do too much for you coming of at speed, but its nice to know its there....
I also bought a pair of 661 padded shorts for my hip/pelvis, injury but never used them as they are too cumbersome.

cycleNoodle

if your trail riding then go for it, i think it would be weird to see a racer wearing any unless they were doing downhill. certainly wouldnt help a broken collar bone. Lycra and babyoil should protect you against any bad falls... ;o)))

SiLanc

I bought body armour and wore it once to see if it was comfortable to ride in and haven't worn it since. If I went to somewhere like the Alps I would wear it.

Rode in West Virginia in 2008 and didn't need it and that was pretty rough in places. I suppose it depends on your level of confidence. Having said that I still unclip when I get to hairy sections and stand on the pedals so my confidence could be better

Si

al2098

I pad up when riding a red or black trail I have not ridden before, just in case.
When you ride a familiar trail padded up, it can get you to push your limits and try stuff that would normally scare. :shock:
I think this improves your riding and shows you just what your capable of.
I only started big drops and jumps last year in France when I had the pads and full face on. I would have missed out on a great part of this sport.
Got to also accept that at some time, You will fall off!! And it will end up hurting.

Fastflo

I remember having a great day out at Glentress, just came down Pennels then up the wee steep bit to start the blue climb,
easy stuff, blue grade trail centre,non-armour,fun for all the family type stuff
stamped on the pedals, except my chain chose that moment to snap, whamm!!! my knee smashed into my stem.............................ouch!

It was ok though
because my kyle straits took the impact,
big mother of a bruise
no cycling time lost
except a chain repair,
and a lesson learned,
if you put your bike into a well respected bike shop for some new parts, check they fitted them properly, or better still, learn to fit them yourself,

RockingDad

I've been bought some 661 knee and elbow pads for xmas after having a quite minor off at the rendlesham forest mountain bike course and successfully taking the skin right off my knee. Trousers on a painful tissue injury does not make for a fun time.

But thats really all they are going to stop. Broken bones are generally due to quite mad impact injuries.

RockignDad

hells

I had a bad crash at cwmcarn 2 years ago completely skinned my left side really badly damaged my knees and broke my right wrist it now has a permanent screw in it. My knees have never been the same since. Sometimes I get abit scared to do a section of trail incase I fall and rebreak my wrist the doc said it is more likely to break again due to having the screw. I have started riding with my boyfriend who is very encouraging but much faster and smoother at riding than me. I feel bad when I hold him up and would like to get some more confidence and speed so I'm going to get some knee protection most likely the kyle straits becuase they dont look bulky and perhaps some elbow protection. I don't have to worry about macho image seeign as I'm a girl :-p. I work for the ambulance service so If I have an injury that prevents me from being able to lift and carry people or drive then I will be off work for a very very long time so I also want pads to minimise this risk. Hopefully I will find pads that are small enough to fit properly.