Body Armour - How much is too much?

evo3ben

After having a few minor offs and seeing a few others have nasty accidents its really got me thinking, how much body armour is too much for specific types of riding? It can happen to any of us no matter how good or indistructable we think we are.
The 4 of us that go out riding together are aged between 34 - 43 and bones dont heal as quick the older you get as we all know and also having time off work to heal can be a problem.
We were at Afan earlier in the year and we all had knee and elbow pads on plus full face helmets. We were prob the only 4 there with full face lids on and got some strange looks now and again lol but after seeing the results of an accident at Penmachno last year we all decided to go full face at trail centers.
Yesterday we were having a play in a nice hidden part of Barton Le Clay near Hitchin which has some great short steep drops/hills with a few mounds etc for jumps and one of us got one wrong and came off badly. He was wearing elbow, knee and shin pads plus full face helmet and still managed to facture his left shoulder and right elbow :shock:
Next on the list is a body suit to help protect the shoulders but in all honesty, how far do you go????

Uchiga

Depends on what you ride and how confident you feel. Never look at other people and think they arent so i shouldnt either. If you feel like you need it then go for it. Better to be over protected than not protected at all. Weird looks? Pfft see who's laughing after they come off without their body armour. In any case the very least you should have is a decent helmet. You have one of those so thats fine. As you gain more confidence and experience you can then gradually work your way back down the other end of the spectrum and take some items of body armour off.

Anonymous

its a personal thing in my opinion. i use knee and elbow pads and a normal open facd helmet. i think this is enough for me as i dont ride hard enough to warrant extra protection, im very slow and wobbly and although falling off is a regular thing for me, it is always slow and i know its coming.

if you feel you would prefer to wear more protection for whatever riding you are doing, you should wear more protection. if you feel you need it on trails where others dont: it's your business so ignore the ney sayers.

i think people who mock others for wearing protection are not only idiots, but rubbish human beings in general.

evo3ben

For downhill and freeride i go the full monty but XC for fitness i just wear my normal helmet. Trail centers are a bit different to normal XC especially as i live in Hertfordshire which is fairly flat. I find that being padded up and wearing a full face at a trail centers like Afan and Coed Y Brenin give me more confidence and enjoy the ride that much more.
I wouldnt class myself a novice as have been riding for over 3 years now and comfortable on most black routes but i still do find the need to pad up etc

weescott

Full face is OTT for 95% of the UK trail centers. I saw a guy with full body armour riding around Epping forest once. I thought MTFU! Full face at the likes of Laggan black I can understand. But you are going to buy body armour after a friend hurt himself riding in the flatest part of Britain?

Uchiga

It's no laughing matter as an aging man you're bones become more brittle and you dont heal as quickly. Better safe than sorry even if you are in the flattest part of Britain. I personaly would if i was in your position and feel more confident in padding etc would go for it. My XC riding i wear a helemt and gloves. If i went downhilling i would probably go the fullt works with body armour as well.

Northwind

Just personal choice. But most people would agree that there's such a thing as too much, for most folks the extra heat and possible discomfort becomes an issue quite fast. Like, I reckon if I was to wear a full face for a lap of glentress black or something, the heat would be enough of a distraction to way outweigh any likely benefits. Serious facial injuries are actually pretty uncommon, in fact head injuries are pretty uncommon full stop, so you're taking on a big disadvantage in order to gain a small advantage. Nothing wrong with that at all if it's right for you.

Likewise body armour, I have an assault suit which I doubt I'll ever use anywhere but a downhill trail, it's ace but it's pretty impractical for me. But, a good mate of mine rides absolutely everything in a pressure suit, even XC racing, and gets on fine. I couldn't do that, he doesn't feel it's an issue. Here he is at 10 Under the Ben after 4 laps:



So... For me, helmet and quality gloves, and kyle strait knee pads, all the time. Your knees take more hits than your head, and are more delicate to boot. So, people who're obsessed about always wearing helmets but won't wear knee protection are a bit odd in my book, but hey, their choice- it's a risk dislocation but we all have some of those. I usually wear my POC Bone elbow pads doo, which feel and look like overkill but are actually a lot more comfy than any smaller "xc" elbow pads I've ever tried. Oh and I generally wear light armoured shorts but only because I've broken my hip once before and can't afford to do it again, not sure I'd wear those otherwise.

cat_with_no_tail

Usually just Helmet, Gloves and Shades for me. I may stick my kneepads on for trail centres if it's not too hot.

Obviously, DH racing is a different kattle of fish and that requires being suited up like iron man.

jay12

for dh/fr/4x etc. full face helmet, knee and shin pads, goggles,gloves, long sleeve jersey for winter and when it's cold and a short sleeve for summer and when it's warm or hot(getting dh pants for winter and a 661 or thor under armor ). but when i get a proper dh bike and get into racing i'll be getting a full body suit

for xc/am etc. open faced xc lid, gloves,short sleeve in summer,long sleeve in winter, sometimes shades but i will be getting some soft tinted shades so i can wear them all the time(getting some knee pads soon)

oh and this is the under armour i'm on about http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=30723
they are lighter than proper body suits and you wear them underneath, there is also a vest type which would be better for summer(well summer here is like autumn in other countries) also a full on body suit offers more protection and has a very strong back protector.

basically prefer being safe and wear protection but not too much as i can't afford to have everything and most the time i don't even need it as the most extreme dh route i'v been down is not even that bad

evo3ben

weescott wrote:

Full face is OTT for 95% of the UK trail centers. I saw a guy with full body armour riding around Epping forest once. I thought MTFU! Full face at the likes of Laggan black I can understand. But you are going to buy body armour after a friend hurt himself riding in the flatest part of Britain?

Chicksands and Woburn Sands are both near enough in the flatest part of britain. Dont need to say anything else really do i Sorry, we cant all be a good as some :roll:

Where i quoted my mate hurting himself, even though it was local, its what i would class as a small jump park. The fact that we always said we should get a body suit and then this happen just makes you think what if he had one on, would he have been better off? I would say yes. Plus, all the front of his full face was scratched. Had he not had that on he would have lost a few teeth as well.

Dont get me wrong though. I ride Thetford black with a normal helmet on and gloves same goes for Epping Forest. Normal rides are fine obviously but the likes of Coed Y Brenin, Afan etc impo are slightly different.

nferrar

Too much is when it starts taking away from the enjoyment. I'll usually stick elbow and knee pads on for a trail centre or somewhere I know is a bit techy. Personally I wouldn't wear a normal full-face for a trail centre as it would be too hot and piss me off, I wouldn't give someone odd looks for wearing one though. Not convinced by the normal lids with a chin protector as they look a little fragile to me but I'm sure sooner or later a decent design will come along.

Northwind

evo3ben wrote:

Where i quoted my mate hurting himself, even though it was local, its what i would class as a small jump park. The fact that we always said we should get a body suit and then this happen just makes you think what if he had one on, would he have been better off? I would say yes. Plus, all the front of his full face was scratched. Had he not had that on he would have lost a few teeth as well.

Aye, but like I say you have to consider how often it'll be a disadvantage. Most people will never have a crash where a full face will be of significant benefit in all of their riding lives, or so it seems to me (otherwise, more riders would be horribly scarred or missing all their teeth ) So, is it worthwhile for most riders? Most riders WILL at some point have a crash or collision where gloves, knee pads or helmet will be of significant benefit. (I had 2 last week )

Uchiga

I wish i had a full face helmet on and i was simply cycling down a street. I had the full works for on the local estate pretty much. Knee pads elbow pads gloves and a helmet. I get knocked off in the one place i wasnt protected. In the chin. Some body opened a van door on me. I almost died from loss of blood that day. Had i had a full face helmet that wouldnt have happened. I would have had a damaged bike a couple of bruises and maybe some light shock. You never know when something might happen. I take the risk of wearing nothing but a helmet gloves and lycra off road now. Oh and glasses for insect and brach repelance but thats about it. Anything else is my own fault if i crash and hurt myself anywhere else. But thats up to me. There could be something called over kill amounts of protection on a bike. Doesnt mean its stupid or too much of it though. You can always have more protection on. Its at that point where you think "I know i'll ride in bubble" well then i question whether you should be riding at all...

Go for it you get what you pay for and it could well save hours in A&E whilst you bleed profously and they ask you for an X-ray without cleaning you up and whilst you still bleed...

weescott

evo3ben wrote:

Chicksands and Woburn Sands are both near enough in the flatest part of britain. Dont need to say anything else really do i Sorry, we cant all be a good as some :roll:

Where i quoted my mate hurting himself, even though it was local, its what i would class as a small jump park. The fact that we always said we should get a body suit and then this happen just makes you think what if he had one on, would he have been better off? I would say yes. Plus, all the front of his full face was scratched. Had he not had that on he would have lost a few teeth as well.

Dont get me wrong though. I ride Thetford black with a normal helmet on and gloves same goes for Epping Forest. Normal rides are fine obviously but the likes of Coed Y Brenin, Afan etc impo are slightly different.

I think you missed my humor there. The fact the riding is so tame round where you are the talk of body armour made me chuckle.

There are plenty of places that warrant full body armour much more than Chicksands or Woburn Sands, but if you want to for the mini DH, then fair enough. I never said the amount of armour anyone chooses to wear is down to how good they are; if that was the case I would be going out looking like the Michelin man. I think that you are maybe looking at it in too much depth. I bashed my leg up quite badly on a fast but not technical in the slightest piece of trail a few months ago. Only my DH knee/shin gaurds would have stopped me getting hurt. Would I wear such protection for doing such an innocious piece of trail again? No. Injuries happen, it's nature of the sport.

fyldesmurf

Yu only get one body so you might as well protect it. People have pretty horrific accidents on pavements etc all it takes is one slip of concentration. You do have to balance this with the discomforts and impracticalities of protection leading to you not actually enjoying a ride. I think it's all about balanacing risk and reward.

To be honest no matter how much protection you have you can still get injured, like weescott says, it's all part of the sport. Chicks do dig scars though

TheNorthernTrain

I wore leg and shin pads for the first time today. I felt over protected but it really made me push more and do things i wouldnt normally do.

Saw people in all protection to no protection at all of any kind. I don't think i could use elbow or full body protection. I just get too hot, wearing knee pads was bad enough.

el loco pollo

Full face, knee and elbow pads for DH. Parachute, knee pads for other riding, sometimes elbow pads if it's particularly slippery. I sometimes wear gloves if it's cold and/or wet. I tried a few pressure suits over the years but could never get on with them, I feel too restricted. Wear whatever makes you feel comfortable, for some people this means nothing, others the full monty - you only get one body!

Atz

Wear what you want. However, don't make the mistake of thinking pads make you bulletproof; you're still easily able to break things wearing pads.

*AL*

Too much.........

Northwind

Depends, if you go out for a ride tomorrow and someone whacks you in the nuts with a mace, you'll wish you were wearing that stuff

captainfly

I tend to do too many stupid things not to wear a full face helmet every time I ride off road or doing street, also elbow, knee and shin protection every ride, it is all too eay to mess up or misjudge a hop over a log or catch my bars on the foliage/hard landscaping and end up planting my face in the ground/trees/wall, if I know I'm going to jumps or FR spots then it's the core saver too. Though you do feel a bit over dressed riding through the village comng back, unless you are covered in dirt and bleeding slightly, so it isn't usualy a problem for me

cee

Its always a personal choice.

Doesn't matter what anyone says.

Personally...

Downhillling....full power ranger get up...pressure suit, leg guards and full fizzer.
Trail centres.....might wear leg guards....but usually, just trail lid, gloves and glasses.
XC...always just lid, gloves and glasses.....

stubs

Gloves, XC helmet, glasses and sometimes knee pads is all I use. Its a dangerous sport I accept the risks. If I had to wear full armour I wouldnt ride nearly so much there are days even in britain where half way up a loooooooong climb you would happily peel off a layer of skin just too cool down a bit. A body suit would be agony and turn me off completely.

I do wear plenty of armour on the motorbike though my jacket with spine protector and shoulder armour will stand up on its own.

JonniOne

I only do downhill and some 4x and so go full armor. The body armor has saved me countless times, especially the time when I fell off at quite a fast speed and hit my chest on a tree stump.

When I was at for william I saw some kids in t shirt and shorts with an XC helmet bombing it, unfortuantely at my age I dont have the luxury of healing broken body parts quickly.

Heres a pic of my mate from last week down Aston on the 4X where he fell on some shrapnel:

butcher of bakersfield

It perplexes me as to why if you don't wear a helmet at any time you're an idiot. But if you wear a full face or body armour you need to MTFU.

Herbie The Dog

Atz wrote:

Wear what you want. However, don't make the mistake of thinking pads make you bulletproof; you're still easily able to break things wearing pads.

Spot on.

I broke four ribs once and I was wearing a 661 Core Protector. All armour does is limit your injuries...it doesn't stop them.

I wear knee and shin guards on some rides so I don't have my legs shredded by the brambles and other spikey plants that frequent the local trails. And stingy nettles.

Yeah...I know...MTFU.

Northwind

Herbie The Dog wrote:

I broke four ribs once and I was wearing a 661 Core Protector. All armour does is limit your injuries...it doesn't stop them.

Well, if you're saying pads can't stop injuries, that's total rubbish. If you're saying they can't prevent all injuries, yup, that goes without saying.

ichabod

most of the trail centers I have been to tend to have long climbs followed by long drops - if you want to wear a full face helmet it is pretty easy to take it off and hang it off your rucksack or bars going up the hills.. i even do this with my normal lid to keep me cool