Wearing body armour

portland_bill

Ok, so after my recent close encounters with the sharp edge of wet northshore, I am now wondering about being a little more sensible and maybe getting a little body armour.

Added to the broken ribs I'm now nursing, the last two outings have included two offs where I've grazed the sides of both knees quite badly and they're pretty sore too, but obviously upstaged by my ribs.

I just wondered what everyone does for body protection apart from a helmet obviously.

I don't want to turn up to the car park looking like Robocop or like some tw@ with all the gear and no idea like when we were sitting in the car park at Thrunton Woods last weekend and a group of cyclists came down the fireroads on their easily £3000+ DH bikes, covered from head to toe in armour and there wasn't a fleck of mud on their bikes so they clearly hadn't been on any of the trails since they were all wet and soggy and we all got muddy as soon as we left the fire track. We all just went quiet eating our bananas but clearly thinking the same thing. I mean I'm not one for mocking for being cautious but that was a little ridiculous.

So yeah, I'm thinking maybe something to protect my rib cage and maybe some shin/knee guards. The only other injuries I've ever had are bruised shoulders from propping myself up against trees when I'm losing it but I can certainly cope with a few bruises. Like I say I'd just rather not turn up looking like I'm kitted out for the Superbowl since I never claim to be that serious a rider, I'd just rather avoid a recurrence of this problem as much as reasonably practicable.

Being able to pedal uphill without feeling like I'm wearing a charity suit would be a bonus too like!

1mancity2

Every ride I wear, Fox Launch Pro elbows and Kneepads, Gloves and Helmet, if I Know im hitting some big stuff I wear 661 short sleeve sub gear top which has shoulder and chest padding.

Better to look like robocop then end with a gashed body imo.

felix.london

Sounds like a good idea!

I don't know about rib protection but I use the 661 Subgear

http://www.cyclesurgery.com/pws/UniqueP ... CSIX0024KK

kdawg74

POC is some of the best protection i have tried, it is a little expensive compared to other stuff but it is some of the best fitting armour i have worn

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=36860

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=36892

fwd_loop

As a relative north-shore beginner as well, I know your pain well.

I ride with hardshell knee pads (not full length, like the Kyle Strait - don't like the EVO knees - don't provide enough wear resistance/or direct rock impact protection), flexible elbow pads (e.g. 661 EVOs) and a pair of armoured under/liner shorts.

That covers about 90% of the falls. However, my last one was a trip over the bars and landed on my side on a rock - 3 weeks off the bike and a bruise that went from the front of my stomach round the back to my spine. None of the spine protection/upper body armour you can buy (and I have some) covers a fall where you land on your side/kidney area.

Cheers

kenan

Have you guys crash tested the 661 sub gear? was tempted but didn't know how well it worked.

lawson_m20

1mancity2 & felix.london - what is the shoulder protection like in the sub-gear? Are the pads soft or hard?

Northwind

I've got osteoperosis so I take body protection pretty seriously... But I still wouldn't wear full toros armour for anything but downhill. The reality is, serious injuries aren't all that common, mountain biking at most levels is not as dangerous as it seems and many of those injuries are hard to protect against anyway. The risk perception/reaction is a bit off for cycling though- these days almost everyone wears a helmet, but serious brain injury in a crash is incredibly rare. But serious knee injury is massively more common. Obviously you'd rather have a crippled knee than a crippled brain but ideally, you want neither. From a statistical point of view, the numbers suggest it's a better idea to ride offroad with kneepads and no helmet, than helmet but no kneepads.

Knee pads should have good overall coverage- it's not hard to get a good pad with good kneecap cover but crashes aren't so neat, top tubes and rocks will get you in the sides of the knee often and that sort of damage can be worse news than a broken kneecap. Kyle Straits get my vote for this- they're comfortable, inexpensive, not too sweaty, and work very well. Scott Grenade is another- same pad with better kneecap protection, but more expensive. They're quite bulky, but that leads to more comfort- thinner pads have to be denser and stiffer to offer the same protection.

Elbows are pretty tricky, I tried various soft ones but none of them really worked- elbows need very free movement, but also your arms are much more important heat radiators than your knees so you don't want to be too enclosed. Most soft pads are very enclosed, and end up having to be quite restrictive too since it's harder to get an elbow pad to stay in place.

So, what I've ended up with is the POC Bone elbows- they're expensive and they look stupid, but they have absolutely superb protection, they have very little restriction, the straps don't have to be tight as the lobstering and shape keeps them naturally in place, and they're very open and so cool to ride in. Superb- nothing else to match them that I've tried, or even come close.

Ribs and collarbones are unfortunately very hard to armour against since they're momentum injuries- it's not like knees where you're protecting against the impact against the ground (like a crumple zone in a car), instead you're protecting against your own body squashing the delicate parts (like the load in the back of a car bouncing forward into your head). So you end up with a fair amount of restriction and bulk and heat, for less protection than you might hope for. It's all about tradeoffs and where you draw the line.

The last one, that most people miss, is shorts. Hips and pelvis are pretty exposed in a crash, and though they're strong bones they're also ones that it sucks to break- trust me! 4 months on crutches for me... But the good news is, armoured shorts are very nice to ride in. My 661 Bomber Evos are almost indistinguishable from a pair of lycra shorts- fractionally sweatier, and bulkier obviously but I've never thought "Oh I wish I wasn't wearing these shorts".

Most people will never break their hip or pelvis while cycling obviously- but then the same's true of elbows, knees, and skulls.

lawson_m20

It's shoulders with me. I dislocated mine a few years ago @ Llandegla and always seem to manage to land on my rhs shoulder. Knees and forearms always seem to get off lightly.

d3matt

Interested in what you guys are saying here.
One of my cycling mates went over the bars on our ride the other week and has dislocated his collarbone and now out of action for 3 months and can't drive for a few weeks at least - time will tell. We were on a down slope in the middle of a wood on a rutted track. Looks like he got a front puncture/sidewall slash which caused him to go over.
It's now got me thinking about protection as I can't afford to have an injury like this as I'm self employed and need to drive. I know there's no protection for such injuries, but since this incident I've been cycling more careful and been reading up on protection products. Also looking at going tubeless to give a little more protection against quick tyre deflation.

Northwind

Oh, despite posting a massive essay, I still forgot the most important thing...

Best protection is primary protection- ie, rather than trying to reduce the damage, reduce the crashing! Coming from a motorbike background, that seems obvious to me but it doesn't seem to occur to a lot of mountain bikers, I guess just because the consequences are usually lower.

It doesn't have to mean riding slowly or taking no risks, but good quality bike training is one thing you can do that could really help avoiding injury. Maintaining your bike well's another- a mate of mine always rides in a full jousting suit even for XC, which is fine but his bike's always a total wreck and he rides pretty erratically- most of his crashes could be prevented just with a bit more maintenance and a bit better riding.

quattrojames

Interesting post Northwind

cazmotron

I always ride wearing minimum of 661 race knee/shin and elbow/forearm (as well as my helmet) though if hitting bigger stuff I will stick on my 661 pressure suit. Even with the armour on it can still hurt alot if you fall badly. A good way to stop injuries (especially collar bone) is to learn how to break fall, having studied jui-jitsu for a few years I break fall naturally when I come off. If I go over the bars tucking the shoulder and rolling out of it has saved me from a few nasty crashes

paulbox

Northwind wrote:

The last one, that most people miss, is shorts. Hips and pelvis are pretty exposed in a crash, and though they're strong bones they're also ones that it sucks to break- trust me! 4 months on crutches for me... But the good news is, armoured shorts are very nice to ride in. My 661 Bomber Evos are almost indistinguishable from a pair of lycra shorts- fractionally sweatier, and bulkier obviously but I've never thought "Oh I wish I wasn't wearing these shorts".

I bought a pair of 661 pro-bomber under shorts from CRC recently, they are reduced to £25. Not used them yet though.

bails87

I just wear gloves and a helmet for local rides as they tend to be flat and muddy/soft. For anything more adventurous I wear Kyle Strait knee pads. That's enough for me and the type of riding I do/how often I fall.

felix.london

@ lawson_m20 -

re. 661 Subgear - the pads are kinda in between soft & hard. It's definitely light weight protection and if I start doing some more serious downhill next season I'll probably get something a bit more substantial but for me for now doing blues & the odd red DH runs in the Alps on a HT it does it's job - which is basically keeping the skin on my shoulders, elbows & forearms when I come off. It will also make a great base layer in a few weeks when winter starts knocking on the door - then I'll probably be wearing it on my XC rides as well - keep me warm and give me some confidence to hit things a bit harder!

lawson_m20

Thanks felix

1mancity2

lawson_m20 wrote:

1mancity2 & felix.london - what is the shoulder protection like in the sub-gear? Are the pads soft or hard?

Its hard enough to take a decent off stops usual scratches etc, the tops can be a bit hot if you wear them under a jacket, also the fitting is tight I got a medium which was too small, large is fine for me 5ft 11 and 38-42 chest size.

1mancity2

lawson_m20 wrote:

It's shoulders with me. I dislocated mine a few years ago @ Llandegla and always seem to manage to land on my rhs shoulder. Knees and forearms always seem to get off lightly.

I had a dislocating shoulder to the point that it popped out and I could put it back in without any problems, had an op to cure this around 10 years ago but I still think its gonna come out.

I had a dog run out in front of me and chucked me over the bars, frst thing I try to do is always roll out of the off, and so far only had minor injuries. fingers crossed.

Rocketmagnet

I've been using the POC Bone arms and Hard Knee/Shin combo for ~ 1.5-2 years
and find them comfortable. I'm so used to them now it's odd to ride without them....

Before this I have worn the 661 Kyle's and they are pretty comfy but warm and no shin protection.

I find it strange where people seem to equate padding up with experienced riders
when really noobs who should fall more so they should be first the ones padding up.
I've had fast and slow offs and tbh the worst i ever got hurt pre pads was a slow one
onto a knee cap - lesson learned from that one.

Ignore the "i'm so awesome i don't need pads brigade".. try them they arn't bad to wear
If you really can't get on with them then at least you tried to avoid/reduce potential injury.

Knee and elbow injuries can be life damaging events and it's so simple to reduce the
consequences once you get over the "image" thing about wearing them.

tsenior

PaulBox wrote:

Northwind wrote:

The last one, that most people miss, is shorts. Hips and pelvis are pretty exposed in a crash, and though they're strong bones they're also ones that it sucks to break- trust me! 4 months on crutches for me... But the good news is, armoured shorts are very nice to ride in. My 661 Bomber Evos are almost indistinguishable from a pair of lycra shorts- fractionally sweatier, and bulkier obviously but I've never thought "Oh I wish I wasn't wearing these shorts".

I bought a pair of 661 pro-bomber under shorts from CRC recently, they are reduced to £25. Not used them yet though.

these are really, really good IMO.

I also have a demon snowboarding top, which is simlar to the 661 subgear stuff but has more padding round the ribs, I had to cut the sleeves off though as the elbow padding interfered with my proper ones

Big Question

im getting some. not come off yet but had a few nearlys.

felix.london

First ride today wearing the 661 Kyle Strait Knee pads. Def. felt harder to pedal at the begining than normal as they kinda spring your leg back straight.

Got used to it after a bit - presume they'll break in a over the next few rides too. Overall - very comfy, stayed in place, pretty light weight, look good. All in all - a good buy. Definitely recommend them

jimpy

I always ride padded up. Kyle straights and 661 elbow and forearm guards. Being 42, having a young family and being self employed, I don't want my frequent offs to lead to a spell out of action. My only serious injuries have been hyper-extended thumbs. Doesn't sound that bad, however I came off nearly five weeks ago and still can't hold a pint glass . Is there a glove available with some kind of webbing to stop thumb injuries. I have 661 raji which seem to have some thumb protection but made no difference when I fell off

supafly1982

local XC i wear a helmet and gloves, trail centres red and black routes i wear additional raceface knee and elbow guards, they dont stop me from doing any of the stuff

Anonymous

Portland Bill wrote:

I just wondered what everyone does for body protection apart from a helmet obviously.

Best way to sum it up I've ever seen was on a TV feature about Whistler bike park. They had some guy covered head to toe in armour, and he summed it up thus...
"If I fall off, I could get an annoying injury that means I can't ride properly for the rest of the week, and I paid a lot of money to come here to ride, so I'm not taking any chances"

Makes perfect sense.

Everyone's personal level of safety is different, only you know what you would feel comfortable in, or what you'd be willing to sacrifice.

cooldad

Helmet and gloves. And I try not to fall off. Not very successfully.

jon1993

I'm a cheap skate (student) and use roller hockey mission padded T-shirt vital places covered by impact foam weighs nothing and has saved my ribs and shoulders more times than I care to imagine can't tell its not a biking top either for those that are image conscious haha and cost well nothing since im sponsored but i think there about £35 look on hockey monkey XD

bluechair84

I've only ever fallen off when not wearing my armour... So now I wear my armour as a charm against falling :roll:
The 661 Bombers shorts are 12pounds atm, but small and XL only. I've just ordered some 8) . The 661 ProBomber short is 20pounds, but again small and XL only.

felix.london

Yep - they only seem to have extreme sizes left in the shorts.

Two offs this morning (trying to nail a jump - 1 success, 2 fails)...

First one over the handlebars and came down heavy on my left shoulder - 661 Subgear def. helped with that one

Second came down on my left hand side, helmet's got another scuff mark and have scraped/bruised lower flank - no protection there