Hole punched shins...

rudderboy

...is not really a look I aspire to, although I do recognise a certain amount of value to such "badges of honour". But its come to the stage now where the fronts of my shins do resemble those of a 19th century small pox victim.

I'm not changing my super grippy pedals so do I invest in shin pads? Haven't ever tried them, but don't want to look a complete git, as I'd be the first to admit I'm not exactly hard core out on the trails.

So do I swallow pride and invest in some? Any thoughts and suggestions welcome.

DCR00

how many times have you done this ?

i do have some scars on my shins from months ago (shins vs gusset pinheads), but i think thats only the 2nd time in two years that had happened...

rudderboy

So what I'm trying to say is I'm an old man trying to reclaim his youth, when he could do things with a bike that now seem to be beyond his ability. DMR v8's vs shins - usually failed bunny hops over roots that seem to grow in height just as I lift the front wheel.
But I'm not going to improve unless I keep trying...

cooldad

Practice makes perfect, as long as you don't run out of blood in the meantime.

1mancity2

What shoes are you wearing? also look at the New fox pro Knee pads with added shins, I have the knees great piece of kit and look good.

Richie63

I've got the Flank Raceface leg guards great piece of kit

DCR00

rudderboy wrote:

So what I'm trying to say is I'm an old man trying to reclaim his youth, when he could do things with a bike that now seem to be beyond his ability. DMR v8's vs shins - usually failed bunny hops over roots that seem to grow in height just as I lift the front wheel.
But I'm not going to improve unless I keep trying...

exactly how i got mine - failed bunny hop with flipflops...

Anonymous

Even though you don't want to change pedals, bigger pinned pedals. V8s are okay but times I've tried them and their Welgo equivalents they're not as grippy as they could be. Vaults are where it's at. Big, flat, big pinned, and thin. v.expensive also .

Cheaper, V12s. Still better than V8s and such copies. Welgo B54s also, but a bit thick platformed.

Add to that Five Tens to ensure the pins stick. Or you can get any shoes resoled with the stuff Five Tens use.

Very few pedal strikes when riding now with Five Tens and uber grippy pedals.

Other than that, knee pads help. The pedals for me tend to strike mid shin and knee pads go down to about there.

captainfly

661 veggie wraps all the way for pedal strikes, I had a bad habbit of dabbing my lead foot down and whacking g that shin with the pedal and also bashing my shin when pushing my bike back up. I also took a huge strike to my calf in a crash, the wrap have pretty much saved my lower legs from worst of it but I still have some tattoos from over a year ago on my shins before the wraps.

delcol

i have used veggie wraps in the past.. 661 veggi shins and 661 kyle striat kneepads... the wraps are very good at protecting the shins and dont look to silly....

i cant wear them now as i have chaged my knee pads and they wont fit with my tld tbones.... and there are times when i miss them.... when i get that pedal strike.

ilovedirt

I get a lot of pedal strikes on my shins as i run flats and only wear kyle strait knee pads riding downhill. I hate wearing shin pads, so my shins are a mess, but it doesn't bother me that much. If you're that fussed, buy some 661 veggie shins.

Sammiye

my shins look like they've been through a mangle. I'm certain its all down to poor technique. I am guessing some better shoes than my standard vans jobbies would help. but has anyone got any good suggestions for a easy and gradual way into clipless pedals? I dont feel im ready to go full clipless on everything i ride, but i'd like to start trying on the easier rides.

So shoes that work with flats and clipless and/or some hybrid caged clipless pedals of some sort?

Cheers!

mattyg2004

5:10's as mentioned above I've got the Impacts and before I wore down the pins on my MG1's they felt like I was clipped in.

cooldad

Your feet shouldn't be coming off the pedals, even with basic shoes. Forget magic pedals or shoes, or shin pads. Work on technique.

Sammiye

Whilst what you say is definitely true, any tips you could provide would be great. What sort of technique exactly am i looking to improve.

I find my feet only come off trying to ride straight off drop offs - say around a foot in size - or jumps. What seems to be happening is at that point of weightlessness, one foot slips back (usually my lead - right foot), and when i land my whole isn't on the pedal, opposite (left) foot comes down, toe slips off and it bashes me in the shins.

cooldad

Can't really say, but use your legs as shocks and your feet shouldn't bounce.

Sammiye

Well that's extraordinarily helpful.. How can you tell someone to work on their technique when you don't have a clue yourself.

cooldad

Sammiye wrote:

Well that's extraordinarily helpful.. How can you tell someone to work on their technique when you don't have a clue yourself.

Not having seen you ride, it's a bit difficult to say isn't it? But feet shouldn't jump off pedals so somewhere your technique is lacking.
I did suggest using your legs as shocks, let the bike move underneath you and absorb the shock by bending your knees and to a degree, hips. Feet jump when your legs are too rigid.

swift_wraith

My shins are a mess too. I put it down to a combination of an old cruddy bike back when I was just getting into MTB'ing and club roost 2d pedals
(looked something like this: )

They had nothing to do with my lack of ability or my obsession with gravity!!!! :oops:

diy

People constantly tell me that SPDs hide poor technique that has to be mastered when riding flats. Perhaps its time to go clipped.

swift_wraith

diy wrote:

People constantly tell me that SPDs hide poor technique that has to be mastered when riding flats. Perhaps its time to go clipped.

Dont do it!! I tried spds once, couldnt unclip at the traffic lights and managed to provide lots of amusement for the peoples in their shiny cars as I fell over. :?

Anonymous

Spuds cause even more amusement off road once you get the lycra clad XC folk down some serious technical steep trails.

cooldad

I have good old fashioned toe clips on my road bike, and once managed to roll over in front of about a million people during a London Skyride. Maybe an exaggeration but that's what it felt like.