Forearm Protection

Shylock

I know there has been a lot of conversation over which elbow/knee pads are best but last night I had a rather big off down a chalky/flinty decline.

My helmet is trashed and luckily I did not break anything but I punctured my forearm in many places and have some big cuts to heal......

I have seen some of the DH elbow forearm gear but this seems a little excessive, I am only doing XC and Single Track but this does involve some fast declines (25mph last night (thanks Strava)).

What do people use or is it just a case of live with the risk?

.blitz

661 Rhythms are pretty good for that sort of thing. Basically a lycra sleeve with an expanded-foam insert that works very well in terms of absorbing trail rash. Light enough to carry with you as/when required

cooldad

Just live with it. Once you've covered everything that can get hurt in pads you won't be able to move.

rockmonkeysc

Man up and live with it.

Broken bones heal & chicks dig scars.

Where do you stop with it all? I have seen some pretty nasty facial injuries on xc rides but I'm not ever going xc widing in a full face helmet (did once for warmth when it was -15 degrees).
Get some training and get the skills to avoid crashing.

felix.london

The elbow protection on the 661 Subgear comes a good way down the forearm. Perfect for fending of most minor scrapes and bruises

Saying that - had a big off a week or so ago (face first into a big rock :shock: ) and still scraped my shoulder up pretty nicely through the Subgear.

Gonna get the Evo Pressure suite for my DH exploits

angry_bird

Go to your LBS and try some on, most important thing is find something that fits you and you're comfortable in. Even if you then order something off the internet because it's cheaper. Remember pads won't stop you getting injured completely but they can reduce the severity or the chances of a crash resulting in injury.

I'd ignore the man up comments to be honest, if you want to wear pads, do it, you stop when you feel the drawbacks outweigh the potential benefits.
People think a couple of cuts won't hurt too much, I could (and have in the past) easily pick up any number of infections in them given the work I do at times, farms tend to be like that. Right now a broken bone, even if it's just a couple of fingers or something equally trivial and most likely I'll end up having to take a year out due to the course requirements. It's not going to stop me riding bikes, because thats what I enjoy doing. I know pads won't protect me from everything but I'll take the precautions I see fit when out on the bike even if only to stop minor injuries and attempt to reduce the risks.

RockmonkeySC wrote:

get the skills to avoid crashing.

Sorry but that is just a stupid comment. Crashes happen, anyone wanting to push their riding is going to crash at some point. How often do you see pro riders crash? I know theyre pushing it harder than the average rider but it's all relative.

mattjevans

I wear Nukeproof elbow pads. A leg injury doesn't matter too much to me (so I don't wear knee pads) but a busted elbow would be a disaster for my income.

They are a touch hot on a warm day (well, on the one warm day we have had this "summer") but otherwise I really don't even notice I have them on. They come about halfway down my forearms