Knee, elbow and hand protection - what should I buy

giantAstax

Ok, so I've resisted it until now but with 3 major 'over the handlebars' crashes, two in the last 8 days, I'm starting to suffer ever increasing amounts of damage to knees, shins, elbows and hands.

Enough is enough and this latest one may see me out of action for some while depending on the prognosis after the swelling subsides enough to confirm the damage.

I ride typically 3 to 6 hours on a 120mm XC bike so it's gotta be comfortable, breathable and un restrictive. So no heavy freeride or downhill kit. I'll want knee and elbow as a minimum protection but shin protection might be a good secondary idea.

Recommend away and let's worry about the cost as a secondary consideration - time off work will cost me way more than any body armour.

Finally, I've damaged my hand - ring and small finger- pretty badly. Any suggestions on hand protection?

Ta in advance.

warpcow

G-form is about the lightest, most flexible protection. It's not the most protective, but it's enough for a few XC mishaps. On the other hand I have no problem pedalling for 3hrs+ in a pair of old 661 Kyle Straits. Pads are a bit like helmets: you'll get on with them much better if you take the time to try a few sets before you buy.

felix.london

I wear 661 Subgear and 661 Kyle Straits on every ride - even on all day rides everything is comfortable and stays where it's meant to

As for gloves...take your pick. The best ones I have at the moment are some Fox Dirtpaws. I also have some Royal Blast gloves which I got from CRC for about a tenner but the stitching is already coming undone after a handful of rides

mac_man

I have a pair of these: http://www.endura.co.uk/Product.aspx?de ... rod_id=400

Really like them. Touch wood I've not had to test them yet

They're just as comfy as the 661 Kyle Straits I had previously, butt seem to be holding together much better. The elastic mesh on my old Straits had started disintegrating.... I think from the loops on the velcro straps pulling on the material.

oxocube1

I use Nukeproof Critical Knee pads and they are superb! I have worn them on literally every ride since i bought them from CRC and you just don't notice them.
They are very comfortable and don't move around when your knee moves.
Your knee stays cool thanks to the breathable material.
The knee cap is solid and provides really good protection and they also have soft side padding to stop anything scratching your legs at knee height.
Seriously could not recommend them enough.

giantAstax

Thanks everyone. Tied a load out and settled for the SixSixOne 2012 d3o Evo Knee Pads - light, comfy and fit me well.

cheers

marz

That's a lot of OTB's for XC riding, sounds like you're doing something wrong. Are your trails rooty or rocky? What's the drop height from seat to bar? Do you have a short or long stem?

If you have your seat way high and your stem long and slamed to the headset, old skool XC style then it's time to swap out some parts. Short stem, riser bars maybe a spacer or two.

giantAstax

I have a short 70cm stem and low rise bars. Seat height is set correctly. To be honest, I've been riding more technical stuff faster and riding much faster in general so I guess I've probably hit my talent level or maybe surpassed it.

Prior to these 3 I've ridden for 18 months or more with no serious offs. I have no intension of slowing down that much so pads seem the obvious option. Simples.

marz

giantAstax wrote:

. Seat height is set correctly. .

Correctly for what? Pedaling efficiency? Is so then you may be sacrificing some handling capabilities to efficient pedaling. No need to slow down, just maybe a slight change in bike set up. Maybe move the seat back .5 an inch, fit a shorter stem and raise the bars a bit (either risers or spacer). Try and reduce the amount of body weight on and over the bars, moving mass more over the pedals and back wheel.

To you generally rest on the bars, leaning forward? How often do you stand to negotiate technical sections of trails?

Pads are not going to stop you going over the bars, just add some protection when you do.

giantAstax

marz wrote:

Pads are not going to stop you going over the bars, just add some protection when you do.

no kidding Sherlock