Body armour needed me thinks.

irvs

Well after a few scary big offs and over the bar moments I feel the need to invest in some good body armour. What would everyone recommend, and any good pointers when picking/sizing???

Thanks Neil.

cooldad

Skills.

irvs

Yea I know I need more skills, it's just I'm starting to jump further and the "offs" are getting harder.

bennett_346

cooldad wrote:

Skills.

Skills don't stop you falling off.

rockmonkeysc

bennett_346 wrote:

cooldad wrote:

Skills.

Skills don't stop you falling off.

True. You fall off at higher speed instead.

.blitz

Irvs wrote:

Well after a few scary big offs and over the bar moments I feel the need to invest in some good body armour.

Quite like my 661 Sub gear jerseys they are the sort of thing you can wear all day without feeling too stormtroopered up. The armoured bits (elbows, shoulders, sternum) are quite good at absorbing those irritating scrapes when you use your elbows as brakes or ping off trees etc.

The short sleeve jersey works well on warmer days combined with some 661 Rhythm elbow guards you can peel them off and put them in your rucksack whereas the long sleeve one is (for me) a go-to jersey I wear it all the time.

In terms of sizing they're a fairly tight fit to keep the armour in place but they are very stretchy and wick like mad.

irvs

Thanks, I was just looking at the 661 gear on chain reaction seems to get good reviews I think I'll go try it out for size this weekend.

cat_with_no_tail

Irvs wrote:

Well after a few scary big offs and over the bar moments I feel the need to invest in some good body armour. What would everyone recommend, and any good pointers when picking/sizing???

Thanks Neil.

What sort of riding is it for?

Pointless someone recommending a full-on pressure suit and FF for XC.

irvs

Yea I know what your saying, I race XC so all I wear to that is Lycra and a light helmet, so no need for armour there! But I really want to push hard and race in the enduro events next year. I'm pushing hard and crashing hard so armour is a must or my "general" trail riding if I don't want to wreck myself.
Now I know I won't need anything heavy and more suited to downhill racing so what would be more suited to my needs?

Thanks Neil.

Torres

Where are you getting injured Neil?

I'd recommend starting with some knee pads and taking it from there. I looked at the sub gear stuff after I bust my shoulder, although there isn't an awful lot to which concerned me.

irvs

Shoulder, back, neck, arms, legs. Just busted my shoulder last week, possible AC damage. I'm used to picking up injuries, I'm coming from years of mixed martial arts so no problem getting injuries and working on.

It was mentioned in another post a "compression suit" what type of armour is this and is suited to which kind of riding???
I've been looking on chain reaction and there's every kind of padding, too many for me to know what's good and suitable.

Thanks Neil.

rockmonkeysc

Forget pressure suits, they are for downhill. The subgear type armour won't protect from any more than light bruises.
The most common severe injuries are broken collar bones, dislocated shoulders, broken fingers and broken wrists. No armour will prevent any of those injuries.
If you want to ride harder just accept that you will get injured.

peter413

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Forget pressure suits, they are for downhill.

Rubbish, if someone wants to wear one riding XC, let them. Pressure Suits are upper body suits that usually incorporate elbow/forearm, shoulder, chest and spine protection into one a one piece suit/jacket, some have removable arms and spine plates. Some are better than others obviously and they still rely on fitting well. I don't think most are actually called pressure suits, that's just what 661 ones are called, suppose it's like a hoover and vacuum cleaner.

If you are looking at neck protection I assume this means a neck brace? You really must try on a suit, or any spine, shoulder and chest protection with the neck brace to make sure it is compatible. A lot of suits have to be cut/modified to work with a neck brace. I had to remove the chest plate altogether and remove some of the spine plate on my 661 Pro Pressure Suit to work with mine. There are some companies that make suits with removable plates so they are compatible with a neck brace, Leatt makes one that is obviously compatible with a Leatt neck brace but it's quite expensive.

rockmonkeysc

You really don't want to wear a pressure suit for XC. It's very OTT. They are really warm. I have got the top end 661 pressure suit which is about as breathable as they get and even pushing up hills in sub zero temperatures (such as this Sunday at FoD) it gets uncomfortably hot and sweaty. A lot of people find them too bulky and hot even for downhill. I only wear mine for racing and even then I don't use it on my seeding run and just use it for my second run when I know I will go all out and know that any crash is likely to be a big one.
I would say it's probably even worse than wearing a full face lid for XC. It's just a stupid idea.

peter413

That's all your opinion. I myself usually only wear it for racing as well because I have to because of my age but I know a few people who nearly always wear one no matter what they are doing and are willing to put up with the fact they get a little hot.

Like I said, if someone wants to wear it, let them. Comments like "it's just a stupid idea" really don't help people who are thinking about wearing one, it just makes them not want to wear it because according to you it makes them look stupid when in fact it's a good idea if you think it is the right thing for you to be wearing. In fact, one of the people I know who wears one was put off from wearing it because of a few comments like that and it took a lot of convincing off me that he should just ignore them and wear what he wanted.

jairaj

Usually at races you see people with pads on their knee, shin, elbow and fore arm. That's probably a good starting point you can always start to add more protection if you feel the need to. but personally I think any more and you really limit your comfort and how well you can pedal.

I also think that skills training may help. While it won't stop you falling over completely it should significantly reduce the amount you fall over.

rockmonkeysc

I said it's a stupid idea fo XC / trail riding because you will be extremely uncomfortable and it's not going to save you from any significant injuries. I would rather take the cuts, bruises & gravel rash than wear armour for XC

peter413

RockmonkeySC wrote:

I said it's a stupid idea fo XC / trail riding because you will be extremely uncomfortable and it's not going to save you from any significant injuries. I would rather take the cuts, bruises & gravel rash than wear armour for XC

Exactly my point, you would rather do that. Others would rather put up with the slight discomfort. Different people find different things comfortable as well and some manage to find armor that they find very comfortable, everybody makes a big deal about finding helmets that fit well but not enough seem to think it's the same for everything else including body armor.

rockmonkeysc

peter413 wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

I said it's a stupid idea fo XC / trail riding because you will be extremely uncomfortable and it's not going to save you from any significant injuries. I would rather take the cuts, bruises & gravel rash than wear armour for XC

Exactly my point, you would rather do that. Others would rather put up with the slight discomfort. Different people find different things comfortable as well and some manage to find armor that they find very comfortable, everybody makes a big deal about finding helmets that fit well but not enough seem to think it's the same for everything else including body armor.

It's not just the fit though. Wearing a spine board under a camelback is very uncomfortable (and completely pointless) and having a thick chest plate, shoulder pads & elbow pads is just not breathable enough for a 2+ hour XC ride. It's going to make riding an unpleasant experience. I'm getting on a bit myself and I don't bounce as well as I used to but for afew minor cuts & bruises once every three months I wouldn't even consider wearing armour.
Some knee and elbow pads would be much more appropriate for XC & when you consider that a spine board isn't going to work under a camel back it's pointless having one.

peter413

I feel like we're going around in circles here, some people find a spine board comfortable enough under a camelback, I've even worn it like that and found it fine. Some people do find them breathable enough to ride long distances with and it makes riding more pleasant for some people because they have more confidence, please don't start on the whole it makes you cocky thing though because that isn't what I'm meaning.

And why is wearing a spine board under a camelback completely pointless and why won't it work?

rockmonkeysc

It doesn't have the rigidity to prevent your sping getting bent around a full camel back.

peter413

Huh? The bladder is just going to burst anyway but if it can't do anything against a bag how is it going to do anything against say a tree or a rock? Not saying I can't be convinced but I would need to see proof of that fact before I was.

bennett_346

Ok a pressure suit is seriously too much armor. Im not even sure itll protect you any more than standard armor for xc tbh.

irvs

Hey guys I think my questions have opened a can of worms here! I had said I don't wear any armour for the XC races, It would be pointless and uncomfortable. I'm looking for ideas for armour for enduro races, ill be wearing a full face helmet but no neck brace. As someone mentioned above I don't bounce as well as I used to and pick up injuries easier because of previous sports.

Neil.

rockmonkeysc

Enduro is still closer to XC than downhill. Just get some good quality knee & elbow pads and a good helmet.

jairaj

Good thing about body armour is that it's modular so you can buy as much or as little of it as you think is right for your needs. Its quite a personal choice so hard to recommend exact models. But have a browse on the usual suspects websites 661, POC, EVOC, Dainese. I have some of the POC stuff and find its very good. Its expensive but I think its worth it.

But I still think skills course would be the correct way of fixing the problem and would be my first port of call followed by some basic armour. Learning how to better handle the bike on the more technical terrain so you fall over a lot less is surely better than still falling over lots but hoping your armour can reduce the forces enough so not to significantly hurt you?

irvs

Cheers for the advice much appreciated ill have a look at the brands you listed.

Neil.

marz

bennett_346 wrote:

cooldad wrote:

Skills.

Skills don't stop you falling off.

Skills help more than body armour does.

bennett_346

marz wrote:

bennett_346 wrote:

cooldad wrote:

Skills.

Skills don't stop you falling off.

Skills help more than body armour does.

No they don't. You're saying the better you are the less you fall off? If anything the more skilled you are the faster and harder you are likely to come off. By that logic beginners should sustain much worse injuries than professional racers which is the opposite of the case.

Think before you speak.

Torres

Peter was actually talking a bit of sense there. Yes many people will say a full suit of armor is over the top for trail riding; however that's only an opinion.

If you fall and an armored part of your body its something solid then the blow from the impact will be reduced; so if you personally see a benefit from being armored to the teeth "just in case" then that's completely fine. You really need to try some stuff on and see how it feels, how hot it gets and how it restricts your movement; then you make a call based on this.

And claiming that enduro is more xc than dh is debatable. Any discipline where going down is weighted more than going up is always going to be closer to dh in my book.

bennett_346

Unless you have brittle bone disease or something wearing a pressure suit for xc is just silly, grow a pair.