Body armour needed me thinks.

Torres

You also forget that our man here is starting to race enduro, so we aren't really talking about xc.

On a side note, it also depends on your definition of xc, how hard you ride and what each individual believes to be an appropriate level of protection. Personally I wouldn't wear a pressure suit for trail riding, or even up in the mountains; but if someone chose to do so with just reasoning then I wouldn't look down on them or insult them.

bennett_346

Torres wrote:

You also forget that our man here is starting to race enduro, so we aren't really talking about xc.

On a side note, it also depends on your definition of xc, how hard you ride and what each individual believes to be an appropriate level of protection. Personally I wouldn't wear a pressure suit for trail riding, or even up in the mountains; but if someone chose to do so with just reasoning then I wouldn't look down on them or insult them.

I would.

rockmonkeysc

Torres wrote:

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.

The trails are not as extreme as downhill tracks and the speeds aren't as high. Because downhill races are only 2-4 minute sprints you are pushing as hard as possible from start to finish with less room for error and you're on a bike which can take pretty extreme abuse and do huge jumps.
Enduro is on trail bikes and on less extreme trails and races are much longer so you're not pushing as hard, jumps are optional and smaller, you're not hitting the same sort of speeds through rock gardens and technical sections.
I did one at Forest of Dean and a lot of XC riders were comparing it to downhill but it was actually a long way off and a lot more tame but physcally tougher.

Torres

It doesn't matter how "extreme" the track is; you can break bones on trail center level stuff, hell you can break a bone on any track.

So in an event where my time comes from putting in the effort downhill I'd personally always pad up more, even if I'd ridden the trails a thousand times on a rigid. Riding on the limit of ones ability can cause crashes which will hurt on any trail.

marz

bennett_346 wrote:

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.

Beginners sustain more injures than pro's, but yes, when pro's have accidents they are often worse due to higher speeds or more extreme terrain.
But for the beginner improved skills will be far more advantageous than body armour.
Take two riders, one beginner and one pro, dress 'em both in the same gear and ask 'em to ride together. Which one do you think is more likely to sustain an injury?

Don't overtax your wee brain in working this one out.

bennett_346

marz wrote:

bennett_346 wrote:

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.

Beginners sustain more injures than pro's, but yes, when pro's have accidents they are often worse due to higher speeds or more extreme terrain.
But for the beginner improved skills will be far more advantageous than body armour.
Take two riders, one beginner and one pro, dress 'em both in the same gear and ask 'em to ride together. Which one do you think is more likely to sustain an injury?

Don't overtax your wee brain in working this one out.

You're essentially asking a question i've already explained.

marz

bennett_346 wrote:

You're essentially asking a question i've already explained.

Not really, you suggested that additional skills do not lead to less accidents and injuries. A point I disagree with.

So either you're wrong or you've failed to explain your position correctly.

bennett_346

I'm not gonna try and justify it because i can't really be bothered.

rockmonkeysc

No matter how skilled you are, if you are riding at the limits of your ability you are just as likely to crash. A more skilled rider will crash at much higher speeds.

jairaj

I agree with that last comment. But you can also use your new found skills to ride within your limits on more technical terrain.

Take a hypothetical black graded trail. A less skilled rider could find them selves well out of their comfort zone even going slowly and possibly crash. A more skilled rider can choose to not ride completely at their limit but still ride the trail clearing all obstacles easily and still going at a much faster rate than the less skilled rider.

I guess it depends on what the OP wants to do. Do you simply want to compete in the events and have a good time or do you want give it your absolute all and go for a win?

rockmonkeysc

If you're in a race then you ride at the limits of your ability. I race downhill and I'm often well beyond my comfort zone and taking big risks to gain half a second.

marz

RockmonkeySC wrote:

No matter how skilled you are, if you are riding at the limits of your ability you are just as likely to crash. A more skilled rider will crash at much higher speeds.

True, but that doesn't negate the fact that 'skills' are more important than 'armour' with regards to safety.

irvs

True in a race I also throw caution to the wind, ill even ride over the top of you to gain a place. Comfort is only for riding around the car park spinning up my legs, comfort zones are for people who don't like risks. Which brought up me asking the questions at the start of the thread.

Neil.

cloudynights

if your self employed and you have a big off pads can make the difference of still going to work and earning money, wear what you want to wear, riding a bike should be fun, dont waste your money on a skills course be better off spending it on advanced driving lessons