First Injury - 661 Riot Elbow Pads any good?

joeyyeahyeah

I had my first injury a few weeks ago. A trip to A&E, and a few weeks with a knackered elbow and an arm I can't use later, I'm thinking some elbow pads might be a good idea.
My riding isn't really extreme- red trails are about as extreme as it gets- so I've been looking at the above. Anybody tied 'em? Any good? Opinions or other suggestions appreciated. ;-)

querhoch

theyre ok, but they will move about a lot as you ride. i found them to be a bit sweaty too and took to wearing a crepe bandage under them to soak it up and help hold them in place. elbow injuries are pretty rare, relatively speaking, so its not something to I would spend money on again.

Polf

I've used the riot pads for a whle. 661 tend to make everyting bigger than you expect. I am at least a large in everything i buy. The large pads moved around on my arms but the mediums are perfect. Good pads, but try them on before buying. I came off on loose rock shale which shredded everything around the pads, but the correctly fitted pads remained in place and gave good protection.

Mark909

I've got raceface rally fr arms and legs. I've had a few offs with them now and apart from one where i was a bit winded never felt a thing. The pads are starting to look a bit battered now though.

newbie_biker

I don't understand how someone could hurt their elbows whilst biking, personally, I think protecting your balls has a higher priority rating than elbows.

My first accident on a full size MTB was on those old steel frames where the top tube runs from the handle bar horizontally across to the seatpost. I was out riding my new bike when I had to brake suddenly, I'm sure your imagination can fill in the rest, you're not a real man unless you've had an accident like that on your MTB!

tudj

newbie_biker wrote:

I don't understand how someone could hurt their elbows whilst biking, personally, I think protecting your balls has a higher priority rating than elbows.

My first accident on a full size MTB was on those old steel frames where the top tube runs from the handle bar horizontally across to the seatpost. I was out riding my new bike when I had to brake suddenly, I'm sure your imagination can fill in the rest, you're not a real man unless you've had an accident like that on your MTB!

I've cut my elbow, I was going way too fast down a bridleway, lost control, the front fork hit a rock and I got spat over the bars and brought my arms up in front of my face to save it getting smashed, as a result my elbow got smashed instead :P

If elbow injuries didn't happen, they wouldn't make pads. I've just recently bought some Nukeproof Criticals, the fit is great and they're hard shell - I've yet to ride in them yet though. I have 661 Riot Kneepads and if the elbow pads are similar I'd expect them to move around too much to provide enough protection when it matters.

querhoch

tudj wrote:

If elbow injuries didn't happen, they wouldn't make pads.

oh really? Did you know that you can buy insurance against being abducted by giant alien spiders? just because something exists doesnt neccessarily mean it has a purpose.

tudj

querhoch wrote:

tudj wrote:

If elbow injuries didn't happen, they wouldn't make pads.

oh really? Did you know that you can buy insurance against being abducted by giant alien spiders?

What?! Brb, googling where to buy some of that, you never know!

Maybe I was wrong but I know that they do happen, I have a scar to prove it :oops:

joeyyeahyeah

Cheers for all the feedback, all very useful. Yeah- I'm gathering that elbow injuries are far less frequent than knee injuries. Imagine how lucky I feel.... ! TBH, it's caused a lot of problems with work, as I haven't been able to drive for 2 weeks, so I really need to try and prevent it happening again- hence the pads.

FWIW, I did it riding a descending bit of red trail. I came out of pretty big berm, into quite a fairly steep drop with some pace. The surface had a fair covering of wet leaves, and my front wheel started to slip outwards. As I tried to control it, the wheel hit something, which caused it to suddenly turn right. This upended the bike and flipped me off it. As it was pretty steep drop, I just dropped my bike and tried to protect my head (from what I remember), resulting in damage to my elbow. As the Doctor, very helpfully(!) said, 'it's definitely injured' (cheers for that, Doc... :-S), and it isn't an MTB myth... .

So, whilst I might take a bit of convincing on the alien abduction insurance, the value of elbow pads is rather more apparent.

Also been looking at the G-Form pads- anybody have any experience of these?

Cheers again,

Joe

craigw99

i got fractures of both elbows from an off when i was 16 both arms in slings for 6 weeks! tbh not sure what good elbow pads would have been for it as it was a superman OTB crash - if i makes you feel safer get them

vonbonbon

joeyyeahyeah wrote:

Also been looking at the G-Form pads- anybody have any experience of these?

Joe

I went for G-Form after opening my elbow to the bone and having a couple of nights in hospital. Wasn't even a big off!

I really don't notice I have them on (knee and elbow pads). Very comfortable. Not the most protective. But more than enough for most knocks and will reduce any big hit. But if your doing extreme stuff you maybe should look at bigger pads.

I like them because they can be worn on any ride and you don't notice them and so do not detract from it.

thecube123

I have only injured my left elbow and once my face when i crash, i have fox launch pro pads they are very good but the knee pads are quite bulky i havent crashed since ive got them though

Rocketmagnet

I still can't believe that new people start MTB and don't wear pads on rocky courses as a minimum... i tend to
wear mine all the time as i'm just used to em.
Most more experienced riders wear pads and it's not because were riding harder and faster and tougher routes it's
because weve learned from the school of hard knocks.. even though your less likely to fall off.
I did myself initially .. i thought knee and elbow pads were for more experienced riders but they are not
they've simply learned, myself included and were trying to help with experienced advice yet some people
will never listen. Yep they may get lucky but being realistic if you ride proper MTB routes you'll off at
some point and those sticky out boney things especailly with joints can and do impact significantly harder rocks.

Simple plain fact is i've been riding MTB "properly" for 14 years in that time i've worn a helmet every time yet
only had a single fall were it really came into play... so i spent 1000's of hours riding before it actually
saved me from serious injury, simply put people ride for years without knee and elbow pads and
it reinforces their belief that they can control all falls or not fall off period so they then say they
are not needed. They whine about comfort yada yada yada but ultimately wearing knee and elbow
pads isn't uncomfortable you forget your wearing them if you get the correct ones. It's false
bravado often and what they are really saying is "im so skilled i dont need em" and thats just BS really :P

I do have 2 specific examples one mate has not ridden for 6 years due to a crash and knee bash that
resulted in numerous knee ops with cartalidge removed.. he cant really do mtb anymore and its
seriously affected his day to day life.. on bad days he cant even walk. Another has just recovred after 3 years out and 2 elbow ops
he now nurses his elbow and pads up always.... he was a no pads ever guy and used all the same arguments
you usually see. Personally i've only every had one off where my knee pads saved me also but that one time
was worth the outlay and proof of the benifits of accepting that bad things can happen to me.

Personally i'd go for hard shell knee and elbow for better intrusion prevention... i've had many over the years but personally like
the POC Bone, comfortable and cool esp if you take the calf guards off the knee pads. I really like
the knee pads as they are not pull ons and are 5 seconds to put on, dont move about and have great ventilation.
Only real issue is you need to fit them properly or as learned from experience if they get wet on long rides they can chafe at the pressure points (elbow tips and knee caps) oohh and they are quite expensive but last longer than the full on soft shells so are worth it overall from protection/comfort and life.
in my experience.

Northwind

newbie_biker wrote:

I don't understand how someone could hurt their elbows whilst biking

Obvious troll is obvious.

brindlescoops

querhoch wrote:

tudj wrote:

If elbow injuries didn't happen, they wouldn't make pads.

oh really? Did you know that you can buy insurance against being abducted by giant alien spiders? just because something exists doesnt neccessarily mean it has a purpose.

I have permanent deep scarring in my elbows from an MTB fall

The Northern Monkey

Chicks dig scars though.

I've never had an elbow injury, but my forearms are pretty much all scar, they turn an odd shade of purple in the cold.

Tbh, just mtfu and learn to fall properly!

Uli

Most more experienced riders wear pads and it's not because were riding harder and faster and tougher routes it's
because weve learned from the school of hard knocks

I think it is age related as you get more cautious while getting older I am having second thoughts now before my parachute jumps and don't consider places like Somalia, Kabul or Gaza as holiday destinations any more. You are getting old my friend

vonbonbon

BrindleScoops wrote:

querhoch wrote:

tudj wrote:

I have permanent deep scarring in my elbows from an MTB fall

Ditto

Plyphon

i like my gforms. never had to use them in anger, but they passed the "hit the wall hard" test with flying colours.