Economical green laning

[xstian]

I would say you are going to want, boots, knee pads, elbow and shoulder pads as a minimum. Also don't underestimate a pair of decent gloves for summer and winter.

This is a bit like the argument are expensive helmets worth it. The more kit you have the less likely you are to hurt yourself. The other aspect I found when starting out, if you have the right protective gear you are a little less concerned about falling off and made me a little braver to push myself.

[y2blade]

Agreed^^^^ trees are pretty hard even at 10-20mph

[dern]

That does all sound very sensible. I'll suit up then.

Thanks

Mark

[Fats25]

I also wear the all in one chest/elbow/back protector - like this:-



Not damaged myself wearing it, but it does protect you from the ramblers hitting you with their sticks.

Saved my mate getting a very nasty injury when a branch hit him in the chest at approx. 20mph. Took him off the back of his bike, whilst the bike continued, and he was left with bruising to his chest, rather than a broken sternum.

As well as this, the helmet, and the boots, I also wear good knee protectors. I do have dodgy knees from football injuries, but it saved me a big injury last year. Surgeon explained from the MRI scan that I had only torn medial ligament due to wearing these. If they had not been on, it would have been another rupture of the ACL and PCL that I had replaced before.



Just to reiterate, these were not Enduro races, Hare and Hounds, etc. Just greenlaning. Better to be safe that sorry.

[dern]

Woah!

Well, I did ask I guess

[hman]

For laning I use a Richa textile jacket with in built armour its very tough and warm with the liner - cool without with the vents open.

It doesnt have chest protection though so on tougher days out (in the wales) I bin some of the internals and wear a thor quadrant chest protector which covers chest shoulders and back.

Thor MX trousers and vest for the hot days and competition days - on really hot days I ditch the vest and go with armour over the under armour top.

I buy trespass waterproof trousers at £15 a pop and expect to get through a couple of pairs a year - completely waterproof and if you rip them up then only £15 to replace - or gaffer tape back together (on the inside) as I found works well.

I also wear under armour long sleeved top and leggings to keep me cool and prevent chaffing from the body armour.

I invested in some VERY padded shorts which are a massive benefit as enduro seats can be uncomfortable ( TTr has a nice wide saddle though)

I use EVS knee braces as the spacky placky things sold my alpine stars and others are useless at supporting your knee and only give a little impact protection.

Fox boots and gloves, oakley O goggles or scott double glazed goggles


There is only one pair of gloves that you need - http://shop.1stmx.co.uk/2014-fox-mx-bomber-s-motoc...

So lastly the minimum I would wear would be:-
Padded shorts
Underarmour long sleeved shirt and leggings
EVS Knee Braces
Thor mx pants
Fox Boots
Chest protector
Lid
fox Gloves
Oakley goggles

The rest of the items are added depending on the weather.

The reason I dont use elbow protectors when not wearing the jacket is :-

A:they all attach by elastic and getting them tight enough to prevent rotation in an impact gives me arm pump and then weird hand cramp where my fingers close into the palms of my hands - too much pressure on the forearm)
B: your elbow is not the first thing to hit the ground normally.

[Fats25]

Best thing to do is find a nancy boy that bought all the gear and then gave up as they don't like falling off.

If you are a fat bloke - you should PM 3DP.

[dern]

Picked up a shark mx lid today form a place in Swindon and ordered some armour. Getting some 2nd hand boots off a mate and that'll do for now. If I keep it up I'll replace the cheap starter stuff with better stuff as we go. Have 1:25000 and will get exploring.



From an earlier suggestion about the sprag clutch... stripped it all down but no obvious suggestion of wear on anything and all looks pretty new so just put it all back together. Changed the front sprocket (new rear and chain but front was obviously hard so it got left it on its fked state) and rear brake pads (ditto, siezed pin so got left until just on the metal, nice). Just need to change the acc cables (broken throttle in tube resulting in kinked cable which makes the throttle stick) and we're good to go. Anyway else unable to buy a bike without stripping it down 'just in case'?



Cheers,

Mark

Edited by dern on Sunday 27th April 21:53

[hman]

next up, wheel bearings and speedo drive.

[dern]

hman said:

next up, wheel bearings and speedo drive.

Heh, checked all that and it's fine. Will need a swing arm bearing set at the end of summer though.

[hman]

check the lower linkage bearing (where the bottom of the shock connects to linkage)

Its a bushing and they wear out which gives a lot of movement in the arm (up and down) - easy fix - press the old one out and press the new one in with new seals.

[dern]

hman said:

check the lower linkage bearing (where the bottom of the shock connects to linkage)

Its a bushing and they wear out which gives a lot of movement in the arm (up and down) - easy fix - press the old one out and press the new one in with new seals.

Thanks, there's no huge movement in anything at the moment and I'm keen to get out of it. I think what I'll do it just use it this summer and then spend a weekend or two stripping it all down and changing all the bearings and bushes. Quite good fun on something so small I can manhandle around

[graham22]

dern said:

Thanks, there's no huge movement in anything at the moment and I'm keen to get out of it. I think what I'll do it just use it this summer and then spend a weekend or two stripping it all down and changing all the bearings and bushes. Quite good fun on something so small I can manhandle around

Bearing changes will be a regular occurance as well as brake pads and, as you've found out, front sprockets - not surprising really as all of these spend most of their time covered in mud working as a grinding paste.

This was lurking behind the sprocket cover after 1500 miles, since replaced & sprocket cover opened up to let the mud out - the chain and rear sprocket show no wear at all.



Going back to the gear, don't bother with expensive textiles, they'll get snagged on brambles and immediately become un-waterproof. I wear a cheap textile jacket on top - with or without liner in depending on weather/event but always with the armour in.

I also wear an old pair of leather jeans, again with armour as handy when kneeling down fixing things, but wear a cheap pair of unlined waterproof leggings over - these will get ripped but can be temporarily 'repaired' with duct tape.

And decent boots, I have a MX pair for green laning but trials boots when competing as they give much more feel.