MTB - body armour
Discussion
Wear it all the time? Don't wear it? Carry it all the time?
After some frustrating injuries following offs this year I've been wondering about it, but to be honest I doubt I'd use it. I don't ride hard enough stuff to warrant an always on approach, and on rides with friends I'd hardly want to pause at the top of a descent to say 'righto just going to get the armour on', and if I'm on my own pausing and putting on the armour would probably be enough for me to psych myself out and I'd end up walking it anyway!
Lastly it seems that the gear available is knee, shin and elbow protection.. I don't ride flats so shins are a bit of a non issue for me, but I have managed to injure shoulders and hips in my last 2 offs.. I don't think theres even such a thing as easy on / off protection for those.
Anyone else had such dilemmas and / or found a solution? it seems I just either have to accept the risk, or accept overheating in armour all the time.
After some frustrating injuries following offs this year I've been wondering about it, but to be honest I doubt I'd use it. I don't ride hard enough stuff to warrant an always on approach, and on rides with friends I'd hardly want to pause at the top of a descent to say 'righto just going to get the armour on', and if I'm on my own pausing and putting on the armour would probably be enough for me to psych myself out and I'd end up walking it anyway!
Lastly it seems that the gear available is knee, shin and elbow protection.. I don't ride flats so shins are a bit of a non issue for me, but I have managed to injure shoulders and hips in my last 2 offs.. I don't think theres even such a thing as easy on / off protection for those.
Anyone else had such dilemmas and / or found a solution? it seems I just either have to accept the risk, or accept overheating in armour all the time.
I wear elbow and knee / shin armour, I also own the full torso DH suit, but I haven't worn it for years, even in the Alps last weekend.
My right elbow is a right mess, I don't have a 'funny bone' at all, it's just a mess of cartilage and scar tissue holding my forearm in place, I've also got a plate in the other forearm after an MTB crash, I wasn't wearing any armour that day because it was really hot, I don't ride without it now, my elbow just isn't that strong and it took nearly a year of surgery and recovery just to ride again, the risk is too high - I'm not claiming that the armour would have saved my arm, it probably wouldn't have, but it would have resulted in less damage and most importantly for me, probably would have saved me from an open wound - the clean out and inflection from lying on the forrest floor caused me more problems than the broken bone.
The knees are because knee injuries are painful and the shins are there mostly for brambles.
My right elbow is a right mess, I don't have a 'funny bone' at all, it's just a mess of cartilage and scar tissue holding my forearm in place, I've also got a plate in the other forearm after an MTB crash, I wasn't wearing any armour that day because it was really hot, I don't ride without it now, my elbow just isn't that strong and it took nearly a year of surgery and recovery just to ride again, the risk is too high - I'm not claiming that the armour would have saved my arm, it probably wouldn't have, but it would have resulted in less damage and most importantly for me, probably would have saved me from an open wound - the clean out and inflection from lying on the forrest floor caused me more problems than the broken bone.
The knees are because knee injuries are painful and the shins are there mostly for brambles.
Similar situation to you, had a few off's and wanted some more protection, but I'm not throwing myself down super hardcore black DH runs.
Last month I bought a 661 sub gear long sleeve top. It has built in pads for forearm, elbow, shoulder and chest. It seemed like the best 'inbetween' option from nothing to full on storm trooper mode. The pads are quite hard/stiff, except for the chest one which is just foam. The top is exceptionally tight. It needs to be to hold the pads in place as best as possible.
Been riding with it for the last month, and to be honest I like it. I had a fall at Llandegla a couple of weeks ago. I went sideways and landed on my arm/shoulder, and was dragged about 8ft down the rocky trial. The armour done its job, not a single mark on me. My shoulder was sore, but not bruised or cut in anyway.
I don't go riding without it on now. It does get warm, but it does wick sweat well. I wear mine with a loose long sleeve jersey, but a short sleeved one would be fine.
Couple of things to point out - the sleeves are really long. Not sure why, I just fold them back. Also getting the thing off after a days riding is quite amusing
Last month I bought a 661 sub gear long sleeve top. It has built in pads for forearm, elbow, shoulder and chest. It seemed like the best 'inbetween' option from nothing to full on storm trooper mode. The pads are quite hard/stiff, except for the chest one which is just foam. The top is exceptionally tight. It needs to be to hold the pads in place as best as possible.
Been riding with it for the last month, and to be honest I like it. I had a fall at Llandegla a couple of weeks ago. I went sideways and landed on my arm/shoulder, and was dragged about 8ft down the rocky trial. The armour done its job, not a single mark on me. My shoulder was sore, but not bruised or cut in anyway.
I don't go riding without it on now. It does get warm, but it does wick sweat well. I wear mine with a loose long sleeve jersey, but a short sleeved one would be fine.
Couple of things to point out - the sleeves are really long. Not sure why, I just fold them back. Also getting the thing off after a days riding is quite amusing
I race downhill and go to the alps every summer and all ways wear my full Dianese jacket and knee pads. The jacket is great for protection of elbows, back and shoulders but does get very warm in the summer as well as wearing a full face helmet and goggles. This is always on a downhill bike and using uplits to get back to the top.
How ever when i'm out on my trail bike I just wear knee pads and I'd never dream of wearing the jacket just becauae of the heat.
How ever when i'm out on my trail bike I just wear knee pads and I'd never dream of wearing the jacket just becauae of the heat.
DoubleU said:
Last month I bought a 661 sub gear long sleeve top. It has built in pads for forearm, elbow, shoulder and chest. It seemed like the best 'inbetween' option from nothing to full on storm trooper mode. The pads are quite hard/stiff, except for the chest one which is just foam. The top is exceptionally tight. It needs to be to hold the pads in place as best as possible.
I've got some of this and it's a good compromise. You can also get a Nukeproof equivalent on the CRC website.For bigger, downhill stuff, I put a vest - with built-in back protector and bigger chest protection - over the top of this. It gets a bit hot pushing uphill and it's not ideal for movement, but it's a danm sight better than getting injured, at my age. Ribs especailly, are easily bruised and take ages to stop hurting.
I've further compounded the bulk with a neck brace, this at the insistance of a lot of the guys I ride with - both DH racers and also recreational riders.
For most XC rides I don't pad up at all, but for longer ones and AM rides, I'd just use 'soft' knee pads and possibly eblow pads (certainly in the mountains and faster or rockier terrain), but for DH I've got some hard knee and shin guards. You have to strike a balance between staying cool (and therefore shapr and alert) and padding up but being too hot and knackered to ride well.
As for the OP's post-crash confidence, I'd suggest skills coaching will also be beneficial.
Vladimir said:
I do often see fully armoured up riders mincing down minor slopes...
Always amuses me.
Always amuses me.
I tend not to judge - whether it's the young (crazy IMHO, but still admirable) rippers pinning it with little more than a full face and knee pads, or the old clunkers (like me) fully armoured-up like Ninja Turtles. A lot of the former (certainly the lads I've ridden with) would buy more armour if they could afford it, a lot of the latter either have previous war wounds to nurse or otherwise have responsbilities (families, jobs etc.) which mean they simply can't afford avoidable injuries.
I know from personal experience the games your brain can play when you come back from a big injury.
Digga said:
As for the OP's post-crash confidence, I'd suggest skills coaching will also be beneficial.
No doubt skills coaching would be beneficial.. but theres also a communications issue 
the last off was on a long rocky descent near dunkery beacon, and a friend I don't ride with that often in front of me.. got to the end of the rocks and she just utterly slammed on the anchors and turned across the trail, leaving me nowhere to go. My friends comments afterwards 'oh yeah, she tends to do that, did we not tell you?' ... grr.
shouldbworking said:
Digga said:
As for the OP's post-crash confidence, I'd suggest skills coaching will also be beneficial.
No doubt skills coaching would be beneficial.. but theres also a communications issue the last off was on a long rocky descent near dunkery beacon, and a friend I don't ride with that often in front of me.. got to the end of the rocks and she just utterly slammed on the anchors and turned across the trail, leaving me nowhere to go. My friends comments afterwards 'oh yeah, she tends to do that, did we not tell you?' ... grr.I imagine there is nothing worse than riding with some random, inconsiderate numpty!
I wear knee and elbow pads, and do normal trail riding, I'm slow and heavy wheezing along but I'm also likely to come off in places when i bottle it and brake or come in too slow so the armour builds some safety net when i screw up at low speed and builds confidence to attempt things at a better speed.
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