"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - What I don't quite understand...rant on safety

I come from a motocross background and I quit racing MX b/c of the injuries/paralysis/ and even the death of a fellow racer. Since then, I have dabbled in crit racing here or there, and I enjoy it. With that in mind, I try to be as competitive and safe (a good balance of the two) as possible b/c at the end of the day, I am still a Cat 5 racer, not a pro and I need to go to work the next day. What I don't understand is, why something like the Dominos crash shorts/knickers (see link below) are not more popular. I highly doubt there is anyone who enjoys road rash, so why isnt there more safety gear available to road racers (i.e. low profile elbow pads, hip pads, ect)? I understand that mobility and comfort are huge factors, but for weekend warriors who need to go to work the next day, why not take some precautions, such as the Dominos line/other safety gear ect, and sacrifice a bit of comfort? Thanks for hearing my rant. -J

Dominos line - http://www.tristuff4less.com/cgi-bin/ez-catalog/cat_display.cgi?account=X364847;search=20;search=Domino%20Cycling;limit=category;v=2.0

spamtastic.

Not ment to be spam, I just dont understand ...

A tumbling class will probably do you more good, along with bump drills.

I've had a few crashes where the clothes were barely scuffed and I had "carpet burn" underneath them-- pretty much the same as road rash minus the grit.

Elbow pads? Try roller derby.

Not ment to be spam, I just dont understand ...

We get lots of people on here that sign up with new accounts and self-promote their own products while trying to hide it behind some related clever story. We call them ``shills.''

Most of the time, we guess them right, sometimes we don't. It's hard to tell. It's now a guilty-until-proven-innocent kinda' thing.

Not ment to be spam, I just dont understand ...

Sure. Asking a "generic" question about a particular line of safety gear, and linking a website where you presumably can purchase said particular line of gear is not spam at all. Nope. Nosiree.

Why?

Because we're not pu**ies.

there's something called 'homologation of risk'.

give a bunch of squids full-face helmets, shoulder pads, and knee braces- and i'll guarantee there will be pile-ups in every frikin corner.

This argument could easily go down the road of airbags vs sabers. If you knew that your car would deploy sabers instead of a pillow, you'd drive a lot more carefully. I don't think that's where you're going with it, but there's something to be said for it.
In MX, you expect to mix it up with other riders. In bike racing, the idea is to NOT mix it up with other riders, but to have the skills to avoid collision. Not a slam on MX. Just a different way of thinking.

Riders are free to wear that stuff, but others will give him enough grief to make him cry. Especially on Tuesday nights.

Our skills are our protection. The quicker you get them the sooner you're safer.

Pro riders DO wear stuff like that. After they injure themselves and can not afford to aggravate the injury by taking a hit on the same spot. They wear bandages, neckbraces, tape, use extra handlebar tape. Whatever it takes to keep riding.

I hit the pavement hard on my right hip in a race in early october. It still hurts. The main reason why it still hurts is because I re-injured it by falling again in the mud in a cross race a month later.

What did I learn from that? I learned that when you have mud in your treads, you can tuck the front much more easily when you transition from dirt to pavement. Will that crash happen again? Maybe, but I probably won't be hitting a corner quite as hard again with mud in the tires. Will the second crash happen again? Definitely. That was a mud-corner that nearly everyone in that race biffed at.

Would I use hip-padded shorts? I would probably just put a large bandage over the wound and wear my regular shorts over it. I might consider using them if they were free.

Crashing is part of racing. I only hope that I will learn how to be fast and not crash "as much".

When I saw the subject - I assumed he was going to ask about head phones. :) I think Id rather see spam than get into that discussion again!

Something like this, makes sense, if sewn as a pad on your hips..

http://www.ribcap.ch/cms/pages/index.php?lang=4&idcatside=117

In remember seeing a guy in a 3/4 race wear a ton of pads. I pointed him out to a team mate. We laughed and avoided being anywhere near that guy for the whole race.

My first MTB race, there was a kid with every pad imaginable, elbow, chest, shin, shoulder, etc. To top it all off his mom was giving him advice and he had a hull face MX helmet.
He must have been 16 at least.

I would actually consider trying something like that, but the link and the manufacturer's site both don't mention how well the material breathes. Sweat and heat are energy leaving my body. Either way, I can see this as a popular downhill MTB product if it does its job.

And yeah, it seems like a shill. Your link goes to a store that has a link to the manufacturer's website. Why not just link to that? We could be wrong, but in case we're not, why do the product pages call them an auction? Also, they can't be 6 panel and 8 panel construction at the same time.


My first MTB race, there was a kid with every pad imaginable, elbow, chest, shin, shoulder, etc. To top it all off his mom was giving him advice and he had a hull face MX helmet.
He must have been 16 at least.
Like this? :D
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v153/UrbanKnight/Bike/BigBearBrianSteven.jpg
Now, I should let you know that was me getting ready for downhill and dual slalom races in Big Bear, and I put most of those pads to good use washing out on a slick rock face. The next day was cross country, which obviously requires far less protection.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v153/UrbanKnight/Bike/BigBearBrian.jpg

Japanese Keirin riders wear body armor. But they elbow each other constantly at 40+ mph.

Japanese Keirin riders wear body armor. But they elbow each other constantly at 40+ mph.

point?

Some of them have pointy elbows.

pointy

fixed.

Did not realize the spam thing would be such an issue; I guess I can understand why though. As an FYI, I only meant to post the link to serve as an example of a safety item; its the only thing I know of other than the usual helmet or gloves. For shlts, does anybody have any other cycling specific safety items to post, other than the normal safety gear?

The intent of my post was to simply question the norm (god forbid somebody do that) in cycling, as I understand that nobody wears any gear beyond the usual helmet/gloves, ect.

To those who provided legitimate and thoughtful responses, Thank you.

The reward for not riding with armor like that would trump the benefit of riding with it.

The reward for not riding with armor like that would trump the benefit of riding with it.
Here's your "reward" :D
http://www.dailypeloton.com/article_images/contests/dalbert1.jpg

Flesh heals. Dura Ace doesn't. HTFU.

...notice the site is aimed at tryathletes...:roflmao2:

The intent of my post was to simply question the norm (god forbid somebody do that) in cycling, as I understand that nobody wears any gear beyond the usual helmet/gloves, ect.

To those who provided legitimate and thoughtful responses, Thank you.

The norm in cycling changes. Bikes are different. Diets are different. Training is different. If there's a verifiable benefit to something those looking for an early adopters will jump on board. If it works everyone else follows. One only needs to look at the hard on people have for things aero. That said, few crash enough to justify wearing something that will be hotter and breath less. Plus looking at the pictures I find it hard to believe that that stuff won't shred like everything else. Plus plus, I'm pretty sure my team would have an issue with me showing up with black shorts. You think PCad is surly now....just wait until I leave his logo home for something that belongs in a motocross race.

Here's your "reward" :D
http://www.dailypeloton.com/article_images/contests/dalbert1.jpg

..and?:p

I think most of us have been through the same if not worse. I know I've got scars all up and down my arm, legs and chest.

...notice the site is aimed at tryathletes...:roflmao2:


At least they understand their market.

there's something called 'homologation of risk'.

give a bunch of squids full-face helmets, shoulder pads, and knee braces- and i'll guarantee there will be pile-ups in every frikin corner.


so you're a NASCAR fan, I see.

The intent of my post was to simply question the norm (god forbid somebody do that) in cycling, as I understand that nobody wears any gear beyond the usual helmet/gloves, ect.

To those who provided legitimate and thoughtful responses, Thank you.

You have some kind of point. If you look at the rider coming in at the end of any stage race, a lot of them have scrapes at exactly the same spots in their hips, knees, etc.
People have tried to make armor lycra, it's hot and uncomfortable.