Mountain Biking - GEAR: "Dress for the crash, not the ride."

GEAR: Knee and elbow pads - your suggestions.

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My boss, who has broken most everything worth breaking by departing his motorcycle at speed recommended, "Dress for the crash, not the ride." Seems like good advice. But what works and what to buy?

He has a full suit of armor, I have a helmet and a set of gloves and a bad knee. I would like a bit more protection against my learning curve.

I am looking for recommendations for knee and elbow pads suitable for XC work (putting around on backwoods roads, 4x trails, bike trails and such, not downhill, death-defying leaps, etc.).

Aerostitch (http://www.aerostich.com/catalog/US/index.html) - Don't leave home without it.

You don't ride a motorcycle like your boss does. You ride a bike. On a bike, there is no substitute for just keeping your speed under control, using good judgement, and understanding the limits of your cycling skills. Elbow and kneepads would get in the way and make you feel constricted. Keep riding and your skill level will increase and you will feel more and more sure of yourself each time. Always wear a helmet and be safe.

I have a set of 661 veggie knee pads, I never wear them unless I'm doing DH runs at the local lift assisted park. If you're gonna ride trails you're gonna get banged,bruised,and battered. Helmets have saved me from what could have been serious injury many times. Getting scraped up is just part of it.

Oughta do it.

The only time I have EVER used knee pads was when I rode BMX and Downhill. The Knee pads I had were shin guards that had knee covers on them and I would only use them on rides I knew that I was facing a 75% chance of wrecking or if I was going to attempt a jump that I had not ever went for before.

IMO just get a good helmet and good gloves because if you get into something that you need more then that, the extra stuff wouldn't make a difference most likely.



good call on the Armor! Do they make it in TI or CF to help with weight?

You don't ride a motorcycle like your boss does. You ride a bike. On a bike, there is no substitute for just keeping your speed under control, using good judgement, and understanding the limits of your cycling skills.

Whereas on a motorcycle, body armor is a fine substitute for keeping your speed under control, using good judgement, and understanding the limits of your skills. :D

I see what you are getting at, though. It helps that a mountain bike doesn't weight 500 lbs and doesn't hit 40mph with the slightest twitch of the wrist.

the only pads i wear are shin guards. one to many slipped pedals.

the only pads i wear are shin guards. one to many slipped pedals.

Got clip ins instead of shin guards. By far the best purchase ever.

Oughta do it.
(Might add a bit of weight to my ride.)

You would think so, but then came the war hammer and other pole arms - hook him, knock him down and spike him. You have plate armor. I have a nice lead-weighted spike. Let's rumble.

You don't ride a motorcycle like your boss does. You ride a bike. On a bike, there is no substitute for just keeping your speed under control, using good judgement, and understanding the limits of your cycling skills. Elbow and kneepads would get in the way and make you feel constricted. Keep riding and your skill level will increase and you will feel more and more sure of yourself each time. Always wear a helmet and be safe.

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Yep. We can't get him to transition to a nice 4x4. He likes doing 100 across the desert. I pedal about.

@@@ "Fifty one percent of smart is knowing when you're dumb."

Your points are well taken. I enjoy watching the MB vids on YouTube. Very educational. After watching 18 minutes on Amasa Back in Moab, I know it's not for me. Ditto the Procupine Rim - so this fall I will head out to the rim and work uphill. Google Earth shows a nice view spot up a few miles above where the trail turns down. Should be a nice lunch stop. I use the bike for poking around in the West.

I wonder how they process information about the route ahead in time to react. Lot of blind corners.

I certainly could not. Assume they have done the trail enough that they know it. Or are they just going balz to the wall? The wife notes that 18 yr old males will do anything. Especially in a pack, "encouraging" each other.

As an official Geezer, my role is to watch with awe and admiration with occasional mutters of, "...back in my day..." and cryptic remarks such as "skate key." (Knowing the answer will date you.)

Whereas on a motorcycle, body armor is a fine substitute for keeping your speed under control, using good judgement, and understanding the limits of your skills.

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You would hope, but in his case I do see some limits. He is not walking away from these sudden stops. He gets carried off to hospital, which I consider an adverse outcome.

He does have chopper evac insurance and has used it. We might assume that without the armor, the sudden stop would be the last stop.

I think at some point I would take up golf or mountain biking.

The armor is to keep from from getting "road rash" when running 50-150 mph on the street. I've seen guys slide several hundred feet and get up without any problems. But if you hit a tree or a car at those speeds, you can kiss your hinny goodbye.

If I were you, I wouldn't worry much about that on a MTB, unless your hitting some fast downhill type speeds or steep rocky drops. That being said, my son broke his wrist today. He fell over at 6 mph max, land wrong and snap. We were riding on a nice paved trail too. Nothing you can do to prevent that, eccept be more carefull.

I ride hard and wear a helmut and gloves. I will not wear shorts when riding threw the hills and rocks, I have alot of near misses.

what kinda riding are you doing?

if you are doing xc and you want some knee protection cause of your bad knee sixsixone makes some nice stuff, my friend with a knee injury uses their evo pads and loves them, more mobility than hard armour

if you freeride ect you want hard armour (and you prolly wouldn't be asking this question the way you did)

My Moutain Bike Saftey Kit

Helmet

Leather gloves

Jeans

Cell Phone

ever since i went down i haven't felt confident with out this baby:
http://www.downloadmunkey.net/images/peosnew-02.jpg

what kinda riding are you doing?

@@@ Rather sedate.

if you are doing xc and you want some knee protection cause of your bad knee sixsixone makes some nice stuff, my friend with a knee injury uses their evo pads and loves them, more mobility than hard armour

@@@ I have been looking at those. Started downloading data for the Due Diligence. Good to hear from a Happy Camper. That means lots more than slick ads.


if you freeride ect you want hard armour (and you prolly wouldn't be asking this question the way you did)


@@@ Quite so. I enjoy freeriding by looking at those YouTube videos. Saves on medical bills.

Another respondent had a nice photo of some hard armor, but upon closer examination, it would appear to be a bomb disposal suit. Different kind of wipeout.

How do they do that, or, more properly, how do they do that and survive? Probably a lot of wipeouts not shown. One of my favorite vids, from Whistler, I suspect, is back on, minus the sound.

The groin guard is especially helpful in this suit.

I was actually looking for the photo of those gigantic red padded suits that they wore on Jackass (and other ) but I don't know what they are called. anyway.

I would probably buy these, just because I think they make good products and you won't be out tons of monies if you decided you don't need them.
http://pricepoint.resultspage.com/search?p=Q&ts=custom&w=sette+guards

I was actually looking for the photo of those gigantic red padded suits that they wore on Jackass (and other ) but I don't know what they are called. anyway.

I would probably buy these, just because I think they make good products and you won't be out tons of monies if you decided you don't need them.
http://pricepoint.resultspage.com/search?p=Q&ts=custom&w=sette+guards

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I was reading some reviews over at mtbr where the folks had been buying at price point. And here is an URL. Need to check them out. Tnx.

Pricepoint gets some negative comments on the intrawebs some times but I have never been anything less that happy with them they get most of my money second to ebay.

I broke my elbow like a year ago riding. I do mostly XC stuff and after it healed and I started riding again I wore an elbow pad on the bad elbow. I know it seems kinda silly because the other one is totally vulnerable but I guess it was more of a mental thing. It helped though untill I became alot more confident in my ride. I don't wear it anymore, in fact I don't even think about that elbow anymore.

Armor is not going to prevent broken bones, so much as it will reduce the severity of road rash. I agree with others - unless you're doing DH, you're better off learning better bike handling even if you get a few scratches in the process. If you're doing cross country or light downhill riding you'll probably encounter the occasional sandy or gravely slope. Learn to stay upright throw sketchy terrain by shifting your weight around and practice skidding and sliding a bit to get comfortable. Failing that, learn to roll when you fall, and try not to land hip or shoulder first (collarbone fractures take a while to heal).

I'm a bicycle rider and a motorcyclist. Riding a motorcycle and a bicycle are two different animals. When I ride my motorcycle, I ride ATTGAT -All The Gear All The Time. Speeds are much higher and more hazards to encounter on a motorcycle -cheese grater asphalt, cagers, etc. Armored textile jacket/pants/leather guantlet gloves and a full face helmet saved me once in a 35mph getoff on the highway at rush hour commute traffic.

Alternatively, when I go riding (road and xc riding, no DH) I ride in my normal spandex get up, helmet and gloves. The fastest I'll ever go downhill is about 15-20mph on dirt. IMHO, If you're confident in your technical skills and know when to hike-n-bike gnarlier sections that are beyond your skills, then you shouldn't need knee/elbow pads.

Caveat-to each his own. Several of my riding buddies are better riders than I am and they ride in pads and sometimes, full face helmets. Their reasoning, in the event they do take a spill, they'd avoid injury and the cost of an ER visit. It's basically the amount of risk you're willing to take and manage via safety gear, skills and a good head on your shoulders.

It's basically the amount of risk you're willing to take and manage via safety gear, skills and a good head on your shoulders.

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If I get banged up in September, I don't work in October or eat in November, so caution makes sense. As Anon. put it, "Fifty one percent of smart is knowing when you're dumb."