UKC

After a helmet, in order of importance, what protection is useful for xc and hard trail rides?

In reply to ow arm:

Gloves

In reply to Rick Graham:


Agreed, then good shoes for running away from bad landings without broken toes and ankles.

In reply to ow arm:

helmet
gloves
shoes
...
...

In reply to ow arm:

Helmet, gloves, elbows, knees.

In reply to ow arm:

Nobody's mentioned eye protection? I rank that at least as important as gloves, especially in wooded areas. Certainly more important than knees/elbow pads, which I never bother with for XC

In reply to ow arm:

gloves - first thing that touches the ground when you superman over the handlebars

clear specs - crud in the eye has nearly made me crash on numerous occasions

Elbow pads - the second thing to hit the ground after your hands

shin guards - a pedal to the shin hurts a lot

knee pads - the third part of your body to hit the ground (these can be combined with the shin guards.

In reply to ow arm:

other than fit - what else should I look for in gloves?

In reply to ow arm:

summer or winter?

Winter you are looking at warm and waterproof(ish), I've gone out riding with BD ice climbing gloves in winter. Summer, it's more about protection against scratches from foliage and grazes from tumbles.

Here's a review of summer gloves - http://twentynineinches.com/2013/05/29/summer-gloving-mtb-summer-gloves-for... I'd wander in to your LBS and try a few different pairs and see what suits your hand shape.

General protection for XC biking: helmet, gloves, glasses with either reactolight lenses or click-in lenses so you can swap between shaded, yellow and clear lenses. Never bothered with pads.

In reply to ow arm:

My own personal set up for all year round fast Peak riding:

- Helmet
- Full fingered DH gloves (hard knuckle guards)
(unless really really cold, then winter climbing gloves that cover the wrist)
- Thick DH baggy shorts
- Shins pads (I ride Vaults with big pins)
- Knee pads
- Five Ten shoes
.. though have ridden in neoprene topped wellies in full-on winter conditions - and they were awesome on flats!
- Neoprene Fork Stanchion mud-guard
.. sometimes a cut-down upper body armour jacket

Don't get on with separate elbows pads

I never wear specs (25+ years all year round riding). But goggles with fullface if DHiing.

Without Specs - keep chin up, squint and blink fast....and have a Fork Stanchion neoprene mud-guard.... very rarely get stuff in eyes even at full pelt in the wet/mud. Seems much better than looking though dirty scratched lenses.

In reply to ow arm:

If your using flat pedals then shin pads (for if your foot comes off the pedal), other than that I don't bother with pads, gloves or glasses they just make you sweaty or cut your face when you face plant.
The gloves only come out when it is too cold.

In reply to ow arm:

Shin knee and elbow pads are for down hillers. XC gloves, (clear glasses if you go out in mud, and i'm guessing you have decent clip ins already so that's about it.

In reply to ChrisJD:

The little neopreme mud guards are amazing. So simple yet effective! Every body should get 1

In reply to Ben07:

They are great/effective - a few mates have made their own from car inner tubes.

In reply to Captain Fastrousers:

I've been wearing eye protection ever since I was cycling home from school in the snow and nearly crashed into a lorry, due to getting snowflakes in my eyes.

Essential protection from rain, mud, twigs, etc. Most things will heal, you can't replace your eyes.

Anyway, in order (I'm assuming you'd be wearing shoes anyway),

Glasses,
helmet,
gloves,
elbow/forearm pads (I have chipped elbows from a crash on tarmac and don't want them any worse)
Decent shorts - I wear a pair of seemingly indestructables ones over normal bib shorts
Shin and knee pads

In reply to LastBoyScout:

Interesting isn't it to see what everyone regards as necessary/desirable protection? I'm in the process of trying out flats on my MTB and have yet to whack my shins - most other parts of my legs but not my shins! Cue lots of bruises and swearing this weekend!

I know ChrisJD does lots of DH type riding so needs pads but for myself doing mainly XC trails they just seem silly. My wife and I went to Gisburn Forest on Sunday, I think it's the first trail centre I've been to for nearly two years. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it immensely and will go back but it's not what I'd do every weekend.

In reply to Bob:

True. I think my love of shin pads came from my dirt jumping days. If you landed with your feet a bit funny on the pedals it would probably come off causing the pedal to spin at a ridiculous speed into your shin (I have the scars to prove it). There just habit now.
If you keeping your wheels on the floor and know where to put your feet on the pedals it should be fine.

In reply to ow arm:

The number 1 thing for me is bar end plugs. I've seen first hand what happens in a crash without them. An unplugged set of handlebars can easily cause a life threatening injury.

The other things that I use are:
glasses
Gloves
Helmet
Elbow and Kneepads(dependent on terrain/type of riding)
Good shoes
Neoprene mud catcher on front fork
In really dusty areas would consider a mask

In reply to ow arm:

Heres a vid (not for the squemish) showing a bar end injury:

http://dirtmountainbike.com/news/cedric-gracias-mega-crash.html#!4MeGk

Lucky he had a mate that knew what to do...

In reply to balmybaldwin:
I can tell you that a bar end into the chest or thigh during a high speed crash hurts a lot even with the bar end plug in....

Not even going to look at that video link!


Currently got some awesome gravel rash scabs on forearm, shoulder and elbow from an off last week (riding in a tee shirt) - if nothing else, there are useful to stop the kids moaning about their minor scuffs...

In reply to ChrisJD:

Very off-topic

Some years ago my cousin's husband had a bad accident and was transferred down to a trauma unit in Preston. On the ward was a young motorcyclist who was worried about the possibility of losing one of his fingers. "So, why are you here?" he asks Bruce, who turns and points to where his arm should have been! He'd had it ripped off by a hay baler.

There's always someone worse off than you

In reply to Bob:


... unless you are dead of course.

In reply to Bob:


It depends what you are doing. In my experience when doing general riding you will be unlikely to bash shins. However when messing around practicing bike handling skills/tricks/jumping etc its far more likely to spin it into a shin.

In reply to ChrisJD:


It is not a lot of fun into the middle of the groin either, colours are interesting the next day.

I'm a hat, gloves, elbow and knee pads type and have no choice in the eye department.

Some of my worst crashes, at least in terms of claret leakage, have been mincing around on gravel like surfaces; perma scabs on the knees/elbows are no fun. You can get some pretty good lightweight protectors now, probably not much use at Antur/Aonach Mor and not much help when you hit a tree or big rock. They are very good in other situations. There happens to be a good review of pads in this months Singletrack.

In reply to Horse:

I ve been using the poc polymer pads which are very comfy and lightweight, and harden like a hard shell on impact...(yet to properly test them tho)