I ride very conservatively. If I rode my bicycle the way I ski, I would be wearing all the armour I could put on.
All polls are flawed; it's a tradition. The trick is finding the flaw (although you made it too easy).
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Do you wear elbow/knee pads?
- Thread starter firebanex
- Start date
All polls are flawed; it's a tradition. The trick is finding the flaw (although you made it too easy).
Do wrist guards count. The 2 times I tried snowboarding I wore wrist guards.
I'm glad I did. The first day I spent most of the time crashing on my ass.
after slamming down on my wrists, LOL. . @SkiNurse avatar comes to mind.
2nd day I got the hang of it ! Maybe should change my vote !
Confused. Is this vote for skiing and/or other sports ? I wear knee pads, elbow pads, and wrist guards all the time when rollerblading.
I'm glad I did. The first day I spent most of the time crashing on my ass.
after slamming down on my wrists, LOL. . @SkiNurse avatar comes to mind.
2nd day I got the hang of it ! Maybe should change my vote !
Confused. Is this vote for skiing and/or other sports ? I wear knee pads, elbow pads, and wrist guards all the time when rollerblading.
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I don't think so - MTB only I think. All the trails near me are XC trails so my vote doesn't count.
As for inline skating, I stopped back in '03, except for wrist sliders and when teaching.
It simply wasn't worth dealing with sweaty, stinky, rashy mess for a body part that wasn't even the body part getting injured. Now if they had invented a rotator cuff pad or clavicle pad...
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Let me start by saying I am a much better skier than biker, but I really like to bike. There is some great single track near my house and we traveled with our bikes to OR this summer. I originally started wearing full helmet knee and elbow pads so my kids would do the same but have taken a couple nasty falls over the last few years and was able to get back on my bike without even a scratch thangs to the safety gear.
This year I took an awkward fall at Mt Bachelor and dislocated my shoulder but pretty much did not have a scratch on me otherwise, except for one right below my knee pad. Ironically I had bought a pair of knee pads with shin guards but found them uncomfortable so sent them back, had a I kept them I would not have had the gash on my shin
Simply put pads are not a cure all as they cannot prevent some injuries (I proved that this summer), but they do prevent a lot, so will continue to wear them and ensure my kids do as well.
For those who want an easy pair to put on and off check out Leatt 3DF 5.0 Zip Knee Guards which have a back zipper making them easy to put on and take off without removing your shoes.
www.revzilla.com
This year I took an awkward fall at Mt Bachelor and dislocated my shoulder but pretty much did not have a scratch on me otherwise, except for one right below my knee pad. Ironically I had bought a pair of knee pads with shin guards but found them uncomfortable so sent them back, had a I kept them I would not have had the gash on my shin
Simply put pads are not a cure all as they cannot prevent some injuries (I proved that this summer), but they do prevent a lot, so will continue to wear them and ensure my kids do as well.
For those who want an easy pair to put on and off check out Leatt 3DF 5.0 Zip Knee Guards which have a back zipper making them easy to put on and take off without removing your shoes.
Leatt 3DF 5.0 Zip Knee Guards - RevZilla
Yes, the designers at Leatt heard your request and here it is – the zipper 3DF impact foam knee pads! Based on the award-winning 3DF 5.0 pad, Leatt ha…
www.revzilla.com
A lot of us are talking about local trails.
I would say pads don't actually prevent any true injuries. They mitigate uncomfortable abrasions, (some) bruises, and cuts/gashes, so that you spend more time active and less time in passion, and so your co workers are less likely to look at you funny.
I did have a very visible scar on my shin for a few years - it's finally healed enough that I have to look to find it. I have a raised area on my elbow where the skin was completely missing for a couple of millimeters (that was at a beginner MTB clinic, LOL). And a scar on my chin that is barely visible because it's very low and the doctor did a good job sewing it up. It was a gaping hole in my face. All of those could have been prevented by the right equipment, and all of those were on XC trails. To be honest, though, I'm just not going to wear a full face helmet on an XC trail. I will always wear full gear at a clinic now.
I wear G-form elbow & shin pads. The shin pads are on 99% of the time & I hardly notice them. The elbow pads come off for long warm climbs & they will fit in the cargo pockets on most of my bike shorts.
A lot of the reason I wear them is that I have weak skin & scratch easily. I occasionally wear knee pads but only on super techy stuff that is new to me.
A lot of the reason I wear them is that I have weak skin & scratch easily. I occasionally wear knee pads but only on super techy stuff that is new to me.
I guess it depends what you consider a true injury. In my mind cuts, gashes and scrapes are preventable with the right pads and a full face helmet can save your life depending on the fall/impact. That said there is no magic bullet safety pad that prevents all types of injuries (my shoulder is proof of that). When I was a kid we did not wear any safety gear when skiing or biking and I am sure I had several concussions growing up that never got diagnosed or treated. Ultimately what safety gear we wear and when we wear it is a personal choice. I made my kids wear all their gear this summer when we did Phil's loop in Bend. the first part was flat XC and it was definitely overkill, but then we got to KGB and going down that with all the jagged rocks ... etc. I was glad I made them wear their gear as one crash on that run without safety gear could really mess you up and no matter how good you are crashed happen
Yeah. I was questioning my own wording, but thinking of pads as "preventing injury" could lead to some bad decision making. I should have said "pads won't protect against soft tissue injuries or bone breaks." Helmets aren't pads; that's a totally different category. Although in retrospect, in the few moments before I decided to take an unfamiliar drop, I had the thought "Well, I've ridden stuff sort of like this before," without considering that I'd done it in a full face helmet. In my case, switching back and forth apparently led to undeserved confidence when I had a "normal" helmet.
A couple of years ago, I had a JRA (just riding along) crash - on a very mellow section of downhill at Keystone. It was just a cut across a ski run, with nothing interesting at all. But the trail was completely dry, and as it turned out, my brakes needed bleeding. I braked "a bit," and the next thing I knew, the bike flipped and I landed on my head. I said I was just fine, but I continued to crash my way down the hill and became incredibly irritable, especially when my friend suggested I was done for the day. I'm certain I had a minor(?) concussion; one of several I can remember (one skiing, one soccer), and I'm sure many more I'm not.
All of which to say ... um, probably that dynamic sports are inherently dangerous, or possibly that I am an injury magnet. I hope that I did not come across as criticizing your choices, especially when you're making decisions for minors. In my *personal* experience, I've never come across what I would consider to be a truly dangerous laceration, but of course they can happen.
Completely agree pads will not help you with broken bones or dislocation, but will help you with all sorts of cuts, scrapes and lacerations, some of which can be quite bad. As far as helmets go they can truly be the difference between life and death in a crash. When I was much younger I had a school mate die in a bike accident from a head injury that would have been completely prevented if she had been wearing even a basic helmet and she was just biking down the street. The point being that Skiing and Mountain biking are considered contact sports as everyone eventually does crash no matter how good they are. Having the right safety gear is important to prevent or limit the seriousness of the ensuing injuries.
I wear elbow pad and knee pads all the time up and down. They are lightweigth versions (Sweet Protection) and don't really bother me. Taking on and off and put in a pack is too much hassle in the rolling terrain where I typically ride. OK, sometimes it gets a bit warm, but thats just a problem during our very short summer ;-) My biggest concern is that the t-shirt gap with the elbow pads isn't particularly stylish...
Why? Well I'm a noob and tend to crash. In ~230h of mountainbiking I have managed 3 incidents involving broken bones. Compared to the average downhill mountain biker in the alps I somehow have 15X the injury frequency (*).And unlike them I use most of the time going up...
For liftserved I have also a full face helmet, padded shorts and protection shirt with shoulder, rib and back protection. For regular trail riding I just use a normal trail helmet and backpack with back protection. Does it help? Well in my last crash I came out almost without a bruise. A small blue spot above the hip was the only mark. So besides the broken clavicle and scapula it went really well. Somehow the lack of bruising doesn't seem that significant when I can't do a single pushup 3.5 months later.... Well I do think the shoulder protection helped protect the scapula enough that the fracture didn't go all the way through, and I escaped getting a full on "floating shoulder".
So I will keep wearing my pads until I stop crashing. A broken patella or crushed elbow are issues I don't want to experience...
(*) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23329619/
Why? Well I'm a noob and tend to crash. In ~230h of mountainbiking I have managed 3 incidents involving broken bones. Compared to the average downhill mountain biker in the alps I somehow have 15X the injury frequency (*).And unlike them I use most of the time going up...
For liftserved I have also a full face helmet, padded shorts and protection shirt with shoulder, rib and back protection. For regular trail riding I just use a normal trail helmet and backpack with back protection. Does it help? Well in my last crash I came out almost without a bruise. A small blue spot above the hip was the only mark. So besides the broken clavicle and scapula it went really well. Somehow the lack of bruising doesn't seem that significant when I can't do a single pushup 3.5 months later.... Well I do think the shoulder protection helped protect the scapula enough that the fracture didn't go all the way through, and I escaped getting a full on "floating shoulder".
So I will keep wearing my pads until I stop crashing. A broken patella or crushed elbow are issues I don't want to experience...
(*) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23329619/
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Thread Starter
TS
I know I started this thread, but today's race completely sold me on wearing my elbow pads at all time now. Had a rear wheel slide out and went bar first into the dirt and broke the lock-on of the grip clean off. Nothing much to speak of except dirt scuffs on my elbow and now 8 hours later, a slightly sore shoulder.
Also they kept me warm today, it was 38* when we started and barely 45* when it was all over 4 hours later.
Also they kept me warm today, it was 38* when we started and barely 45* when it was all over 4 hours later.
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& you will likely never nail it again
Probably a good investment.
I was riding with @Doug Briggs and made a big production of considering, then rejecting, wearing my arm and leg protection. Yup, guess who bit it and got scrapes right where she would have had protection ...
yep,
I wear mcdavid volleyball knee pads all the time. I had my mother build create a pair using knee warmers and a soft foam some 20 years ago, as pads used to be only dh and were way overkill for fast xc riding, but a little barrier is comfortable, warming and takes the sting out. I have enough knee iimpacts riding techy terrain my top tube while making balance adjustments I'd much rather have my minimal pads than nothing 100% of the time.
that said, lots of companies are now making much better lightweight knee pads, but my volleyball hex pads are still my favorites. I do size up from what volleyball players would use.
w
I wear mcdavid volleyball knee pads all the time. I had my mother build create a pair using knee warmers and a soft foam some 20 years ago, as pads used to be only dh and were way overkill for fast xc riding, but a little barrier is comfortable, warming and takes the sting out. I have enough knee iimpacts riding techy terrain my top tube while making balance adjustments I'd much rather have my minimal pads than nothing 100% of the time.
that said, lots of companies are now making much better lightweight knee pads, but my volleyball hex pads are still my favorites. I do size up from what volleyball players would use.
w
If it hurt as much to fall on/in snow as it does to fall on rocks and dirt I'd be wearing elbow and knee pads while skiing. Anybody who has tried grass skiing would know what I'm talking about. How much nastier falls are was the main thing that turned me off of grass skiing when the local hill tried to offer it long ago. Granted, the terrain wasn't exacly well manicured like a golf course. I've seen footage of grass skiing on much nicer greenery that looks way safer than the rocks and dirt where I tried it.
I wear knee and elbow pads pretty much every mtb ride. I have Dainese Airskins: thin, flexible, completely grid metal that vents heat pretty well. No reason not to wear them. Often wear armored base layer (with thin flexible shoulder and spine protection) and padded liner shorts.
Modern pads are really so good for pedaling and wearing, that only on the hottest days with super high humidity do I consider ditching them. The liner shirt is a fair bit warmer, so that does depend a bit on the ride and weather.
For Bikepark I switch to heavy duty knee/shin combo pads, same elbow pads. Full torso protection, hip pads. Full face. Considering Neck brace.
Modern pads are really so good for pedaling and wearing, that only on the hottest days with super high humidity do I consider ditching them. The liner shirt is a fair bit warmer, so that does depend a bit on the ride and weather.
For Bikepark I switch to heavy duty knee/shin combo pads, same elbow pads. Full torso protection, hip pads. Full face. Considering Neck brace.
I voted no. However, I like to think my mtb riding is progressing, and the 'next' bike will be a long travel (150/160mm) bike with flats. I ride a 120/140 all mountain to enduro ish bike now with egg beaters, more or less XC style.
Chatted with a guy at Kanuga bike park here in W NC who had a gnarly fresh wound on his shin, about 6" in length from a crash on his big travel bike w/ flats - about 30 stitches. He'd temporarily switched back to clip ins to avoid reinjury while it healed up. He was wearing knee pads but had no shin coverage that day. No thanks.
So, when I go to big travel and flats for legit downhill - I'll invest in pads for the first time in 30+ years of MTB riding. And won't wear them on the XC bike with clip ins, most likely.
Chatted with a guy at Kanuga bike park here in W NC who had a gnarly fresh wound on his shin, about 6" in length from a crash on his big travel bike w/ flats - about 30 stitches. He'd temporarily switched back to clip ins to avoid reinjury while it healed up. He was wearing knee pads but had no shin coverage that day. No thanks.
So, when I go to big travel and flats for legit downhill - I'll invest in pads for the first time in 30+ years of MTB riding. And won't wear them on the XC bike with clip ins, most likely.
2nd time I went grass skiing (Bryce Mt VA) I entered a Grasstar race (Nastar on grass !) I was going so fast I found I couldn't turn or stop. Scared the wits out of me. I was either going to crash bad or win a medal. I won a Silver medal ! Won't do that again.
