Results 1 to 25 of 114
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03-28-2007, 12:23 PM #1
Does Anyone Wear Armor on XC/Trail Rides?
Just curious if anyone wears armor on longer trail rides that actually require climbing in heat, etc. Seems like it would be a good idea if possible since the DH's can get quite fast around here, though I wonder at what cost?
"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring."
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03-28-2007, 12:26 PM #2
hmmmm. helmet, gloves, and a motocross jersey with the little cheesy padded elbows....thats about it for now. we'll see how that changes after i really eat shit on something!
backcountry makes my wee wee tingle...
"What was once a mighty river. Now a ghost." Edward Abbey
My Adventures
"Feeling good is good enough."
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03-28-2007, 12:34 PM #3
One should always factor the danger of heat exhaustion of heat exhaustion related decision making mistakes into the equation. Seriously! The old "just drink more water" thing doesn't really work in my experience.
If it mostly involves pedaling uphill: xc helmet, and gloves. The extra protection is not worth the warmth.
DH: full face, gloves, knee pads, fox upper body armor. (If it's really hot I'll sometimes douse myself with the hose before riding. Sounds rediculous but it works.)
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03-28-2007, 12:38 PM #4
some of the larger DaKine packs allow you to strap pads to the pack
understandable when ripping at speed through the rocks
but I couldn't wear that shit while climbing, i'd sweat to deathLet me lock in the system at Warp 2
Push it on into systematic overdrive
You know what to do
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03-28-2007, 12:43 PM #5
I wear armor that is easily taken off and stored on the camelbak. Therefore I can take it on any ride. For me this would mainly be knee/shin guards, as that is all the armor I feel you need for trail rides. The real armor comes out on dh only rides.
And if I know the xc ride and it is tame, then no armor at all.A gay-rage full of toys. You can guess em.
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03-28-2007, 12:44 PM #6
Just strap the pads to your camelback / handlebar / downtube / whatever for the climbing.
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03-28-2007, 12:44 PM #7
Yeah strapping it onto the pack makes more sense if you've got a killer huge climb followed by a sustained, sharp pointy death type descent. Or trail riding around here is so often in rolling hills that packing armor makes little sense.
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03-28-2007, 12:51 PM #8
ditto for strapping the pads onto the camelback. I barely notice the extra weight when I do that. I also do climb in pads when the climb is in between downhills, and unless it's scorching, I usually don't get too hot.
“Within this furnace of fear, my passion for life burns fiercely. I have consumed all evil. I have overcome my doubt. I am the fire.”
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03-28-2007, 01:11 PM #9
I sweat like a hog, but will not ride a bike without pads now. As in the body armor thread, I have two sets. One for more DH/FR type riding and shin guards and elbow pads for all mountain use. Strapping them on to either a camelback or dakine pack works well, but most times I just wear them while climbing, unless like wsd said it is scorching hot.
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03-28-2007, 01:13 PM #10
Same - since most rides in Utah are straight up followed by straight down, I pretty much always haul leg/arm armor in my pack to the top. For eastern riding, if there are stunts and stuff I want to hit I'll sometimes wear just kneepads (w/o shins).
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03-28-2007, 02:10 PM #11
For a few seasons (1998-2000) I took my armor along with me on many rides where wrecks were conceivable -- techie trails, stunts, DH -- and used them. After a while my skills improved and I found that they were just dead weight because I wasn't wrecking often enough to make it worthwhile to wear them. Now I wear them only for lift-served or shuttle run DH.
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03-28-2007, 02:53 PM #12
Going with the flow of this thread, what are some good lighter knee/elbow pads for more aggro xc/am use? I see a lot of riders on the trail with the Kyle Strait knee guards. I've never worn knee or elbow protection for any kind of trail riding. I've also left plenty of skin on rocks, trees, ...
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03-28-2007, 03:00 PM #13
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03-28-2007, 04:37 PM #14
[knock on wood]
I hear y'all. Our trails are usually butter here, with the occasional rut or root or rock feature. But sometimes when I'm maching down a long downhill, big chainringin' and flying through a tree corridor like we often do, I wonder what would happen if I lost control and flew off the trail. Sure it's happened a handful of times over the past several years, but I've always been lucky and rolled to saftey. Meh. I guess I'm just getting old."All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring."
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03-28-2007, 05:03 PM #15
even safety freak me doesnt wear anything beyond gloves and a helmet. (occaisonally a fullface but only if its pure uphill followed by pure downhill so i can not wear the helmet on the up)
too damn hotOriginally Posted by blurred
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03-28-2007, 05:10 PM #16
My worst crash, hands-down, over the past 3 seasons was not my broken nose last year - it was a buff XC ride where I thought the same thing - no reason to bring the armor. Slid out at high speed on a sidehill gravelly buff trail and just got my entire right side (leg, hip, arm) turned into hamburger meat. Since then, I pretty much bring armor all the time. I usually don't crash, but when I do, I am just sick of getting torn up. Lugging armor is worth it to me.
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03-28-2007, 08:41 PM #17
I only use them when its cold or Im planning on doing some stupid stuff, or stuff them in the camel back for the climb followed by a long down hill.
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03-28-2007, 08:47 PM #18
I've tried to wear knee/shins pedalling, but it makes my knees hurt, I think because the knee pad restricts the natural movements of the patella.
So I don't bother with anything beyond a helmet and gloves for rolling xc rides. And I try not to crash.....
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03-28-2007, 10:32 PM #19
Same here. I have full DH armor for lift served riding, and trail riding armor that gets strapped to my pack on any big climbs. Sadly, I've managed to wreck my guts out going uphill... so maybe I should be wearing it more often, but you've got to pay attention to the temperature, etc. Scrapes and bruises are better than heat stroke.
"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, "Wow, what a Ride!"
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03-28-2007, 10:48 PM #20
Never.
..Besides the comet that killed the dinosaurs nothing has destroyed a species faster than entitled white people.-ajp
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03-29-2007, 01:14 AM #21
Never.
Although, I always carry sutures and super glue. Much lighter and cooler. Super glue is like duct tape; it works on everything (I actually got the real medical glue now but haven't used it).Life is not a dress rehearsal.
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03-29-2007, 09:19 AM #22
Same here. I biffed on just a dirt Jeep trail at high speed and ripped a nice gash in my knee. I've got a really nice scar from it; so much so, that people who see it ask me if I had knee surgery. No surgeon would leave a scar that ugly. Since then, I almost always wear knees/shins. I can only think of one or two rides where I haven't worn them. Mainly because the ride was long and flat.
"I knew in an instant that the three dollars I had spent on wine would not go to waste."
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03-29-2007, 09:25 AM #23
I'm sure some armor would be nice on the downhills around here, but the uphills are hard enough without any extra weight. I'm not really sure how much it would help anyways. Probably better to slow down just a little. I always thought that mountain biking, on the trails that we ride on, was pretty much a no fall sport.
"I don't feel tardy"
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03-29-2007, 10:51 AM #24
one set up for up and down, enduro pro, specialized deviant helment, oakley goggles, kyle strait knee pads and send it............around here the up always leads to a fun down
If you open a second beer and don't miss a beat between sips, is that two beers or just one 24 ouncer? -Tye 1on
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03-29-2007, 11:38 AM #25
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