I am beginning to do more dhing and was thinking about whether I should wear some body armour. I already wear knee/shin pads and a full-face, but was wondering whether I should be bothering with torso or neck protection.

I would think that for most of the stuff I do locally I get get away without it, but for trips to Cwm Carn etc, plus I'm going to Whistler in July, I was thinking it might be a good idea.

Is there any out there that's quite unobtrusive?

I'm going to shamelessly piggy back this thread, as I'm trying to make a similar choice. Always considered my self an XC rider (riding an orange 5). Local track is also Cwmcarn and with all the dry trails last week I decided to give the DH run a few goes. Don't currently have any padding/armour, or a full facer. It seems more ridable than I was expecting it to, but should I really by wearing mire protection on stuff like this. Also heading to the lakes in a few weeks, but will be favouring lateral rocky descents over trail centres.

You can piggyback as long as you don't move around too much and make the thread lose balance.

Dainese Shuttle Pro II suit.

Same as 5:10s really, there are alternatives, but just save time and money and buy the best straight away.

I worry about my back most of the riding here in Cyprus is over step rock stuff so got this for my back chest and shoulders and these for my arms as it always seem to be forearms that get bashed.

I'm 6'2" and 18 stone and needed the XXL core saver fits perfect and is good in the heat out here.

Funnily enough landy I was looking at that 661 core saver on CR earlier and I already have those forearm/elbow pads, but I rarely use them in this country.

Do you look like an American football player with it on?

What shape are you? Like all clothing, different brands and models fit different people.

Basically, if it fits – dainese is where it's at. Favours the shorter rider mind.

If you're lanky, 661 pro stuff is good (I have this).

If you're an all round big bugger, the non pro 661 stuff is bigger & baggier fit.

(I've owned all the above).

Is it worth it? Depends if you'd get the use out of it, good armour (and full face) is expensive. I wrote off ~£400 of protective gear in a big crash at fort bill (well, technically the doctors wrote off the dainese when it was cut off my battered body). Was it worth it? Hell yes, they were amazed how well the armour and lid protected me. (I was still proper buggered mind, but it could've been a lot worse!)

After a full face and leg armour, I'd be looking at goggles tho. Help protect your face & eyes a LOT, and cheap. You break a leg, it'll heal. Damage an eye….

Thanks IA: I already have goggles.

I am fairly slim, but have relatively big shoulders. I might give that 661 gear a go.

I used to wear a Dianese body armour, until last summer. I was so hot in it that I just wore the spine protector, what a difference in my riding. I felt looser on the bike and able to control it better.

B

i've seen some good deals on 661 suits somewhere recently. maybe in the evans sale.

Funny that – I just wear the back protector out of my Dainese armour, too.
R

If it helps, I'm 6'4" and 80kg, I have the slightly older yellow decal version of this:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=25078

in large. Fits me mine.

It's cooler than my dainese was and more lightweight, slimmer pads too. But the dainese back board seems more sturdy. Problem with new dainese if you have long arms is the bit that stretches now is across the shoulders, not the bicep area. So long arms pull the shoulder pads down and it doesn't fit right.

It's slim enough I can wear it under my XC top, e.g. me wearing it at the mega 2 years back:

http://www.photorider.it/AlpeDH/cartelle%20pettorali%20vergini/1576/slides/MEGA7348.html

I used to wear a Dianese body armour, until last summer. I was so hot in it that I just wore the spine protector, what a difference in my riding. I felt looser on the bike and able to control it better.

That's why I don't really want to go down the route of a full-on pressure suit.

POC.

Seriously good kit.

Oh, and that's the dainese viking bibs I have, in XL.

I love them longtime.

Best leg armour bar none. No strap behind the knee to irritate when pedalling, and no matter how far and fast you plow down the hill on your face, they'll never move or shift round. Also the thigh padding on them stops you getting dead legs when you have the classic "lie down" style crashes cornering at speed.

It's also seriously expensive: Is it worth the extra dough?

Edit: I am referring to the POC stuff

Have got the poc leg armour and its awesome. Just wish I could afford the upper body stuff. Till then will stick with my 661 stuff. You get warm. Mega last year was toasty however considering some of the crashes me and my mates had. Doubt we would have been able to race if not wearing it

POC knees, POC gloves and a full face.

don't bother with any more armour than that, got a dainese jacket in the shed but can't ever be bothered to wear it. too hot, too restrictive, don't enjoy riding when i wear it.

Oh, another point that may or may not matter to the OP. Some races you might want to enter require you wear spine protection (the SDAs in my case).

The POC back protectors are tested to Level 2 which may justify the additional cost. Most if not all of the 661 stuff is Level 1 back protection.

Plenty of people ride DH with very little armour. Personally, I wouldn't take on anything serious without mine (leg armour and 661 pressure suit (had Dainese perviously)) and certainly wouldn't race without it.

It helps me go faster due to an unrealistic feeling of invincibility, you can hurt yourself pretty badly even wearing body armour, I've seen it, but a crash at the same speed without armour will almost certainly be worse. On the plus side you can walk away from relatively minor crashes that without armour would have spoilt your day or possibly week.

A full face helmet (that is a good fit) is pretty much essential for racing, I don't know anywhere that will let you compete without one.

Some people are starting to wear neck braces too, these are subject to a lot of controversy.

For the money the "brand X" stuff is pretty durable, and not at all uncomfortable. Good if you just want to see if you will actually use it, and not massively expensive. Fit is subjective with any brand however. This year it'll be a core saver and 661 leg armour only for me.

If any one is interested I have a Dainese Gladiator jacket that I no longer use that I would sell nice and cheap.

mail me on matthew@screamingjaffa.co.uk if you want any further info.

I heard that there is no official standards that neck braces are tested too, not sure if this is true? what has been the controversy surrounding them? I dont know much about them.

I think that is the main issue. There is no consensus on how to test neck braces and its difficult to take real info from peoples crash reports. Also they cost a bloody fortune. Although I did see the evo rc for 80 quid which is tempting

I have the Brand X suit. It's quite comfy, not too hot and not at all restrictive really.

I hated the brand X with a passion.

mikey74 – Member
I already wear knee/shin pads and a full-face, but was wondering whether I should be bothering with torso or neck protection

I'm sorry but this is quite a serious question and not one other people should be able to answer for you.

Yes ask for help on what fits well/is hot/uncomfortable etc but whether to wear full torso/back armour and a neck brace is something that you will have to come to your own conclusions about, based on your own perceptions (and research on the tinternet) of what injuries can be sustained in a crash and if the armour that you are (or aren't) wearing will be sufficient to prevent these injuries.

😀

My thoughts/experiences;

I bought one of the dianese safety jackets about 8 years ago, wore it for a few years but then stopped wearing it as I was fed up of the heat build up and restricted feeling, tried wearing it again at the mega a few years ago and decided I hated it, enjoyed riding more without it.
Rode with just knee pads for a while then ended up buying one of the dianese shirts with just arm and shoulder protection, nice and cool, good arm/shoulder protection that doesn't move about but obviously no chest/spine protection.

Crashed head on into a tree in June last year, fractured 2 vertebrae in my upper thoracic region, burst fracture of one vertebrae (crushed by 30%) and completely fractured the other all the way thru, resulting in surgery and an instrumented spinal fusion, not the best year i've had 😆
I was very very lucky in that I didn't sustain any spinal cord damage, scares the sh!te of me that does.
Of course no upper body armour or spine board would of prevented this, a neck brace 'may' have helped but according to the manufacturers I have since contacted they are only designed to prevent injuries to the cervical spine (neck) area. If I'd of sustained the damage that I did to the thoracic spine, in my neck instead, then there'd be a very good chance of being a quadriplegic.

I now wear a 661 core saver (2010) and leatt neck brace and don't bother with any arm/shoulder protection. I dont get too hot in this or feel too restricted (the leatt takes a little setting up and getting used too tho), but not had chance to run it in the summer yet, its not as bulky as the old Dianese safety jacket I had either.
I will say that the spine board on the 661 looks flimsy in comparison to the old dianese one tho.

As said above the use of neck braces for DH is somewhat of a contentious issue and creates a hell of a lot of discussion on other forums. I did a couple of weeks worth of reading/research on the internet about neck braces/spinal injuries then used my own experience/judgement before deciding to purchase one, this is my own desicion and I don't need to justify my reasons for wearing one to other riders.

I ride with 'Rotary' above, and he's done a fair bit of reading up lately on torso/spine armour. As he says the POC vest looks to be the best one (they get some very good user reviews), they are supposed to be very well fitted and come with decent spine protection, the only reason I haven't got one is that they don't work with the leatt too well, and the fact no where had them in stock for the last few months.

So, first make your own mind up what armour you deem necessary for your riding.
But, remember even if you wear every item of body armour possible you can still break bones, but it will cut down a lot on the 'superficial' damage… Its a fine balance of what you perceive the risks to be against actually enjoying riding your bike still!

Sorry for the lengthy post but just wanted to get my views across.

😀

Thanks for that Jackal, it was very interesting. I think I will go for the Core Saver as it looks like the best trade-off between comfort and protection.

I've had a Dainese safety jacket for some years now, after getting a back injury in Chatel. Not something I'd want to wear for a big climb, but as soon as I'm pointing DH, I can completely forget I'm wearing it. I've had a few big stacks in it, and I suspect it's saved me a lot of A&E time. Elbow cups are very battered, but so are the shoulders and more importantly the bottom end of the spine board.

I think its like helmets – you need to try a few, then get the one that fits you best.

Basically – if I'm doing any riding that doesn't involve pedaling uphill, I'll wear it.

Used to use 661 Pressure Suit and Dainese Impact Jackets – just found the full suit thing far too hot and restrictive – I use a Forcefield back protector, moulds to the shape of your back and offers WAY MORE protection than any other spine protectors!
Forcefield Website
[img]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3520/3937080801_ccaf271c70.jpg[/img]