[Closed] New meaning to the term "stormtrooper":

ride and wear what ya want!

Given that he already appears to have lost both his legs below knee, I'd say that he was being entirely sensible.

but definitely not full face territory let alone a neck-brace!

In your opinion.

Last time I checked this wasn't Nazi Germany and people are generally free to wear what they want. Who elected you as the governor of acceptable cyclewear?

I think he looks rad.

Dick.

Stormtrooper refers to full face/body amour, which this fella is obviously not wearing. You might want to do some research in to how a neck brace works and which injuries it prevents. Speed and 'gnar' are not always contributing factors to neck injuries.

Would i wear one? Probably not.

Should we be laughing at someone that wears protection whilst participating in a sport that has before left people paralised from neck injuries? No.

Nice roosting

& perhaps he is just trying it out on a local trail. who cares?

BRILLIANT.
He has his HEAD inside a WELLINGTON BOOT!!!!!!
BRILLIANT!

Maybe he is trying to protect a current injury?

Sitting with a cuppa waiting for someone to say the bloke is also overbiked too. Honestly, aren't we past these threads yet?

Have you actually ridden on Shotover JHW?

He's obverbiked, he should be on a cyclocross thingy.

Ha ha, look. A man going the same hobby as me but in slightly different protective gear to me! What a div.

Lovin that improvised gimp mask!! 8)

The man in the wellington boot actually made me laugh some snot out of my nose. Brilliant indeed.

No idea on the area but to be fair the fella in neck brace does appear to be chucking the bike in; get a berm wrong at silly speeds and you get high sided might well warrant a full face and neck brace...

I went for a ride at the weekend, in shoes, yes shoes! I mean whats the point, if i'm to be mocked for protecting something important like my head or neck, surely it must be uncool to wear shoes?

He's doing a skid. In a full face helmet and neck brace and knee pads.
What does he wear when he has a poo, a diving suit in case he falls in?

the lack of lower legs screams potato-chop.

Personally I've not seen anything at Shotover that'd make me wear a neck brace, but if it makes him feel good/ safe then well... fair enough I suppose.

i havent been to shotover since i was a wee boy.

excellent tobogganing i recall

this is the flattest most relaxed place for mountain biking ever...a pleasant bimble

Hmm, didn't look too flat yesterday.
He's probably overbiked as well eh. I've seen folks up there on full sussers and everything.

Looks like it's held up to the recent rain quite well. Anyone know which bit that is? Doesn't look like Ben's berms which are sandier. Somewhere in the '4th dimension' perhaps?

Switchbacks/berms down from the jump site Dave? Or maybe down from the swing to the 4th dimension?

Good job you have't met the chap that commutes through London on a hybrid with a full face lid 😆

Does that look like he's out for a quiet bimble to you?

What wrecker said and most importantly there's a man with a welly over his head - fantastic a bad day just got lots better - a man with a welly on his head!

Were you hiding in the bushes waiting to take these pictures of unsuspecting riders?

Either down from the jump site or the top section of Leap of Faith. It's not Jason is it?

ride and wear what ya want! 😯

There is a shared cycle/pedestrian path at the end of our street. Have regularly seen the same two blokes - who look like they've covered themselves in superglue and ridden through Chain Reaction - riding their spangly FR/DH bikes along there.

And yes the path is flat red tarmac 🙂

Are you sure it's a neck brace? It looks more like a toilet seat to me.....

I read a study which concluded that cycle helmets have been responsible for a large increase in neck injuries. Certainly anyone who has had a bad crash where the helmet broke will know about the neck pain associated with it. So perhaps you should always be wearing some form of neck protection if you are wearing a helmet?
I certainly will wear whatever protection I want and not going to care about what other school kids might think.

You might bimble, and ride round in a relaxed manner that dosent warrant a neck brace.
However that guy looks to be riding pretty quick therefore the risk of a serious injury from crashing at speed would warrant the extra protection.

did you say anything to the guy at the time or did you rush home to be a clever prick on a forum.

he nabbed it off pinkbike. didn't even take the pic.
http://torrentsarethetits.pinkbike.com/album/2011-riding/

did you say anything to the guy at the time or did you rush home to be a clever prick on a forum.

Whooah, steady on. Without the OP we would not have seen Wellingtonbootheadman. I loves Wellingtonbootheadman.

Could be well warranted judging by another pic in that collection 😀

[img] [/img]

+1 for a toilet seat. Maybe he has a loo brush down his pants.

Down with that sort of thing!

That lad looks like he is trying to push his limits in the pink bike pictures and is prepared to take risks.
Hence the neck brace makes sense.

not everyone rides round pontificating about what others are wearing/doing, they just get out there and ride.

Certainly anyone who has had a bad crash where the helmet broke will know about the neck pain associated with it.

I don't, trashed three helmets properly and a few others I thought it best to bin.

Yes they can add to a certain type of injury (rotational ones), but equaly they stop skull smashing ones.

Maybe he was on his way to a gurning competition.

[img] [/img]

MuppetWrangler - Most Excellent!

...bet the OP want expecting to be torn a new one by starting this thread 😆

I'm actually quite interested to know if the subject of the photo takes the neck brace off when he's pushing his bike up the hill?

I can understand why if you have one and are riding agressively you'd choose to wear it. You'd feel more than a bit silly if something happened but you were too worried to wear your brace because where you were wasn't 'core enough.

However, I never wore mine except on uplift days as I'd've felt even more of a fool if I'd tripped over pushing my back up the hill and damaged my neck as a result.

He's doing a skid. In a full face helmet and neck brace and knee pads.
What does he wear when he has a poo, a diving suit in case he falls in?

Love it.

It's completely preposterous to wear a neck brace on Shotover (I rode there for years and years). Plus, it's a really sensitive area for riding and showing up in full MX gear like that alienates other park users. On paper I accept that argument looks weak. But on the ground, it's a balance - wearing that kind of gear [i]does[/i] alienate walkers a bit, and so you should only use it if it's truly necessary if it's somewhere you know you're going to meet loads. Not for riding a Shotover molehill!

IMHO - feel free to disagree etc etc

It's preposterous to wear a neck brace on Shotover (I rode there for years and years). The riding doesn't justify it.

Maybe your mincing doesn't justify it

Plus, it's a really sensitive area for riding and showing up in full MX gear like that alienates other park users.

And you slagging this guy for wearing whatever wouldn't alienate other cyclists?

Throbber.

I'm happy to alienate cyclists who wear neck braces on Shotover. They're realllllly arsey about riding there and this isn't subtle, is it? There's really nice big stuff up around Kidlington not to mention Aston Hill - Shotover's good for XC bimbling but attempting to make it the next Squamish just ruins it for all the "normal" riders who just want somewhere easy to get to from Oxford.

So yeah this post started in jest but there's sort of an issue underlying it.

Same thing happening in Peaslake, people in Troy Lee helmets and goggles riding around with GoPros. Do you think that helps ally locals to our cause? Fine if the protection's necessary but it's not is it?

They're arsey about riding there and it's all done under the radar, but neckbraces will give the game away?

Here, have a: 😆

I'm sure the walkers wont have a clue he's wearing a neckbrace.

Looks a lot less stupid than me who has a neck brace but doesn't wear it.
Unless those trees I see in the background are made of jelly?
MMMmmmm, jelly.

(I got the neck brace for motorbikes, but don't see any reason I couldn't wear it apart from 'fashion' - being seen as an 'all the gear' type - which is a pretty terrible one.)

Surely the same could be said about helmets?

I doubt if the walkers can even differentiate between the guy in the photo and your average stw rider.

So if I understand it right, you feel that neck braces send out the wrong message to walkers and youre concerned about the image of cycling as neck braces alienate people.

Get over yourself.

I think "normal" people can definitely distinguish between someone in shorts and a Giro Xen and mayyybe some POC pads, and a guy in a neck brace, full face, Dainese and chrome goggles.

Lot harder to communicate, nod and give a smile when you're in the latter, all important ways of smoothing over trail encounters when you're riding cheeky stuff.

Not saying this should colour anyone's decisions as to what protection to wear, obviously. I have worn a motocross helmet, Dainese and chrome goggles on Mickleham Downs more than once...

I hate threads like this.

Maybe he brought one and is lowering the £s per wears.
Maybe he likes wearing it.
Maybe he feels safer wearing it.
Maybe he's overenthusiastic
Maybe he's really paranoid about hurting himself.
Maybe he has a bad neck.
Maybe he's recovering from a really bad accident.

I read that as "maybe he's recovering from a really bad accent"
stormtrooper. bad accent. I can see where this is going..

the bunk

brought one?

where did he bring it from?

It's just another part of the uniform, another 'I'm a super cool extreme sportsman' thing, along with pads and biiiiig camelbacks and needing 3 litres of water to ride 10 miles.

I despair.

It's just another part of the uniform, another 'I'm a super cool extreme sportsman' thing, along with pads and biiiiig camelbacks and needing 3 litres of water to ride 10 miles.

It's OK, I have a solution;
Give up mountain biking.
Some people are so fragile....

I have, more or less. Really cba with it and have ridden more miles on a cross bike this year than on a mountain bike in the last 2.

I have, more or less. Really cba with it and have ridden more miles on a cross bike this year than on a mountain bike in the last 2.

[img] [/img]

Maybe he [s]brought[/s] [b]bought[/b] one and is lowering the £s per wears.
Maybe he likes wearing it.
Maybe he feels safer wearing it.
Maybe he's overenthusiastic
Maybe he's really paranoid about hurting himself.
Maybe he has a bad neck.
Maybe he's recovering from a really bad accident.

whilst all that may indeed be true.. you must concede that it could be equally as likely that, in fact, the guy in the photo may just be a bit of a nob..

just playing devils advocate like.. I think he looks shexxxy

crikey - Member
It's just another part of the uniform, another 'I'm a super cool extreme sportsman' thing, along with pads and biiiiig camelbacks and needing 3 litres of water to ride 10 miles.

I despair.

I've got a biiiiig camelbak with a 3 litre bladder and I take it on every ride. Because I haven't got another one. I just don't fill it as much for a shorter ride. Does that qualify me as a 'super cool extreme sportsman' or simply 'can't afford two camelbaks'?

jedi - Member
ride and wear what ya want!

Plus one for what Jedi said.
Think it's a little sad that you are bothered what someone else chooses to wear - just because it does not fit your own idea of the "correct" attire/gear.

Having come back to mountainbiking recently (not ridden for 15 years or more, but commuted every day and away pretty much every weekend before that) I find some of the comments rather depressing.

Having surfed a bit and packed it in due to the attitudes associated with it, basically the relentless hounding of anyone not born in a wetsuit. I presumed mountain bikers may be different (I thought they used to be anyway?)

I may wear what some "cooler more hardcore" people think is the wrong gear ?

Why would I give a **** ?

I'm loving being back on the bike,and I'm sure the guy in the picture was having a
Pretty
Good day too.

It's a shame, that to some people, that isn't what seems to matter ??

I'm thinking he could possibly be recovering from an injury or has a bad back, maybe he he had a spectacular off doing some proper downhill and it's his first ride since.

Any number of things really, none of which are anyone else's business tbf.

he's having fun on a bike, that is all that matters. Anything else is mere distraction and serves no purpose towards the betterment of mankind other than creating divisions and perceived differences where none should exist.

just chill out, enjoy YOUR riding and don't forget to stop and sniff the flowers now and then

peace, love and haribo

Maybe, ... [i]just[/i] maybe, he's actually having a laugh and just taking the biscuit?

😉

Same thing happening in Peaslake, people in Troy Lee helmets and goggles riding around with GoPros. Do you think that helps ally locals to our cause? Fine if the protection's necessary but it's not is it?

Nothing in the area worth wearing a ff helmet for?

[img] ?w=500&h=666[/img]

that is all.

He can wear what he wants as long as it's not lycra.

BTW. How is the boot guy breathing?

long as it's not lycra.

oi don't mess with the lycra louts, we'll find you and spandex you up, monkey boy!

Hello chaps. yes that person in the photo is me.
I wear a neck brace because my friend broke his neck at Leckhampton Hill when he was 16 (4 years ago) he is currently in a wheel chair and always will be. for the rest of his life.
I have done a season in whistler (so im not a complete weapon like you haters) and obviously know the dangers that you can sustain from this sport. I havent chosen to live here. i live here because of UNI this is my local spot and the only place i can ride as im not aloud a car in my first year.
I dont feel comfortable riding without one as one of my BEST friends is in a wheel chair.
Maybe do some riding and stop criticising and grow up.
im at shotty a lot as its my local for now, so if you want to talk to me then and see the level i ride at then feel free.
Regards,
The **** wearing the neck brace.

Maybe do some riding and stop criticising and grow up

Hear hear.

Will no-one explain that boot picture?

Does it stand to reason that a bigger size welly will have a bigger calf area?
I only have a little head, reckon a 14 would do it?

This
[img] [/img]
/p>

Should not need an explanation. Just enjoy it for what it is. A man with a welly on his head.

nice post bennetttom, sorry about your mate. That ok with you, OP?

Damn, this won't sound the same now you have turned up in person, but maybe you can help, is that your front wheel drifting, it is isn't it? If that was my front wheel I would want a bloody foam pit to land in whether I was on the Red Bull Rampage or riding along a canal path.
Pap myself I would, and hurt myself badly I would.

Your excuse is just as good though.

ps my fellow riding buddy who i did my season with, comes up a lot with me when he is 'overbiked' and in his 'full moto kit' and his neck brace and full face...he feels left out as hes not in this pathetic thread!!!
stay posted as its getting colder we will DEFINITELY be wacking out the moto trousers very soon. good night keyboard warriors.

bennetttom123 - Member
Hello chaps. yes that person in the photo is me.......

lol @ bennetttom! that'll shut 'em up 😆 quality.

Nighty night stormy.

excellent! where is the OP now....

I have no idea what all the fuss is about...........

[IMG] [/IMG]

Seen in Bristol a couple of weeks ago. 😀