Maybe it's an age thing (54) with an increased sense of mortality and my wolverine ability to mend quickly being diminished. Maybe it's a confidence thing as I ride less and know I've got less strength and muscle memory to wrench myself out of trouble at the last minute. Whatever, I'm more inclined to thinking a bit more protective kit would make me happy.
To be clear, I'm talking mostly wheels on the ground riding. Mostly reds and easier at trail centres with the odd black line when I'm feeling brave. And the equivalent in natural stuff. I'm the kind of rider who owned knee pads and put them on "sometimes" and didn't others for reasons I'm not 100% clear on. Riding around the local woods out the door or on long all day stuff on very easy terrain I'd never dream of putting them on and can't see that would change. Never owned a full face and can't imagine that would change either. Riding uphill is part of the gig/enjoyment and very much not a winch and plummet kind of rider. But when the riding gets just a tiny bit more gnar, I'm feeling I might want a little bit of protection. At the same time making the whole thing unnecessarily hot and uncomfortable would ruin it too.
So what do you use and what brands/models? Liner shorts with a bit of hip and coxyx protection? Knees? Vests/back/shoulder/elbows protection?
I use ION K-Pact knee pads and Smith Mainline FF and a Smith Forefront trail helmet for everything I ride outside of a bike park. Both really well ventilated and work well with Smith goggles/glasses.
In the park same pads, but I have a Fox Rampage DH FF and Fox Raceframe chest and back protection. Helmet is not as airy but I'm being uplifted so doesn't matter, same for the body armour, couple of clips and it's off.
I've tried elbow pads but I find they're more a distraction than giving any reassurance, I've never considered or tried impact shorts.
I keep it simple and low bulk,
What's most likely to break? Wrists? Hips?
I'm in the same ballpark (probably worse owing to osteoporosis caused by my cancer treatment!). I hate wearing pads so I'm usually happy to ride without any protection other than helmet and gloves. I've thought about going back to using a backpack to give some spinal coverage.
Just to add to any STW editorial staff who might read.....given your age and riding style readership demographic (softcorelite and balding, with memories of being more anarchic) I think this would make a great magazine article. And I'm more than happy to be a test pilot 😉
What's most likely to break? Wrists? Hips?
I saw some research on this for motorcyclists and at a guess it would be similar for cyclists
I think the order went hands ( most likely) feet, head, arm, leg, torso. You also need to consider overall likelihood of injury and the severity of injury tho. Bust hips are nasty. spinal injuries are life changing
What's most likely to break? Wrists? Hips?
I'm imagining you are probably right. Hence why thought about impact shorts as maybe the first upgrade.
Over the years my only noteworthy injuries have been a couple of broken wrists (actually on the road), a broken coxyx and half a dozen ribs and a shoulder (which led to a frozen shoulder for 12 months) in a much bigger crash.
To be honest (magazine article hint alert!) improving and maintaining my core strength would probably be the most useful thing I could do to prevent injury. Maybe not as much from crashes but sore backs etc from riding. And flexibility which probably would help prevent crashes in the first place. See also skiing for similar I guess.
51 here. Kit wise, - lid, gloves, kneepads of varying weights and bulkiness. I also have a pack that can take a back protector that I tend to use for Lakes/Alpine riding.
Biggest "protective" item though I'd say is a good strong mindset and confidence in my own abilities and accurately knowing where my limits are. Riding with confidence generally avoids crashing in the first place. Its the bits where I start mincing because my head's not right that leave me on the deck.
Also being in shape - less weight means you don't hit the ground as hard; muscle is apparently excellent armour and good mobility means that random twists and bends don't turn into joint and soft tissue injuries.
That all said, I'm currently recovering from a broken leg after a walking pace tumble, uphill, on ice - so maybe add good decision making about when and where to ride...!
I always wear knee pads varying from lightweight for everyday riding to bigger stuff for bike parks and the alps. I will also use my back protector and elbow pad is the alps. It’s easier to wear bigger pads in the alps as there is typically less pedaling. If we are going on a peadally alpine ride then I will use lighter knee pads and carry the elbow pads until we get to the descent
Age 67. Helmet and gloves.
The sketchiest riding I do is probably "inappropriate" use of my gravel bike. I mean, I'll do Red level at a trail centre or its equivalent on other trails but then I'll likely be riding a bike more suited to it whereas when I'm out on my gravel bike I'll be riding quite a bit faster, with narrower tyres and no suspension.
I don't wear any pads when riding. The thing that made up my mind was a trip to the Alps. I took a pair of knee pads which I soon tired of and lent them to anybody else who wanted them. Most of the people felt safer with knee pads and fell off or stacked.
I normally wear some sort of glove a helmet and carry my spare kit and tools in a small back pack which I think might protect my spine to some extent, especially if its got a full Camelbak bladder in it. This maybe a false belief.
(Age 72 but no brains)
Decent knee pads. Knees are very vulnerable and likely to hit the deck. If you ride trail centres, the trail tends to be hard pack.
Other padding isn’t so useful for trail riding in my opinion.
Most broken bones are caused by leverage, pads won’t help that.
I do wear proper armour for lift assisted riding, bigger risks, higher speed. Don’t need to pedal.
54 years old. Mainly roadie. Just helmet and glasses on the road; I carry gloves for a slight change of padding/position on longer rides rather than for protection. I have slid off and gravel rashed my palms once, but it wasn't enough to change that choice.
Off road: an off road open face helmet, glasses, always gloves, usually kneepads. I do have an all-in-one type upper body armour thing with elbows, shoulders, back protectors and some front padding but I rarely/never wear it. I bought it when I lost confidence after going OTB on a quite small drop; then I got some proper one-to-one MTB training and regained confidence... along with some proper techniques! I'm pretty much 100% wheels on the ground as well though.
Biggest "protective" item though I'd say is a good strong mindset and confidence in my own abilities and accurately knowing where my limits are. Riding with confidence generally avoids crashing in the first place. Its the bits where I start mincing because my head's not right that leave me on the deck.
Very much so
Also knowing how to fall and having that ingrained in "muscle memory" - doing martial arts you learn to breakfall and I am convinced ( beware anecdote) that even tho it was many decades ago it still helps me to tuck and roll rather than splat
I wear lightweight knee pads when I’m likely to ride red/black rated trails. I dislike elbow pads a lot, so I don’t wear them. My knee pads have protected me from cuts bruises etc on my knees on number our occasions. And im 100% certain that they saved me from a broken knee when I hit the deck on a drop in Verbier a couple of years ago. I wear GForm ones, and hardly know I have them on. I also have iXS ones which are also very good. I like that they also protect from gorse bushes. But if I’m on easier trails, or even my local trails, I rarely wear them.
Having said that, I was wearing elbow pads when I dislocated my elbow at Fortwilliam. So this sounds obvious, but pads won’t protect you from everything.
I'm 62, your riding sounds similar to mine, although I do a little bit of winch and plummet when egged on by my son. On my own, I'm becoming much more of a wuss and aware of my increasing frailty and decreasing skill, suppleness and reaction times. The gravel bike gets more love these days.
Most of the time on the mtb it's open face helmet and gloves. Knee pads 50% of the time. If it's mostly XC, I won't bother but if there are many downhill bits I will. I have dodgy knees anyway and they seem to hit the ground hard if I stack.
If the riding is a bit more gnarly, I'd wear elbow pads and if I do an uplift then I wear a full face helmet.
52 here.
Very similar riding to the OP. Always worn a helmet and gloves. My backpack is a evoc with a back protector.
Decided knee pads might be a good idea after a trip to Spain the other year. Nothing happened but it might have been messy if something had.
I now ride with sam hill 7idp lightweight knee pads and I'm amazed how quickly it felt normal. I did have (years ago) the giro switchblade helmet, the one with the detachable chin guard, but thats been my only dip into the full face market. I don't really do uplift/bike park stuff so I don't think I need much more than I have
I'm 70 diagnosed with Osteoporosis in 2009 with crushed vertebrae in my spine . I came off on a wet wooden bridge in Madeira when the guide shouted " Look out " ! 🙄
Fell down a gully luckily the loop on my Camelbak caught on a branch stopping me falling too far . Took 2 people to pull me back up , I thought I'd done more damage but got away with it.
After that I bought an Evoc back pack with a spine protector incorporated. Though sometimes I just take a Camelbak when I should take the Evoc 🙄🙄🙄
Aside from these ones being made by Endura (which means they might be sized for giants or pigmies or indeed non-humans and they may or may not fall apart on the first wash) would anyone of similar riding/age consider something like these?
To me they feel like the next thing I might go for after kneepads.....but noone has mentioned them or similar so far.
Knee pads, back protector and full face if in the bike park, shuttling or if the trails I'm pedaling up for are more full on.
Knee pads and half lid for general trail riding.
Lid if just pootling around.
Im afraid that I can’t concur with the idea that a good mindset is all you need (though I know that wasn't strictly what was said). I broke my arm while biking in Fortwilliam, and I broke my shoulder skiing in Verbier. On both occasions, I fell on the flattest, least technical part of the trail/slope. And anyone who thinks that you can avoid any lapses of concentration, even in an exhausting days riding is not in the real world imo.
would anyone of similar riding/age consider something like these?
Yes, I (age 57) use a Race Face version on uplift days but they lack the coccyx protection that would be nice to have.
On an uplift day I'm armoured from top to toe because there is no downside other than maybe being a bit warmer and avoiding even a bit of abrasion can make a difference to how much I enjoy the day and avoid suffering for a few days after too.
I only wear a half shell and gloves on a local xc ride but really my choice of how much protection to wear is a compromise between comfort, convenience and my perceived risk. I'd wear it all the whole time if there weren't comfort and convenience downsides.
Biggest "protective" item though I'd say is a good strong mindset and confidence in my own abilities and accurately knowing where my limits are. Riding with confidence generally avoids crashing in the first place.
Generally is the important word there, I think my worst head injury happened on an after work gentle road ride down Sandbanks and up to Poole Quay to check out the bikes at Poole bike night. I still have no memory of the evening but apparently I approached a couple of police officers for help because I couldn't remember where I was going...
I have a bundle of lightweight knee and elbow sleeve pads on the classifieds at the moment, posted them up yesterday, loads left still 🤪
Age 54. Enduro type of rider in Aberdeenshire, lots of steep stuff, very few jumps.
I wear a trail helmet, various types of knee pad (not the silly light trail ones) and lightweight full finger gloves. I wear a full face helmet occasionally, mostly when mandated.
I think I would die of heat exhaustion if I wore the full shebang.
Elbow pads just feel wrong.
Age 64. I am very much wheels on the ground type rider. I do ride Nevis range and the unofficial trails around it fairly frequently as it's nearby. I also ride the whw and other more remote routes mostly on e bike, mostly solo. Given the length of some of the routes I carry a spare battery in an epoc rucksack with a back protector designed specifically for that. No space on my old orange charger to store a spare battery on the bike. Since I am on my own and in remote places I ride conservatively wear knee pads and elbow pads. Usually open face helmet but sometimes full face if I myself up on the trails that need gondola access at Nevis Range or other particularly steep or rocky descents very rarely though
Age 54. Enduro type of rider in Aberdeenshire, lots of steep stuff, very few jumps.
I wear a trail helmet, various types of knee pad (not the silly light trail ones) and lightweight full finger gloves. I wear a full face helmet occasionally, mostly when mandated.
I think I would die of heat exhaustion if I wore the full shebang.
Elbow pads just feel wrong.
Age 56. For racing and bike parks: full face and back protector, and sometimes goggles - though only if they offer any actual benefit, as I find it much more comfortable without them. For trail riding and local reds/blacks: a trail helmet. I have knee pads but rarely wear them - if I do it's usually because I'm somewhere on my own that's a bit nadgery. I always wear gloves, but not for protection, more because I prefer the feel.
54, but a bit younger (52/53?) in this pic. Don't often wear elbow pads, but always wear knee pads - these are IXS Flow light, have some POC VPD's and some meatier 661's for bike parks
Helmets are always the one I'll consider most depending on the ride though, have a variety from trail lids to Moto style to full face. Worst injury to date was a side of head impact (on a local trail) resulting in concussion and a broken jaw that probably wouldn't have happened if I'd been wearing this Dropframe lid
