There's a few threads now on this ...
Here's two for additional reading ..
after saying that I never fancied going to a bike park, after a first go on managed trails with berms and drops etc etc I have changed my mind :p cos im proper old and already mostly broken I have bought myself a full face helmet and I want to get some knee pads that I can use for any riding...
www.emtbforums.com
Hi everyone, Had a bad fall in the summer which resulted in a broken shoulder blade.. Now thinking of purchasing some body armour but debating between the Fox Titan Armour Vs Poc Spine VPD. Just after some views as there is a big price difference but after the fall which occured on a red route...
www.emtbforums.com
This one seems quite filled out so I'll put my latest
crap useful information in here ..
...................
Since starting mountain biking, I've been a bit of a natural ... at falling off ..
The latest bad one, 6.5 weeks ago ... yes, I'm counting .. it still hurts .. left me (when finally checked out properly..) with two fractured fingers, two fractured ribs, dislocated shoulder and a torn rotator cuff (you don't want that).
I've spent that time trying to "up armour" in the effort to A: avoid the same B: continue to ride whilst injured without injuring myself further.
My findings ..
Body armour is a compromise. It probably shouldn't be, but with what you can buy - it is ! I'm only referring to upper body armour here.
You basically have "focused" armour. This comes in various formats (or form factors is we're keeping
@steve_sordy entertained).
Back protectors.
Back protectors with shoulders.
Back protectors with shoulders and or chest and or elbow protection.
These protect the main impact areas, but not necessarily many of the vital organs or a large part of your upper body. They come in various flavors or EVA type foams, some vented with holes, some not. Some are memory foam, so just slow to react to changes. Some "reactive" so they harden when impacted. Some hard plastic shells over foam and some a mix of all the above.
You then also have "encompassing" armour (I'm making these terms up by the way...) These types try to protect as much of your upper body as possible.
There is only really one of these, the Troy Lee Designs 7855. It's made of dual density foam panels and protects nearly all of your upper body.
It's pulls on like a sweatshirt, it's light, it breaths well. If you want general protection from falling off, it's pretty much the go too.
Where it falls short is :
Lower back protection is lacking.
It does everything well, but nothing excellently ! If you want more extensive protection for your shoulders, back, chest - it doesn't give this.
In an ideal world, there would be a 7855 plus with either well vented extra hard shell back/shoulder/chest panels or D30 CE2 back and beefed up shoulders and chest.
As I said earlier - it's a compromise though - if you have these, it will be heavier, more cumbersome, hotter... So you're less likely to just throw it on for every rider like you can with a 7855.
(to be clear, Kenny make a dodgy looking copy of a 7855 - but Kenny, like Alpinestars, are absolutely crap at providing information on their website. I think "shot" also sell a badged copy of the Kenny" .. )
If you want more protection - you have to go to a "focused" armour type product. (But you lose general protection in the process).
These come in many shapes and sizes and will suit different people for different things.
@Doomanic rides in a Fox Titan (old version). This is actually a pretty sound choice. It gives excellent chest/back/shoulder arm protection. There is a new version, but unfortunately they've shortened the back and removed the kidney pads from the kidney belt. No idea why, you're already restricting air movement with the belt, you might as well armour the damned thing !
This leads us to the cheapest armour option, if you're not sure ... The Fox titan copies from amazon and e-bay. Normally about £35. Not as nicely finished as the Fox one, the adjustments aren't as tidy and the sizing varies. A Large on me is big in the body, but the arms are too short so you can't put your thumbs through the thumb holes - it still works fine like that. The foam isn't is thick or dense as the proper fox one either. But, for the the price of a single known brand armoured sock - you can't go far wrong. You wouldn't really want to wear it all the time though, it's a bit bulky, though you forget about it after 10 minutes or so once you're on the move.
Alpinestars make the lovely looking "bionic Tech" range .. this looks fantastic, but I found the whole range to be obscenely hot due to the foam sections having hardly any ventilation. So whilst the armour looks vented - the foam behind it isn't ! I think this was my biggest disappointment of all the armours I've tried.
The leatt airfit range is nice. It fits well. Compared to a 7855 it's more "focused". I found the armour sections to be far less vented and considerably warmer. The "Hybrid" was a huge disappointment. It just felt overly bulky for the limited protection it gave, especially in the chest area. The Airfit light is really the one to goto as a day to day ride. The standard airfit I felt was a bit bulkier/warmer in the armour sections than some of the other options out there on the market and I'm not sure I'd want to wear it or every ride.
Anyway, before I send myself to sleep ...
What's new !!! and cool ... Well, D3o have some new stuff ! D3o I normally find quite heavy/bulky/HOT/not breathable.
They have two new back protectors .. The BP4 L1 and L2 offering CE1 and CE2 (and other things, but I'm trying not to bore us all to death)
Interestingly, they've made them the same size !! normally the CE2 Do version is wider ... but shorter due to trying to get the weight/sweat factor down. So these would be interchangeable, making it far easier for manufacturers to offer the same items with different armour levels.
The L2 version gives double the force resistance for only a 30% thickness/weight increase over the L1.
Compared to previous D3o it's hugely breathable and considerably lighter !
"Racer Gloves"/ Racer/ are using this with the Motion 2 Top. This looks nicely thought out and also uses the latest D3o shoulder and elbow pads.
Find here all the information about our product MOTION TOP 2 in the category Gloves And Bike Protections - lycra vest - d3o®.
www.racergloves.com
I think I have one of these on order to try out .. So a possible review to follow..
