Just wanna ask for your $.02. Just how critical is a back protector for us in Mountain Biking. I can see the relevance in MX and other motorsports, but do we really need it?
Most chest protectors just have a back plate, but not necessarily a full back/spine protector. Can we get away without one?
For extreme DH, hi speed hits and big freeride stuff? Important. You need to Google the ass off the subject and come to your own conclusions. There's a lot of complex data from various studies by different bodies and manufacturers to review.
But you are right, spine protection down to the lower lumbar area is very important and very different to a basic "back plate".
Not essential but highly reccomended , going over the bars onto a rock/tree stump with out one compared to with one would make a huge difference:P That said I don't allways wear mine , depends on the trails too for me , my local is fast but low risk regarding crashes no rocks not a lot of trees and deep loamy dirt off track , if I go some where nasty I tend to wear it.
Just wanna ask for your $.02. Just how critical is a back protector for us in Mountain Biking. I can see the relevance in MX and other motorsports, but do we really need it?
Most chest protectors just have a back plate, but not necessarily a full back/spine protector. Can we get away without one?
I'll put a photo of mine up in a bit when I had a otb experience on a hard pack step down and slid for 30 meters on my back, my hips still have the scars 2 years on and they didn't take the impact- if I hadn't of Been wearing it I would of needed skin grafts etc for sure- the gauges / scrapes in the dainese plastic are around 3-4mm deep!!! And yes as soon as I did that I did give it another go and made it ;0)
Thanks for all the input so far. I've been lucky enough to just roll out of the nastier crashes, and I always wear a small pack when i'm riding. It's kinda served as an impromptu back protector. But yeah, majority of the stuff I've read points to getting a full body protector. I ride in a tropical climate though so it's gonna be hell to wear.
Thanks for all the input so far. I've been lucky enough to just roll out of the nastier crashes, and I always wear a small pack when i'm riding. It's kinda served as an impromptu back protector. But yeah, majority of the stuff I've read points to getting a full body protector. I ride in a tropical climate though so it's gonna be hell to wear.
Maybe just go for back plate and seperate arm guards ?
Funny you posted this 2 days ago. I crashed two days ago up on Whistler and my back protector saved me from some really nasty damage. It actually has a bunch of gouges in it that I didn't even know were possible. The problem was mine (leatt adventure body suit) didn't cover all of my back as I'm fairly tall and it had ridden up, so I bruised my lower back pretty bad... but that was from the rock scraping past my protector.
I wouldn't ride without it, and I'm glad I don't. Hell, I have bruises on my arms where I had pads. It was a pretty bad crash.
How important is your spine and not being paralyzed?
Just because your bike doesnt have a motor doesnt mean your less likely to get injuried. You are hitting the same speeds except in even tighter trails and steeper hills. I run a core saver and it saved me once already. I slid on my back on rocks and it worked beautifully.
I'd say only about 1/10 of the local guys here ride with one. You can mitigate risk all day long by adding more and more protection, but at some point you have to accept this sport is dangerous. Most of the guys riding at the wc level aren't even riding with a neck brace, and if they go down at those speeds in rock gardens they're coming out on a stretcher. If you're comfortable in a back protector or pressure suit style jacket go for it, but try one on first for a ride if you can. There's a reason there are tons of brand new ones for sale in the buy n sell.
I'd say only about 1/10 of the local guys here ride with one. You can mitigate risk all day long by adding more and more protection, but at some point you have to accept this sport is dangerous. Most of the guys riding at the wc level aren't even riding with a neck brace, and if they go down at those speeds in rock gardens they're coming out on a stretcher. If you're comfortable in a back protector or pressure suit style jacket go for it, but try one on first for a ride if you can. There's a reason there are tons of brand new ones for sale in the buy n sell.
I agree, it's dangerous. But you CAN mitigate the risks and that's the point. I've ridden motorbikes all my life and my first and only crash I was wearing full gear. It turned a relatively dangerous incident, into one where I got up and rode away like nothing happened, with no gear that would have been a painful trip to the hospital. Gear wouldn't have protected me from a head on crash with a car, but it did its job.
Same thing with my recent crashes in the bike park (of which I've had a lot), I walk away every time with nothing but a couple bruises and scrapes. It would be a whole lot worse if I didn't have a pressure suit on. So for me, I just accept that wearing one is part of riding, and now it's comfortable.
Theres a huge difference between dirt bikes and mountain bikes. In one you're going 2-3x the speed, jumping much much further and likely have a several hundred pound bike landing on you in a crash....they're hardly comparable.
You also can't just assume without it you'd suffer major injury. Spent the day in whistler and back/chest gear is few and far between but I guarantee there were plenty of crashes involving those areas your pressure suit would cover. Those people weren't being carted off on a stretcher. Pressure suits also only offer minimal spinal protection from impacts, a lot of the debilitating injuries won't be prevented by them. I'd rather not look and feel like robocop to prevent bruises and scratches.
Pressure suits also only offer minimal spinal protection from impacts, a lot of the debilitating injuries won't be prevented by them. I'd rather not look and feel like robocop to prevent bruises and scratches.
I don't know, as soon as I see the argument "rather not look" it's hard to see where you're coming from. I don't give a shit what I look like out there. Point and laugh all you want, the gear is part of my kit. If you want to make the case you don't want to look like robocop, or feel like robocop... fine. But the gear does help. It won't prevent ALL injuries that's obvious, but you can't tell me that slamming your elbow on a rock with elbow pads won't prevent a fracture. Not to mention, cuts and bruises can keep you off your bike. Ever had a REALLY bad bruise? Takes weeks to heal.
And on the dirtbike/motorbike thing, I've done both... put on hundreds of thousands of kilometres on them. Never have I crashed as bad as I have downhill mountain biking.
I'm going on trails and DH runs with kids half my age. I'm pushing 40 and I don't really heal and recover as well as I used to. I know I'm not THAT ancient, but I'd like to give my body every advantage it can get into being able to do this sport for as long as I possibly can, hence the protection.
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