My Riding Safety Gear

[Marty Backe]

Sorry for the poor quality sound (my air conditioner was running in the background). I give a run down of my safety gear. Hopefully it will be useful to some newer riders.

Marty

 

[Jrkline "Wheel Whisperer"]

Nice video! And of course it's always good to see you in the wild with your Trump Hair a flowin'. "Make wheelin' great again!

[WARPed1701D]

Thanks for taking the time to do this. I'm about to buy gear so it is very helpful.

A couple of questions to ask.

I was looking at knee and elbow protection that extends not only covers the joints but also extends down the forearm and shin. Based on your falls have you seen a need for protection in these areas or do you feel knee and elbow protection alone is sufficient?

Could you fit a thin pair of gloves on under the wrist guards and again, do you feel the need to do that based on your previous falls and the protection afforded by the new wrist guards?

I'm looking at the Gyro Switchblade downhill helmet. Damn expensive, but I'm not risking my noggin'!

[Luiz]

Nice protection gear . Thanks for sharing Marty.

[abinder3]

These are the wrist guards that I use, because they offer more protection :

http://socalskateshop.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=5591

[AllenF]

Thanks for the hands-on review and demonstration of your protective gear Marty. I truly appreciate it.

- Allen

[Marty Backe]

8 hours ago, WARPed1701D said:

Thanks for taking the time to do this. I'm about to buy gear so it is very helpful.

A couple of questions to ask.

I was looking at knee and elbow protection that extends not only covers the joints but also extends down the forearm and shin. Based on your falls have you seen a need for protection in these areas or do you feel knee and elbow protection alone is sufficient?

Could you fit a thin pair of gloves on under the wrist guards and again, do you feel the need to do that based on your previous falls and the protection afforded by the new wrist guards?

I'm looking at the Gyro Switchblade downhill helmet. Damn expensive, but I'm not risking my noggin'!

Not that it can't happen, but I've never had issues around the forearm and shin. It's the pointy parts of the body that hit. I wouldn't bother unless you just really want them. 

I just tried my thin gloves. No. Very hard to put these on over the gloves, and uncomfortable. When I've fallen in the past without gloves it was always my palms that got hurt, and these wrist protectors cover the palms. 

[WARPed1701D]

5 minutes ago, Marty Backe said:

Not that it can't happen, but I've never had issues around the forearm and shin. It's the pointy parts of the body that hit. I wouldn't bother unless you just really want them. 

I just tried my thin gloves. No. Very hard to put these on over the gloves, and uncomfortable. When I've fallen in the past without gloves it was always my palms that got hurt, and these wrist protectors cover the palms. 

  Thanks! 

[Dingfelder]

I can vouch for the value of something to protect the shins (and ankles) when first learning to ride a EUC.  Mine were sore and bruised for weeks.

[abinder3]

1 hour ago, Marty Backe said:

Not that it can't happen, but I've never had issues around the forearm and shin. It's the pointy parts of the body that hit. I wouldn't bother unless you just really want them. 

I just tried my thin gloves. No. Very hard to put these on over the gloves, and uncomfortable. When I've fallen in the past without gloves it was always my palms that got hurt, and these wrist protectors cover the palms. 

Actually, yours don't seem to offer full protection of the palm of your hands.  You can still see the upper portion of the palm and the bottom portion of the fingers exposed. 

That's why I use the skateboard style of wrist/hand protection that skate boarders use. 

 

Allen

[Marty Backe]

30 minutes ago, abinder3 said:

Actually, yours don't seem to offer full protection of the palm of your hands.  You can still see the upper portion of the palm and the bottom portion of the fingers exposed. 

That's why I use the skateboard style of wrist/hand protection that skate boarders use. 

 

Allen

Nothing is perfect in all categories. These offer the best protection for what's important to me. YMMV.

[Shemp]

I have the same wrist guards as Marty - Demon Flexmeter D30 Double Sided.  I've owned many sets of wristguards, and these are by far the best. They are easy to put on / take off, and are highly protective (better than the ones @abinder3 says are more protective). My one gripe with them (other than the price) is that them is that the velcro that holds the skid plate on is stickier than the glue that holds the skid plate to the velcro, so it comes off and needs to be re-glued.

I used to use "extreme" skate pad for my elbows and knees (I used to do a lot of high speed, downhill skating). They were just too cumbersome for EUC use, and I've switched to "tactical" style pads - Arc'teryx Knee Caps for my knees and Hatch XTAC for my elbows. They go on and off much more easily, don't restrict movement, and provide adequate protection in a fall.

I use a POC Receptor Backcountry MIPS helmet. Philosophically, its similar to the one Marty uses. It's certified for both bike and skate use (as well as skiiing, snowboarding, and watersports!), which is important for EUC riding because it can take both multiple low speed impacts (like a skate helmet) and big, high speed hits, like a bike helmet. I've been looking for a full face helmet, but the only one I've found that seemed suitable (multi-hit, low and high speed hits) was a POC Coron, but even the XXL didn't fit my giant noggin.

[Code In Space]

Howdy,  You mentioned that the one downside to your knee pads was that you had to take off your shoes to put them on.  You could try putting them up against your knee and Velcroing them in place.  I.e. don't put your leg through the elastic tube.  Since it is probably the Velcro that holds things in place when you hit the ground, being inside or outside the elastic tube should make little difference.

[abinder3]

2 hours ago, Shemp said:

and are highly protective (better than the ones @abinder3 says are more protective). 

You seriously think so ?????

Wow !!!  Little do you know.  My hands are without a doubt more protected. 

[Marty Backe]

7 minutes ago, abinder3 said:

You seriously think so ?????

Wow !!!  Little do you know.  My hands are without a doubt more protected. 

I think your hands are better protected, true. But I don't think they provide as good protection for the wrist and associated arm. The typical wrist guard protects the wrist but can transfer damaging energy up the arm and break bones there. That's what the Demon Flexmeter guards are supposed to correct. The downside is that the fingers and palm area is not protected as well.

I opt for better bone prevention vs road rash protection.

[radial]

I'm wearing the triple 8s that Allen linked to, and they do provide more protection for the hands.  On the other hand (heh), I was wearing them when I went down hard recently and ended up with a fractured radius up toward the elbow.  That's exactly the kind of injury that Marty is saying his guards are supposed to protect against.  I can't say whether Marty's guards really work as advertised, but the triple 8s definitely didn't prevent the injury, so draw your own conclusions. 

[Shemp]

1 hour ago, abinder3 said:

You seriously think so ?????

Wow !!!  Little do you know.  My hands are without a doubt more protected. 

Yes, I do think so. I have owned those. Those have more coverage, but covering up your skin and protection are not the same thing. The Demon wrist guards are engineered to decrease the likelihood of hyperextension by controlling the flex rate, angle, and degree on impact. They also prevent transfer up the arm to decrease the likelihood of fractures, as Marty points out. On top of that, they have a non-Newtonian fluid shock dissipation layer. The Triple8 guards are fine. Nothing wrong with them, and if your priority is avoiding road rash on your fingertips, rather than preventing hyperextension and/or fracture, they are a better choice than the Demon ones; of course, if that's the case, a pair of two dollar work gloves are better too.

[Marty Backe]

2 hours ago, radial said:

I'm wearing the triple 8s that Allen linked to, and they do provide more protection for the hands.  On the other hand (heh), I was wearing them when I went down hard recently and ended up with a fractured radius up toward the elbow.  That's exactly the kind of injury that Marty is saying his guards are supposed to protect against.  I can't say whether Marty's guards really work as advertised, but the triple 8s definitely didn't prevent the injury, so draw your own conclusions. 

Sorry to hear about your fracture. That's what I'm hoping to avoid, but there will always be the risk. All we can do is try and minimize it.