When do you gear up Casual vs Full Gear?

[seage]

Just curious about times where you don't put on all your big pads and look like a cyborg. Since i'm new I usually just go all out. But i'm curious, is there certain speed thresholds that as long as you're under, you wear less? Or styles of terrain, so on? I think only when i'm going to pick up the mail (30 seconds from my house) i put on my light helmet and wristguards just in case. But other than that, I'm usually fully geared up, which is in some ways inconvenient. I've noticed even the biggest safety gurus on the site usually don't fully kit up in all of their videos. Sometimes forfeiting the full face helmet for a skateboard helmet. Or going without knee pads.

Was just curious about this. Sorry if this thread was already made, i couldnt find it. 

[LanghamP]

I rarely use any gear whatsoever, but I do usually wear highly agile shoes, as I've discovered getting your feet underneath you seems to be the biggest factor in avoiding getting hurt.

If I'm just kicking it with a smaller wheel, I'll always wear a skateboard helmet, as a fall going backwards is quite hard to recover from.

If I'm riding my MSuper at high speeds I'll wear a full-face helmet and leather gloves and jacket, or just a one piece suit. That is very rare, though, as I'll simply take my electric bicycle which consistently stays between 20-30 mph with no drama.

In my opinion, the best safety gear is simply crashing a lot off-road (grassy fields, dirt trails, etc...), because off-road riding eventually gives you an agile posture and attitude that you wouldn't otherwise get from simply riding on pavement.

I'm not a big fan of off-road riding but with how dangerously easy falling off these wheels are, I look at it as necessary training.

[kasenutty]

I wear a skateboard helmet sometimes and that's all. I don't like arguing about gear, so I don't talk about it on here much. If I'm going fast and far I wear a helmet. If I'm checking the mail I might not even have shoes on  

 

[seage]

1 hour ago, LanghamP said:

I rarely use any gear whatsoever, but I do usually wear highly agile shoes, as I've discovered getting your feet underneath you seems to be the biggest factor in avoiding getting hurt.

If I'm just kicking it with a smaller wheel, I'll always wear a skateboard helmet, as a fall going backwards is quite hard to recover from.

If I'm riding my MSuper at high speeds I'll wear a full-face helmet and leather gloves and jacket, or just a one piece suit. That is very rare, though, as I'll simply take my electric bicycle which consistently stays between 20-30 mph with no drama.

In my opinion, the best safety gear is simply crashing a lot off-road (grassy fields, dirt trails, etc...), because off-road riding eventually gives you an agile posture and attitude that you wouldn't otherwise get from simply riding on pavement.

I'm not a big fan of off-road riding but with how dangerously easy falling off these wheels are, I look at it as necessary training.

Im gonna be starting offroading soon to learn. And go down, haha. And i agree with that. Riding in a place where you'll go down often will really help you when it comes to stuff like paved roads and sidewalks. 

1 hour ago, kasenutty said:

I wear a skateboard helmet sometimes and that's all. I don't like arguing about gear, so I don't talk about it on here much. If I'm going fast and far I wear a helmet. If I'm checking the mail I might not even have shoes on  

 

Lmao. I was with you until the shoes part. THATS crazy, hahaha. But yeah, i understand not wanting to get into it. Im wondering how many people will answer in here XD. 

[kasenutty]

We all ride different and have different concerns, only you can decide what's appropriate for yourself. 

[meepmeepmayer]

Danger and gear usage is 99% a function of speed and speed only.

For a short(er) + 20-25kph ride (like the relaxed evening strolls Marty does on his mten3), I would wear wrist guards only (I feel really fragile without them, thinking in how many nasty ways my hands could easily be injured, so I always wear wrist guards). Or just add more gear if it doesn't inconvenience on the ride.

For longer rides, which means >25kph, longer riding time (more chance of anything happening), and possibly with extra danger (from cars, ice, ...), wear all the gear you think you might need.

Since I only do till-the-battery-is-empty rides, it's always all-the-gear for me (wrist guards, knee guards, full face helmet, planning to get some jacket with elbow and shoulder protection).

3 hours ago, seage said:

I think only when i'm going to pick up the mail (30 seconds from my house) i put on my light helmet and wristguards just in case.

For that you can easily get away with no gear, or wrist guards at most. You're slow and it's a short ride.

17 minutes ago, seage said:

Im gonna be starting offroading soon to learn. And go down, haha.

Offroading just means you're slow, so you don't need much gear. Unless you're also on a hill (especially going downhill) and could hit your head badly in a fall, wrist guards only is probably enough. You'll run off and (at most) hit your shins anyways.

Again, speed is the danger. You need the most gear when you're fast. 30+kph on (seemingly) smooth ground is where you need all the gear. When you're slow, even in a crash most likely nothing much is going to happen.

Other than that, follow your intuition on what seems to be a good or bad idea.

[LanghamP]

1 hour ago, meepmeepmayer said:

Unless you're also on a hill (especially going downhill) and could hit your head badly in a fall

I would say off-roading almost requires a helmet protecting the back of your head because of one situation.

That situation is when you see an obstacle and then lean back. Your wheel if it gets air then practically shoots forward and your feet end up high.

A good example is the first time you drop off a big curb or down steps. You lean back slightly and then the wheel shoots forward.

[Lutalo]

First. I will say that everytime we ride without gear the risk of severe injuries increases. Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, I will talk about my habits that involve taking the risk for serious injury. The DMV (DC Metropolitan area) is incredibly well connected by trail. When I ride with the Glydiators we often do trail rides that involve very little to no street contact. There is a Glydiator trip planned for the summer that is a 60 mile loop around DC; all trail. We have another 105 mile trail ride planned in the DMV. 

So, when do/don't I wear full gear:

1. I do wear gear anytime I do dedicated street rides in DC or the whole DMV. 

2. I don't always gear up for street if I ride around the block, to the corner store, or other short leisure trips. 

3. I don't usually gear up outside of wrist guards and pads for 100% trail rides no matter how long, because they are usually slower (less than 15 mph) and there is no vehicle traffic with which to contend.

That's pretty much it for me. I keep it simple. 👍

 

Edited March 29, 2019 by Lutalo

[null]

One could also consider it as a progression, how about item priority?

I went to a osteopath friend wearing helmet, wristguard and knee guard, and he ment the knee guard where mostly for your pants (under 25km/h) and that for city trafic he'd rather recommend spine protection in case of car accidents rather than focus on face-plant. Can anyone confirm the solidity of knees in case of face plant?

So for city I'm at: wristguard > helmet > knee guard spine armour ?

Edited March 27, 2019 by Mimolette

[Rehab1]

I enjoyed riding without full gear before my accident. Such a free feeling. I now wear full gear anytime I plan to ride for a long period of time. Like @kasenutty mentioned just shooting down to the mailbox would not necessitate donning gear... but I do wear shoes. 

I hate to admit it but if I’m painting a masterpiece I’ll kick the gear aside. 

 

Edited March 27, 2019 by Rehab1

[Lutalo]

3 hours ago, Mimolette said:

and that for city trafic he'd rather recommend spine protection in case of car accidents rather than focus on face-plant.

Spoken like a true professional who does not ride EUCs. 

[Lutalo]

17 hours ago, kasenutty said:

We all ride different and have different concerns, only you can decide what's appropriate for yourself. 

I agree. But with the full understanding, and acceptance that what one decides is appropriate now might change after an injurious incident; so, be open and ready to change your mind 👍

Edited March 28, 2019 by Lutalo

[Lutalo]

5 hours ago, seage said:

Lmao. I was with you until the shoes part. THATS crazy, hahaha. But yeah, i understand not wanting to get into it. Im wondering how many people will answer in here XD. 

I have seen videos of dudes in Asia tricking, and on all out expeditions wearing sandals and shorts; makes me wince to think about scraping my toes. 

[seage]

7 hours ago, kasenutty said:

We all ride different and have different concerns, only you can decide what's appropriate for yourself. 

I totally agree with you. I was really just curious about how different people were and for what reasons. Its quite interesting to me.  But to the no shoes part, I do have a horror story of riding a push scooter with sandals once. Only once. So the idea does scare me, haha 

 

7 hours ago, meepmeepmayer said:

Danger and gear usage is 99% a function of speed and speed only.

For a short(er) + 20-25kph ride (like the relaxed evening strolls Marty does on his mten3), I would wear wrist guards only (I feel really fragile without them, thinking in how many nasty ways my hands could easily be injured, so I always wear wrist guards). Or just add more gear if it doesn't inconvenience on the ride.

For longer rides, which means >25kph, longer riding time (more chance of anything happening), and possibly with extra danger (from cars, ice, ...), wear all the gear you think you might need.

Since I only do till-the-battery-is-empty rides, it's always all-the-gear for me (wrist guards, knee guards, full face helmet, planning to get some jacket with elbow and shoulder protection).

For that you can easily get away with no gear, or wrist guards at most. You're slow and it's a short ride.

Offroading just means you're slow, so you don't need much gear. Unless you're also on a hill (especially going downhill) and could hit your head badly in a fall, wrist guards only is probably enough. You'll run off and (at most) hit your shins anyways.

Again, speed is the danger. You need the most gear when you're fast. 30+kph on (seemingly) smooth ground is where you need all the gear. When you're slow, even in a crash most likely nothing much is going to happen.

Other than that, follow your intuition on what seems to be a good or bad idea.

Thanks for the breakdown, meep! I dont have any experience with a higher speed fall yet. Ive had step offs. Even tonight the wheel went into a wheel sized pothole and i was going about km, lol. So i stepped off with 1 foot and kinda danced around trying to keep it upright. So i dont really have much to personally go on for when and why one would need more gear. Because sometimes it feels like a huge hassle to fully kit out and then travel 3 minutes to the store. Buy a drink and come home in 1 because the winds behind me.

And to the offroad, i didnt think of it like that. I mean, im super cautious, so id probably still super dress up XD. I can just imagine myself kneeing then elbowing a rock. Anyways, thank you so much for your perspective. Im happy i asked on here because almost everyone has years on me in experience. 

6 hours ago, LanghamP said:

I would say off-roading almost requires a helmet protecting the back of your head because of one situation.

That situation is when you see an obstacle and then lean back. Your wheel if it gets air then practically shoots forward and your feet end up high.

A good example is the first time you drop off a big curb or down steps. You lean back slightly and then the wheel shoots forward.

Ive actually been afraid to go down a curb because of that. The wheel spins so fast the moment it leaves the ground, so how am i supposed to land? 

6 hours ago, Lutalo said:

First. I will say that everytime we ride without gear the risk of severe injuries increases. Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, I will talk about my habits that involve taking the risk for serious injury. The DMV (DC Metropolitan area) is incredibly well connected by trail. When I ride with the Glydiators we often do trail rides that involve very little to no street contact. There is a Glydiator trip planned for the summer that is a 60 mile loop around DC; all trail. We have another 105 mile trail ride planned in the DMV. 

So, when do/don't I wear full gear:

1. I do wear gear anytime I do dedicated street rides in DC or the whole DMV. 

2. I don't always gear up for street if I ride around the block, to the corner store, or other short leisure trips. 

3. I don't usually gear up outside of wrist guards for 100% trail rides no matter how long, because they are usually slower (less than 15 mph) and there is no vehicle traffic with which to contend.

That's pretty much it for me. I keep it simple. 👍

 

So for you, the gear is more about the cars and the speed? So if you're slow (and not around cars) you're good? If im getting that right.

 

6 hours ago, Mimolette said:

One could also consider it as a progression, how about item priority?

I went to a osteopath friend wearing helmet, wristguard and knee guard, and he ment the knee guard where mostly for your pants (under 25km/h) and that for city trafic he'd rather recommend spine protection in case of car accidents rather than focus on face-plant. Can anyone confirm the solidity of knees in case of face plant?

So for city I'm at: wristguard > helmet > knee guard spine armour ?

I mainly do knees because i get the feeling after that first step, im gonna take the rest ofthe force with my hands/wrists and knees hitting the ground. But its all speculation for me. I dont have the experience so i just gear up just in case. Would any protectiion really help in the case of being hit by a car?

 

5 hours ago, Rehab1 said:

I enjoyed riding without full gear before my accident. Such a free feeling. I now wear full gear anytime I plan to ride for a long period of time. Like @kasenutty mentioned just shooting down to the mailbox would not necessitate donning gear... but I do wear shoes. 

I hate to admit it but if I’m painting a masterpiece I’ll kick the gear aside. 

 

That makes sense. I think a big accident really changes your mind. But on top of that, you dont want to reinjure the part you damaged. Hey, nothing wrong with it though. Just means you're going on a serious outing vs a quick pop around to the shops, or to draw rainbows, haha!

 

2 hours ago, Lutalo said:

I have seen videos of dudes in Asia tricking, and on all out expeditions wearing sandals and shorts; makes me wince to think about scraping my toes. 

I've seen that too, and it just scares the hell out of me. Im like, oh my god, please dont make a mistake!!

[Rywokast]

I have never donned so much as a pair of gloves... never liked safety gear.. im not riding for doing stunts or anything like that, and ill never put on a bunch of safety gear to go to work or the grocery store, dinner, movies, friends house etc lol

[Lutalo]

On 3/28/2019 at 12:56 AM, seage said:

So for you, the gear is more about the cars and the speed? So if you're slow (and not around cars) you're good? If im getting that right.

Right; vehicle traffic and  high speed. When I gear up I do it to regain some leverage against the perceived probability of critical to fatal collision incident outcomes. Cars and speed introduce greater danger by introducing the possibility of collision incidents with a higher probability of critical to fatal outcomes.

Edited April 6, 2019 by Lutalo

[Scatcat]

I think the first crash where you seriously go down without real control tend to change your perspective on gearing up. I know it did for me. We're all adults though, so even if i tend to sound as an evangelist about protection, all are entitled to make their own decisions.

Personally I wouldn't go fifty meters on my MSX without at least the wrist guards - regardless of speed. If I plan to go any faster than jogging speed, I want my helmet, knee pads and elbow pads too. Having back protection and shoulder protection is more trying to cheat fate when there are other vehicles (potential idiots) around.

I've looked/shopped around, to find protection that doesn't bother me. Neither to put on or wear. The ICON knee pads I wear now are so comfortable I can walk around all day with them without them bothering me at all, and they take 20 seconds to put on without hurrying. So I pull on a jacket which I would anyway, put on the knee guards, put on my wrist guard and helmet and there you are. The most bothersome part nowadays is the helmet, since I have to take off my glasses to get it on. The rest I do on autopilot, like putting your shoes on.

[Dzlchef]

27 minutes ago, Scatcat said:

I've looked/shopped around, to find protection that doesn't bother me. Neither to put on or wear. The ICON knee pads I wear now are so comfortable I can walk around all day with them without them bothering me at all, and they take 20 seconds to put on without hurrying. So I pull on a jacket which I would anyway, put on the knee guards, put on my wrist guard and helmet and there you are. The most bothersome part nowadays is the helmet, since I have to take off my glasses to get it on. The rest I do on autopilot, like putting your shoes on.

Agree totally!  The key is getting the right gear, totally comfortable and easy as possible to put on or you won’t be inclined to do it every time.  I’ve had a good fall and am probably still in my very cautious stage and hope to not grow complacent and stop gearing up.  I wear the same items daily for my 20 mile urban commute.

Having said that, I will go without gear if I keep my speed to no more than a light jog and am traveling a very short distance.  I went last night 2 blocks to get dinner, no gear.  I find that if I get on my 9B1, I’m totally comfortable without pads because I know the speed limitations.  Getting on the KS16S, even knowing that I’m going slow, I feel naked without pads/helmet. 

[Lutalo]

I have had several good falls testing fate on my wheels; both major and minor. About safety, I like to say that I have a reactionary perspective causing proactive behavior. What I simply mean is that my perspective on wearing safety gear has been shaped almost entirely by the mishaps that I have had on a wheel. My matured perspective is layered and hedged against the activity:

1. Low-grade tricking in front of my house, or riding around my development community: no gear to wrist guards. 

2. Riding around my neighborhood: at least wrist guards.

3. Faster, longer-distance stretches of riding around my neighborhood in very familiar surroundings: Wrist guards, kneepads, elbow pads, and sometimes a helmet. 

4. Paved trail rides: same as number #3.

5. Dedicated street rides around DC: #3 + helmet. 

6. Speed runs: Motorcycle jacket, motorcycle pants, helmet, wristguards.

That pretty much sums up the nuts and bolts of my gear escalation scale.

Edited April 8, 2019 by Lutalo

[Darrell Wesh]

For me I wear everything but a helmet. Usually it’s a subtle looking motorcycle jacket with d30 shoulder, elbow, and back pads. And demon knee/shin guards with d30. I also usually always wear compression shorts that have hip and butt/tailbone d30 or Poron xrd impact protection like the demon x2 shorts 

https://demonsnow.com/store/MTB-BMX/MTB-BMX-Upper-Lower Body?product_id=440

A subtle looking motorcycle jacket I wear is this by KLIM

https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/klim-revener-jacket

I wear motorcycle gloves by KNOX with the scaphoid protection sliders.

https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/knox-orsa-leather-mk2-gloves

I hate wrist guards and people who wear them are always getting the unprotected bits of their fingers bloody so what’s the point? Just go for full coverage. 

 

As as far as when I wear the gear/how much it’s like this:

Going to the grocery store 5minutes away I just wear the Knox gloves. Gloves are MANDATORY and I will never ride without them. 

Other than that it’s all the gear for every other type of ride. I have the demon x2 body armor that I wear under my clothing if I don’t want to wear motorcycle jackets.

https://demonsnow.com/store/X2-D3O-Mens-Top

I have motorcycle pants like this by KLIM that I can quickly wear and look casual: 

https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/klim-k-fifty-2-jeans?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwLmDxeSt4QIVQUGGCh1rWwYkEAQYASABEgLgDvD_BwE

 

The only thing I don’t wear ever is a helmet. I wear helmets on my Dualtron scooters because I’m not in control of those like I am with the EUC. 

 

Edited April 1, 2019 by Darrell Wesh

[Dzlchef]

3 hours ago, Darrell Wesh said:

The only thing I don’t wear ever is a helmet. I wear helmets on my Dualtron scooters because I’m not in control of those like I am with the EUC. 

 

I can respect a person’s right to choose for themselves but aren’t you at all concerned about a face plant?  Failure at any speed above 18mph or so and you’ll have zero reaction time.  

Also, I agree about the full hand protection but wrist guards are still important, if not most important!  They keep you from breaking a wrist, not road rash. I’ve dislocated a wrist from a fall, not EUC, and it’s worth gearing up to avoid.  Trust me!

 

 

 

[Lutalo]

On 3/31/2019 at 9:50 PM, Darrell Wesh said:

I hate wrist guards and people who wear them are always getting the unprotected bits of their fingers bloody so what’s the point? Just go for full coverage.

I love them. I will wear them before I wear a helmet. I refer to my earlier oxymoron: "reactionary proactivity." within the context of wrist guards it's very simple; I have fallen on an EUC and broken my wrist because I landed on it I happened to wearing motorcycle gloves during this incident. I walked away with scrape-free fingers though.

Starting wearing wristguards. I Faceplanted again with them on. This time I walked away with an abraded finger and healthy wrists. 

I now swear by wristguards. 

Shortcomings: 

You are absolutely correct though when you say that your fingers are still at risk of scrapes; it's an imperfect protection; though, I consider the much lesser of two evils. A fully gloved variety would be nice, or at least gloves with sliders on the bottom instead of the top of my knuckles like all of my many pairs of motorcycle gloves. Since it is very difficult to wear many varieties over gloves; when I try it the straps don't fit, gloved guards would be a nice improvement to better protect the whole hand. 

[Darrell Wesh]

2 hours ago, Lutalo said:

I love them. I will wear them before I wear a helmet. I refer to my earlier oxymoron: "reactionary proactivity." within the context of wrist guards it's very simple; I have fallen on an EUC and broken my wrist because I landed on it I happened to wearing motorcycle gloves during this incident. I walked away with scrape-free fingers though.

Starting wearing wristguards. I Faceplanted again with them on. This time I walked away with an abraded finger and healthy wrists. 

I now swear by wristguards. 

Shortcomings: 

You are absolutely correct though when you say that your fingers are still at risk of scrapes; it's an imperfect protection; though, I consider the much lesser of two evils. A fully gloved variety would be nice, or at least gloves with sliders on the bottom instead of the top of my knuckles like all of my many pairs of motorcycle gloves. Since it is very difficult to wear many varieties over gloves; when I try it the straps don't fit, gloved guards would be a nice improvement to better protect the whole hand. 

Well motorcycle gloves have come a long way from the conventional notion of just a thick leather glove. Knox has the patented scaphoid protection system on their gloves that will resemble sliding on wrist guards and also has plastic protection from impact like a wrist guard while still offering full leather coverage. 

Other quality motorcycle gloves have palm sliders infused with Poron xrd impact protection to give you wrist guard like protection and slide without restriction. 

Wrist guards have been around for decades. You really think technology hasn’t improved enough to replicate that protection or even improve it without the mobility restriction? Have faith, it’s a matter of knowing what to buy nowadays and knowing the technology we now have.

https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/knox-orsa-leather-mk2-gloves

 

https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/klim-adventure-long-gloves?rrec=true

 

[Darrell Wesh]

On 4/1/2019 at 1:27 AM, Dzlchef said:

I can respect a person’s right to choose for themselves but aren’t you at all concerned about a face plant?  Failure at any speed above 18mph or so and you’ll have zero reaction time.  

Also, I agree about the full hand protection but wrist guards are still important, if not most important!  They keep you from breaking a wrist, not road rash. I’ve dislocated a wrist from a fall, not EUC, and it’s worth gearing up to avoid.  Trust me!

 

 

 

I haven’t been concerned about a face plant since I saw that video of the guy riding at 50kph with no gear and falling off his rockwheel and suffering NO facial or head injuries. The weight as well as the bulk of a full face helmet increases your chances of hitting the helmet, that is fact simply going off of physics. And people forget to take that into account when they view the videos of these people with scratches and marks on their helmet after falls. The chances could be if those extra inches of contact point from the helmet weren’t there your head would have hovered over the ground and not made contact. 

I have seen the opposite, with riders helmet less face planting etc, but im trusting in myself to believe with my reaction time I’d be able to bring a hand up to prevent a face plant. Or have the core strength to keep my body arched to prevent my face from impacting. As for falling on my head, that usually happens if something hits you, and for my riding that would be a car and I’d probably be dead at that point lol. 

On my Dualtron scooters, the likelihood of hitting your head to the side is greatly increased because of the fact that you’re gojng to be holding those handlebars when you go down with the ship in a fall and they’re going to throw you to the side. I’ve actually fallen into a ditch and hit my helmet while on my Dualtron. It came out with hardly any scratches but my helmet had some.

As for wrist guards see my previous post, I have gloves with sliders on the palm simulating wrist guards  well as new age impact protection infused.

Edited April 6, 2019 by Darrell Wesh

[Smoother]

On 3/27/2019 at 10:48 PM, Mimolette said:

Can anyone confirm the solidity of knees in case of face plant?

Knees almost always take a good whack, or scrape from sliding, when face planting, or both.  Just one look at my knee pads will show that. While your Dr friend's advice on spinal protection was reasonable, his advice to drop the knee pads was irresponsible at best, and possibly un-professional too.

I don't see any mention of elbow pads in your report.  Do you not value your elbows? in your typical front on face plant usually your wrist smack down first, and if you slide, your elbows make contact and scrape, soon after.  Even if you don't face plant and you roll your elbows tend to stick out and can easily whack the ground as you roll. My elbow pads have taken it on the chin for me a few times and I only use them when euc RIDING

 

Edited April 7, 2019 by Smoother