All day XC, a mixture of long-technical-climbs-scary-fast-descents-rocky-singletrack-bermed-fireroad-jeep-trails-above-the-treeline-variety-of-surfaces-rocky-scree-mud-hardpack
doing maybe 40 miles in a day of maybe 10 hours - real hardcore backcountry xc riding!

I know that falls can hurt and leaving layers of skin on the trail is bloody painful...but would the benefits of some sort of padding worn (with all the attendendant weight and sweat-generating problems but also the confidence to not rip your knees to fuck on a messed up rocky corner) on the downhill bits be worth it?

Any opinions on this?

when i can afford it, i'm getting breathable knee/shin armour.
elbow/forearm pads will be bought for jumps/freeriding.

it'll stop the purple skin patches on my limbs!!!

I have just got back from Spain where we had to wear knee and elbow pads during the long rocky descents, the rock there is so abrasive and you do have lots of offs. during the long climbs in the heat the Knee pads were strapped to the top tube and the elbow pads were strapped across the handle bars, we hardly notice they are there so if you want to wear pads in the UK on the rocky descents and not on the climbs you could try the above solution.

If it's really hot you might have a problem, but I wear the 661 forearm and elbow and Dainese Freestyle knee and shin without getting too hot, or them restricting my cycling too much. When I wear them for a ride, I'll keep them on all the time.

Stops you getting stung and torn to shreds by the undergrowth too.

Dainese stuff is very breathable and you don't notice you are wearing it really. If you like your skin, then go for it...
I quite often wear shin/kneepads in winter, cos I got fed up destroying tights!

As top dare-devil Lance Murdock said, "Broken bones heal, and chicks dig scars".

However, broken bones take a long time to heal, time when you can't be riding. And then when your bone is healed, you have no muscles left and have to re-learn all the bike riding stuff. It's a right pain in the arse.
And chicks only dig scars when they are cool scars with a story - not pants "lost a bit of skin" scars!
Personally, I wish I had fewer scars, cos my knees can't be seen in public any more...

Caroline, don't you recognise a line from The Simpsons when you see one?

I have a suspicion that although carrying armour for the downhills is a good idea, if you ride with a group then the non-armoured riders will get fed up waiting for you to get dressed. Also the thought of putting on soaked, chilly armour in winter doesn't appeal either.

I'd suggest dividing riding styles, taking a little care when XCing and using a more 'balls out' approach when armoured for DH.

I know the line, and I use it - I am just miserable due to almost a year of not riding cos of repeatedly broken bones!!
AM, armour takes next to no time to put on, and the winter solution is just to not take it off!

I wear Dainese Elbow guards when riding and find that they cause no hassle at all. When I can afford it I'll pick up the knee / shin guards soon, and wear them on bad weather days when I'm more likely to slip - if they are alright on those rides I moight continue to wear them after winter as well.

I wear Dainese Elbow guards when riding and find that they cause no hassle at all. When I can afford it I'll pick up the knee / shin guards soon, and wear them on bad weather days when I'm more likely to slip - if they are alright on those rides I moight continue to wear them after winter as well.

? Every time I log on my first post goes in twice, SOmethig fishy going on here

Caroline is right, it only takes a minute to slip on elbow and knee pads and my experience with group rides is that they normally pause and regroup before blasting any technical down hill sections.

After smacking my elbow *again* this weekend, I'm definately going to get some like NBTs. Talking of which, what are they and where did you get them from?

:oD

Dainese. Not sure which kind of Dainese, but they cost the princely sum of forty nicker from the LBS.

I use a "large", which means it's fine even when I have to wear it over a jacket - and I always do, after all I'd rather look stupoid than have to pay out for a new gore-text jacket - but if you're not a big beefy bloke like me (in-joke for those who've met me), you might want to consider the Fox pads that Jane uses, they;re much lighter and probably designed more for XC use than th Dainese ones.

And you can wash Dainese pads very nicely at about 40 deg. if you use non-bio (thanks caroline!)

Alex, if you're not feeling desperately flush at the mo' then chain reaction (IIRC) are doing the Azonic elbow pads at about £20 a pair. They are a lot better than the old style azonic stuff, and much closer to dainese.

I don't like Dainese 'cause the mesh rips real easy if you crash into rocks. I went to the largest UK Dainese dealer in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne and spoke to their top sales man. He said that they don't really advise it for mountain biking, despite loads of racers using it. He said it's designed for motorbike use, under proper leathers (which stop the mesh ripping).

I like Fox Torque pants (vented) for hard riding, and some Hardnox or Fox '02 611 knee/shins to go under the Fox pants for DH's. Arms - Fox 2002 model "611" or Azonic 2002 elbows. For body protection, Fox Roost 2 (£80) and Fox kidney belt (£30).

Isn't the Roost 2 a MX roost guard, and thus a bit of a waste of time for MTB?

Rob, er no. The dainese bike stuff is similar to the motorcycle stuff, but it is specifically designed for more mobility, i.e. biking. They make their own leathers and sets of armour for motorcycling. I have both and they are definitly different.

That said, the reason I got the freestyle pads is that they don't use mesh, although they are designed for in-line freestyle. There's seperate stuff for wintersports too!

I think the idea might be that you wear MX style (cordura, or whatever) stuff over the top. I agree that the supporting fabric might be a bit weak, but it's great armour nonetheless.