Question for trail riders, dirt bike riders.

[Bill Douglas]

A question for you guys who do some riding motorbikes around trails...

I'm not too hard out, I just want to avoid injury, such as a broken collar bone, as much as possible. I ride my XR400R on a few trails, not fast, but I'm bound to come off in a big way sooner or later.

Do you guys wear some sort of body armour? I don't want to go full motocross. I tend to be jeans and ankle boots (Chelsea boots), and something light over my torso. I was thinking of a chest protector with shoulder pads to wear under a sweatshirt. Nothing too restrictive. A fair weather rider, you could call me.

I'm not concerned about gravel rash.

[A930Rocket]

I would wear everything you can. I was when I was riding a narrow trail in the woods. Going over some whoop de doos, the bike drifted to the right and I hit a tree. I wrenched my back and neck, but I don’t know how much worse it would’ve been without all the equipment.

[steve185]

I wear chest and back protector, MX pants, I think Ill get some knee guards as well. At 56 I can't afford a busted knee.
IMO the XR 400 is one of the best dirt bikes ever made.

[Tim Hancock]

I have ridden dirt bikes since I was 5.... Still ride a bit at 55. I raced competitively in the late 80's early 90's. Still do an occasional 50+ class MX race.

My take on gear is that chest protectors only protect one from roost containing hard chunks of clay and rocks coming off the back tire of the guy in front of you. When I raced I usually wore some sort of chest protectors (full coverage to minimal under shirt types). I still broke one of my collar bones twice and the other one once. The thin plastic protectors do not prevent broken bones or hyperextended joints. They only help avoid some minor pain.

All my collar bone breaks were most likely due to hitting the ground with head and lower edge of helmet makes contact with middle of collar bone as head deflects to side. Collar snaps then like a twig. I know of no gear that will prevent this.

If not worried about roost from other riders, the minimum gear to ride hard in is the following for me.

Full face helmet with goggles.
Gloves
MX boots

I typically also wear MX pants with internal plastic knee pads and some thin foam internal hips pads, but this will not protect me from serious injuries. It only helps to prevent superficial injuries or minor pain from a minor get-off.

If out with other riders then I still wear a chest protector because a roosted rock to the chest hurts like hell.

I never used or liked them but if riding a lot of single track tight woods trails a set of bark buster hand guards installed over the brake and clutch levers will prevent a broken or painfully smashed finger when accidentally catching a bar on a tree.

[javadog]

All the gear. Helmet, goggles, long sleeved jersey, chest protector, MX pants, MX boots. Never had a serious injury.

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

A question for you guys who do some riding motorbikes around trails...

I'm not too hard out, I just want to avoid injury, such as a broken collar bone, as much as possible. I ride my XR400R on a few trails, not fast, but I'm bound to come off in a big way sooner or later.

Do you guys wear some sort of body armour? I don't want to go full motocross. I tend to be jeans and ankle boots (Chelsea boots), and something light over my torso. I was thinking of a chest protector with shoulder pads to wear under a sweatshirt. Nothing too restrictive. A fair weather rider, you could call me.

I'm not concerned about gravel rash.

Even if you're just out cow trailing for the day you can get some nasty whacks if not protected. IDK the condition of your trails but even if they are gravel fire roads your shins, knees and elbows are the most likely to take hard hits. I'm not aware of any armor that will prevent a collar bone injury.

For me the minimum is full face cover, gloves ,elbow and knee pads,and boots that cover my shins. I didn't wear shoulder and chest armor even when I was racing Enduros.

[steve185]

Don't skip the chest protector, it also protects the back too , protects against more than roost.

[Jeff Higgins]

I'm with Tim on this. Boots, helmet, gloves are the minimum. Beyond that, I just wear some form of "adventure touring" gear, jacket and pants. These have shin guards, knee pads, hip pads, forearm guards, elbow pads, and shoulder pads along with some for of back protector. Essentially the same stuff I wear on the road, just in synthetic rather than leather gear.

Like Tim says, this stuff only protects us from the "minor annoyances". The bumps and bruises from the minor get-offs, unnoticed tree branches, etc. Go big, at any sort of speed, and there is nothing you can wear that will help (except your helmet). This realization, now that I'm in my 60's, has done more to temper my riding habits than any other factor.

[LWJ]

So I came to dirt biking from mountain biking. When I mountain bike, it seems that I ride faster and more aggressively than my skill set. I had a VERY nasty crash where I broke/bruised a whole bunch of stuff on my side - best guess is 4-5 ribs and a bruised something inside. This was far worse than the 4+ car accidents I have been in. There was a lot of energy that went into me and caused pain. I didn't pee blood or run a fever so naturally I didn't see the doc.

BUT, that gave me a heads up about crashing.

I wear a full face helmet, goggles, gloves, MX boots, knee pads, and a big honking leatt chest/back protector.

Nothing for my neck or elbows just yet.

Most of my dismounts are super slow speed. I rode twice in the last 7 days and the only one I had was just stepping off on a sharp switchback.

But I am keenly aware of the destructive power that I am trying to harness and don't want to break myself.

I think a big vulnerability in trail riding is tree branches smacking you in the eye. I run into them many times every time. I should probably change up into safety glasses for better impact protection.

Great questions. XR400's are a classic and I would love to own one. Maybe we should have a Dirt Bike Porn thread...

[rattlsnak]

I have learned that the older I get, the more gear I want/need to wear.. I ride with helmet, gloves, chest/back/rib protector, pants, knee guards, boots, elbow pads, and hip pads. Thinking of adding the neck brace soon. It’s just too risky without the gear.. I took a really bad crash last fall.. first time I EVER crashed in 30 years of riding, ( many fall overs, etc,. But never a hard “crash”.. ). I was extremely lucky I didn’t break anything but got severely bruised on my upper back leg. I can’t imagine how bad it would have been if I didn’t have all those pads on….

[gregpark]

The guys who have had a good crash are the guys who wear ALL the gear

[gr8fl4porsche]

Add me to the 'All' crowd.

I wear everything - every time. Never regretted it - even if its hot.

Motocross boots, motocross pants with knee and thigh pads, long sleeve jersey, gloves, chest, shoulder and upper arm protection, full face and googles.

[steve185]

[QUOTEThe guys who have had a good crash are the guys who wear ALL the gear][/QUOTE]
Yup, if I am out for the day I will using have at least one wipe out.

[gregpark]

Wearing all the crap can get pretty warm on a summer day. I have a mesh jersey, padded mesh pants and keep a cooling vest in my bag. Makes it more enjoyable for sure. On hot days I wear mesh riding my street bike too

[Bill Douglas]

Thanks very much Guys.

I think I need to upgrade my protection. I wouldn't be crashing into other bikes MX or Enduro style, but rather 10mph or 20mph "got the corner wrong" or the front wheel caught in a rut. So lowside falls.

So maybe I need the pants with knee and hips + some sort of chest and shoulders. Not too over the top so I don't wear them.

[Yorkie]

I just picked up Leatt neck braces for me and my son. Not cheap at at nearly $300 but then again I don’t want to be lying on a hospital bed wishing I had paid $300 to walk again. I’m not a great rider so I wear everything I can.

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by Yorkie

I just picked up Leatt neck braces for me and my son. Not cheap at at nearly $300 but then again I don’t want to be lying on a hospital bed wishing I had paid $300 to walk again. I’m not a great rider so I wear everything I can.

I was looking at those a few years ago.... Stuff I was reading made it sound that these neck braces can cause more damage than going without. Can't remember exactly, but at the time I decided against getting one.

The OP of this thread said he was not so much concerned with the minor scrapes and bruises and was most concerned with the serious injuries. Chest back and arm protectors will not do much of anything to prevent broken body parts or torn ligaments.

I have a modern smallish chest protector and wear it, but it's primary purpose is to protect against roost from others.

All my collar bone breaks back in the day happened while wearing old external plastic chest protectors with shoulder and upper arm protection.


Here is what I typically wear when on a track. If I was on a Sunday woods ride by myself, I would likely forego the chest protector.

[unclebilly]

The policy I have for my kids is ‘all the gear, all the time’.

This means:

MX pants, MX boots (most of the time and I know this breaks my rule), Leatt torso and neck protection, snell helmet, gloves, Mx jersey.

For me, I wear a fox chest and back protector, Mx boots, Mx pants, jersey, gloves, snell helmet, AND CTI knee braces with a Petela cup.

[flipper35]

My worst injury was riding in the woods and hit hard, wet clay about 10 mph. Did the natural thing and put my foot down to feel the dirt and caught a tree root. Torn medial tendon and damage to the anterior horn in the cartilage in my knee. Couldn't walk for a week and took thee months of therapy. Had the boots, jacket and all but sometimes all the gear in the world can't help the freak things.

I still wear the boots, jacket, gloves, and proper helmet though. I have had lots of things kicked up in the woods that would be hard on unprotected parts. Had a stick hit just below the goggles one day behind the chin guard. Glad I had eye protection.

My wife and I wear a full adventure helmet for stuff like that. Daughter still wears a MX helmet and goggles.

[Rusty Heap]

The real answer is "With Age comes a Cage"

.....and I still wear a helmet in it for fast rides.

got rid of the dirt bikes and ATV's and splurged for a Side x Side.