Body armour for road cyclists

[mjf1017]

After nearly 3 years of commuting I came off my bike for the first time last week. Since my last crash happened when I was 14 (35 years ago) I'd forgotten what a thoroughly unpleasant experience it is...
Luckily nothing's been broken, but I've got shockingly unpleasant scrapes on my elbow and knee, and a seriously swollen knee and wrist. Locking the gate after the horse has bolted I've been looking for protection on line. Everything seems to be aimed at the mountain biker, with nothing that I can see for the road/commuter cyclist.
Is there a reason for this?
Given modern technology and materials, why aren't there elbow and knee protectors built into bibs and shirts for those who want them?
Any opinions, suggestions are welcome...

 

[pedaling squares]

Comfort. Armour is for guys who rotate the pedals a couple of times per minute and huck their bikes over bone-crushing obstacles. Roadies' legs are constantly moving and who wants to rub against even light padding hundreds of thousands of times per trip? Armour would be uncomfortable to ride with, it would make the rider very hot, and no way would it pass muster with the weight and style-obsessed types. I'd rather crash now and then and have a few bad days than be better protected but in constant misery (and look like a dork).

 

[screaming fist]

Wait, so we don't want to look like dorks but ride in ultratight lycra clothes, with a pad in the crotch that makes us look like we were needing diapers. And of course our legs are shaved.

What does my next door neighbor think about my looks when I'm riding my bike?

 

[mjf1017]

I wasn't thinking of the stormtrooper body armour that mtb bikers wear, more something similar to the padded shorts effect in our bibs.
BTW only cyclists are impressed by the skinny, shaved, burnt arm and legs look of other cyclists. Everyone else thinks we look odd

 

[hiero2]

Back when I was racing (late '80's)- they started selling hip pads that you could insert into your everyday lycra shorts. Some racers told me they wouldn't ride near a guy wearing them - since the mental thing was these riders were thinking they were more likely to crash or something. But, a lot of road rash occurs on the cheeks of the buttocks and the hips.

I think whomever said "comfort" hit it spot on. For that once every few years when you go down, most people think the body armor is too much daily inconvenience.

But, if you wear more protection, you WILL suffer less when you do go down. I think the offerings in the MTB/downhill clothing area offer options, and I think some are less like armor, and more like protective clothing.

 

[avanti]

I wear long sleeve jerseys - in the cold they keep me warm and in the summer they protect me from UV. I have never overheated even in 90 degree plus weather. I also wear lightweight long sleeve ski undershirt.
A pro told me that the undershirt helps prevent road rash.

 

[richwagmn]

After nearly 3 years of commuting I came off my bike for the first time last week. Since my last crash happened when I was 14 (35 years ago) I'd forgotten what a thoroughly unpleasant experience it is...
Luckily nothing's been broken, but I've got shockingly unpleasant scrapes on my elbow and knee, and a seriously swollen knee and wrist. Locking the gate after the horse has bolted I've been looking for protection on line. Everything seems to be aimed at the mountain biker, with nothing that I can see for the road/commuter cyclist.
Is there a reason for this?
Given modern technology and materials, why aren't there elbow and knee protectors built into bibs and shirts for those who want them?
Any opinions, suggestions are welcome...

Crashing's part of riding. Just be thankful you got up and walked away from it.

I always try to think of what happened and was there something I could have done to prevent it? My last crash had me decide I had become too complacent and not aware enough of what was going on around me.

The reason for not having padding, is how uncomfortable it'd make riding. Excess warmth, skin irritation are just a few things I can think of.

 

[BroDeal]

I have a set of this. Seems to work pretty well and the chicks dig it.

 

[mjf1017]

Complacency

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I think complacency may have been a factor, maybe a slower speed and being a bit more aware of my surroundings next time...

 

[Master50]

I had 2 broken collar bones 16 years apart. Can't say armour would have mattered. A friend wears 2 pair of shorts and sometimes puts a piece of heavy plastic between layers over his hips when racing. Crashing sucks and the less it happens the better but it happens. Can't say the discomfort from 16 years of armour wearing to reduce the pain of an injury has a net payout. I think eventually you just stop wearing it.

 

[StyrbjornSterki]

...Given modern technology and materials, why aren't there elbow and knee protectors built into bibs and shirts for those who want them?...

Because there's too few people asking for them. Too little return on the manufacturer's investment.

Have you never seen a n00b riding an MTB wearing knee and elbow pads? And riding with obvious trepidation? They soon get over it, that or they give up MTBing. Except DHers. Who crash a lot. Which is why their shorts have hip pads built in. Which is one option if you fear for your hips.

Our kit has been evolving for round about 120 years. If it's not yet on the market, that probably means there's been no demand for it.

And lets face it, we all try to convince ourselves that our most recent crash was the last one we'll ever have. If we didn't, we couldn't ride to full effect. As Bodhi said to Johnny Utah, "Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation causes your worst fears to come true."


Besides, no matter what you wear, none of it will save you if a cager decides to run over you.

 

[Carbonrules]

The Under Armour base layers were originally designed for play on artificial turf and therefore have very tight warp/weft patterns. They were designed to prevent turf burn. They can help reduce the effects of road rash. I think UA has now produced and offered a pattern for typical running/cycling which will offer more wicking and breathability. But the original fabric, which is still offered is good for some amount of protection (not hot weather cycling though).

 

[Polyarmour]

After my last crash I came to the conclusion that 2 layers of clothing goes a long way towards avoiding road rash. I wondered why Lycra outfits couldn't be designed with two (light) layers placed in strategic locations (elbows, shoulders, thighs, rear)? It wouldn't prevent all road rash but maybe it might address 70% of it? It amazes me that the pro teams aren't across this issue. If any rider crashes in a tour and suffers even a small amount of road rash their performance is significantly affected for the next week or more due to pain, infection, lack of sleep and movement restriction issues.

 

[ustabe]

Way back when I remember advice columns in whatever Velo News was called in those days, advising track riders to double up on shorts and socks, to protect the body from falls and and blisters on the feet and ****. And the socks had to be white and the shorts black.

**** Ring (seriously), who used to announce races in NE, showed up for the masters event of our club criterium wearing linebacker pads on his forearms.

I haven't gone down since giving up racing. Well, I tipped over a couple times for forgetting to loosen the straps. You might say I'm not trying hard enough, but at 60 I don't think it's worth pushing hard enough to see how well I bounce.

Great. His given name was Richard. The censor doesn't like the diminutive for buttocks, either.

 

[hiero2]

I was browsing some youtube links for keirin - and ran across this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8L8rKT0PgM

You will notice that most of them have arm pads, shoulder pads, etc. Maybe what one needs, if one wants body armor, is a Japanese translator!

 

[King Boonen]

You could try a decent motor bike jacket for the top half, I wouldn't try cycling in leather trousers though.

 

[iZnoGouD]

aerodynamics is everything

 

[dsut4392]

aerodynamics is everything

You'll be wanting this outfit then...would work a treat for my downhill commute in the morning, but for the ride home not so much!