[Closed] DH Riding.. What to wear..

[url= http://www.gravity-racing.co.uk/index.php/the-rules ]National Rules for DH[/url]
The specific series will have other rules.

In general Full Face done up at ALL times when on the bike. Also see the info on neck braces - don't wear without a helmet.
Other than that its generally personal preference.

As a recommendation
Full Fingered Gloves
Top half with some spine protection (shoulder stuff can be good too)
Knee or Knee Shin. If your on flats consider the pedal slipping issues on your shins
Elbows are also nice if your tight and in the trees.

It's the UK so I'd expect jeans to get fairly uncomfortable within about 10mins in the mud 🙂

Normally I wear DH shorts (tougher & thicker) I also have some dainese under shorts with thigh/hip protection as i've had some fairly big smashes down there. That and a longer or 3/4 sleeve jersey.

In the end of the day it's personal preference (unless your under 18 when the rules are tighter).

However UK racing can be grim, wet, cold and unpleasant, especially in summer. I normally take a heap of kit and aim to be able to change 4-5 times over a weekend and have as many pairs of gloves as I own 🙂

just don your favourite pyjamas and stick a troy lee logo on them and you'll fit right in 😉

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As above though, something thats not going to soak up the mud would be good.

Full face, gloves, knee pads and whatever other clothes you like. Done.

Personal preference in it?! I wear normal trail shorts, knee and shin pads, short sleeved top, Dainese body armour (includes spine, shoulder and elbow pads), full finger gloves and a full face.

But them I am not a "proper" downhiller, I ride a hard tail for a start!

Depends. If I'm mincing, I've done DH courses in gloves, shorts, normal helmet. If I'm trying a bit, FF, knee pads etc. If I'm riding something tougher and pushing my limit, I'm kitted out like a stormtrooper. For this year I have a chest/spine protector which will probably get worn a lot.

How much time off work can you afford? 🙂

For me not much (plus I'm accident prone) so FF, knee+shin, spine + shoulder/rib protector.

Full face, goggles, gloves, kneepads, at all times.

Everything else depends on weather or location.

I do have an upper body armour jacket which I wear when riding abroad where the trails are big and fast. Generally don't bother on the slow, twisty, local stuff. I had a Dainese jacket which was about 5 years old and it was cut off me in hospital last year. I then splashed out on a POC version when my LBS gave my some sympathy discount. I have to say Dainese is good but the POC is a million times more comfortable and is an absolute pleasure to wear.

Tip for noobs. Never wear your armour on the outside! A sure way to spot the IT departments stag party in the Alps is look for the line of gimps wearing just a body armour jacket.

I've got some Troy Lee T-bone knee pads that are going into their 8th year now and I'll wear them until they disintegrate.

Moto style shorts go everywhere with me. The weather this last year has had me thinking about long versions but I haven't bought any yet.

Oh, never had race pyjamas. Save them for the world cup circus.

I'm not a proper downhiller, but I have got all the gear.

Skin suit. You'll be fast and feel liberated!

TBH after hitting a tree at Cwmcarn a few years ago, I bought proper chest protection. I didn't break anything but when I got home I had to leave my bike in the car for a week because it hurt too much to lift it out.

I just wear berghaus tech t-shirt (plus jacket if its cold), shorts that don't soak up mud/water too quickly, full face and knee pads. I sometimes wear goggles if it's that muddy or dusty but I don't really like them, everything looks too cloudy. I took some forearm/elbow pads with me to Whistler but ditched them after 2 runs, so uncomfortabe!

Whatever you're comfortable in. Personally I find a snug fitting helmet and goggles pretty much indispensable they shut off the outside world and as we all know one of the keys to going fast is to reduce nvh

Clothing/protection again whatever you're comfortable in. My mate Stu had a fairly big off in November 2011 and it was March 2012 before he was riding again - too early imho. He fell off again soon after and now he has the full stormtrooper kit but it prevents him from riding properly he's more of a passenger these days.

FF helmet,
Goggles,
long sleeve base layer keeps you warm when it's cold, gets sweaty when its warm and keeps you cool (but mainly cos my Dianese jacket rubs my elbows raw and the layer underneath it makes it a lot more comfortable),
Dianese jacket (should have got another 661 pressure suit after my first wore out as it was a lot more comfortable), with short sleeve 3/4 length jersey
Full finger gloves
Baggie Shorts, with normal lycra underneath
Troy lee Lopes knee/shin guards
5.10s

And i except that i'll mostly be sweating like a pig.
The jacket is well scuffed after multiple offs, i also seem to use the elbows to "glance" off trees far too regularliy.

ah and to point out delicately the armour jackets can chafe the nipples a little....

pfft, cast iron nipples here.
Just soft girly elbows 🙁
(or non-dianese approved elbows)

In fact the fit is really poor, i've no idea who it'd fit properly, might have to get some extra elastic straps sewn onto it (after 4 years) to get it to fit properly!

http://alpinestarsinc.com/cycling/morzine_elbow_guard.html
Got a set of these and they are ace!! Best I've tried and I've tried a lot. They actually stay in place and are cheap

I wear a howies merino vest under my armour, keeps me feeling unclammy and stops all rubbage.

+1 for wearing something under the armour, bleeding nipples by Sunday afternoon is not fun.

And counter-intuitivley, actualy cooler. Get the thinnest jersey you can though to let air breath through the armour.

Normal riding shorts/trousers
Normal riding top
Full facer
Goggles
Gloves
Knee pads
Usually elbow pads
If its a race then the back protector goes on (rules usually dictate that)

everything looks too cloudy

New lens time?

You know how people bang on about wicking base layers and how they keep you cooler under a jersey, and it's always a lie? It genuinely does work under body armour. Very thin (very cheap!) base well worth it, helps spread the sweat and avoid chafing.

Just check your local race series rules, frinstance the SDA insists on hard back protectors- soft CE approved back protectors aren't allowed, non-CE approved hard ones are, which is counterintuitive.

Other'n that, wear what you want. Uplifted DH can mean a lot of sitting around, so do bear that in mind! Wet muddy jeans ain't much fun up a mountain waiting for your start time.

I find new lenses get scratched and foggy after a few rides anyway, so annoying!

Well yeah that'll happen, especially if you don't look after them very well. Protecting with a tear-off can help too.

For me it's goggles (scratched or otherwise) > windy, rainy, dusty, muddy eyes any day

After reading this thread, i'm wearing this for my next run:

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😉

It's proportionate to the value of your bike:

i.e. £10K works Demo = Troy lee PJs, Custom D3, and a Gold plated carbon fibre bog seat round your neck...

I'm so poor that I just wear a colander, some hessian sacking and a smile...

[i]DH Riding.. What to wear..[/i]

Something I don't mind being cut off me in A&E probably.

For the goggles I got a tear off pack and try to fit one on a new lens. New lenses are still cheap so don't mind keeping a few in the kit bag.

I use specific dh/moto trousers or shorts, gloves, knee pads, full face helmet and neck brace, also have a 661 sub gear top.

At the moment I'm recovering from a spine injury, broken T ,6,7 vertebrae I've even off the bike for 10 weeks, no work and no money coming in.although I wasn't on my dh bike I was riding my trail bike and it was a simple over the bars that caused this. I don't believe a back/spine protector would have stopped this. Also I've seen lots of increased breakages or collar bones with riders using neck braces. As the neck stops moving then the helmet puts pressure on the neck brace and pushes into the collar bone. I'm no doctor or medical guy but make of this what you please. I'll still ride dh and race with no spine board. The hospital I was treated in has seen so many more bike injuries over the last few years they want some official report done into the use of body protection in mountain biking. I and also they know of none.

For Neck Brace info [url= http://www.pinkbike.com/u/si-paton/blog/Leatt.html ]Please Read[/url] Good explanation - (pinch of salt that Si sells them but it's a good article)

WARNING: PLEASE NEVER WEAR YOUR NECK BRACE WITHOUT YOUR HELMET.
Now I know that may sound really obvious, what I am talking about is wearing it before or after the race. The medics have warned me that if you ever fell or tripped over (especially backwards) whilst wearing the brace you could be really f*&ked (medical term). As the brace would almost act as a pivot point on your neck and the added leverage and weight of your head and the force of the fall could damage your spinal cord and kill you or put you in a wheel chair. Now imagine of your lid was undone or not correctly attached during a crash? Helmet flies off and you gambole down the hill with your neck brace contacting the floor and your head slapping around in several directions, great!

Always full teenage mutant ninja turtle gear for me! Full 661, hard-armoured, pressure-suit. FF, Nukeproof knee/shin pads and full-fingered gloves.

With the weather as it is and the track conditions as they are - wet and muddy - I'm finding my Royal Racing pyjamas to be an absolute God-send. For the winter, I can't recommend long pants enough.

That being said, I can't wait to ride my DH bike in shorts (plus knee/shin pads by the way) this summer.....

Dark-coloured underpants?

I subscribe to the idea that it is better to have it and not need it, than get mangled and regret it.

I once took off my compression top at the end of a days riding as we were riding the "beginners" track. I wasn't feeling that good on the run and ended up getting my pedal caught in a root and getting catapuled over the bars onto my head at about 20mph. Snapped my collar bone, broke the end clean off it and dislocated my other shoulder.........

Now I match the amount of body armour to how I am feeling and what I am riding.

Normally it is FF, kneepads and a 661 compression top with shoulder protection.

Better to be hot than broken...........

knee, elbow guards plus spine and back protection for me
am to old to risk injury these days
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wouldnt ride in jeans, theye are crap in the wet

just some regular mtb shorts

plenty of subtle riding tops if you dont want to look like evil kineval

Poc body suit, knees, elbows, heavy duty shorts, Troy Lee fullface, googles, fox blitz gloves, any old top. Also never worn the pyjamas.

A general rule of thumb is that the better the rider, the less colour co-ordinated you should be.

If you see someone in a yellow and green jersey, red & blue pj's and purple shoes they're probably a pro (call him something starting/ending with Dog/Bear/Man just to be on the safe side).

On second thoughts, they could have just been pi55ed and splashed out at the CRC sale.

I'd say wear all the pads you can get your hands on and shove bubble wrap down your pants just to be on the safe side. DH tracks can be a bit hurty when it goes belly up.

I feel like an absolute div in my dh pyjamas, but they do work really well.

Got to be a wee bit careful about how the top layer combines with any pads you wear though, I tried on a couple that snagged and caught on my knee pads frinstance, and though I'm a textbook medium my elbow pads won't fit under my Royal medium downhill top, never mind a pressure suit etc. (I got it free with the pyjama trousers so it's no big deal but it did strike me as daft)

Ask...
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Full face, Googles (I wear contacts so googles are a must even in summer)
Summer gloves, knee pads and since I separated my shoulder a IXS Hammer Jacket (think short sleeved storm trooper outfit). If your local DH races are anything like mine you'll see all sorts from plaid shirts and jeans to full complete matching bike/helmet and pajamas.

I look like an idiot if i'm doing an uplift day... Normal MTB shorts for me with knee / shin armour, body armour with dh jersey over the top (pink I might add!), plus FF helmet and goggles.

Probably total overkill as I am pretty much always the slowest person there, but there you go 😐

Full face (goes without saying), Fox DH shorts because they're long and cover the knees, knee pads, gloves and a jersey of some sorts.

I used to have a pressure suit but hated wearing it (admittedly the only times I binned it where when I wasn't wearing it).

Have never gone for the full race kit as its a bit silly when you're just pratting about in Wharncliffe etc.

If I ever go back to the Alps, it'll be the full on storm trooper look though.