armour off or on?



G

Golden Chicken

Guest
I have only 3 weeks training behind me with my 24" uni and now I ride
some 3-4 kilometers on the sidewalks and in the parks. I feel pretty
secure and I haven't had any fall yet that made use of my paddings
(knee, elbow & wrist). I only ride on paved surface and well ... it is
getting darn hot with all this plastic covering the body's joints. I am
thinking of laying the armour off, but I am not sure. What do you guys
wear under similar riding conditions?

roasted chicken
 
when it is too hot, I skip the armour, and adjust my riding
accordingly.

I would have no one to blame but myself in an injury though!


--
Sofa - you - pee - dee

'yea i no allot of mi frends an i r hecka smartr then othr peeple at mi
skool cus we can balense and we can ride farthar then other peeple wich
makes ur bran more exersised an it helps u consentrate an improves ur
mentel stamena' - 1wheelthrilla


'Unicycle Product Reviews' (http://tinyurl.com/368h6) *107* reviews on
*72* products

'London Unicycling Club ' (http://www.brianmackenzie.com/LUC/) (London,
Ontario, Canada)


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when it is too hot, I skip the armour, and adjust my riding
accordingly.

I would have no one to blame but myself in an injury though!


--
Sofa - you - pee - dee

'yea i no allot of mi frends an i r hecka smartr then othr peeple at mi
skool cus we can balense and we can ride farthar then other peeple wich
makes ur bran more exersised an it helps u consentrate an improves ur
mentel stamena' - 1wheelthrilla


'Unicycle Product Reviews' (http://tinyurl.com/368h6) *107* reviews on
*72* products

'London Unicycling Club ' (http://www.brianmackenzie.com/LUC/) (London,
Ontario, Canada)


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Well, I don't know about anyone else, but in all my experience
unicycling, I have never, ever, landed on my elbows, so I think it would
probably be safe to ditch the pads on them :D

As for knee pads, you probably don't need those either. However, if you
pedals have spikes in them, I would recommend getting some sort of leg
armor, like 'sixsixone' (http://www.sixsixone.com)s. They will protect
your legs from getting cut up, like 'this' (http://tinyurl.com/4ww8k) :(


Wrist guards I definitely think you should wear if your a beginner,
until you learn to control your speed and slow down if you get going too
fast, its rather easy to fall off and land on your wrists. I broke my
wrist once from this happening.


--
ethilien - Unicycling DCC

Stop looking at my signature. It is unimportant. Have you stopped
looking yet? NO YOU HAVEN'T! STOP LOOKING AT MY SIGNATURE!
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Well, I don't know about anyone else, but in all my experience
unicycling, I have never, ever, landed on my elbows, so I think it would
probably be safe to ditch the pads on them :D

As for knee pads, you probably don't need those either. However, if you
pedals have spikes in them, I would recommend getting some sort of leg
armor, like 'sixsixone' (http://www.sixsixone.com)s. They will protect
your legs from getting cut up, like 'this' (http://tinyurl.com/4ww8k) :(


Wrist guards I definitely think you should wear if your a beginner,
until you learn to control your speed and slow down if you get going too
fast, its rather easy to fall off and land on your wrists. I broke my
wrist once from this happening.


--
ethilien - Unicycling DCC

Stop looking at my signature. It is unimportant. Have you stopped
looking yet? NO YOU HAVEN'T! STOP LOOKING AT MY SIGNATURE!
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always remeber chicks dig scars! and when you fall knees hurt and wrists
break!

its never too hot for wrist guards and a helmet, especially when you are
just starting to learn.


--
hungfromhooks - uni newbie

Philip Barbosa

people photographer- side show performer - newbie unicyclist

Witness an average man, flesh skewered deeply and imbedded with shark
fishing hooks! Marvel as a mere mortal fueled only by free will...
Ferociosly Pulls, twists, and stretches hooked apendages to transform
the pastey dermal landscape of his own hide and finally ascend to new
heights, literally!" This is NO ILLUSION! What you will see is real...
and remember ladies and gentlemen all this done without the assistance
of his unicycle.
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When I Coker, it's helmet, Harbinger wrist guards, elbow pads and knee
pads. I have NEVER had a pedal bite from the Coker. When on the MUni,
with pinned pedals, it's helmet, Harbinger wrist guards and always 661
knee/shin guards. Depends on the type of riding and terrain as to if I
wear elbow guards or my 661 elbow/ forearm guards. I would stongly
suggest a helmet and wrist guards at the very least. Here in Texas,
where I ride, the temperature is usually somewhere from 95 to over 100
degrees with the heat index. I'd much rather be hot than broken :)


--
Krashin'Kenny - Crash Tested

If you ain't crashing, you ain't going fast enough!!!!!!!!!!!

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I've been wearing every type of armour you can imagine but was over my
grandmother's house the other day and wanted to show her that I can ride
a little way. I thought the investment of time getting all that gear on
me was way too much for the 30-second demonstration. When I mounted, I
was shaking like a leaf.


--
digigal1 - You call this middle age??

Omni for Uni and Uni for Omni!
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I draw for a living. Brain and wristguards everytime. I can deal with
the shin and calf scratches to avoid the raw spots my sixsixone leg
armor rubs on me. I'm probably doing something wrong in the way I put
'em on or something.

Anyhow, Brain bucket and Harbinger wrist protection. Much good.


--
GregCravens - when do the shinscrapes heal?

Greg Cravens
Cartoonist, Unicycler.
Read 'The Buckets'. What the heck is it in the paper for?
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At least a few times a week I just jump on my uni to fiddle around on
the street (no big trials stuff or risky tricks), and sometimes I can't
be bothered to strap on the gear. A couple minutes into the ride the
curb starts looking interesting, moreso those stairs over there, and so
on till I'm cutting loose. And just about everytime I get bit and bit
hard by the peddle.

It's be said, and I second the motion: at the very least, no matter how
hot it is, always wear shin gurads.

JL


--
vivalargo
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At least a few times a week I just jump on my uni to fiddle around on
the street (no big trials stuff or risky tricks), and sometimes I can't
be bothered to strap on the gear. A couple minutes into the ride the
curb starts looking interesting, moreso those stairs over there, and so
on till I'm cutting loose. And just about everytime I get bit and bit
hard by the peddle.

It's be said, and I second the motion: at the very least, no matter how
hot it is, always wear shin gurads.

JL


--
vivalargo
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My best motivation to strap the armour on comes from knowing I won't be
training the week(s) while wounds are healing. No chicks gazing at my
scars will make up for this loss.

That said I will lay off my knee padding until I get a new pair. The
ones I've got are uncomfortable and the heat makes it even worse. And as
some of you suggested, I think I'll manage without elbow protection.

I agree head and wrists ought to be protected at all times.

But shin protection also means calves protection, not? As far as I
understand the pedal can go either way. So in order to avoid that spiky
pedal from chewing leg you'll need padding all around. That sure sounds
hot!


All feathers,
 
I learned to ride without an ounce of padding. Not even a helmet. I
don't think much of it, as I don't think I needed it. I even began basic
freestyle without a helmet. Then, for longer sessions, at the very
least, the skidlid goes on. Now I only ride my unicycle on easy, paved
areas, and me feet are both always planted on the pedals, without a
helmet. When I commute I'm often sprinting and crossing streets and
doing big rolling gaps up curbs, so the helmet is a must. For trials,
freestyle, basketball, and ESPECIALLY muni, the helmet is a must. I
think that all other pads are unneccessary compared to a helmet. I never
wear wrist guards, since they make gripping the seat harder. Eventually
I will wear them, but they're low on the pad list for me.

In order of importance I'd say my equipment goes: Unicycle, helmet, leg
armour, arm armour, gloves. If it's hot, first goes the gloves, followed
by the arm armour. If I'm trying to develope any skills, no matter the
heat, I have the helmet and leg armour. I'd say as long as you don't go
out and do heavy rides and such, you should be fine with just a helmet
and a uni. I know plenty of people who learned to uni without mishap,
and they didn't wear any padding whatsoever. Also, it'd worth it to say
that you should ride some without the armour just to boost your
confidence and make it so you don't need the armour. If you are scared
when you mount and ride without armour, then you probably wear armour
too much. And this is coming from the biggest wuss of a trials rider
ever.


--
gerblefranklin - Trials Unicyclist

Don't you think it's a cruel irony that acting like a G.I. Joe in the
army can get you a Medal, while playing with one can get you thrown
out?

http://gallery.unicyclist.com/Trials-Muni
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I learned without any padding, though I should have used knee/wrist
pads. That would have saved some skin.
Ethilien said he's never landed on his elbows... I have, hard. I still
have the scar on my left elbow, and if i had hit a little harder I
prolly would have broken something... Was dismounting with the uni
forward, and it skidded out on some sand covering the pavement... Jarred
my arms pretty bad.
If I'm tooling around town from point A to point B, I wear my helmet and
that's it (unless you count steel toed shoes ;)). For muni I have Fox
elbow/forearm pads and Fox knee/shin pads. They aren't full wrap
around, but my pedals don't have sharp pins, just dull ones. What I do
is I attach the pads to my Camelback, the leg armor spoons together, and
I use one of the straps from the legs to hold the arm armor. This keeps
me cool until I get to the trail. On the trail, armor all the way.
Right now the entire right side of my body hurts, save where I was
wearing padding. Rocks hurt, especially when you fall on them!
Yeah, I know that I can fall on the way to the trail, but it's less
likely. And if I do fall, it's nothing I haven't done before ;) But
the pads do help when yer doing hard/new stuff.


--
evil-nick - Living in Balance

Never kick a unicyclist in the groin... it will only make them grow
stronger...


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Well, I guess its possible to fall on your elbows, I just tend not to I
guess :)

I suppose it depends on the person, or the kind of terrain you've ridden
on. Or maybe I just guard my elbows really well as I've broken one
before :D


--
ethilien - Unicycling DCC

Stop looking at my signature. It is unimportant. Have you stopped
looking yet? NO YOU HAVEN'T! STOP LOOKING AT MY SIGNATURE!
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I've never really come close to hitting my head so I've not got a
helmet- though this is a really poor reason for not having one. i have a
big head and finding a nice helmet to fit is a nightmare- so I buy other
things to cheer me up! Lol!

I got some full leg/shin pads, but don't really bash my knees so I just
use my shin pads now. They big ones occassionally come out though.

I use gloves for muni or trials where I'm likely to graze my hand or if
there is gravel about. I've cut my palms on a gravelly road before and
don't want to do it again! My other reasons for wearing gloves is so my
hand doesn't get sore on long sessions and so sweat doesn't affect my
grip.

I've hit my elbows falling backwards of my uni whilst (trying!) one foot
wheel walking. It might improve my confidence with them but I find it
much easier to talk myself into buying spares etc over pads!


--
one wheeled stallion - Guerilla Unicyclist

OWS

"...I explain briefly to him that such conduct leaves him vulnerable to
accusations of being an idiot. We part as enemies" - Mikefule


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Like you, I'm new at this, but I've been padding myself up in the most
dorkish way possible--knee pads, elbow pads, helmet, wristguards, soccer
shin guards, and heavy duty carpentry gloves under the wrist guards. I
look like I'm about to play rollerball.

All of it seemed to be a bit silly because even though I fall alot, I
ALWAYS landed on my feet.

Then a couple of days ago, I decided to forgo everything but the helmet.
I went up the street, and jumped off due to an unexpected crack in the
road--I must have banged my ankle because it hurt like hell afterward
(luckily, it was uninjured, but bruised)

So, right after that, I padded up again in my usually dorky way. And I'm
glad I did because about an hour later I crashed and I landed on my
knees and wrists. I was hurting all over, and both my knee pads had big
scrapes in them that were not there before-- as did both by wrist
guards.

I have no doubt that I would have been really ****ed up had it not been
for the armor. Will I continue to pad up? Yes, every time, no matter how
good I get, even if I look like a total nerd.

I look at it this way--its not a question of IF you take a fall--its
more like WHEN.

Oddly enpough, the most interesting piece of protection I have are those
gloves--just 5 weeks on the uni and they are SHREDDED!

Armor is like condoms--better safe than sorry....

Steve


--
dogbowl - New Unicyclist--I keep falling down

"Got an urge, got a surge, and it's out of control now. Uncontrollable
urge I want to tell you all about it." --DEVO
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Well, in follow up to my last post, I had a wicked bad fall off a table
top in the local skatepark yesterday... I felt like a slinky... but i
landed on all my pads on the way down, got up with nary a scratch...
Pads rock!


--
evil-nick - Living in Balance

Never kick a unicyclist in the groin... it will only make them grow
stronger...


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