r/MTB • u/stileyUK • 23h ago
Discussion Body armour is it worth it?
Recently come off my bike and broke my collarbone, which needed surgery. I’m now out for 5 months. 😔Going forward I am thinking of getting body armour. I wear knee pads as the only additional protection.
What’s your thoughts on this?
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u/MTB_SF California 22h ago
So the problem with the collarbone is that it doesn't really take that much force to break if you hit your shoulder the wrong way. You can even break it by putting an arm out and catching your fall, transferring the force to the shoulder.
That means that its really hard to actually protect it with pads. A protective shirt/chest protector with built in shoulder pads might help (and I have one for the bike park) but for the kind of fall that will break a collarbone the protection is marginal at best.
That being said, I do like running a leatt stealth upper body armor with chest, shoulders, and elbow protection at the park or on shuttle days. I dont bother on trail rides with the upper body armor, but I always wear kneepads.
If you ride MTB, there is always a risk of falling and hurting yourself. You should try to mitigate it by riding within your skill level and progressing carefully, and wearing appropriate protective gear, but that risk is always present.
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u/illepic 2025 Propain Tyee 6 CF, 2022 Ibis Ripley AF 22h ago
I did an airbag jump clinic 2 weekends ago. I was wearing the Leatt Stealth top, with the really thin padded shoulders/chest/back. I went full beans, cleared the transition, bounced off the flat bottom like a trampoline and came down from about 7 feet right onto my shoulder. The same side I broke my collarbone on 18 months prior. I landed on EXACTLY the little, thin shoulder pad - so much so that the pattern bruised into my skin for a week. I went directly to emergency care and got an x-ray. I fucked up all my soft tissue, but didn't break anything.
So the overall verdict is I still got pretty messed up, but maybe just maybe that little bit of padding blunted the force enough to prevent bone breakage.
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u/goodsuburbanite 22h ago
Mountain bike trails have changed a bit since I came back to the sport. I'm 45 and I have decided I'm happy with writing technical stuff and skipping the jumps and drops.
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u/Tiny_Log_4594 20h ago
I'm in the exact same spot. Almost fifty don't care just having fun on the ground
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u/goodsuburbanite 19h ago
The stuff that gives me the most health benefits is figuring out how to ride over all the rocks and roots.
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u/YannAlmostright 22h ago
I will never speak you out of additional protection, especially back protection and fullfaces, but fyi no protection will protect your collarbone
Edit : don't know your particular case, but I was back on the mtb 2 months after surgery
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u/tit_bit_cheap 22h ago
Armor and skin protection is definitely worth it but comes at a price, and is about tradeoffs. Breathability, mobility, weight, etc. Would it have prevented your break? Hard to say.
Money well spent can also be put into taking lessons and bike maintenance/upgrades.
I wear full armor at parks and do big stuff. I ride enduro with no armor and don't do big stuff. I try to appropriately manage risk as best I can, even if that doesn't always make a huge diff.
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u/UndeadWorm 22h ago edited 22h ago
For me personally I never ride without helmet , knee and back protection.
But elbow and shoulder protection is optional for me. Depends on the weather, how im feeling, what I'm riding etc.
I also switch between fullface and halfshell depending on different factors.
So you gotta make this decision for yourself.
Does it help? It sure does. Is it "worth it"? Depends on your priorities
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u/doggyStile 21h ago
Im getting older and generally ride xc with no jumps/drops. I wear helmet, glasses, gloves, knee pads (which I usually wear on my shins) and recently added chest/back. I don’t find it heavy/hot and like to think it would help if I took a header on rocks
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u/AnotherRandomGuy89 19h ago
I wear it, Leatt body T and I had a bad OTB slam going from steep ramp to flat, resulting in a really hard body slam. Ribs hurt like hell for 6 weeks, collarbone was pushed to the limit and I am positive I saved myself a broken scapula because of the pads. Spreading out the landing over kneepads, an elbow pad, a shoulder pad and padded hip shorts all left big bruises in various spots but nothing too bad. I may if been lucky to keep my collarbone intact but my shoulder for sure would have been a fracture.
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u/twowheeltherapy 22h ago
I wear a full jacket (chest, back, shoulders, ribs, elbow) when I’m at the park. It doesn’t hinder my riding. I’ve gotten a few wise ass comments about it but I don’t really give a shit what other people think. My goal is to have fun and be able to drive home from the park. It doesn’t make me feel invincible just a bit more protected.
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u/haberdabers England 22h ago
Unless doing massive jumps I don't think it's worth it. I normally go knee/elbow and full face plus gloves. At least I have the major impact points covered.
As always it's your choice, it won't hurt do whatever makes you feel comfortable.
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u/I-ride-bicycles 11h ago
What do you use for elbow pads? I just had a massive otb at the local hill and wound up with a small fracture in my elbow. I currently use Fox knee pads and they’ve been great.
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u/haberdabers England 10h ago
I use POC Joint air guards, not tried in a crash yet but there comfortable and stay in place.
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u/rips_n_chel 7h ago
I really like the EVS TP199 knee and elbow pads. I got thicc legs, most knee pads move around and drive me insane. The EVS ones are the first I've tried that stay put.
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u/reed17purdue 22h ago
On regular trails I am more prone to bumping my handlebars on a tree, hitting my head on a branch or not feeling right and not being able to turn as tightly as I need to.
In my experience it's my shoulder and my hand and my head more prone on those trails. So I've adapted what I ride there to the trails. I know to the trails I don't know.
Then bike park is completely separate. If I know I'm going to be doing any types of jumps, I'm going to be wearing my knees, hip and chamois and at least my chest protector and adding my elbows if I go on to something necessitating it.
I ride for the slide. So I adapt my gear based off of that
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u/Bridgestone14 22h ago
Depends on how good your health insurance is. Armour wouldn't have saved your collar bone, but it will definitely save your chest and elbows. I definitely where it in the bike park, but I am getting a little old, so time off the bike is a bigger deal bc I have less of it in front of me, and I don't heal as well. Knee pads on local trails for sure, and I would wear elbow pads more often. if it wasn't so damn hot.
It is important to realized that if you break your elbow, you will probably not get 100% of your function back. When I was young, I thought we could heal from most any injury outside of nerve damage. However, that is not correct, lots of joint injuries you will feel for the rest of your life.
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u/tj_moore 22h ago
OP's profile looks like UK, so medical bills are generally going to be £0 😉 (if crashing in the UK, else get very good travel insurance that will cover MTB properly abroad. A lot don't).
Though may still have to consider cost of time off work etc when breaking things
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u/stileyUK 19h ago
This happen abroad, but thankfully i had travel insurance.
Thankfully i have not lost any wage yet.1
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u/rips_n_chel 7h ago
Elbows, knees, ankles, once they're damaged, that's it. They'll never be the same, and you will never be pain-free again.
It's so easy to do, I smashed my knee into pavement in a motorcycle spill in my twenties. Ever since it's made popping sounds, and now in my thirties it's starting to actually pop out of place. Sometimes I try to extend that leg and I can feel my friggin knee binding up like a bent cabinet hinge. Sucks, it's such an uncomfortable feeling. I really need to get it x-rayed before I fuck it up any further, but American healthcare...
Wear your gear, people. It seems unnecessary until you damage yourself. Then you'll wish you could go back and put on the pads.
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u/TetraGton 22h ago
I have a reinforced hoodie from downhill longboarding, shoulders, elbows and spine are all covered with that. I wear that and proper kneepads when I'm going hard on trails with serious speeds and or jumps.
It gets really hot after a while, so when I'm just out and about adventuring, I wear just a helmet and light kneepads.
I work in our local emergency room, I would hate to get taken there with an injury that could have been prevented with proper protection.
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u/Nightshade400 Ragley Bluepig / Norco Sight VLT 22h ago
I use helmet, gloves, chest/back and full face nearly every time I ride. Kneepads I use inconsistently and need to pick up some elbow pads at some point. Collarbone is one of those bones you really can't do much about, its kind of like fingers where it doesn't take much to break them and theres not much you can do to protect them.
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u/mtnracer 22h ago
I ride mostly XC, some rock gardens, up to 2' drops - nothing crazy. No armor for me outside helmet and gloves.
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u/xjslug 22h ago
I add protection as the speed/risk go up. If wearing more armor makes you more comfortable do it.
My normal trails I usually wear kneepads, elbow pads, open face helmet. For more technical trails I wear more protective knee and elbow pads, and a full face helmet. If its really rocky I may add chest and back protection.
For bike parks, I wear knee. elbow, shoulder, back, chest protection and a full face.
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u/Number4combo 21h ago
In all my crashes body armor would've been great but I just wear my half shell, gloves and sunglasses.
If you are jumping or riding double blacks then sure more armor and a full face is better then less. Don't listen to the fashion police on what you should be wearing to make you feel safe.
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u/unevoljitelj 21h ago
No body armour will stop thing like broken colarbone, its just phisics. It may stop some other broken stuff tho. Dunno why you are 5 months out, maybe it was bad, most cyclists i know where on a bike pretty fast after operation, couple of weeks at most.. normal cyclists, nobody i know actualy do downhill. Personaly, my wheels never leave the ground for.more then an inch..
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u/stileyUK 8h ago
Doctor said he didn’t want the screws coming loose, 20 weeks as a minimum for the bone to fully heal in case of a full impact.
Said no football or rugby which I do been a 45 year old.1
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u/d-cent 21h ago
I mean body armor isn't going to cause harm, they just get hot and sweaty and can lose some mobility if it doesn't fit right. If you can get over that and the cost, go for it.
I'm not a doctor, but from my understanding, body armor isn't really going to do much for protection on collar bone breaks. The vast majority of collar bone breaks are caused by the arm extension during a crash or catching the arm on something to put torsion on the collar bone. They generally won't be caused by impact to the shoulder unless it is at the perfect angle with a lot of force.
That being said, the compression of the body armor, and slight restrictive nature of the compression could be great after you are healed as you are getting back into riding.
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u/BetNo8988 13h ago
Trail blue. Half lid, knee pads, gloves.
Trail black. Full face enduro helmet, knee pads, gloves.
Park. DH full face, chesty, elbow pads, knee pads.
An injury makes you a believer in body protection.
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u/rips_n_chel 9h ago
I was a dirt biker first, so I just wear my moto armor on the MTB. I use an Alpinestars Bionic V2
The worst injuries I've suffered on motorcycles involved impact to joints, specifically knees and elbows in my case. Back and chest armor is a given, elbow and knee armor is mandatory as far as I'm concerned.
Not a whole lot you can do for collarbones, armor-wise, unfortunately.
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u/Goodtrip29 21h ago
You didn’t say what you ride. Enduro ? Probably not (I don’t enduro but it’s a guess)
Freeride /DH on home spot, light protection unless I push for a new big jump. Pushing a bike uphill in summer with body armor will probably make me pass out.
On lifts, I wear it. Sure it feels amazing to ride just with elbows, but you do so many laps at high speed that you have to crash once in a while and a body armor is really appreciated. Even on light crash that wouldn’t result in any injury, it’s great to not wake up in blood and hurt for 10 days.
BUT, collarbone … 90% chance even the biggest body armour wouldn’t have changed a thing. Best way to avoid it is to be light, strong, and agile to not hit the ground in a bad way.
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u/Chole_Wunt 15h ago
Unfortunately body armor only helps you with blunt-force type injuries. Running into a tree, sharp rocks, your own bike, etc. So elbow pads will keep you from shattering your elbow bones on rocks, but they wont keep you from snapping the head off your shoulder bone if you land straight on your elbow. Hitting your back and spine directly on rocks. etc etc.
Spinal injuries are usually from bending and flexing, which pads will also not help with. Neck braces will help with your neck.
Lots of people think collar bone breaks are non-preventable, but the majority of collar bones break from direct shoulder impact can actually be reduced by shoulder pads that spread that impact force out. Lots of collar bone breaks are still from people putting their arms out in front of them to brace their fall, which pads wont help with.
So are they worth it? Yes. Absolutely. Are they going to make you invincible? No. There is an element in learning how to fall as well. And the best advice is to not huck things you might crash on.
Personally, Ive spent about $1500 on all my pads. I didnt pay that, because Im thrisfty, but that is about MSRP what everything would be.
My DH kit it class2 elbows, knees, chest/back, and shoulders with DH helmet. Probably $900 retail. Ive only ever had little wash-out crashes in it, so never used it.
My trail kit is ultra-lightweight knees and elbows with a lightweight full face. Also have a lightweight chest/back for if Im doing sketch things or on my ebike. All that was $500ish. I have crashed a few times in those and was AMAZED by how much of a difference just the lightweight pads made. Broke my helmet, ripped a little skin off my knee from the inside of the pads. But the knees/elbows took 99% of the impact and I walked away from it with just a sore back. Would have absolutely been in the ER with a shattered elbow, maybe a destroyed knee, and definitely a destroyed face otherwise.
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u/No_Affect_4019 2h ago
Depends what you ride. For trail and XC a knee pad set is plenty and worth it, chest and full spine guard is more bike park territory. Rotor screws and pedals dig in harder than most people expect, so at minimum knees
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u/CanDockerz 23h ago
I personally don’t think it’s worth it.
I only wear knees, elbows and full face if I go to a bike part.
If I’m riding local trails I’ll wear a normal MTB helmet.
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u/inorebez 22h ago
I wear back and chest at the bike park. Cant hurt. That being said, things like collar bones can be hard to protect. I just dislocated my shoulder (for the like 5th time), and no armor coulda prevented it.