Destroy said:Getting into technical stuff with a bit of height involved makes me ponder protection. I know the
usual helmet, knee and elbow pads are fine but what about one's wrists?
Being a mechanic my wrists are extremely important to my lively-hood. Is there anything one can
wear mtn biking to help prevent wrist injury in the event of a fall?
I know there are some sort of wrist guards that rollerbladers often wear but I've never seen or
used them and wonder if they could be fitted somehow to be comfortable and workable enough to
ride with?
Any suggestions on this topic?
On biking stuff, you're much, much more likely to injure your collarbone than your wrist. Wear
gloves so your hands don't get scraped to hell, and learn how to fall. Maybe see if your local dojo
(karate studio, or a friend who knows martial arts, can teach you how to take some rolling falls,
it'll help a lot. Rollarblading falls are likely to be straight forwards, with the body pivoting
around the feet or knee area. Biking falls, if you end, are going to be pivoting from much higher,
and you're not going to fall straight ahead like you would rollerblading (and if you do, you're not
going to have the forward momentum you would with rollerblades). I wouldn't worry about the
wrists... collarbones are a lot more likely to be broken. Teach yourself to fall with bent elbows,
it'll make all the difference in the world.
Only way I've ever hurt my wrists biking was when my grips were spinning, and they spun forwards
while I was hopping off a little dropoff... landed with my wrist spun forwards and down, did NOT
feel good, but they were fine in a day or two, and still functional till then.
Jon "Comman" Bond
