[Zark]

The last two weekends have been brutally hot here in S.B., but being a masochistic DH'r, I still need to ride. Normally I always wear full gear when on the DH bike. Two weekends ago I was wearing my Rockgardn jacket and just about had heat stroke on Tunnel. 95 degrees and 80% humidity on a trail with amost no air flow.:eviltongu

This weekend I just couldn't bear putting on the jacket, it was just too damn hot. My buddy Joe thinks I'm nuts to skip the armor, even in the heat. I felt like I was more likely to wreck from shear heat exhaustion if I wore it.

So whats the monkey consensus? wear the armor anyway and bake or stay cool(er) and take the chance of an unarmored spill on a rocky trail?

 

[jonKranked]

Out here in philly a gallon of water at the grocery store is about a dollar (generic stuff). Heat exhaustion / heat stroke: couple hundred bucks (at least) for emergency medical. Broken bones: upwards of a few thousand bucks depending on the bone, not to mention time off the bike. I may be hot, but I'd rather pony up 5 bucks a weekend for some water (douse myself after a run, pour down my throat) and be able to ride a full season. Just my $.02

 

[dante]

sub-85 deg weather = full body armor
85-95 deg = just Rockgardn vest (remove arms), ride more carefully
95+ = just full face and legs. ride *really* carefully.

 

[Spunger]

Well.......I stripped down to just knee/shin pads and the full face which is still a joke in the heat. I did it once and that was it. If I can't ride a trail when it's hot in a sleeveless jersey, a XC helmet, and my camelbak full of ice water (and maybe even a couple more bottles with me) then I don't want to do it. It isn't worth getting a heat stroke of any kind.

The heat isn't something to mess with. Too many people that were healthy that go out in the heat die. This previous weekend was pretty bad as well and as much as riding sounded good so did trying to beat the heat.

If it does tend to get hot, and I ride, it's at like 6 a.m. That way I am done by 8, in a shower by 9, and ready for the rest of the day. That is the only way to ride on a DH bike, in 90+ heat with it being so humid.

 

[Zark]

Out here in philly a gallon of water at the grocery store is about a dollar (generic stuff). Heat exhaustion / heat stroke: couple hundred bucks (at least) for emergency medical. Broken bones: upwards of a few thousand bucks depending on the bone, not to mention time off the bike. I may be hot, but I'd rather pony up 5 bucks a weekend for some water (douse myself after a run, pour down my throat) and be able to ride a full season. Just my $.02

I'm carrying a full camelbak and the runs are 20+ minutes long, without riding to the pickup location. Even if I doused myself after a run, it would be too late.

 

[jonKranked]

ah. I'm east coast so it takes an absolute max of 10 minutes to get down the mountain. even then its lift access so when its real hot i park a jug both at top and at bottom of the lift.

 

[Shyrmp]

So whats the monkey consensus? wear the armor anyway and bake or stay cool(er) and take the chance of an unarmored spill on a rocky trail?

Just a wild suggestion here Noah, ski suit.

 

[Bicyclist]

Skip the armor. Tunnel is a mostly slow, tech trail so if you won't get super jacked up if you fall. Obviously it won't feel good but if you take your riding down a knotch and are not hot you'll have a fun ride.

 

[Zark]

Skip the armor. Tunnel is a mostly slow, tech trail so if you won't get super jacked up if you fall. Obviously it won't feel good but if you take your riding down a knotch and are not hot you'll have a fun ride.

Not get jacked up falling on Tunnel? Maybe if you don't land on the "trail" No, it is more slow/tech. and when its hot out I'll just use caution.

Just a wild suggestion here Noah, ski suit.

Wahahaha! Ohh man, Orvan looks hilarious in a skin suit, did he loose a bet or something?

 

[Cant Climb]

If your wearing a CamelBak then freeze it or put ice in it.....you'll be good for awhile......also the day before you ride, drink as much as possible that evening, at least a 1/2 gallon.....if its 95 and humid, you should be constantly drinking EVERYDAY, it will take you body a week or 2 to be able to use all that water though....

 

[partsbara]

i sure hope the skin suit was a bet...

armor... i wore it in europe when riding more full on dh courses... bad wildbad, todtnau in germany... other places where it wasn t so rocky / full on, i don t wear it...

haven t worn it since arriving in CA... too hot... numerous days at auburn.... yeah, that canyon is mad hot... haven t used it at d-ville either... might be a good idea to wear it since there are some pretty evil rocks out there and ya get a good nip of speed... usually just my SE helmet and combat knee / shin guards... i might get some elbow pads, dunno... i don t mind wearing armor so much when i m on a chairlift, but it blows for shuttles...

 

[klunky]

I just got back from riding in france where it was scorchio.
I rode with armour every day. My Buddy did not. His arm looks like a cheeseburger now. He also lost 3 days of riding.

 

[partsbara]

i wore it about 50% of the time in morzine / les gets... good idea out there as the speeds are high... god i miss that place... did you ride avoriaz ??

 

[Zutroy]

Skip the armor. Tunnel is a mostly slow, tech trail so if you won't get super jacked up if you fall. Obviously it won't feel good but if you take your riding down a knotch and are not hot you'll have a fun ride.

Ahhh that's funny.

 

[Bicyclist]

Whatever. I've ridden that trail 3 times and I've never fallen. I'm not banging but at a decent clip you should be safe.

 

[ATOMICFIREBALL]

No matter how hot i wear knee & shin plus a full-face helmet & gloves & of course, if i'm on the 4x track or freeride trails.
..I got heat stroke or something one time after XC riding in Fontana,NC .I had mad,mad diahreah on the way home & just felt awefull.. -Maybe rinsing off in the arctic ice cold shower right after riding so i wouldn't stink horribly on the way home caused me to get sick ??

 

[konabiker]

I never wear more than knee pads and a full face in any situation, so I say just do it and ride a little on the safer side.

 

[konabiker]

No matter how hot i wear knee & shin plus a full-face helmet & gloves & of course, if i'm on the 4x track or freeride trails.
..I got heat stroke or something one time after XC riding in Fontana,NC .I had mad,mad diahreah on the way home & just felt awefull.. -Maybe rinsing off in the arctic ice cold shower right after riding so i wouldn't stink horribly on the way home caused me to get sick ??

Or maybe you just had some bad carne from on of the local dining establishments?

 

[MaxDamageDA]

When the temperature reaches 40*C in the day im just running urban nights...

IN the mountains i was runing with no helmet or armor for more than 3 years, at least i got them i i will never take them off there, even with 50*C

Theres nothing more frustrating than seating busted behing a window watching your friends riding in the middle of season

 

[1TrackMind]

i cant help but wonder...not being a DHer......i ride cross country and i was consitering some lightweight elbow/forearm guards.......wouldnt that be MORE important than knee/shin?...I know when i crash its usually head and torso first...... dunno, just a thought.

 

[sharkdh]

If you don't wear Full Upper body armor while downhilling on a ski mountain you absolutely will maim yourself at some point in your career. :trophy_br

 

[kidwoo]

Just ride pantless.

Ciaran will be your new best friend all over again.

 

[DHCorky]

If you don't wear Full Upper body armor while downhilling on a ski mountain you absolutely will maim yourself at some point in your career. :trophy_br

Very true it is only a matter of time.

I do not know about you but most of my friends that are expert or above riders or skiers have had some of their worst injuries while "taking it easy".

 

[Ciaran]

Just ride pantless.

Ciaran will be your new best friend all over again.

Put your pants back on. No one's getting naked round here!

 

[narlus]

i personally would never NOT use armor (both upper and lower) and a fullface while DH'ing, no matter how i thought i might modulate and 'take it easy'...it's just not worth it to me.

 

[sayndesyn]

"taking it easy" is nearly impossible if you are downhilling IMO... Not like you are going to have fun on the brakes so what would the point be.

Very true it is only a matter of time.

I do not know about you but most of my friends that are expert or above riders or skiers have had some of their worst injuries while "taking it easy".

 

[bikenweed]

Jeez, you guys must go a lot faster than I do on Tunnel, because I don't remember it being so fast and dangerous. On that trail especially, I don't go fast enough to be putting myself or others at great risk, and with all the hiker/biker relations being so bad, I try to make sure not to get going fast enough to scare even myself. It's ok to ride a DH bike in a controled manner, and usually since it's smoother, you break less stuff and go faster.

 

[PatBranch]

A while ago, I crashed twice going down Tunnel. They weren't highspeed crashes. Basicly, I was just downhilling along, and my front wheel got caught behind a rock and threw me over the bars. Besides those little trips, it's not a very hard trail.

Maybe it will be easier on a full suspension.

 

[Li'l Dave]

How about just wearing elbow pads again, never stopped you before? Can you ride this coming weekend Noah, my DH bike will be back in commision tomorrow after it gets the rear shock attached again and some good ol' lovin with some grease and a torque wrench?

 

[chicodude]

Eh, Hot days its just shins and a fullface....Its okay, The pros do it too...

 

[blue]

I wear my Flak Jacket, DOT helmet, knee/shin and armored underwear to work everyday.

Only way to be sure.

 

[.:Jeenyus:.]

Unless I am planning on going balls to the wall, on a regular shuttle around here i generally just wear a skatelid, gloves, and every once in a while I'll throw on the knee/shins.

For any type of serious DH I always am always rocking the full face and knee/shins. (don't own any other pads)

 

[Mugger]

Slight annoyance with heat or the pain of being in plaster..... I know which one i'd pick...

 

[SDH]

Armor = HOT
but at the end of the ride/day you take it off and take a cool shower. Able to ride the next day.

Casts = HOT
but you can't take it off at the end of the day and can't shower, oh and you can't ride the next day!

do the math............

 

[Ian F]

I've tried a couple of things to make heat more bearable.

One, I always wear a tight cycling jersey under my armor - wicks the sweat away.

I've worn separate elbow/forearm pads with MX armor instead of my Dianese jacket so I can remove it easier between runs. However, back-packs fit like crap of roost armor.

In the end, I just wear what I normally wear (cycling shorts/jersey, Dainese jacket, V-top parts, MX pants, long MX jersey), drink a lot of water & Gatorade, take a lot of breaks. Avoid excessive drinking (dehydration) the night before.

 

[Zark]

How about just wearing elbow pads again, never stopped you before? Can you ride this coming weekend Noah, my DH bike will be back in commision tomorrow after it gets the rear shock attached again and some good ol' lovin with some grease and a torque wrench?

Yeah, hot days I'll be just using elbow pads, knees shins and the full face.....and leaving freaking early. We finished Cold Springs by 9:30 and it was already in the 90's.

pm me about riding dude, lets do it.

 

[Bicyclist]

Jeez, you guys must go a lot faster than I do on Tunnel, because I don't remember it being so fast and dangerous. On that trail especially, I don't go fast enough to be putting myself or others at great risk, and with all the hiker/biker relations being so bad, I try to make sure not to get going fast enough to scare even myself. It's ok to ride a DH bike in a controled manner, and usually since it's smoother, you break less stuff and go faster.

I watched a vid of Riffle on Tunnel and I understand how it's dangerous for others. It was nuts. That said, I'm more in your boat. It just doesn't seem that crazy unless you tear it up.

 

[bikenweed]

I watched a vid of Riffle on Tunnel and I understand how it's dangerous for others. It was nuts. That said, I'm more in your boat. It just doesn't seem that crazy unless you tear it up.

It's a dangerous trail alright, but come on, we're on DH bikes. It's not hard to ride anything on that trail on a DH bike, at least at a moderate pace. Riffle was absolutely flying in Plush 2 (was that it?) and going that fast, it's a good idea to wear some gear. But I hope these kids aren't going that fast down Tunnel every single run. That's why hikers hate us, if we can't even feel safe ourselves, why should they feel safe as we pass them? I don't really mind compromising some speed in order to respect the other users on the trail. It's ok to not always ride at race pace, especially on heavily combated trails like Tunnel.

 

[Zark]

It's a dangerous trail alright, but come on, we're on DH bikes. It's not hard to ride anything on that trail on a DH bike, at least at a moderate pace. Riffle was absolutely flying in Plush 2 (was that it?) and going that fast, it's a good idea to wear some gear. But I hope these kids aren't going that fast down Tunnel every single run. That's why hikers hate us, if we can't even feel safe ourselves, why should they feel safe as we pass them? I don't really mind compromising some speed in order to respect the other users on the trail. It's ok to not always ride at race pace, especially on heavily combated trails like Tunnel.

Approved:trophy_br
Yeah, Tunnel is not a race course.