[ChrisRobin]

Back in the day, you were ballin' if you had Dainese armour. Some people wore hockey equipment, Quebec Nordiques jerseys (talking about Bromont here), buggered up looking mx stuff...etc.

Now all I see are pics of people riding/racing with just t-shirts on and maybe, just maybe, some leg armour.

What's going on? What do I have to do this year to be cool?

 

[ronan]

knee guards, run of the mill race short and a baggy tee is gonna be hip, oh and 5.10s

 

[Jensen]

who give an f what's "hip" or not. wear whatever feels comfortable. Hell, sometimes nothing is the most comfortable

 

[ianjenn]

Back in the day, you were ballin' if you had Dainese armour. Some people wore hockey equipment, Quebec Nordiques jerseys (talking about Bromont here), buggered up looking mx stuff...etc.

Now all I see are pics of people riding/racing with just t-shirts on and maybe, just maybe, some leg armour.

What's going on? What do I have to do this year to be cool?

Dianese is awesome period. The best lower and upper armor. I use the leg 99% of the time and upper about 20% of the time....

 

[ThePriceSeliger]

I normally jsut wear knee-pads and a t-shirt, but last race I was at, I was the ONLY person dressed like that. I hardly see anyone dressed like that at a race, and it's really not the cool thing to do, it's the stupid thing to do.

 

[PatBranch]

I can't afford Dainese. I have a rockgardn flak jacket (w/ elbow guards).
I just got some TLD lopes shin guards, so I'm probably a pimp now.

 

[guytzuv]

Know a bunch of people that broke their arm/back while downhillin' with T's. For DH im glued to my dainese

 

[maddogdh]

I wear a dainese shuttle pro suit and nobody has said i'm not cool yet. I know what you mean about the minimal protection on alot of riders though, too each there own I guess. I would would say it depends on where a person rides, i'm east coast so it's very rocky, sharp rocks.

 

[norbar]

Still lovin my old dainese armor. Changed Legs to roach but their upper armors are unbeatable. No injuries in protected places (1 broken arm but that's becasuse I've bottomed out and the whole force went to my arm)

 

[dhkid]

i wear it when i need the protection.

its too hot to wear it on everyday rides. 32 degree celsius and 90% humidity. i did wear it to keep warm in england tho.

 

[norbar]

Naah you can get used to it even at very humid and warm places. When you ride you don't think about it really.

 

[dhkid]

i prefer when i am able to see straight and not double, helps when you are trying to dodge trees. take into account that the tracks back home for me have no uplifts.

 

[ATOMICFIREBALL]

I always wore & always will wear my Dainese full length articulating back protector when DH racing on the clock...I used to roadrace superbikes & wore it under my leathers!
It saved my spine from injury for sure.It was a beginner DH race & I went over the bars ,did a perfect smack on to a sharp rock with my spine.I felt it bigtime, & it hurt a little even with the protector on.No bruise,but it wouldn't have been pretty without that back protector!!

Armor is good!

 

[Eren]

cool is what you want it to be.

but after i started wearing just a t shirt and knee pads is when i really realized how many other people did the same. seems like more and more people and swaying away form the armor.

BUT i do have a daniese pressure suit for the once in a while rough places, so either way im cool!

i like how i just totally contradicted myself. . .

 

[FlyinPolack]

I look better in armor than I do in a sling... I Always wear upper body protection when DHilling. Broken shoulders REAAAAAly suck.. (especially if you work with you're hands)

 

[CBJ]

I have used a Dianese full suite since 2003. I don't know if its wearing out but the knee protection sucks. I think the new models upper body amour is less durable then the old gray mesh.

I don't see many that rides the whole suite anymore so does that make me old school irate2:

 

[norbar]

i prefer when i am able to see straight and not double, helps when you are trying to dodge trees. take into account that the tracks back home for me have no uplifts.

Well it probably depends on a person. And you can wrap your armor around the bars for going uphill if you fell hot (someppl do that, I feel very good in my armour even in very hot conditions)

 

[Damo]

My Dainese kneepads slipped around when I needed them most.

I also have the lower 'viking bib' style Dainese which have fallen apart and were never too comfortable.

Will never use Dainese for leg protection again. Utter rubbish.

I have been using tld t-bones for a couple of years now and never had any problems.

For a while I wore no upper protection, before waking up to the stupidity of this. Now I will wear my Dainese safety jacket with the arms cut off and the shoulder plastic cups cut off. I still feel freedom of movement, but now know there is protection there if needed.

 

[Brian HCM#1]

I still rock Dainese 3/4 suit. At 41 years old I need all the protection I can get. Kinda sounds like a Maxi pad commercial

 

[Jonny5]

hopefully d3o will make body amour cool once more.

 

[RPG]

Consider this....Is it cool to be a complete T6 paraplegic, or worse, a quad? I prefer to wipe my own butt, and have full use of my junk, thank you. I'm 32 and have been racing since I was 12 (BMX in the 80's man), and have had my share of injuries. THe problem is younger riders think they are impervious to injury, I never wore a helmet, except for racing in BMX. Just my 2 cents. BTW, I feel much more confident with full body armor, so I'm a little less timid on some sections.

 

[LukeD]

i use to wear one and don't anymore. I really should but i hate how tight on my forearms it gets, plus the suit in general gets way too warm. i'm a hockey goalie and have seriously built up my forearms to shoot pucks out of the zone...anyone who has ever tried to shoot with a goalie stick and gloves will know how tough it is. But i feel the added tension around my forearms just creates arm pump for me. when i don't wear it i have no problem.

 

[freakrock]

i used to wear a 3/4 shuttle, but a few months ago i found an almost new full suit for 100 on ebay, so that's what i'm wearing now...
the kneepads don't seem as small and slippery as it felt when i bought a set of dainese kneepads about 2 years ago. i still don't know if i should give the full suit a try, or just cut the kneepads and stick to roach.

 

[dirttastesgood]

5.10's are the **** now.
i prefer clipless though

 

[S.K.C.]

LoL...

Well - to answer that question definitively look no further than here:

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183766&highlight=Dainese

Both E.R. docs said if I wasn't wearing mine I would have been in a LOT of trouble.

...but if you want to be cool for 08' the new trend is riding topless.

:biggrin:

 

[caputo1989]

Know a bunch of people that broke their arm/back while downhillin' with T's. For DH im glued to my dainese

I broke my back with armor on, and im convinced that it helped keep alignment, so i can still walk.

 

[saruti]

just watch my crash...
http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/1090954/

I love this armor

 

[norcalbiker]

A few years ago, everyone was wearing a dainese upper suit and leg armour. But now, I am one of the few people I know that wear theirs on a regular basis. I usually only wear mine at resorts though. IMO not wearing armour for DH is about as stupid as not wearing a helmet in BMX. Ask yourself: is it worth the risk to be cool?

 

[Dartman]

I'm to old to worry about being "cool."

I'm also to old to get hurt. I wear mine.

 

[Transcend]

Dainese 3/4 shuttle suit + Troy Lee Lopes knee pads.

I'd buy a new suit (mind has seen much better days) but Dainese decided to cease production on the 3/4. ARGH.

 

[Sandwich]

I still wear mine on gnarly trails. If it's hot or not too difficult I'll wear knee/shins and elbows only. Not worth the risk for the benefit of being a cool sam hill guy.

Current dress is moto style shorts and a baggy moto jersey with matching helmet...strait knees, and that's it. oh yeah, goggles.

what do you guys wear under your dainese, anything? I wear an underarmour shirt sometimes, but the kidney belt slips on my fat gut and it chafes my armpits sometimes.

 

[PatBranch]

still wear mine on gnarly trails. If it's hot or not too difficult I'll wear knee/shins and elbows only.<snip />

That's what I do. I have one of those under armor shirts that keeps you cool I used under my flak jacket. I've also used an XC jersey under, which helps keep you cool too.

 

[freakrock]

Dainese decided to cease production on the 3/4. ARGH.

That sucks. The 3/4 shuttle was by far my favourite armor.

 

[Transcend]

That sucks. The 3/4 shuttle was by far my favourite armor.

Same here. I have one from like 2000 that is torn up and I am still using.

 

[ChrisRobin]

I use the jacket and the bibs. I love it....

 

[Banshee Rider]

I always wear full dainese (although I'm trying the d3o spyder stuff this year) while riding lift access, even on the 90* summer days. It's better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it. Racing is whats cool, and if your out due to a preventable injury, then thats NOT cool.

 

[Damo]

Here is a video of my shoulder-separating crash in Croatia:

This was my race run and the first time I wore my backplate from my Dainese. You should see the gauges and marks on the backplate. This is what made me realise how important back protection is and wear it more often now.

I think the original question was regarding how popular the brand Dainese is. I think it was the only serious option for years, therefor the most common. These days there are many more options out there, many much better than Dainese.

 

[J_B]

Same here. I have one from like 2000 that is torn up and I am still using.

Dang....I bet that thing smells like a homeless person........

As for me, I'm at #3 sitting of 4 sittings, at 4 hours each into my right arm sleeve so I'm actually going to wear more than a 3/4 sleeved t-shirt or jersey for '08. Will be a 661 pro pressure suit. I hate upper armor because it's hot but I'm pulling my head out of my ass, wiping the **** off my eyes and looking around.

I told myself I would wear upperbody armor for '07 but it just hung in the closet and I only wore elbow pads. I lucked out in '07 and feel like my luck is running out.

 

[Eren]

I always wear full dainese (although I'm trying the d3o spyder stuff this year) while riding lift access, even on the 90* summer days. It's better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it. Racing is whats cool, and if your out due to a preventable injury, then thats NOT cool.

anyone have a link to that?>

 

[Dartman]

I use the jacket and the bibs. I love it....

That's my combo too. Like Transcend I'm a bit miffed that they stopped making the bibs too. That thigh plate saved my leg once when I supermanned onto a pointy rock. I limped away with a deep hematoma instead of being carried away with a broken femur. You can still see the crease mark in the plastic the rock made.

Plus with the bibs the knee pads stay in place much better than pads alone. No slippage.