Knee Elbow

Knee Elbow
Do elbow and knee pads kind of prevent to do tricks on a BMX Freestyle bike ?

I just started doing those tricks and wonder if it is worth buy pads at all ?

Do you reckon that just helmet would be enough?

How often do they safe the situation ?

cheers

I answered your other post, too, but I can add some of my experiences about injuries. The short answer is no.....pads and helmets don't protect you fully. Now, if we all had exoskeletons like insects, we might be better off. But we're soft and squishy and have fragile bones inside.

Short of a suit of armor, there's really nothing that can protect you from bruising or lacerating internal organs, breaking collarbones and necks and spines, breaking or spraining wrist and foot/ankle bones.....it's a long list of ways to get hurt. You might have heard that Dave Mirra recently lacerated his liver in a big fall to flat. Tara Llanes just had an awful downhilling accident a month ago, too.....she's wearing a turtle-shell for her broken back, can't walk, and isn't sure she'll ever be able to walk again. She was wearing full armor.

I had a friend who lacerated his spleen this spring when he flubbed a hop up a 6" curb (yes, only 6"). He healed up ok and they didn't have to remove it, but he spent 5 days in ICU and close to $20K in medical bills. Another friend actually SPLIT his femur from knee to hip when he lost it on a stair gap and hit hard. Knee pads might have minimized that for him (maybe.....it was a big fall).

I've broken my radius, ulna, and two hand bones in separate crashes, separated 3 ribs, broken another rib, shattered a molar, and had all kinds of flesh wounds.....and I ALWAYS wear a helmet. Usually pads, too. (Heck, I'm not even doing cool air tricks, either! I'm just a klutz. Ha!)

So the other part of the short answer is yes.....get some pads. If nothing else, they give you some cheap insurance against common "little" injuries that don't feel so little and can actually end up being semi-major (and they don't cost so little if you need a visit to the doc). Pads also make things more comfortable.....banging your knees on the bike frame is irritating, but if your knee or elbow pads keep you from getting smashed or broken, you might be able to keep riding and have fun that day vs. being out for a a few days or weeks and needing your friends to get you out of the bowl and to help. The downtime for healing sucks!

Personal cup for your privates is optional. But do consider the pads. Even if they cost you $60-$100 they're worth it in so many ways.

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