Out there on the trail, it’s you vs. gravity. But what goes up must come down eventually, and you’re not always in control over where exactly you land. If you love offroad biking, protecting as much of your body as possible from injury seems like a smart idea. Here you'll find all the body armor for your bike adventures.
You like to let it rip while biking? To make sure that it's your riding style that cracks and not your bones, you should definitely wear bike protectors. Protectors of all kinds are second only to helmets as the most important way to protect yourself from injury while biking. And injury potential lurks everywhere, it doesn't always have to be a fall, just slipping off the pedal can cause a lot of pain! Depending on what you want to do, you can buy different protectors in our shop. The assortment ranges from light knee pads and shin guards for demanding tours to martial protector jackets for the action in the bike park or at downhill races.
Is there protective clothing for different MTB styles?
Occasionally, protectors are labeled as protective gear specifically for enduro riders or just for downhill. Don't let this confuse you, they are actually suitable for all riding styles. Often, manufacturers label them to indicate whether you're dealing with massive pads for the more injury-prone styles of enduro and downhill or BMX or whether they're more light and soft and suitable for endurance sports like XC or marathon . The only fatal mistake you can make is not wearing any protective gear at all!
Which protectors are right for you depends on your biking plans, not so much on the bike you ride. Chill cruising on a fat full needs less padding. For the black descent in the bike park on an old hardtail you need all the protectors you can buy on BMO. As a general rule, it's better to have one too many layers of protection than one too few!
By the way, manufacturers subject their protective cycling gear to vicious hardness tests, that's how they can ensure that the promised protection is actually delivered. That's why bike protector jackets, for example, are tested to the DIN standard for motorcycle protective vests.
Like other cycling clothing, protective clothing comes in different sizes for adults. You can select the appropriate size from S to XXL during the checkout process. So that you can let your offspring make their first attempts on the MTB without worrying, there are protectors also for children in special children's sizes.
Bike protectors from top to bottom
To help you know what to use to protect which part of your body, we list them for you from head to toe.
- Bike helmet: Logical. Doesn't need to be explained further, does it? Whether you ride a mountain bike helmet or a full-face helmet right away depends on your level of self-hazard.
- Neck Brace: The neck brace protects your neck, throat and collarbones, because a cervical spine injury is nothing to joke about. The Neck Brace can make the difference between your next bike park visit and a wheelchair!
- Protector Vests and Protector Jackets: Abdomen, chest and back are wrapped up by a protector vest . A protector jacket still covers the shoulders and arms as well. There are big differences here between fat armored vests and softer protector shirts.
- Protector backpack: for a day trip, backpacks with built-in padding are very practical, because they not only carry your food, they also protect your back. However, the protective effect of these backpacks is rather diffuse, because they do not sit as tightly against the body as other protectors. But for unexcited rides they offer some protection and are at least better than no protector at all.
- Back protectors: They actually work like a protector backpack, only without storage space. You can find them in our shop at the protector jackets.
- Elbow and forearm protectors: These protectors pack your elbows and forearms, here the name obviously says it all. These protectors come in soft versions and hard-shell protectors. Since you instinctively take a fall with your arms, these protector sets are really important. They're also handy when you're riding in areas with dense vegetation, as you can then use your arms to push branches aside without hurting yourself.
- Gloves: For many bikers, gloves tend to count as bike gear, rather than protectors. In fact, that's not entirely true. Bicyclegloves protect your hands from abrasions in case of a fall, there are also some with hard plastic elements on the back of the hand, they cushion the sensitive tendons there. On the mountain bike you should always prefer long gloves.
- Protector pants: Most protector pants are shorts, they come as a top layer or as underpants, these are worn underneath bike shorts . Here, soft pads are sewn in to protect the hip bones, tailbone and thighs.
- Knee and shin guards: Knee guards have their great hour in the event of a fall. Shin guards on the other hand, help even if you don't fall off the bike. Every mountain bike has grippy pedals, not for nothing are they affectionately called paws. Contact between paws and shins is pretty damn painful, often resulting in long and bloody wounds. With a shin protector, you might get a bruise out of it, but that's about it.
- Ankle protectors: A protector for the ankles not only prevents abrasions caused by pedals and nature, it also stabilizes the foot and protects against fractures.
Protector sets are rare, you can customize your protective cycling gear
Under or over?
Whether you wear your bike protectors under your bike clothes or over them depends on the make of the protector, but also on your own personal preferences. Some protector shirts are explicitly base layers. Others would be uncomfortable without an undergarment.
You will find in the description of the items here in the online shop advice on fit and how to wear them, also in the instructions for use, which are included with our protectors, it is explained how to wear them. With some you can just decide for yourself how they feel best, with others you need to follow the manufacturer's instructions to get the full protective effect. The closer the protectors are worn to the body, the more washable they usually are.
Soft protectors
Thick neoprene or foam rubber. You can think of soft protectors as something like this. They form a thick cushion between you and your landing spot. They are flexible, so they adapt to your movements. Often, the materials of soft protectors are even somewhat stretchy and do not restrict your freedom of movement. Therefore, they can be sewn into the bottom of your pants, for example, to protect your tailbone. For really heavy falls they are unfortunately not enough, especially on hard or rocky ground and on stones, soft protectors are quickly overwhelmed.
Hard-shell protectors
Hard-shell protectors are like a hard plastic armor. To make them comfortable to wear on the body, they have additional padding on the inside. The soft pads then not only increase the wearing comfort, they serve as additional cushioning. So that the freedom of movement is not restricted, for example on protector vests or arm protectors, the fixed plates are interrupted in the area of the joints.
Protectors? Not me!
Yet, because even the best biker falls on his nose sometimes! That's why you need protective pads too. When it comes to pads, the motto is: you get what you pay for. Protectors from our top manufacturers are comfortable to wear, because the fit is perfectly adapted to the needs of mountain bikers, they are well ventilated and do not bring too much weight. Manufacturers like ION, 100%, or Fox deliver excellent quality. If you don't want to spend too much money, you can pop into our Sale where you'll find last year's models from well-known manufacturers like Race Face and Oneal at bargain prices.
Here at BMO you will find a great selection of protective gear for all parts of your body. We have bike protectors for adults and kids in all kinds of sizes and fits in the online store, because they need to fit and fit comfortably. In addition, there are protectors in different protection classes, so you can choose between simple, light (and cheap) pads for gravel tours over gravel or you can put together your massive all-round protector set for downhill, enduro and BMX.
