right, so after my first 5 days of riding my new MUni, i’ve gotten 3 large scrapes, 2 bruses, and one nice(its gunna be a 2 inch(5cm) scar that looks like a 7) bear claw from these wonderful pins on my pedals. the 7 is clotting nicely, i wish i had pictures, there was a lot of blood 
anyway, im wondering what type of armor(armour?) i should get- the stuff on unicycle.com seems a bit expensive at 45 bucks, and the bike shop near me didnt have hard-shell armor, which i kinda would like.
Here you go, all you need.
I had a hard shell shin/knee combo with the back of the leg bare, it had two velco sttraps. Dianese was the name brand. DO NOT GET THESE. I figured the full leg crap would be too hot, but in a wipe out, the pads moved, and I gashed up my leg that now sports a scar jsut as visible as my pre-protection rides.
I got Roach DH legs, they are soft shell with shin/knee protection. Alot of people say they are too hot, but I have not found that at al. I’ve ridden in 35+celcius for 2+ hours, and they still weren’t too hot.
You don’t need the hard shell. 95% of your scars are gonna come from your pedal eating your shin…and calf.
Some people ride the Roach DS (dual slalom) as they don’t have as much protection on the knee, therefor less wear and tear from the tire…but I like mine just fine.
They did, however, cost $100 canadian.
Whatever you get, get something
[sp]Aside from being a bit small, my Roaches have been the best money I’v spent on cycling. Lewis uses some gimpy socker pads (cheep), and seems to do just fine… well, his shins, anyway…
Sharp rocks can still rend your flesh threw the Roaches, though. Anybody remember Scott’s mangled knee injury? Poor bloke was out of it for a few months. Still, I’v had no problem with rock or concrete.
I’m resigned to spending $50 yearly on armour. We’re talking about your body here, man- no place to be skimping; a one time painfull seperation of cash will be gone before your rent flesh scabs and scars.[/sp]
Christopher
shell
the reason i was thinking about hard shell is because just as the pedal ripped into my leg, i was thinking it would do the same thing to neopreme–am i mistaken, or does it not mess up the neopreme enuf to matter, or does the raggy neopreme just look cool?
I have a wetsuit (made of neoprene) and it gets magled quickly. I’d say about 10 pedal digs in the same place would tear through the neoprene.
I saw a cool ad in a MOUNTAINBIKE magazine, showing a kid with really nice sneakers and a $10 helmet (you know, the kind that just looks like a cooler with straps? The quote underneath said, “Does your child have $120 feet and a $20 head?”
Not that it’s knee pad related, but neat nonetheless
Re: leg armor
RancidFlannel <RancidFlannel.8b9ma@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote in
article <RancidFlannel.8b9ma@timelimit.unicyclist.com>…
>
> right, so after my first 5 days of riding my new MUni, i’ve gotten 3
> large scrapes, 2 bruses, and one nice(its gunna be a 2 inch(5cm) scar
> that looks like a 7) bear claw from these wonderful pins on my pedals.
> the 7 is clotting nicely, i wish i had pictures, there was a lot of
> blood
>
> anyway, im wondering what type of armor(armour?) i should get- the stuff
> on unicycle.com seems a bit expensive at 45 bucks, and the bike shop
> near me didnt have hard-shell armor, which i kinda would like.
>
I just bought the “4x4” knee/shinpads from 661 (six-six-one).
They are not hard shell, and not neoprene. They fully encase the leg from
shin to knee. They are lightweight. They are hot in the summer, as would
any such
protection which wraps the leg like a mummy. But the whole point is to
avoid permanent
scars and/or hospital visits and unplanned downtime away from riding.
They would protect just about anything I could imagine doing.
They were $40 US at the local bicycle superstore (SuperGo - do you have
these outside of California?)
David Winston
HI,
I ride with the 661’s model 4x4 like David just bought and I find them super. They are similar to the Roach pads. They have that neoprene type padding inside, but there is also a very thin sheet of plastic on the frontside, just under the nylon. The pads are segmented and each section has the neoprene with the plastic sheet in it. This is also in the sections that cover the knee. It didn’t help Scott Bridgman, because the rock he hit knifed through the padding and plastic. It was an exceptionally sharp rock. Odds are most riders wouldn’t have such an experience.
Also, I just spent 4 hours in 100 degrees Fahrenheit this weekend and actually forgot they were there most of the ride, with the exception of some minor falls. I just put some talcum powder on my legs before I ride.
When I bought mine, PricePoint.com had them very reasonably priced. Unicycle.com’s prices can be competitive.
Work the maze.
I have the 4x4s also, and use to ride with a pair of Xtra Skins. Their slogan? “Cheaper than stitches.”
My vote is for the Roach pads or the 661 pads. Just wear something!
I’ve got the Roach and love them. They have saved my legs numerous times. The Roach pads have more to offer in the knee protection department. However, the 661 pads seem more than adequate. In the event of an extreme fall involving sharp rocks, et al., and blow to the knee I think that either pad will fail to fully protect. (After all, there is some danger in some of the stuff that we do.) My daughter uses the 661 as does a couple of other members of our uni club and the pads are liked fine. I think that the 661 are a tad more of a hassle to put on. The 661 are about $20 cheaper too.:o
Chris,
The reason I wear shin guards is not because they are cheap, but because the largest size SixSixOne leg armor wouldn’t fit me, and I had to find somebody else who could use them.
I would love to have full leg protection if I could find some that would fit me.
On the other hand, i guess I could get knee pads too.
Oh, and both of the scars I have from unicycling were both from times when I wasn’t wearing my armor and it was raining. And I was hopping.
Stupid, really.
Lewis
I also ride with the 661 4x4 pads. so far they have not failed me. I have had numerous falls and pedal accidents and not so much as a mark. Even the spandex type material in the rear, while warm, provides protection. The padding works well. I was attempting to hop up a curb and didn’t quite make it. The uni shot out backwards and pitched me right onto my knees. I didn’t feel a thing. I’m quite sure it would normally have sent me into screaming fits without them. I ride with Sofa and after seeing him ride without pads and the resulting injuries(even just riding to the store because we can"t not try something) I refuse to ride without them. It seems that the best choices are either the Roach or the 661 pads. I think either ones are a good choice and although they may be pricier that the cheapies( you get what you pay for) they are well worth the investment. Unless you are into the pain thing. Hope the info aids in your choice.
“They call them fingers but I haven’t seen them fing…oh, there they go>” Otto the Bus driver
No you don’t, you ride way behind me! 
[sp]gasp Real-ly? I had no idea… ;)[/sp]
-C
roach/nukeproof leg armor
hey, i found a sweet site, airbomb.com that has roach leg armor for 39 bucks! they are based in vancouver, and they just had “nukeproof” instead of “roach” put on the front of the armor. they also sell the actual roach stuff for only 10 bucks more…seems like a good deal to me, so i’m taking it-- thanks for all the advice you guys, never had stitches before, dont want em either!
That sounds fishy. Wholesale companies don’t put names on the gear, the manufacturer does. Why would Roach put Nukeproof signs on their gear, or why would they even have any?
I think Roach should hear about this.
I thought Roach got bought by RaceFace. Maybe it’s RaceFace’s doing?
[sp]Take a peek at the Nueton rating of the Nylon used on the Nukes- lower, and of an inferiour material, I believe.
Besides, everybody knows Roaches outlast Nukes[/sp]
-Christopher