I have watched some unicycling videos and it has made me come to two conclusions.
Man I can’t wait till I can ride.
I need to start saving for some pads.
I was thinking about what pads to get and where to get them.
What do you guys think the best pads are? why?
I was thinking about trying some local shops before I order off the internet, but what should I look for in a good pad. Also what pads should I get (arm, elbow, knee, shin, etc).
Juggling_Arcs
Sorry I also forgot to say that I am 14 and POOR. So the lower the cost for good pads the better (although I don’t want to get hurt so I do want good pads).
I have like a price range of probibly 50$ maybe more (depending on parrents).
Juggling_Arcs
I use:
*Sugoi cycling shorts - loose outer shell with spandex shorts underneath ($85 Cdn)
*661 4x4 leg armour ($85 Cdn)
*BMX gloves ($35 Cdn)
If you don’t use spandex shorts now, try it. I’m sure you’ll be hooked immediately. Leg armour is also a must. Once you start to learn tricks your legs will start getting carved up pretty good, especially if you have metal pinned pedals. Shin pads aren’t enough. I first bought a pair of them to protect the front of my legs, 'cause that’s where the pedals usually hit when i bailed, then i tried jumping down - and hopping up - stairs and ledges and scarred the backs of my legs up pretty well with deep, bleeding cuts. I have vivid, claw-mark scars all up the back of them still. Now i have the 661 4x4s and my entire leg is covered pretty well and haven’t had a scratch or bruise since getting them. The bike gloves are nice to protect your hands from bails and so there is padding for your hand when holding onto your saddle handle for hopping/jumping. I don’t wear a helmet 'cause i almost always land on my feet after bailing anyway. I think that i’ve landed on my butt 3 times since i started 8 months ago and i ride street pretty aggressively. I’m sure that others will argue that a helmet is necessary, “just in case”, though. It’s up to you.
make your parrents buy them for you
make them think that you will die if you dont ware the pads
Not a good strategy. They will just take your unicycle away.
Consider asking them what you can do to earn the money to buy the pads.
Depending on what you are doing, helmet and wrist guards are minimum in my opinion, leg armour if you are using pinned pedals and/or riding in rocks, arm/elbow armour for rough stuff.
When you are learning you can use inexpensive knee/elbow pads and wrist guards like they sell for inline skating. Be aware that in a sliding fall those kind often slide out of position and you still get road rash.
Scott
I just started riding with wrist guards, which I was glad about very quickly. if you’re on the cheap just use some thick gloves which cover the wrists well. my next purchase was shinpads for my pinned pedals - soccer shinpads would do fine. alternatively, get some 661s & harbingers on the christmas list, and make sure you get what you want instead of more socks.
all you have to do is…
when you are about to crash dont block your fall and when you are sitting in the ER seconds from death say to your mom “if only you had bought me those 661 pads i would not be here”.
after you get realesed from the hospital your mom will give any thing to get you your pads. the end
if that dosent work …
GO ON STRIKE
Personally, I think a helmet is the most important thing to have. Next would be Leg armor. I just bought a pair of 661 4x4 and already they have saved my shins from at least one nasty pedal bite. If you a re 14, chances are you will fit small, and jensonusa has them for a great price. If you are going to get leg armor and you are poor, this is definitely the way to go as it’s about half the price of almost anywhere else.
Other then the helmet and leg armor, I ride with gloves. Mine are sixsixone half fingers, but I’m thinking about switching to full finger.
I’ve never rode with wrist guards, arm armor, or elbow guards, but some people do and they swear by it. It’s up to you.
Daniel
Here is a list of my gear I use when riding off-road:
-Helmet
-Soccer-style Shin Pads
-Inline Skate-style Wrist Guards
-Inline Skate-style Elbow Pads
Here is what I use when riding my KH24:
For someone just starting, wrist, knee, and helmet in order of damage; helmet, wrist, and knee in order of I’m-damn-glad-I-wore-it. Inline skate gear is just fine until you’re doing more serious and defined stuff like trials or MUni (elbow guards may also be desired).
My wrist guards (inline skate) have been replaced several times and have lots of gouges, my knee guards have MANY scratches (inline skate, road, Coker) and other damage (Roach, MUni). My uni helmet has been replaced once (thank you very much), although it currently has a few scratches - mostly from tree branches.
Also, make sure you wear your helmet correctly, I’ve seen many people wearing their helmets in a manner to make them totally useless. Things like having a baseball cap under it, too far back, too loose, having the straps com together on the jaw line, or the buckle on the chin. The straps need to come together just under your ears and the buckle should be close to your neck, not the point of your chin. If you can move the helmet without moving your head or lift the helmet from your head, it’s too loose. If your helmet is adjusted properly, you can’t move it forward and back or side-to-side and you shouldn’t be able to get more than one finger under the buckle (if that, even though it’s soft tissue there), although with all that it should still be comfortable. If the helmet moves when you UPD, it can’t protect you.
Been doing the uni thing for 3 years and have a recumbent trike that has gone 35 MPH on the flat.
Re: What pads? why?
As others have said, the most important are helmet and wrist
protectors or gloves. Cheap soccer shin pads are a good idea too.
Shin+knee protection becomes extremely desirable with aggressive
pedals and/or technical offroad riding, so plan to upgrade to more
expensive leg armor when you take up MUni or trials.
A set of inline skating protective gear is a good, and reasonably
inexpensive choice for wrist, knee, and elbow protection. Some people
have said elbow armor isn’t important, but after my hands, I seem to
hit my elbows more than anything (OUCH!). I do this falling off
backwards while doing various skills (e.g. hit a twig while riding
backwards).
Ken
the pads that i find most important are shin guards, wrist guards, elbow pads, and a helmat.
i second(or 3rd or 4th) the endorsement of the 661 4x4 leg armour. pretty cheap($25 or so US) and front and side leg protection with actual pads, and the back is covered pretty well too. not as good as some older roach pads i’ve seen but i can’t find those anywhere.
i ride with full finger gloves. i got some dirty jumping 661s because they were on a good sale and didn’t have the heavily padded palm like bike gloves, i don’t like that while unicycling.
a helmet is needed too but given a choice between leg armour and a helmet, i’d probably take the leg armour. because i have not only bashed my legs much more than my head, when i’ve needed the helmet its been because i’ve been doign something obviously stupid and the likely crash has me bashing my head into things. GET BOTH! but i’d vote legs first then head, but ride consertativelt without a lid.
I usually just wear shin guards and wrist guards, unless I am doing Muni, in which case I will wear a helmet in addition to the shin and wrist guards.
I like that. I’ve never needed my helmet but I have come close to needing it. I wear my helmet religiously. Just having that extra bit of protection allows me to push myself farther while feeling reasonably safe. certainly more safe than having my noodle totally exposed.
When i was learning, I nailed my shins and calves alot on my pinned pedals. Leg/knee armor saves me from the most blood.
I only use arm armor (borrow my friend’s) when im doing hand rails. I always eat so much crap on hand rails and come down on the side of one elbow. 
Bike shorts are always nice cause they keep the boys outa the way and reduce chaffeing. I just wear normal bike shorts (black sausage shorts) under normal shorts.
I wouldnt scoff at asking your parents for some financial assistance. My folks were happy i was concerned about my safety.
The first thing I would get would be a pair of 661 leg armor (<$40) and a cheap pair of risk gaurds.
I realize a helmet is important, however I have hurt my wrist severvly and use to cut my shins a lot when falling and scraping against the pedals, while I have never hurt my head. Also, I assume you might have a helmet for other sports or could probably borrow one from family/friends.
About parents, I am also 14 and and were able to get my parents to pay for leg armor. What I did: I showed my Dad a bunch of unicycling videos without mentioning pads and he immediatly insisted that I could not ride until I got “some of those big knee pads they all wear”. Try it.
im sure people have said this before, but definitely go for the 661 4x4 leg armour. i think they’re around 40 bucks depending on where you get them. they’ve saved me from many scars…
-grant
I am probably the only one who will say this but…
You are just learning to ride. Most likely, you wouldn’t even make use of a helmet. Unicycling is so slow especially when you are learning how to ride. Any fall in this stage is easily recovered.
If you are out in the street, then you might think about wearing a helmet because cement can be unforgiving. Even then, you don’t need anything special.
Wait till your skills progress and you will figure out what pads are right for you. You may find that you never fall on your knees, great don’t waste your money on knee/shinguards. Or you may find that you always seem to break your fall with your hands, buy full fingered gloves. If it gets bad, buy wrist guards.
Padding I have found useful in 8 years of riding:
Gloves, to protect me from the miyata handle, and cement.
Shin guards, for failed crankflip attempts and slippery bmx pedals.
Denim jeans, to keep from getting cut up by the pedals.
But that is just me, you are really the only one who can figure out what you need for padding.
Mike