Having hurt my wrist snowboarding a couple years ago, and having come close a couple times uni-ing, I decided to follow someone’s advice (I forget the thread) and try a pair of wristprotectors the last time I rode. I happened to have a pair hanging around the house, a relatively cheap pair, and they royally suck. The guard extended so far forward that keeping a grip on my saddle handle was awkward and not very useful, which didn’t work on the terrain I was on. What type of wrist protection do other people use?
Harbinger
The ones that are a fingerless glove and wrist wrap with a single plastic splint on the underside. they are great. Try unicycle.com if you can’t find them localy. I’ve had others that were cheaper, but none as good as the harbingers.
Sarah
I have a brand new pair of Harbingers, and I’ve used various wristguards here and there in the past. All are a pain in the butt. The plastic/nylon skid gets in the way of holding the seat, or holding a camera. They limit your wrist movement. That’s why I never owned a proper pair until very recently.
Unfortunately, if you want your wrists protected, you’re going to have to give something up. If I’m going to be racing 100m on a 700c wheel, I want wristguards!
I once hurt my wrist in a MUNi fall, and I once chipped a bone in my hand in a Coker fall. Since then, i’ve worn wrist guards on <almost> every ride.
I use Salomon wristguards which have a wide plastic splint and two velcro straps. The splints are badly gouged and scratched by falls, but I have never hurt my wrists when wearing these guards - even when I did the flying faceplant that mashed my chin and left me with a rugged manly scar.
Highly recommended. About £10 (US$15 ?) from a snowboard shop.
And they don’t interfere with my use of the handle.
Harbingers, all the way - almost every ride!
I damaged my wrists years ago kayaking and it doesn’t take much to inflame those old injuries. Your wrists will remind you, for the rest of your life, if you don’t take care of them now.
Get the pro. Smile more.
Tommy
I also use the Harbinger 110G Wrist Guards. You can find them at unicycle.com here:
http://www.unicycle.com/Shopping/shopdisplayproducts.asp?Search=Yes
During the winter, though, I use Salomon wrist guards which I purchased at an in-line skate shop. They’re great in the winter because I can put black gloves underneath them and keep from freezing, at least for a while.
Two cents are in…
Phil
Less protective, but more comfortable than wrist guards, Half-finger gel gloves do take some of the shock out of a fall.
having smashed my previous pair,
having been hurt while using Salomon (with cushioned jelly padding)
I turned to special wrist protection for people practising Hockey on rollers (they enable wrist movement)
-I think this is a “Roces” product-
I use them over gardening gloves! (not a very good idea
but I have nothing better to protect my fingers tips)
for the moment all seems ok, I much like the apparent freedom
(though I have a big bulge on my palm… I can still hold something)
bear
P.S: it tried to look at roces web site…
they look like these (but are slightly different)
biomex 3
Wouldn’t those allow the wrist to bend backwards?
My mate had those biomex thingies. They’re really good while they last, there’s a hinge to stop your wrist bending back. They’re lovely and cool in summer and make it easy to hold a hockey stick.
In a big crash, they’ll break surprisingly easily though, he snapped his playing roller hockey.
Joe