[Agar426]

Ok, that title might seem odd, but....after yesterday, it's pretty much right on target for me.

My son and I were riding at a bike park yesterday, and he had a bad takeoff on one of the wooden table tops, so he jumped kind of catty corner across the jump, and a little twisted, so he landed with the front wheel on the jump, rear wheel off. The bike basically pulled a skateboard move did a chain grind (wooden bits in the chain after the crash) on the left edge of the down slope of the jump. My son went along for the ride, and honestly, it wasn't a bad crash at all, and not very high of a fall. In fact, his upper body never really hit the ground, but it must have caught the edge of the jump just like the chain did. It was either the edge of the wood, or maybe a nailhead that was sticking up, but whatever it was, it tore a big hole in his leg. He jumped up to get riding again, but then stopped because his leg felt warm. Lots of bleeding! We laid him down on the side of the trail, and elevated his leg, while he applied hard pressure. The bike patrol guys came along, and that's when we first saw the wound.....needless to say, as a father looking down on the wound of his son, it was quite upsetting. It wasn't arterial, or it would have been much worse, possibly fatal, as it was a good 15 minutes before the bike patrol got there.

Ok, assuming my son bounces gets back up on the bike park at some point, he is asking for some long riding pants, but....is that enough? Here's my take.....it was a freak accident, and the odds are that he could bike the rest of his life and never endanger that particular area again, but.....if it will give him and myself peace of mind, what are the options out there, that would still be suitable to riding.

In baseball, catchers can wear sliding shorts that have padding on the inside of the thigh. There are many mountain biking options that have padding on the hips and outer thighs. Etc, etc. He didn't even rip his shorts, but I don't know if whatever contacted him went over the shorts, or caught the lower edge, and lifted them up before catching his thigh? He doesn't know himself. Would long riding pants have prevented this?

Anyhow, just the musings of a father trying to get his son's butt back on a bike, while giving us both some peace of mind.

 

[phuchmileif]

I made a thread asking about protection for the outside, and have looked over most of the options.

I definitely saw some shorts that had inner thigh pads. The only ones I can think of off the top of my head were Troy Lees, though, and it looks like they did away with it in the current models (the older 7605's had inner thigh pads).

FWIW I think you're dealing with a freak accident. I've taken a LOT of falls and have never even bruised my inner thighs. Closest thing has been seat-related injuries...you know, where you fall on the nose of your seat with...a sensitive area. To be blunt: usually my balls. But once or twice, I've taken it right in the b-hole. :/

 

[Mr Pig]

FWIW I think you're dealing with a freak accident.

I agree. I think the chances of seeing a repeat are very low. Besides, if you put protection on every inch of his body he wouldn't be able to ride the bike!

 

[Agar426]

Thank you for the feedback! I agree, it was a freak accident, and the chance of a repeat is quite low. What has me freaked out is he's wrecked many times, and much worse. Usually, it pisses him off and he goes again. This one was a small crash, but a freaky injury. It still has me weirded out, thinking about what could have been. Odd thing, as a beginning rider pushing 50, I'm quite slow, and very cautious. After the buggy took him and his bike down, I had to get my ass down the hill on my bike, and it was probably one of my best runs.....I guess I need some distraction or something to ride well (for me)!

 

[Mr Pig]

What has me freaked out is he's wrecked many times, and much worse.

I hate to worry you but he'll probably keep crashing.

When I was a kid there were certain people who tended to do the same things over and over. One guy I stopped going around with because everything he did went wrong, he burst my nose with a plank one day. I met a guy who knew him as an adult and he laughed and said 'he's still exactly the same'. Another guy in my street was always the one to get hurt when we were getting up to stuff. Always. In his late teens he fell under a train. Survived. Took a bit of DIY to nail him back into human shape though but he's still around.

The point is that it's in your nature. If you're wired to take risks, make bad calls etc you'll keep doing it. A lot of the guys who ride mountain bikes hard are like that. When you talk to them they'll rhyme off their injuries like a shopping list and they don't think squat about it.

I'd keep the hospital in your Sat-nav if I were you..

 

[Agar426]

I hate to worry you but he'll probably keep crashing.

When I was a kid there were certain people who tended to do the same things over and over. One guy I stopped going around with because everything he did went wrong, he burst my nose with a plank one day. I met a guy who knew him as an adult and he laughed and said 'he's still exactly the same'. Another guy in my street was always the one to get hurt when we were getting up to stuff. Always. In his late teens he fell under a train. Survived. Took a bit of DIY to nail him back into human shape though but he's still around.

The point is that it's in your nature. If you're wired to take risks, make bad calls etc you'll keep doing it. A lot of the guys who ride mountain bikes hard are like that. When you talk to them they'll rhyme off their injuries like a shopping list and they don't think squat about it.

I'd keep the hospital in your Sat-nav if I were you..

I absolutely agree! I misspoke in my last post, the reason I am freaked out isn't because he crashes, or has crashed worse. I am fully prepared for the broken bones, and what not. A few years ago, he had been begging for the dirt version of those little scooters that kids cruise along on. Well, the day it came in, he broke his arm flying off of a jump. The reason this one freaked me out was because of what could have been. it wasn't even a bad crash. You can see the bruise on his leg where whatever it was scraped along before it went in. I'm guessing he will take it easy for a while. He claims he's too freaked out right now to even ride, much less hit a bike park. Well, the day of the scooter incident, he claimed he was never going to scooter again.....in less than a week, we get a call from the neighbor stating "is that your son I just saw on his scooter with a cast up to his armpit?"

I would be perfectly ok if he cranked it back a bit, to reduce the opportunities, but the fact is, he will do what he will do, and he wasn't even taking a chance when this accident happened. I just want to do what's reasonable with regard to supplying him with protection.

 

[Muirenn]

There is a good thread here somewhere about protective gear. That would probably be better. Give me a sec, I'll look for it.

 

[Muirenn]

Okay I found it. Knee and elbow protection is not inner thigh, but he is more likely to need that in the future with the way he rides anyway, and you can find a decent pair of shorts to go with them. If he already uses knee protection, you might look into upgrading.

http://forums.mtbr.com/apparel-prot...ht-pairs-knee-pads-here-my-notes-1014479.html

I like Competitive Cyclist for this type of thing. At the very least, they have a wide selection and you can compare more easily.

 

[Mr Pig]

I just want to do what's reasonable with regard to supplying him with protection.

Absolutely. Short of keeping him in the house it's about all you can do.

 

[Agar426]

What's odd is that his shorts didn't even get torn, although whatever cut him could have pushed his shorts up. I am wondering if long pants could have prevented this, or maybe lessened the severity.

He currently wears elbow and knee protection. He wears Fox DH knee pads, and for the elbows, he either wears the body suit, the Fox Titan knockoff, or he wears the G-Form pads, which are light for the bike park. Full face helmet and goggles of course.

 

[watermonkey]

A friends son took a pinned platform pedal to the inner thigh during a crash. Hamburger meat, lots o stitches, not a clean laceration. Platforms with pins live on the fatbikes for winter riding. As soon as my son was able to get into clipless, we went that route.

I've seen zip ties lacerate the bejesus out of people, and its often on the inner thigh area. If you come off the pedals and bounce around on the top tube mid crash, you're asking for it with sharp zip ties. When they're used for cable/hose routing, they have to be clipped flush and clean, no sharp edges.

Baggies with liners are at least 2 layers of protection. Can't thinks any way to protect this area and still be able to ride.

 

[Taroroot]

What's odd is that his shorts didn't even get torn, although whatever cut him could have pushed his shorts up. I am wondering if long pants could have prevented this, or maybe lessened the severity.

He currently wears elbow and knee protection. He wears Fox DH knee pads, and for the elbows, he either wears the body suit, the Fox Titan knockoff, or he wears the G-Form pads, which are light for the bike park. Full face helmet and goggles of course.

You could try BMX pants. Should offer some abrasion and puncture resistance, theyre made frOm pretty rugged material. Kinda lighter versions of motocrosspants. Might get hot.

 

[Rone Turner]

DH pants will help a lot. I have Fly brand. I have TLD armored under shorts that have inner thigh protection. Hope they still make them. Wear them every ride no matter where I’m riding. Mainly for the hip bone protection. You can have complete coverage and still ride. Just need the right gear. TLD long sleeve padded shirt or IXS upper suit, with DH jersey. IXS knee/shin guards, DH pants and TLD under pants for park. Good helmet and gloves obviously.

 

[Agar426]

Great input everyone! I am definitely going to get him the long pants. I have noticed that the companies tend to change their products around a lot, and not always for the better, whether it be for costs, or pandering to the majority. I will search for those TLD under shorts.

 

[Desertride]

If it gives you some peace of mind, maybe add a compression bandage to your frst aid kit and a clotting sponge.

 

[Mentor]

There are commercially available cut-resistant leggings designed for hockey that are worth checking out.

 

[Cuyuna]

I've seen many, many different mountain biking injuries come through the ER from the local MTB destination trail system. Some injuries are more common than others...i.e ribs and clavicles...but the key point I take away is that there is no way to ride completely protected from the many, many ways a mountain biker can hurt himself. Best you can do is lower the odds. IME, armor for the inner thighs is past the point of diminishing returns.

This does not account for the possible need that some injured people have of having some kind of protective talisman to put the fear of a repeat such injury at bay.