Sensible post – once again it all comes down to risk assessment. If you think the risks are high enough or the consequences are bad enough that wearing armour is sensible then do so.

Riding the tandem at Glentress we are getting faster and faster and jumping more – it has now reached the point where we either slow down or armour up. I can’t be arsed with armour so we have slowed down a bit – keeps the safety margins high and lowers the risk.

Mrs TJ is going for skills training – it appears flats are a good idea – she ain’t used to them so will be wearing shinpads

Remember risk compensation as well – feel less vulnerable = take more risks.

Druidh said, “Which is what I think Steve-Austin was getting at away back there ^

I guess it all comes down to how we each categorise our riding. “

TBH I’ve got no idea what he was saying, possibly that it’s impossible to fall off riding XC, which makes no sense. Unless his idea of XC is very tame, I suppose, but it doesn’t sound like a definition most folks would recognise.

Ive got the Evo XC Lite (thats sounds **** terrible) but they are really good – I only really wear them when the ground starts getting rocky.

I bought the Kyle Straits this xmas, both knee and elbow. Now i always wear the knee pads but will save the elbow pads for the alps or if i ever get round to an uplift day.

My reasoning is simple, once broken in they comfortable enough for me to forget they are there and i’m enough of my own man to not care what people think.

For the record, i’m an all round trail rider, who will ride most techy stuff and probably only fall off once or twice a year because i have taken the time to learn slowly and at the age of 38 have been on some form of two wheels for 34 years.

How do you know when you will next have a crash or even knock your knees on your bars..

Don’t be a sheep!

I agree with Snee, (like it)

Others may think you are over dressed with pads and all but they will look decidedly under dressed if they come off.

I am also sure this debate rages on motorcycle forums re proper leathers etc or jeans and trainies brigade.

Proper motorcyclists wear leathers, boots etc all the time on their bikes, divvies don’t and wear jeans, trainies and a top.

I know I’d prefer leather for brakes than my skin when skidding across tarmac.

IF (note that word) I was riding stuff where i felt i might fall off I might wear pads. IF (that word again) i am riding your everyday standard XC then i would never wear pads. I don’t fall off riding XC.

I’ve ridden Afan and the only bit that has any menace is about 20 foot of the black run. Is that XC, probably not, its loosely DH, for all of about 20 foot. real gnarly 😉

Wear pads if you want to. But if you are wearing them for everyday riding, you ain’t riding XC.

As i have got better at riding and as my bikes have got slacker and more fun, my ‘xc’ is more likely to bite back..

As I get older I take longer to heal so I wear pads whenever I think I’m likely to be pushing myself a little.

Having said that the my last two crashes were simply when I ws going much faster than normal along a typically XC piece of track. I wasn’t wearing pads and was lucky the ground was soft.

It actually depends on which bike I’m riding. If I’m riding my ss then the wheels tend to stay on the floor. Although I still travel at speed, I don’t tend to wear pads.

If I’m riding the PA, I always at least wear shin pads. Shimano DX pins hurt a lot when they are embedded in your shins, and its easily to slip off a pedal when landing or going down something steep. I only tend to wear knee pads when I’m on DH runs.

But wear the protection you feel comfortable with. If you feel you need to wear them, do it. I know plenty of riders that don’t get on a bike without knee pads. If you were on an xc run and you found a new technical section of trail that had a nice drop off, taking it out of xc territory :roll:, would you not ride it until you had your pads on?

Too much riding is defined by xc/all mountain/freeride etc. Sounds a cliche, but just get out and ride for the fun of riding and hit whatever you feel you have the balls and skill to hit on the day. If by doing that there is a call to pad up, then pad up. Simple as that.

personally i wear elbow/forearm pads because i had a nasty off a few yrs back that ended up with my right elbow impacting into a drystone wall at around 25mph – it bloody well hurt!
I’ve dislocated & shattered my right patella twice (both times off the bike) & it is an agonising pain that i have no wish to experience again, i’ve been looking for some kneepads that i can ride comfortably in so i think i’ll take a look at the Kyle jobbies.

If any of you want to snigger then go ahead, you only make yourself look like immature & macho knobs. My knees, my choice.

I can’t believe this old argument’s still giong on.

Do what ever you want.

No one gives a ****.

Personaly I wouldn’t but after a life time of MX and Enduro without I don’t see the need.

I’m using 661 veggie pads. Until you get the positioning right, they do slip around a bit causing minor chaffage. Comfortable once correctly positioned though.

I wear them whenever I’m doing a longer route as when I get tired I make silly mistakes and always end up gashing my right knee up (last time it got infected and took a good couple of months to heal properly)

I’ve got a pair of the 661 Evo pads – the D30 stuff.

I thought I was just going to wear them for freeriding/DH’y stuff/Alps, but after wearing them for a few long rides to break them in, they are in fact really comfortable, and now I wear them for any ‘serious’ riding. I’ve fallen off many times, often bashing/trapping my knee between bike and whatever, and these are comfortable enough to fit and forget.

As people have said, wear what you want…..

DrP

Two weeks ago today I was up Cwmcarn all day padded up but didn’t fall off, I decided to ride home and chucked all my gear in a mates van, headed back along the canal and then onto the road about a mile before my house where some tool in a mondeo decides to pull out in front of me leaving me no choice but to bail onto the pavement.

I managed to shave a nice patch of skin off my knee at least 5mm deep and could only get back on the bike yesterday. I won’t bother with shins but I’m getting some knee pads to wear all (most) of the time…

I have a pair of Kyle Straits that I slip on for anything that is techincal. I have had a couple of smacks on the knee that could have been very dicey and inch either way so in my opinion really not worth risk.
If someone wants to jeer you for wearing knee pads, isn’t that a bit like kids jeering the kid that wears his helmet. Now how many of you go out without your helmet on. If the option is there use it.
As for the Kyle straits I rode them Saturday around the Kona Mash Up enduro and they saved me from a nasty knee strike with a rock when I stacke dit on the Darkside. Did give me a friction burn were the impact moved the pad a bit. But that s far better than being carried off the mountain. And to be honest apart from the friciton burn rubbing. I didn’t bother me. Wore them on 60km rides before and not noticed them being there.
Sizing is important go and try them on. Or see if you can borrow someone elses to get the right size.

Can’t actually see very much in the way of jeering going on, but lots and lots of people who feel they need to justify their use of pads?

If you feel you need them, use them.

( I don’t, never have, but I see it as just riding a bike…)

I’d prefer to wear them all the time because granite hurts. Sadly, I find them too uncomfortable.

I ride Afan trails twice a week, – Race face knee/shin pads and elbow pads every ride, I’ve done the W2 and the Skyline in them – Get quite a few comments about being over protected but I don’t mind.

Its not the pain, because, lets face it , its still hurts when you fall off, but the healing time for a knackered knee from not wearing them would drive me nuts!

Oh yes – I also wear a full face (spesh deviant carbon) -so what??

Was going to post something useful but all things considered, it’s all been said. Wear whatever makes you feel good. Ruined knees don’t feel good and I’ve no urge to make mine worse so I wear pads more than half the time I ride.

can’t be bothered reading all of the above…

I’ve used Kyle Straits for over a year now for all types of riding – XC to DH. I’ve got very thin skin on my knees from years of 5-a-side astro-turf injuries so it doesn’t take much to break the skin
the only tiny problem with Kyle Straits is that they chafe a bit on the bottom of my knee cap on long rides but sudocrem will probably help

for the nay-sayers, for me there are far more advantages to wearing kneepads than not wearing them so I wear them

I actually fell off the red route northshore at Mabie on Saturday but luckily into a ditch of moss type stuff. I think I’ll have my pads on for Ae this week, but for places like Dalbeattie, well I wont be doing any of the slabs or such like so don’t really need the pads.

Saw quite a few guys around Ladybower with knee and elbow pads on, one with a semi full face helmet as well. Thought it was a bit of overkill myself, but if you fall off a lot then I guess it makes sense. Would probably wear them myself if they were a bit more comfortable. 😀

Only you can decide whether you need pads or not

What is a semi-full face helmet? Surely that’d either be a full face (doesn’t cover your eyes after all) or a normal lid? Unless you’re talking about a Met Parachute style thing

I wear Raceface FR armour depending on the terrain. Used it for 3-4 hour XC rides no problem. Wouldn’t bother with it locally but would definitely use it somewhere rocky like the Peak District and also trail centres where I’d be tempted to push the envelope a bit.

If you think you would be more comfortable wearing them, then do it.

I wear 661 D30 evo thingies. they are expensive, but well worth the money. I was out for 5 hours today, in the sun, and forgot i was wearing them till i fell off.

They Are well worth the money in my opinion, for xc use.

oh, and as for not being ‘hardcore ebouhg, Ive hurt myself seriously on the road, doing an xc race, etc. And yet, after years of dh’ing, and allways wearing full body armour, ive only had minor cuts, and serious bruises.

atlaz, it was a full face helmet, but made in the same way as a normal xc helmet out of a sort of polystyrene web. More protection than a ‘normal’ helmet, not as much as a proper full face.

Stretch – “How about investing some money and time into your bike skills.”

Haha – what a daft comment!! Would you advise the Athertons not to pad up downhill racing because they have sufficent skills!?

To all the people who say they don’t fall off their bike: if there are no risks, why do you wear a helmet?

how many of you guys wear just knee pads, or elbow pads or wear both?
I’ve got some 661 D30 knees, and I’m wondering if I should get elbows as well. Although TBH, I’d rather get some of their undershort thingies with D30, as every time I come off, I tend to bang my hip/thigh.
I’ve even snapped a house key against my thigh whilst falling a few months back. That hurt.