I have been riding a few years and going to Cannock Chase for some time, Much longer than FTD existence.

Just recently I have noticed a dramatic rise in Knee pads on riders. Who on here wears them and do you not find they are restrictive. Last Sat I bashed my knee against a tree, painful at the time but I would not consider getting a set. Just wondered why they seem to be so popular.

Where I ride there is a lot of stone/rock and it is great at tearing knees open. Sure a tree will be sore with/without a guard if you knock it. I reckon it will be less so with the guard but I will not test it to confirm. I wear mine, knee & shin guard, more to keep the skin on in the event of an off. It will still probably bruise but should be in one piece.

bashed my knee last year and still gettign treatment for it.

been riding with POC's since and, tbh I rarely notice I've got them on – excepd when I fall off.

I have a pair of Kyle straits but rarely use them. There not that much of a pain and for sub 20km technical rides I generally wear them as gives that added piece of mind. Sometimes wear them in winter to keep my knees warm too.

When you go to trail centres you see a lot of fully padded up people but each to their own I say – if people would rather ride in them and it makes them have a better day then surely they're a good thing.

I don't use them all the time, but do for trail centre type rides. Thankfully I've never had to test them properly but they do give a little extra confidence to go a touch faster!
Also when I do wear them they are reasonably comfy so much so that I forget they are there .

I never fall off when I'm wearing them – I think they might have some sort of magical properties that make me a much better rider when I've got pads on.

Use them on rockier stuff – Kyle straits – as they provide protection but don't restrict my pedalling. It's about risk assesment – if I have an off then I'd rather not bruise / hurt my knee and be off the bike for any lenght of time. Also have elbow / forearm pads but rarely use them.

661 Evo’s here I use them most of the time when I’m on My MTBs or BMX, My knees are a bit knackered already and I don’t want to chance making them worse, plus I still like to ride descents with a bit of “commitment” I find the knee pads help with the head games a bit, and they keep your knees warm in winter…

Yes they're going to feel restrictive when you first start eating them, but after a while you just forget they're there. Means you can walk away from crashes that might otherwise wreck your day/week, and def save you some serious injery if you're unlucky enough to smack a rock. Took a spill two months ago after just buying pads, and yes I hurt myself (broken hand) but going by the scrape on my knee pad, things should have been a whole lot different if I hadn't had them. For reference, this was regular trail centre stuff (the wall afan) and I don't come off very often, but it will happen to most people some time if they ride enough. How many times has your helmet saved you, but you still wear it.

POC Knee Pads for me, got a dodgy knee and a bad bash on it could be serious, hardly notice them except on really hot days. In winter they also do a great job as knee warmers.

Felt very self-concious about protective clothiong overkill the first few rides, but don't care anymore now.

As DaveGr said, it's about your personal risk-assessment based on a range of factors.

I tend to wear 3/4 length shorts now so they're not too obvious, in any event.

I probably wouldn't wear them with lycra.

or on my road bike.

661 Evos, mainly cos I've got a bad knee from dancing at a party years ago, could just wear the one but that would seem a bit odd.

As with most of my protective gear, I started wearing after a crash. I wear a full(ish) face helmet some of the time because of a fall where I whacked the side of my face. I wear knee pads because a fall at speed put a hole in my knee.

For most of my riding they are not an encumbrance and – like when we all first started wearing helmets – you do get used to them. Granted if I have a big day in the saddle I may go without because it is comfier without them

Kyle Straits here for all proper rides (ie, not tow paths and cycle tracks). I don't feel any more restricted on rides with them than without them.

Your knees are such an important joint, and very vulnerable to damage in even a fairly low speed off, it makes sense to protect them.

yep i wear my 661 knee pads every ride…. got used to it now… you take longer to heal when ya older ! lol

I wear 661 Evo knee and elbow pads when I'm going to do a ride with lots of big rocky descent (I live in Scotland), especially if I'm on my own and could be a couple of hours walk out with no mobile signal if it all goes Pete Tong

kyle straits for xc type stuff full knee and shin for proper mountains nothing local rides.
Bit like asking why you wear a helmet it is beacuse when I fall off I hit the ground and would prefer not to get hurt. Wear elbow pads on big stuff or when wet and very slippy on rocky stuff.

Johnnie you big girls blouse

I've just started wearing Kyle Straits for XC trail centres. I've got gammy knees (three operations so far), and I'm a bit of a cautious rider – I wish I'd got some earlier.

661 Evo's here and veggies on elbows, have done ever since falling on the easiest bit of trail I could have found just through being a bit over confident with entry speed. I fell at what must have only been 10-12 mph max but still popped my shoulder out and had gravel rash from head to toe.
I also find myself far more confident when wearing them knowing that if I do stack its not gonna hurt as much.

661 evo D30's for me on the knees, don't notice them after a while.

gonna get the elbow variants v.soon

I'll be getting some soon (kyle straits) as I've fallen off at the jumps a few times and my knees were in a bad state, couldn't walk properly/without pain for a few weeks.

Never fallen off at a trail centre but I think I'll start wearing the straits for those as well as it'll give peace of mind.

Yep, knees aren't good so wear them on anything I might come off and thump them for piece of mind.

Kyle Straits for me – usualy at trail centres as they are faster and rockier than the local trails. I've had 3 occasions when i've had big offs when they have saved a painful landing, one that probably stopped shattered knee caps. Mine probably need replacing now as they rub my knees raw on 3hr plus rides.

"Zoolander – Member

I don't use them all the time, but do for trail centre type rides."

But it's impossible to hurt yourself at safe sanitised trail centres don'tchaknow? 😆

I wear my Kyle Straits for every ride, basically, except for really daft stuff where I go with the POC Bones, but they're more of a hassle. The Kyle Straits aren't quite fit-and-forget but they're damn close, for me there's no restriction and no discomfort or rubbing at all, and they're not excessively hot even in really hot weather. Brilliant kit, at a decent price.

It doesn't take much to upset a knee, for me it was the classic "Knee the shifters" maneouvre that inspired getting them but I wish I'd got them sooner, I can't see any reason at all to ride without mine now when there's so little downside. They'll probably never save me from a crippling injury but I guarantee you beyond any doubt that they've saved me from small, annoying injuries.

Had my knees stitched a few times, ripped the skin off on my left (MX bike though) to expose the cap and just had my right glued back together (sterile glue is F*ing cool by the way) so yes, i'll now be wearing my new 661 Kyle Strait's tomorrow on Dunkery.

Race Face DIGs here. Wear them most of the time. Like the lid and gloves, unobtrusive and better safe then sorry.

Had my Kyle Strait slims for about 3 months now – could not wear them for the first 3-4 weeks until the knee was healed sufficently to allow any pressure against the knee cap – it was a daft stupid fall that did it at maybe 1mph and I hit the only rock and while I could still cycle fine I really struggled at work – this was the deciding factor for me to get some AND to wear them all the time – so when I came off again 2 weeks ago, twisted my arm, bruised my stomach and cracked a couple of ribs, my knees were fine 😆

i just got some kyle straits and wondered how i got by without them before, they dont get in the way and i forget ive got em after the first mile or so. and the head games!, i go a lot faster now than i did cos i aint worried about coming off n doing me knees in. welsh slate is unforgiving!ive already had 12 wekks off with bike injuries in the last 12 months so any more would be bad news.