Being a bit old school I've never had any type of protection other than wearing a helmet and have was always a been bit reluctant to start looking like some type of armchair wannabe stormtrooper when just having a quick blast around a trail centre as a warm up/down before/after a big day in the mountains. Though with age and recovery time taking longer from knocks and falls and the 28 stitches administered by a maxillofacial surgeon last year I was considering getting some knee pads at a push. Thoughts and advice welcome!

this isn't what I thought this was going to be about at all.

So you chin yourself then go out and buy some knee pads – I can see the logic in that. 😉

I wear knee pads most of the time now, after a couple of near misses. They also double as handy knee warmers in winter.

Helmet and gloves.
I never wear any body armour, can't stand the stuff. That and the added faff factor of stopping at the top and bottom of every descent to put it on/take it off.
By the time you've done all that you could be at the bottom anyway!

I wear full face,arm pads,gloves and glasses. Probably because my work drives health and safety home to me .To be honest if I hurt something and I could have had protection for it I would feel like a prize ****t. I always like my kids to have decent protection and it annoys the shit out of me the negative comments about wearing safety gear (it can be hard enough getting your 14 YO to wear safety gear without people making him more self conscieous about it). So fine if people do not want to use it but they should maybe think twice about making remarks for those that do use it

😉

So you chin yourself then go out and buy some knee pads – I can see the logic in that.

Was hoping they would act like some type of comfort blanket

I wear a Giro Athlon helmet all the time and a set of 661 Kyle strait knee pads a lot.

A set of knee guards like the kyle straits are so easy to forget you've got them on that it's almost silly not to if you're riding anywhere you think a crash is likely. I wear them at trail centres, local days when I want to push myself a bit more and when I go on big techy all day rides. Like I say, you just don't know they're there, so you might as well. I have mashed my knees in the past and I'm too young to really ruin them.

I find they do slow me down a bit though sometimes- if I were wanting to go for a leg burning ride I'd not bother usually.

I was learning towards 661 Kyle strait's, glad hear you can wear them all day without to much bother.

I got some VPD Poc kneepads from cyclestoreuk for £50 recently – seem a bit more flexible than the 661's although not as much paddign aroudn the sides (which may explain the flexibility…).

I wear my helmet and a set of UFO elbow / forearm guards which are super comfy, but which also need adjusting now and again. I have a dodgy elbow from past falls so wear these almost every ride.

I do have a set of Race Face knee pads but find them pretty uncomfy so I rarely wear them. They also move around a lot (like, after every climb) so need constant fettling. Had a much more burly set of 661 knee / shin protecters before but it was like wearing some kind of torture device – the velcro straps constantly wedged themselves behind my knee and chaffed like billy-o.

Kyle Straits are excellent, wear mine pretty much all the time now, very comfy, even fit underneath my long trousers. And yes, keeping your knees warm is a welcome bonus 😀

I wear knee pads, and I've got a blade in my back pocket.

helmet (on me heed) and nowt else 🙄

Pad-wearers: how long/far do you ride in them?

Depends on the weather for me. If it's warm I'll tend to just use them for descents, at the moment I'm wearing them all the time quite happily, although the longest ride I tend to do is about 15 miles or so.

On the Dh bike some Troy Lee T-Bones and a POC Full face with Electric Goggles..

On the other bikes a Giro Atmos and Spec riding glasses…

Will use gloves to if its cold but normally try to avoid it!

I have some of the old-style Fox arm-elbow pads & i can wear them all day, i'll be using them intensely in the next week as they are very good at keeping my rheumatic (i think) elbows warm as well as giving good protection during ice-initiated emergency dismounts!

I always wear knee and elbow pads if I'm out on big rides that have technical and/or high speed descents. Often I'm on my own and reckon its a sensible precaution if you might come off two hours walk from the nearest road. Also, when you get to a "certain age" you tend to splat rather than bounce, and recovery takes much longer

Can't be doing with taking stuff on/off so went for 661 Evo pads for knee and elbow. Knee is obvious, and elbow because it's usually your arm than lands first. I've used them on big 6-7 hour rides. Plenty comfy once they've moulded to your shape, and not too hot as they are not thick neoprene. Wear them under 3/4 baggies and a long t-shirt and nobody notices you are wearing them

Normally just a helmet & gloves.

I sometimes wear knee/shin pads & elbow pads at the more rocky trail centres, but as my technique has improved over the last couple of years, I feel more confident that I won't come acropper. Perhaps the wrong approach?!
A couple of months ago I went to Cadair Idris and took pads for the journey down and I always take them to Spain.

I use Fox elbow pads, which are cheap & cheerful but seem to do the job well, are nicely articulated & not too cumbersome.
The knee pads are 661 race something or anothers and aren't so goo. They're black material with grey pads & don't stay put on my legs.

Definitely the way forward, unless you want to try something along the lines of

Knee pads if I fancy pushing myself quite hard

Knee pads and a full face helmet if the trails are icy

661 kyle knees and raceface elbow/forearms.
wear both all day quite happily. if it's really warm i'll take the arms off and strap them onto the bars for climbing.
i'm aware that the level of protection i use isn't going to prevent serious injury, but serious injury is bad enough, without niggling injuries to go with it!
wear what level of protection you're happy with. you still see some folk without helmets after all. 🙄

I use the other form of protection – I take it easy if there's the chance of pain 🙂

I seem to be falling off a lot more this year (over bars is the favourite at the moment).
I got myself a casco viper helmet and kyle strait knee pads. Both feel pretty "discreet" in terms of noticing them whilst riding.

Just a helmet for me wherever I ride, be that local, trail centre or out in the wilds and whether it's steady mile eating or mega technical.
Just don't feel comfortable with pads & think more about them than the trail = more crashing than just getting it on with it.

I carry a knife if I'm riding in London.

Gloves, sometimes glasses, and most importantly in summer (remember summer?) sunblock.
Wearing sunblock can 'almost certainly' save your life.

I have osteoperosis, so I wear more than most, doesn't take an awful lot to break me. So, kyle strait knees, except for the most basic and undemanding of dull XC.

Elbow pads most of the time- I did have a set of 661 Chicken Wings which are small and seemed ideal, but turned out to be uncomfortable, sweaty and very restrictive. So now I have a set of POC Bone elbows, which look ridiculous- very big, and bright white- but are much less enclosed, so they're less restrictive and much less sweaty despite their huge size.

Sometimes 661 Evo armoured shorts. I'd wear these all the time but they're a bugger to wash because of the custard!

And the usual, helmet, gloves, and often glasses.

Thing is, with all of these they're no bother to ride in. I wouldn't want to make sacrifices for protection but the Kyle Straits and the shorts make no difference at all to how I ride. The elbow guards to a little but it's trivial.

Knee and shin at most trail centres , 7stanes red , full face/knee/shin/elbow for Fort William red. Helmet and glasses always.
Was considering a "baw can" as it seems I have found a habit of top tube interface. 😕

but they're a bugger to wash because of the custard!

[shudders]

xc/trail centres
helmet
glasses
gloves
off road i wear some 661 knees (my job means a scabby knee is a right pain for healing and painfull to work with) they're also good for keeping my knees warm as they seem to really suffer in the cold.

Dh
full face
goggles
661 suit
knee shins
gloves

I just don't see why if you can be comfortable and protected you wouldn't be, especially if your job relies on you being fit and well.

bought some in the late summer for the first time – was doing South downs night ride and wanted to be able to press-on to make up time on the downs and wore them the whole ride without issue with them and did allow a little extra bravado…
I find the "veggie wings" elbows slip down with some top material – merino is best for staying put.
Don't hinder movement and fit under outer layer so don't look too daft and as was mentioned earlier the thread good leg warmers at the moment.

Helmet / gloves / glasses and camelback to protect the back…

I have worn arm pads to protect a broken elbow from being hit by a car on the road bike ! But not now… too much faff and heat in the summer. I ride very much within my limits and I find out that I rode outside of them when I wore pads increasing my chance of a stack….

horses for courses BUT no good for me on 4-6 hr rides as weight and heat pissed me off no end…

However it seems de rigeur for trail centre riders thou – that and walking on the uphills pushing those big All mountain scalextric bikes MBR told you to buy…

paul

Sorry, but I'm just amused by the apostrophe in the OP title. Never seen one in that position before.

I salute you sir! 😆

Apostrophe p'o'l'i'c'e' – I wish they would just eat, shoot then f*****g leave. 😯

661 Race lite knee and shin plus Chicken wings elbow guards for trail centres, Lizard skins lightweight knee and elbow guards carried in the pack and put on for XC descents/places where I have fallen off before.

I wear a standard helmet & gloves for general riding, gloves are lightweight Troy Lee XC ones, just so I don't lose grip if my hands get sweaty on the grips! Pisspot and knee pads on the BMX, and just got a new full face and dug out my old forearm/elbow pads for some downhill this next year after a few years away on a BMX hiatus!

For riskier stuff (DH/BMX Trails etc) you can't beat the feeling of security you get from having appropriate levels of protection IMO.

Kyle Straits here too, great set of pads, light and don't slip down. Can be a little warm but you forget about it fairly quickly.

(Mr MC posting)

dainese pro air knee/shin guards. Bought for the alps many years ago, ridden in moroccon heat all day and whilst I'm trying to learn flatties will be wearing them routinely on all sorts of rides in the UK. Unlike crazy legs and other detractors I find them so comfortable I forget theyre on. Dont overheat in the summer but offer a little warmth and weather protection in the autumn/winter.

Have matching elbow pads which are a bit more of a faff as they move down the arm with time, and I only wear them when I've gone out with the intention of doing more risky riding (chicksands trips, or heading out on jump/drop/play rides). On such days I wear a cheapo 661 full face (40 quid from CRC).

As I've got older (and unjured) Ive lost the sneery attitude people have for those who wear armour or full faces on "normal" or "XC" trails. Even a superficial graze can make the following day at work pretty grim, and many of my riding buddies have had nasty flesh wounds that a basic set of pads would have avoided. A beat-copper mate needed stitches in his knee after bailing on a novice-friendly ride out of Pangbourne and had a foul time back at work the next day.