Hi, do you use any? I quite like my shins, and having just gone back to flat pedals i'd like some knee/leg combo pads! i know you look a dick riding trail centres with them, but riding on my own makes me paranoid of to much injury. Whats recomended for long rides? something lightweight and comfy for pedalling?
Thanks

you are in a sport where people think lycra is cool and you are worried about leg armour??

Lycra cool? your joking right? You have a point there, i suppose 😆

If you just want knee pads (most important bit IMO) then the 661 Kyle Straits are fantastic- inexpensive and all-day comfy but they still have a good degree of protection. I wear mine basically all the time, never a bother. You don't look a dick wearing sensible levels of protection at trail centres, not unless you're also tottering around at 3mph on the green routes anyway.

Actually the attitude some people have to knee pads really honks me off. Your knees are pretty delicate, complex joints, they often don't heal well, they have a lot of moving parts and they're extremely exposed- and quite useful for cyclists. Having narrowly dodged a crippling knee injury and had 6 months of physio and recuperation I can say, you want 2 working knees. Whereas your head is naturally heavily armoured, in a relatively unexposed and nonweightbearing location, and all your instincts are built to protect it. The Peebles survey, last time I looked, showed serious knee injuries to be over 10 times more likely than serious head injuries. And there's no indication that knee pads present a risk of injury to the leg, unlike helmets, which can be linked to rotational and overtorque injuries. And yet, if you don't wear a helmet you're a moron, whereas if you wear kneepads you're a big poof.

I can abstain from such nonsense, I have a bad knee and osteoperosis so I have a doctor's note that says I'm allowed to wear armour 😉 But the attitude is weird.

Nothing wrong with wearing pads IMO. Wear whatever you want to ride in. I sometimes team them up with lycra, I'm that mad.

One point though. If you've just gone back to flats then it's your shins and calves which are going to get shredded until you get the hang of them. Mine did anyway.

You might want to get shin pads that cover front and back of yr legs, I have the 661 veggie (I think they're called) and they're fine. I hardly ever wear them now though, but wear my knee pads a lot.

I've just bought some Kyle Straits. Twatted my knee off my bars while climbing last time I was out (hit a huge root, bike stopped, I didn't, error!) it didn't hurt at the time but a few hours later and the next day my knee was killing me.
Not tried them out properly yet but they seem very comfy. Cheapest I could find them was £32 (google product search it) for medium size. CRC have some small ones for £30.

MBR are giving them away with subscriptions too just now, though it'll take forever for them to arrive if they ever do.

i know you look a dick riding trail centres with them

Or look an even bigger dick when you flog off all your bikes and retire to the sofa because of a stupid knee injury. I've got kyle straights. Love em.

Race Face Fan here.

Got the DIG knee pads and Rally RF knee and shin. Swear by them.

Got some POC joint shin pads. Use VPD stuff rather than rigid plastic panels. Cover your shin and knee and aren't too bulky either. There is a bit of protection 'round the back too although not as much as those 661 veggie pads.

Aren't knee pads etc just for the downhill and jump brigade?.I have never seen the need for xc and trail centre stuff

I wear knee pads when i go away to trail centres and anything other than my local woods xc. I find they're often one of the main contact points for me when you crash and when you go as fast as i do try then some padding that you don't even notice has got to be worth it.

I use kyle straits, suitable from trail centres to DH imo.

Me neither but each to their own eh?

661 knee pads for me too! Comfortable for all day riding and enough protection to ensure you dont skin your knees and smash your knee caps. Dont use them all the time, depends where I'm going, but I have no problem wearing them at trail centers or even give a shit what others think. Theres only one thing worse than the "downhill jump brigade" and thats the "I'm bullet proof and far to skilled for pads xc mince brigade".

I do tend to come off at least once on a good ride, I'm not overtly rubish at riding, but I do try stuff thats beyond my skill level in a bid to get a little better, and sometimes fail 😆

i got some 661 pads for trail centres but the day after went on a local ride and smashed my knee into a tree. I think i will use them regular now when my knee stops hurting 🙂

I use a pair of footy shins.

Light, breath, inexpensive and easy carry on the rucksack.

I wear 661 evo's for everything xc based, dianese knee and shins for bmxing. And 661knee and shins for dh etc. All perfect for the job I use them for.

I'm also about to get some Kyle Straits and will probably use them for most rides. Had a fall on the local jumps the other day which was bloody painful (chunks taken out of knee) and made my ride at Cannock yesterday a bit rubbish, still can't walk 100%.

Even when you scrape some skin off, knees are a pain in the arse to heal as bending them cracks the scabs etc. So I'd rather wear pads than have annoying grazes that take forever to heal!

"Edric 64 – Member

Aren't knee pads etc just for the downhill and jump brigade?.I have never seen the need for xc and trail centre stuff "

Again, don't understand this attitude. Do you never see people fall off at trail centres? Are you such a god that you're never likely to fall? Or perhaps very cautious? Or are you just doing the wrong XC/trail centres?

I tend to put them on when I'm at say a trail centre I'm new too, like Brechfa a few weeks ago, or sometimes in the Alps when I know the routes going down some really techy steep stuff, but TBH, I know some of them so well, they're like local trails, so I don't feel the need. It's a personal ting innit.

Do you not just find that as you learn them better you go faster? I understand where you're coming from but that's all that happens with me.

8 stitches to my knee after a trip to Glentress the other weekend – this was on an really innocuous bit of trail. Needless to say I have a set of knee pads on order. I normally ride a knee/shin combo on the DH bike, using flat pedals, or there are lots of brambles… They are difficult to get a good fit for all day riding. I'm hoping the knee pads will be more comfortable.

I guess, It's a confidence/experince thing innit, I've never had a fall serious enough to keep me off the bike (in 20 years or so of mountain biking), I've got scars and bruises from it over the years, but nothing so bad that I've thought "Whoa…Right, from now on pads all the time" and TBH, those sorts of accidents are by definition 'freak events' you may never have anything as serious as that ever again, and I'd rather not have the embuggerance of pads for most of my riding. I go as fast as "I" want, whether that's faster than some, or slower than others, doesn't really bother me at all. All this "you must not try that hard"…pffft, so what's it to you?

I do know how to fall off though…which does make a difference 🙂

Well, see, "the embuggerance of pads"- there isn't any. Mostly this is personal opinion of course but that's one thing people do make a wrong assumption on, once mine are on they're pretty much forgotten. Good pads are about as much hassle as wearing pants.

Never had a bad off myself and you're right, they're rare but little annoying offs are less uncommon… To me that's what the pads are all about, they keep my skin on and mean I just ride on after crashes that wouldn't have stopped me riding, probably, but would have made me bitch and moan for the rest of the day 😉 The fact that just occasionally they might help in a big one is just a bonus but it's never happened yet.

Well, see, "the embuggerance of pads"- there isn't any.

My legs are an old shape, pads tend to fall down "just enough" to be not on my knee, and "just enough" to make pedaling annoying, means I have to stop and pull them up, I've tried loads of pads, always the same…

Thing is, pads aren't ever going to prevent the accident, the best you can hope for is that they mitigate the outcome…Never had that fall where I land on a pointy thing on my knee, doubtless if that ever happens I'll change my view about it… 😆

I appreciate Nick's point but then again it's what floats your boat. If you like to get your kicks out of riding close to the edge of YOUR ability range, then you are going to fall off a bit. If you are out for the view or ride in an area which does not get you close to that edge then you won't. I managed for years without them and don't wear them very often now but now I'm trying to get a bit more airborne without a great deal of skill so they seem to make more sense. I do seem to damage my arms and elbows as much if not more than my legs but have not thought to buy guards for those yet though. I guess damaged knees tend to be more terminal for a cyclist. One thing is for certain, I'm prepared to take more risks with the stuff on than not which makes not sense as it's not going to stop me crashing.

I bought my first set of knee/shin pads a year ago when I started to play with flats. I would say they are a bit on an inconvienience as I get hot underneath them. 661 now make the evo stuff with the cleaver d3o smart material in an "xc lite" range inc shin pads but sadly the UK distributer is not bringing them into the country. Shame, as I think they would suit a lot of folk.

Oh and to the OP – if it's flats protection you are after don't worry about your knees, its your shins that they will bite.

"Never had that fall where I land on a pointy thing on my knee"

With me it's always the shifters 😳

I smacked my bad knee on the shifter yesterday when climbing, re-opening the scab, bloody painful!

I use 661 evos for most of my riding as they are comfortable and seem to do the job well, I've only had one big crash in them (and a couple of knee/bar interactions) and my knees came up fine, shins were a bloody mess but knees were fine.

I've actually got some Kyle's already that i use with spd's, and was thinking of getting something a bit more proper for the flat pedals. 661 seem to have the area sewn up, but just not sure which to go for. If the race set are more comfortable for longer rides, thats what i'll get, i think!

Not that impressed by 661's shin pads… Raceface Rally FR are good but very little back protection. POC's Bone protectors are fantastic but expensive and regardless of how unselfconscious you may be about padding up, wearing stormtrooper armour is always going to feel a bit weird

(I use the POC Bone arm pads, because they're the most comfortable elbow pads in the world, but I wish they were a bit less white! It looks like I've gone out for something radcore and massively protective, actually I just want a bare minimum but every smaller pad I tried was rubbish, my Chicken Wings are just orrible)

These would be OK with your Kyle Straits I think.

Quite comfy to wear and cover front and back.

Also you can just wear them when you're not expecting to fall off but are likely to gash your calves on your pedals.

Interesting thread this as I've got some 662 Race Lite pads, which slip down like mad. Last yr in Spain I fell off and whacked my knee on a rock. Had my pads not slipped down I suspect it would have been a non-issue, but my knee cap to the brunt of it, swelled up to about twice it's normal size & made the rest of the weeks cycling an uncomfortable & nervous affair.

I am on the lookout for some new pads and was thinking 661 Race or Pro both which have knee socks to hold them in place, whereas mine just have straps. I was also looking at the RaceFace FR that Coyote mentions above (edit – and Northwind) but looking at them earlier, they seem to have a cross-over strap for the knee pad that goes behind the knee & looks quite uncomfy. Coyote – do you not find they slip down at all?

I generally only wear my pads in conditions where there are lots of rocks around.
Although I wear them at Thetford in summer to ward off the nettles which gets me some confused looks. At the end of the day though, they keep me comfy so I don't really care what I look like…..

I really dont care what people think of me wearing pads when I ride. When I crashed yesterday I was glad I had them on. It meant I got away with a small bruise instead of a big bruise and cuts!

At glentress you are probably in the minority if you don't have them on.

I use Race Face Rally FR shin and knee combos they are very comfy. I had them on for over three hours yesterday round GT black. I'm 5'8" and wear medium pads if that helps

Not saying pads are always required but anyone that takes the piss out of someone for using them needs a good kicking. Then again not wearing pads purely because you think you'll look silly is as dumb. Look in the mirror, 99% of people look a tit with a helmet on but there's a reason most sane people wear one.
Granted pads are a bit more of a grey area but if you ride places where you're pushing your limits and wearing pads doesn't detract from your enjoyment then I can't see why you wouldn't pad up. As has been said, one bad crash is enough to permanently screw up an elbow or knee so if you're going to take risks (riding at the limit of your abilities) then why not mitigate those risks a bit. No one plans to have an accident.

661 Evo knees for me (pricier sibling to the Kyle Strait), and I’ve got a set of Fox Knees/shin jobbies which I use on now and then, if you’re slipping pedals then shin protection makes sense however I’ve yet to find a knee/shin combo that will stay put for an entire DH run let alone a whole ride, thus meaning in a tumble your shins are safe and the top of your knee gets a lovely deep cut or bruise in about 1/3 stacks, hence I wear the 661s for about 98.7856% of my riding now…

Best way forwards is to have a good set of knee pads plus a separate shin pad I reckon, either some veggie shins (or similar) or hack up your least favourite set of knee/shin pads that way you always have knee coverage and can opt in/out of shin armour as conditions/trail/experience/pedal type dictate…

if they don't fit properly or they slip then you may as well not bother wearing pads at all. Dainese always used to be notorious for protecting the back of your knee in a crash…

POC bones are good and stay put, as do my new POC knees. Pricey but well made and work well….

Agree with the Dainese point, I've witnessed lots of riders wearing what seem to be the most expensive ankle warmers available….

jam bo – Member
if they don't fit properly or they slip then you may as well not bother wearing pads at all.

Agree completely, hence looking for new ones at the mo….
It was recommended to cut the bit of plastic on the pads I've got that goes between the shin pad & knee cup. Was s'posed to stop them sliding down, but made no difference to mine.

2 mates of mine use Dainese pads and they seem pretty good – apparently very comfortable & stay put. Only issue is they are quite hot.
I could do with finding a shop that sells the pads i am interested in, rather than just getting them from CRC – I think the 661 Race or Pro are my favoured options at the moment, as would need convincing that the Raceface FR's will stay in place & prolonged pedalling won't cause the crossover strap behind the knee to start irritating.

If you want the best then buy POC bone VPD. They are rated higher than all the others and offer the most protection and do not slip down when you crash unlike all the others.