Im looking at getting padded up.i want something light that wont irritate on longer rides anybody got any recommendations?

661 evo knee
661 rhythm elbow (edit: currently £7 at Crc!)

I bought some POC VPD elbows and VPD 2.0 knees. They were tested on Saturday with 4 hour ride on my SS, so lots of pedaling in horrible mud.

The knee pads stayed put the entire time, they pinched a little but apart from that they were great. I wore them under some Howies ventile jeans to see how sweaty they got.

As for the elbow pads, they were also very good and really slim fitting. I wore them under 2 layers, a Gore windproof and my Endura Stealth, again they got sweaty but they didn’t irritate me one bit.

They’re expensive but they fit really well, are light, offer good protection and aren’t bulky at all.

g-form

Whichever ones fit the best! Pads are a bit like helmets, you could have the “best” ones for someone else and they’re useless for you ‘cos your limbs are a different shape.

I’m currently liking my Bluegrass Bobcat, but I’ve not done anything to really test them yet.

If its just a bit of protection on normal riding, the 661 Rhythm Elbow are £7 and Knee/shin £13 in the current CRC sale.

Scott rocket pads are great for a number of reasons. Unlike most gasket-style pads they are made from a neoprene type material so don’t catch on the velcros straps and pull themselves apart within months. The material on the outer face of the pad is really robust and doesnt tear in the first crash like many others do. They also have an empty space between your kneecap and the padding on the back of the hardshell that stops them rubbing on long xc rides (causes astroturf like friction burns!0. They move around far less than any other pad I’ve tried, especially in crashes and They properly absorb even sharp impacts unlike a lot of the lightweight stuff out there.

They might be a tenner more than say 661’s or nukeproofs but they will last you twice as long

POC VPD 2.0

The Bobcats have a similar space to what the Scotts sound like, it feels a bit odd at first but I think I like it.

Fit is still king though.

Nukeproof knee were the best last time I tried them all on (661, Fox, RF), so that’s what I bought.