Had a few issues with the knees lately and decided knee guards are long over due. Can anybody recommend me a set that will be light, comfortable and give me enough freedom to peddle hassle free without knocking the top tube or the legs feeling as if they are cooking.

Much thanks.

661 Kyle Straits.

I have 661 Evo knee pads and I find them great. They're not cheap but they're super comfortable and I forget they're on. They have decent ventilation and they saved me from a nasty knee injury the other day when I came off and hit my knee pretty hard on a rock! Stick them on a gentle wash and they clean up nicely too.

661 Kyle Straits, very comfy, not too pricey and nice amount of protection

Hugh

kyle straights are pretty good – i don't wear them a lot – my local riding just doesn't require it. but can easily pedal all day in them.

661 Kyle Straits. I always ware mine.

just make sure you get the correct size.

661 evo pads aren't the most durable.

Thanks all. I see that the kyle straits come in 3 diff designs slim/patriot/earth .. is there any difference besides the cosmetic?

I think that Slim lack the side protection. Earth and Patriot are colour changes on the standard pad. Highly recommended, I love mine and I've ridden a thousand miles or more in them without a chafe or bad wear, or alternatively those new Raceface ones which are a pretty good copy of the Kyle Straits.

D30 and similiar materials are good but they're not really needed here, conventional pads can offer great protection and don't lack flexibility/freedom of movement. Construction and design is far more important for kness than custard-tech as knee movement is so simple.

seem to be in the minority here but i find my 661 Kyle Straits pretty uncomfortable. I'm going to give TLD t-bones a try.

661 Kyle Straits here too – very comfy.

bikeoutlet were doing them nice and cheap, not sure if they still are.

kyle straits here as well – wear them on every ride

Plus 1 for the 661 Evo's. Have done a 6 hour ride in them no problem, and they are well ventilated so don't get too hot

A few people have pointed out that Kyle Straits have a soft rubber knee cap inside, rather than a hard plastic shell. I'm not whether that's been an issue for anyone in real life, but if it bothers you, O'Neal Dirt kneepads have a hard shell and are virtually identical.

My Kyle Straits are brillant and I had some hard crashes onto pointy rocks and they saved my knees

As for the custard tech thing I quite fancy some for my elbows but don't really see the point for your knees as the normal ones work so well.

i've got POC VPD's and there absolutely great, very similar to 661 evo's but cheaper!

Sounds like Kyle Straits win. Did you guys try different sizes or just guess based on your normal clothing sizes? Just can't imagine my local shops will have various sizes in..

661 Kyle Straits again. Tried a few different makes / sizes on in the shop and some fitted OK whilst others didn't. My advice is to try before you buy. ie the Kyle Strait ones fit me great whilst the 661 Evo's didn't and I thought they weren't made as well.

I find kyle straits come up big- as with all 661 leg armour. I had Race Lite guards that were crap, but the KS's are excellent. I thought I'd be a medium but wear a small.

Get evos and you won't notice they are on

If you want a full pad then Look at the Troy Lee designs
The White set approx £ 45-00p are Fab
They are a light weight Two part pad. One is a sock with padding around the
knee with Velcro patches on it.
And the second part is White plastic knee and shin pad with extra
padding to the knee and padding in the shin part.

The top part velcro attaches to the knee, so no straps but has Two large straps for your
calf muscle.

Another good thing is you can just wear the knee sock for general trail riding.

I wear either Kyle Straits or Raceface Freeride. I find both very comfy for all day rides. I've yet to crash wearing the Kyle Straits but have had lots of offs with the Raceface and never had any knee injuries yet.

I have Kryle Straits too, very good.

Tobe honest I haven't worn them for a while, but after my stack on Sunday I might wear them again

Lets face it, all knee pads are going to do the job of protecting you. It's mainly down to fit, comfort and how hot the're going to be. You will only work this out by trying some. If you are trying the Kyle Straights, try the Evo's at the same time – I thought they were much more comfortable

Like the Cap'n says, they are all going to do the job so it's down to preference.
I like my Kyles but most of the time I do find them too warm to wear while I'm riding and they are not that easy to put on and take off because of the design. Also, they are quite bulky in the back.
My o/h rides in Fox Launch Pads which are a full shin and knee hard shell. These have cross over straps to secure so well vented at the back and also they're really easy to take off and put on once you have the straps set up to fit you. And they've saved his knees many, many times!

Ive got the 661 Evo lite & they are pretty good. I have no complaints.

see my post from a few days back re Shabby stitching! 661 Kyle Sts dropping to bit after 2 rides! And others had similiar problems. When I got mine from JE James out of 5 pairs I checked over all were dodgy stitching except the pair I got, until…. Inspect before you buy is my advice

A few people have pointed out that Kyle Straits have a soft rubber knee cap inside

Had quite a few offs in mine and all has been well, I'm sure they're not going to be great landing a few feet to flat on your knee but I've ridden them for trail riding and Cwmcarn DH and I've yet feel a thing when crashing… I think it would have to be one hell of a hit for the non hardshell to be an issue – and they're not exactly soft, just nice and flexible.

Build Quality has been great here and they happily machine wash.

Evo's going 'cheap' at £60 over on Chain Reaction at the mo – http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=24926. Kyle Straits are £32.