[Closed] Which Knee pads for XC and trail centre riding

so nobody uses pads then

Impatient aren't you ?

I use Kyle Straits. Perfectly comfortable over long rides over 5 hours plus. Needed a bit of breaking in first though.

Kyle straits work for me

Yeah I have Kyle Straits and I forget i'm wearing them..

I did break my leg/knee when wearing them though haha

I went through a bit of a trial and error phase with knee pads over the last couple of months, the fourth and final pair I got, and which i'm really happy with are, IXS hack £30.99 on CRC at the moment.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=42771

I find them really comfy on long rides and not as bulky as others i've tried, plus they don't end up as shin guards after half hour of single track.

Hope this helps.

nice one thanks

Kyle Straits here , also very good for cold night rides.

Kyle Straits get my vote- I can pedal all day in them no bother, and the coverage and protection is very good. They're bulky but who cares?

Whyte1 - Member

so nobody uses pads then

Also, we all check the forum every 34 minutes.

Looks like the Kyles the ones to look at .

Sorry i thought every 31 mins was the cut off 😆

The g-form ones look interesting, but not tried them myself

I know Jedi recommends the Scott Grenades- they're the same pad (as far as I can tell) as the Kyle Strait but with a hard cap on. TBH I've never felt the soft pad's a problem and the Grenade felt a wee bit less flexible round the knee when I tried them on, but they seem a good pad anyway.

I like my Fox Launch Pro pads. Comfy but not tested with a big "off" yet.

I ride in Fox Launch Pro. Proper comfortable but perhaps a bit much for general XC. That said I didn't have any problems with Afan last year.

I have tried Kyles and yes you can wear them all day and oh my the realy do keep yer knees warm

Soon got used to em and yes I forgot they were there ( bar the warm knees)

I can vouch for the GForm pads (knee & elbow). You'll soon forget you're wearing them. Just be careful on the sizing. I can't believe a US firm sells something that fits me that's labelled a large, by yank standards I'm certainly not.

Kyle straits work for me

Same here. I strap a copy of [i]Brothers in Arms[/i] on each knee.

I have a set of Fox Launch Pro pads for sale if anyone's interested.

Size S/M and worn for one week in Spain last year. Too big and kept ending up around my shins 🙁

G-form are very good and are £33 at thebikechain with STW code.

661 KS again. don't be shy about getting quit a snug fit either. the first set i had were mediums. the straps stretched and after a year or so regular use they started falling down as i couldn't get them tight enough. i now run smalls and they're a good fit.
FWIW i'm 5'10" and oscillate between 11 and 12 stone, so pretty average of build i'd say, maybe slightly bigger of leg than average if anything.

I have tried the Race Face Dig and Ambush and the Gform as well as 661 veggies. They don't make the Kyles big enough for me so no experience there I am afraid. The two I found less successful were firstly the 661 veggies which had prominent seams that rubbed on long rides and got consigned to the NO pile rapidly.

The Race Face Ambush pads were going relatively cheap at CRC. They are based on the Dig but have D3O technology (i.e. flexible till you land on them) and should therefore be more comfortable. I must just have the wrong shaped legs because as the pads flexed with movement the lower edge of the protection was inclined to turn back in on itself and try and burrow through my shins. Disappointing as I already had the Digs and knew they fitted me really well.

The Dig pads I have found really comfortable. They are slightly bulky but offer good protection and don't dig in my shins. Wore them for 5 hour plus rides last year and no trouble.

Finally, I got a pair of the gform pads a couple of months ago. Only had a couple of relatively brief rides in them but they may be the best compromise for me between comfort and protection. None of the bulk of the Digs and essentially fit like leg warmers. They come up slightly small so if in doubt go for the slightly bigger size but the sizing info is helpful.

No pads - just man up.

scott grenades. if im riding smooth dirt jumps or skateparks i will use kali pads soft cap) for the rest i want knee protection not knee warmers

I used a pair of full length 661's for a while, especially in rocky areas - protected knees and shins.

A riding buddy always used knee pads, but recently at Cannock he decided not to - he fell off, and banged/cut his knee...

Wear them if you want to.

661 Evo Knee for me - Don't bother me riding round the Glen Tress Black type length of ride, in fact quite the opposite on the descents 🙂
Also have had Brand X knee/shin combo - they were fine too to be honest, but the sizing was a bit weird for the velcro straps (or I'm just too fat in one part of my calf, which is always possible) so tended to have the shin guard part a bit loose as a result. They were quite warm in Summer.

b r - Member

A riding buddy always used knee pads, but recently at Cannock he decided not to - he fell off, and banged/cut his knee...

See, it's perfectly safe not to own knee pads, but, you must never ever ever own knee pads but decide not to wear them just this once. It's like stopping doing the lottery, only with kneecapping.

will do as most of my riding is rocky and the descents are turning into races of late , plus it only takes one fall to damage my knees and i seem to use them a lot while riding 😆

jedi - Member

scott grenades. if im riding smooth dirt jumps or skateparks i will use kali pads soft cap) for the rest i want knee protection not knee warmers

[i]Very [/i] misleading to suggest that soft knee pads offer no more protection than knee warmers tbh.

G-Form. It's like wearing arm/leg warmers but they're there for you if you have a fall. Ridiculously cheap for what they are.

http://www.thebikechain.co.uk/GFORM-Knee-Protection-M-Black-20110926020301/

Why don't you get the knee and shinguard combined ones. Those knee pad only things seem a bit of a fashion fad to me. All the top downhillers started doing it and now everyone has jumped on board.

I have a pair of the Kyle Straits and they're ok BUT...if I had my time again there's no way I'd buy them again. I'm a big bloke so 'bulkiness' isn't usually an issue for me...but I do find the Kyle Straits bulky and the thought of riding three hours XC in them really doesn't appeal.

Furthermore I found a shop selling POC armour and bought a pair of their elbow pads without a second thought. Yes it's expensive stuff but it fits better than anything else I've seen, is respectably lightweight, is breathable through the mesh portions and still offers a high level of protection.

Hope that the above is of some help.

for lightweight, not very noticeable:

[url= http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=59945 ]Troy Lee KG 5400s[/url]

Why do you need knee pads for XC and trail centrex ? I'm no riding god but I can't quite comprehend needing pads to ride around.

Got the older 661 evo's, very comfy and light.
Could do with a bit more 'structure' to keep the pad in shape, seems like the newer ones are much better design, expensive though.

because when you attack the descents sometimes mistakes can happen resulting in a fall (3 times last year and once already this year ) , and as most times it's my knees that get battered , that then has resulted in time off the bike which i really dont want .

NZCol - trolling or just a complete kn*b ?

You only get one pair of knees but then it's all down to personal choice, the OP isn't asking for opinions on that.

northwind, i'm not mis leading anyone it's my own experience and opinion.

was talking to the designer of kali pads at the bikeshow about it 🙂

I used a pair of Kyle Straits for years - very good, protected my knees well and only had to retire them as they started falling apart.
I now have some O'Neal Sinner Sastec jobbies - highly recommended also.

+ 1 for RaceFace Dig

+1 for 661 Evo's. Thin and cool enough to use on all day rides, and seem to stay in place. Not cheap, but worth it if you want "fit and forget"

muddydwarf, ygm 🙂

the descents are turning into races of late

your as much to blame old boy

..

another on for 661 evos but their build quality is a bit rough.

I use POC Joint VPD Knees and find them pretty comfortable and reasonably tough. I previously used Race Face Rally FR kneepads but I eventually wore my original pair out and the replacements fitted differently and rubbed badly. Since I moved to the VPD pads I haven't been particularly bothered by the loss of the shin guards.

I can recommend Endura MT500 pads for when you know you'll crash :oops:and gform when you might crash. 😕

+1 for Endura MT500s.

Got mine 'free' with a 6 month subscription to WMB for £21 last November.

They work, keep my knees warm this weather and are not noticable after the first 2-3 minutes of riding.

PaulD

jedi - Member

northwind, i'm not mis leading anyone it's my own experience and opinion

That soft pads offer no more protection than arm warmers? Seriously? Honestly from most people I'd assume you're on a troll. They won't stop a sharp rock or a hard edge as well as a hard pad but there's still a substantial amount of protection there. Or at least, there is with well designed pads.

If you like, we can do a test- you can put on knee warmers, I'll put on kyle straits, we can take turns falling on our knees or kneeing shifters, see who cries uncle first 😉