Do people still wear shin pads?

I’m going to take my old Cotic BFe (old enough to have 26″ wheels) out to Morzine with me next month, on a mainly family holiday, but I’d like to do a couple of days up the lifts. I’m mainly a road / gravel rider these days and haven’t actually ridden the Cotic since around lockdown.

I’m from an XC, open face helmet sort of background and am not a g’narly rider. I’ve earned the pairs of matching scars up my shins from years of growing up mountain biking on flat pedals in the mid-90s before comprehensively switching to SPDs. I’ll probably stick with the flats on the Cotic and am thinking about a bit more protection than I’ve used in the past.

There seem to be loads of knee pads available, and reviews all over the place, but do people still wear shin protection or am I just rubbish? Has everyone’s skill improved so that they no longer smack flat pedal pins into their bare shins with painful regularity? Or does everyone ride on big platform SPDs these days?

The search function on this forum seems to mainly return posts from 15 years ago, so I don’t know quite what I’m doing wrong but I’m well aware I sound like an old man and would appreciate any advice…!

Riding dh yes,  as a rock at speed to the shins hurts.

Everything else I just use knee pads

Riding dh yes,  as a rock at speed to the shins hurts.

Everything else I just use knee pads

^ same.

IXS Flow EVO kneepads worn on all riding except if I’m doing DH uplift, then I swap to hard-shelled IXS Hammer knee/shin pads.

Thanks – I guess if we’re going to be taking lifts up and riding down hills it probably does count as downhilling! Although in my head I think I probably still see it more as just doing the pointing down bit of cross-country, because I’m unlikely to be doing Massive Jumps.

Knee pads mostly here, but I do have some combined knee and shin pads for pure uplift days too.

Last year it wasn’t my shins, but my calf that suffered from flat pedal pins with a lovely de-gloving injury after playing silly buggers with one of the guides (Pat) in the Alps on a wet and slippy day.

Decent shoe / pedal combinations means slipping off the pedal is pretty rare these days. As mentioned above, rocks pinging into an exposed shin still hurts like hell.

Swiss National is where I had an eye watering rock to shin incident that still makes me shiver thinking about it, but as a whole Morzine and surrounding area isn’t particularly rocky.

For Morzine on a family holiday you’ll be fine in flats and knee pads. The runs are generally devoid of loose boulders that would need hard protection. Perhaps on some of the less travelled runs – like into Lindarets from Avoriaz, but generally not.

I think if you’re fairly restrained in your riding you probably wouldn’t need them.

If you’re hitting jumps, ploughing through loose rocks and more foot out flat out, then it’s probably a good idea as you get a lot of rocks thrown up.

I’ve been in A&E before with a nasty deep gouge (bottom pic) to a shin from landing a jump but, I still don’t wear them these days.
Go figure…

Not since I retired from international football.

One rock/ pedal  strike and you will be glad you have them

I’d suggest sticking with SPDs if that’s what you’re used to. Or at least take them with you in case you decide that all those years on theM means you’re better on them. If you’re worried about shins you can always get socks with built in soft shin protection.

Yes all the time when on flats. The last time I didn’t fate mocked me and I ended up with a massive gash on the leg. Pins are sharp!

Thanks all!

@zerocool (nice username btw 😉 that’s probably what I’ll do. I hadn’t even heard of those socks, will look into them…

anyone recommend any shin pads that cover both front and back?  i need to practice bunny hops, but last time i did, i took a chunk out of my shin 😀

I still wear mine, don’t really notice them once I’ve started riding but they still save me every now and again from pedals or rocks.

Do people still wear shin pads?

Nope.

My knee pads cover 2-3 inches below my knee, then i pull my socks up, so only ever have an inch of flesh on show most of the time (i appreciate a sock doesnt provide much protection).

Touch wood, i never slip a pedal or receive rock strikes to my shin…. probably jinxed myself now!

Footy shin guards. Keeps those local stingers at bay and the odd pedal whack.

Yes, Footie shinpads here for uplift days

Nope. Although I’m considering a pair of socks with a bit of shin protection for uplift days.