Over the last 5 years, I have noticed in general trial riding that a lot have started to wear knee protection.

I know it is horse for course, it seems a massive overkill to me but what are others views on this?

Are we just being sucked in by good marketing to spend our hard earned cash as if you come off your bike that often you need to gain skill and not get a comfort blanket.

If i’m riding on terrain on which I might forseeably have an off i’ll wear them.

You only need to come off once without them to lose time at work , earning money.

Why wouldn’t you wear them if you think there’s a chance you might have an off?

Depends where you ride I guess, in the leafy and bucolic glades of the Chilterns I wouldn’t bother, but on the steep grit-stone pack horse trails of Calderfornia I would want to go without TBH…

Pads have come on a bit. They’re much more wearable pedalling-wise now.
I always wear my G-form knee pads and never really notice that I am.
They also keep me little kneesies warm too.

Gaining skill means coming off.

Coming off means lost time at work and potentially getting fired if you do it enough times.

So it’s a tossup, wear what all the part time mtbers, full time roadies are wearing so I don’t get laughed at by beer bellied 40 year olds on carbon CXers or XC machines – and give up on pushing myself. Or don a bit of extra armour in the hope that it’s enough to stop me from breaking the thin red line between a mild and a serious off.

Hips, Knees, Elbows with high impact protection levels (eg Forcefield shorts, Scott Grenade kneepads and elbows) and a back protector backpack for trail riding. Plus goggles and a Bell S2R.

As above for DH, but with a forcefield level 3 back protector and IXS chest protector + proper DH lid.

Next up is a Leat DH helmet, as I value my brain.

The skin on my knees and shins are now delicate and thin in places after years of abuse and constantly regrowing new skin, but you will also see me in elbow and forearm pads (hard shell ones) because my right forearm has no muscle any more so it doesn’t take knocks very well 🙁

So for me its looking after old injuries as well as not wanting new ones.

I possibly see the work element if you need to rely on knees but I can hobble in to an office.

Think the marketing of you coming off on grit stone, etc. is if you go down hard you are still going to bruise etc.

I wear mine for all but the softest of rides. Mine are good for all day comfort and it feels weird not to wear them now.
Sometimes it looks like overkill, but i’d rather be protected if i bin it

Regp, the tough ones offer enough protection to stop you from cracking your knees open in a hard hit – knee surgery isn’t nice.

And when I’m wearing my elbow pads, I’m much less likely to put my hand out and do myself a collarbone or forearm injury. They give you something to crash on instead of your hands or your face.

My brother – an ex racer that used to ride for leisure lakes, is likely much faster than a lot of you. Usually scratches and cuts himself each ride in places where protection would help – he started to wear them because he doesn’t want to get septicaemia.

I don’t think you should make assumptions as to why people wear different bits of kit and judge them for it.

A question to the OP – Do you wear gloves when you ride?

When I was a kid, if you wore special gloves to ride your bike you would have been viewed as a bit strange, but now virtually all MTB’ers wear em? How are gloves any different from knee pads?

RegP – Member

Are we just being sucked in by good marketing to spend our hard earned cash as if you come off your bike that often you need to gain skill and not get a comfort blanket.

I’ve seen world champions fall off their bikes, would you have run over and told them to get some skills? Equally I could avoid pretty much all my crashes, by riding slowly and cautiously and avoiding fun things in general, but it’d make just as much sense to stop riding bikes entirely.

My knee pads are 100 times worth it tbh. An injury doesn’t have to be serious to be worth preventing, even if it just spoils my ride, I’d rather avoid it. But in terms of injury, the Belford Hospital survey found that serious injuries involving knees are about 10 times more common than serious injuries involving heads, and no wonder- your knees stick out, you often land on them.

I wear them, I had an accident as a teenager that even though it just ripped some skin and stuff underneath off meant I couldn’t ride a bike for a fortnight and I’d rather ride my bike than be sore. I don’t wear them every ride, I use my judgement, but if it’s rocky or I’m going to be pushing it I’ll wear knee guards.

If I fall off and hit my knee, it usually means I can’t ride for 4-8 weeks. With knee pads it doesn’t matter if I have fallen off, my knees are fine and not even bruised.

It depends if you want to be in pain when walking for a couple of weeks with the possibility of not riding for a while, or wear knee pads like 80% of the bikers I see.

10-15 years ago most people didn’t wear a helmet. 😉

perchypanther – Member

A question to the OP – Do you wear gloves when you ride?

Yes and know, one if I can find a pair and dependent on weather they are not critical to a ride me.

Northwind, I am not saying that skills stop you falling off, very far fromit, but there is a difference between an international downhill rider coming off and Joe Blogs on a bit of singletrack at the local forest centre.

RegP – Member

Northwind, I am not saying that skills stop you falling off, very far fromit, but there is a difference between an international downhill rider coming off and Joe Blogs on a bit of singletrack at the local forest centre.

They have different gravity? Lower coefficients of friction?

there is a difference between an international downhill rider coming off and Joe Blogs on a bit of singletrack at the local forest centre.

Yep, the international downhill rider doesn’t have to explain to his wife and his boss why he can’t get up and go to work the next day.

Northwind, I am not saying that skills stop you falling off, very far fromit, but there is a difference between an international downhill rider coming off and Joe Blogs on a bit of singletrack at the local forest centre.

As off into a rock garden at 15-20mph is the same for a professional downhiller as it is a recreational rider. Unless the laws of physics change for downhill pros.

Not to mention that the MTB world is so small that many of the riders who ride past you are ex pro’s, privateers etc etc.

If you read The Philosophy of Climbing, you’ll realise that the biggest dicks in the sport are the ones who don’t calculate risks, die and leave their family to fend for themselves. The same goes for MTB, I wear pads – because – calculated risk, I owe it to my wife to take steps to stop me from becoming unemployed.

My knee pad anecdote. Was going for a quick half hour spin round my local loop. Looked at my dirty knee pads. Meh. Just a quick spin I thought. Came into a rooty section, suddenly conscious of my vulnerable knees..too slow to clear the roots. Fell off at walking space and bumped the outside of my knee.

Knee swelled up like a balloon and I was off the bike for 6 weeks. Knee pads are good.

you know, I’m pretty shit at mountain biking, and when on any one of the occasions I “come to” in a fern bush accompanied by the sound of my freewheel ticking down, and wondering where the groaning is coming from…At least I know my knees aren’t going to be bust up and I’ll probably be able to walk home at the very least…

+1 nick

I’m pretty shit as well. But I’d be even shitter if I never came off.

Have fun, take calculated risk and screw what other people think of you.

Fall off bang your knees = hurty time.
Fall off bang your knees wearing pads = less hurty time.

kneee pads are comfy so i can see why rider choose to wear them. i do if i ride from home but if i ride from work normally i’ve left them at home. i dont seem to ride any different but maybe i’m a bit more cautions. or maybe i`m just getting old!

Fallen off lots, just never hurt the knees that bad, that said the big crashes where have involved split helmets and shale pieces stuck in helmet so was not concerned of a few cuts and bruises to the rest of me.