What pads for someone who doesn’t wear pads?

I’ve never worn knee or elbow pads when riding. Not trying to be tough or anything but I’ve just not felt it justified for my level of pootling. But and trying to push myself a bit more and have even transitioned to flat pedals (very reluctantly)

Riding Enjoyro next month and whilst pads are not mandatory, I think it might be a smart move to up my levels of protection. So what knee and elbow pads for someone who doesn’t really want to wear them?

sadly comfort and fit is only achieved by buying many and trying them.

Something which feels nice for the 3minute try on, rubs and grates 1 hour in.

there is no quick win, I personally wear POC pads, I have both the Air (light weight) and VPD2 (heavy weight) depending on use.

Whichever ones fit in the shop.

I’ve got Fox and Ion.  The ion are much more comfy, so the kids get the Fox.

Ion, or Icon .

Edit to say Giles is probably right, they may fit ok initially but not later on.

I have hardly used pads either. But in the last couple of winters i have been using some Pearl Izumi Summits to give my knees some protection from spills in the gloop. Almost unnoticeable and do the trick. Not sure whether they’d fit the bill for Enjoyro as on the lighter end of protection

Kneepads – try IXS Flow Evo+

They’re my most unnoticeable pads, and I wear them for 80% of my rides.

Seem very popular on here, so must fit a good range of people.

Size up if in between.

I’ve got Sweet Protection knee pads and Fox elbow pads. The problem with whatever fits in the shop is that they tend to have a limited selection.

The Sweet Protection pads are super comfortable for all day rides to the point of not noticing that they’re on. When they wear out I’ll replace them with the same. If the Fox elbow pads ever wear out, I’ll replace them with Sweet Protection.

Most comfortable I’ve used are G-Form. I can ride all day in those and even forget I have them on when I get home. I’ve even worn them whilst snowboarding as they keep the knees warm when kneeling in the snow dealing with kids or waiting for the wife!!🤪….

rapha.

Another vote for Sweet Protection here, very comfy and ‘soft’ to wear.

IXS for me, plus some nukeproof (rip).

Other ones I tried without a “complete” mesh back – presumably to make them less sweaty – tended to rub the back of my knees raw.

I think they’re very individual though, not sure there’s a shortcut to trying loads and being prepared to sell in if they don’t work for you (which you’ll only know after an hour plus of riding). For example tried two sweet protection which obviously work for others but not for me.

For me, Rapha are the most comfortable to wear for riding in, but they’re a bit rubbish for crashing in – the knee cup is relatively small, there’s no side impact protection and they rip quite easily.

POC VPD2.0 were pretty good when worn over kneewarmers (they rubbed otherwise). Sizing is a bit funny though.

sadly comfort and fit is only achieved by buying many and trying them.

Very much this I’m afraid. I ended up with the IXS Flow Evo pads and wear them every ride. Occasionally get minor rubbing on actual kneecap but is a sign I’m being a minger and not washing them enough as they don’t do that after a proper clean…

To prevent rubbing I put a ‘sock’ of bib tight underneath cut from an old pair of bib tights that were going in the bin.  I also use Sweet Protection knee pads 🙂

it’s a bit of a nightmare. Very few places have many to try any more, and you don’t really know if they’re going to be comfortable until you’ve worn them for some hours. I’ve had Poc stormtrooper (painful at the bottom where they cut into my calf), some D30 ones (TLd?) that I found horrible to pedal in as they rubbed my knee cap.  Some Fox hardshell were ok but caught on the bike.

I only ever wear pads on uplifted holidays, never when I’m pedalling and I’ve been through a lot trying to find something I can actually pedal in without feeling they sap my energy and knacker my knees.  The IXS Trigger Race I’ve got now (second set after losing a pair on a solo day out last year) are by far the best I’ve had. Stay in place, not too bulky, comfortable to pedal in (but I still want them off for a long climb, but will tie them to my pack better next week)

Troy Lee stages for me at the moment. One thing to consider is to have Velcro straps for a more adjustable fit. Personally I don’t like straps on knee pads, find they feel like they restrict blood flow after a bit

Most pads will rub a bit to start with IME. Sudocream is your friend.

Another Troy Lee stages user here. Wearing bib shorts helps to stop them moving and rubbing. Trying plenty on in a shop is probably the best way as at least you’ll be able to discount the ones that are immediately uncomfortable.

A few years ago the GF needed new pads…. We ended up buying in loads, from just about every brand in different sizes, from various German online shops and then invited around a few friends and had a pad party.

Had to order a silly number so that the postage was free.

Got banned from ordering from bikediscount after I tried doing the same with spd shoes.

After going through lots of reviews and size charts, I bought six pairs from CRC, wore them all in the house for a few evenings and sent five pairs back. That was over 10 years ago and I’ve only recently started moving over from my original Fox Launch Pros to my newer pair (the old ones aren’t dead, they’re just not tight enough to stay up in heavy rain).

Everyone’s legs are different shapes and I don’t think you’d have enough wear time in a shop.

Another vote for POC Air. I found they came fairly true to size, stay in place and I can forget about them when wearing them. Also used G-form in their early days, still have them and they are comfy enough but I find the length of them slightly irritating. Before the POCs I went through quite a selection of which the RaceFace Digs lasted longest but they were a lot more bulky than the POCs and somewhat overkill for what I was doing. Like others say, there will be an element of trial and error.

For comfort, the Rapha ones are brilliant. You lose some protection as a trade-off, but you still have more than not wearing pads, which for me is pretty much the alternative as I find most of the stuff I’ve tried way too intrusive for normal trail riding.

I think you maybe need to be clear about what sort of rider you are here. If you’re super aggressive and crash relatively frequently at higher speeds, maybe do more bike park / descent-type stuff you probably want something tougher, but if you’re basically looking at them as insurance against very occasional, mostly lower speed prangs then they work pretty well ime.

My current pick is Dainese Trail Skin Lite – the ones with the green detail. Light enough to pedal for hours, stay up, don’t scuff your knee pads. Available very cheap from the importer.

https://shop.windwave.co.uk/rider-protection/body-armour/dainese-trail-skins-lite-mountain-bike-knee-pads-pair__10727

pearl izumi ones are very comfy

Those suffering knee chafing, try putting some chamois cream on your knees before every ride – if you don’t already.

Be aware if you’re trying on D3O (and maybe other similar materials), they soften slightly/gently with body heat, so what feels uncomfortable to begin with can be lovely 20 minutes later.

Rapha, most comfiest by far, no rubbing. They are a trail pad, so the protection is adequate.

I use Sweet protection Knee Guards when I know I’ll be doing mostly pedalling, but with the occasional techy bit.

I use Fox Enduro for pedalling, they look similar to the Rapha ones (but half the price). They’re only thin but better than not wearing anything.

I’ve got some slightly heavier / thicker ones too but can’t remember what they are, I wear them when I’m not pedalling.

A few things here:

Do you want decent protection or just a token gesture?

I had a crash and mangled a knee so bought some pads after that. Went with a light pad – 661 recon) and they were comfy to pedal in but when I had another crash they didn’t do a very good job. Got pulled down / ripped and I still gashed my knee.

So after that I went with proper pads – I ordered a load of different ones / different sizes from Tredz and had a play around until I found some that fitted. They all fit very differently and it depends on your leg shape. Ion K-pact zips reviewed very well but I found my calves were too big for them unless I went to a size where my quads were big enough to fill them out.

Personally I’ve ended up with Fox Launch d30 over the last few years which I think are my best compromise between all day pedalling and actually working in a crash. You’ll know you have them on, but they aren’t too clunky.

Ive had Scott Grenade Evo before the fox and they were chunkier again – I ran them for a while before deciding I’d like something a little bit lighter / smaller.

I have got another pair of Ions now which do fit but they’re a little bit chunkier then the fox – so after wearing them for a while they’re now my uplift day knee pads. I think they are the k-pact without a zip which seem a completely different sizing to the ones with a zip.

On elbow pads I do have the matching fox launch d30 ones to go with my knee pads. I only wear them on uplift days as I don’t find wearing elbow pads that comfortable.

Another one for IXS Flow Evo here. Have worn many different ones and not got on with any of them but these are great.

As someone who used to hate wearing pads until I cut my knee open….

Fit is everything particularly the ratio of upper opening and bottom opening. Some brands will fit you, some will not.  Everything else is a compromise.

Kneepads are a bit like jackets, you sort of need at least a couple of pairs.

One for big pedally rides where you put them on at the beginning of a ride and teake them off at the end.  And a pair for shuttling/lift accessed rides or where you would stash them for a massive climb and then put them on at the top (e.g. Top to Bottom lap at Golfie)

I seem to have Race Face/661 shaped legs.

For my pedally pads I have the current 661 recons with the D3O insert and have crashed i them and they have defo saved my knees.  I have some old Race Face ones for my bigger pads.

My token gesture pads are Specialized Atlas here

They are as comfortable as knee warmers. ie, you don’t feel them until they make your knees warm.

If you need some free elbow pads, I have some old 661s I never wear – will send on for price of postage.

I haven’t worn pads for years. Last set was some stormtrooper-esq Nukeproof full length things that were great to fall off in but hideous to pedal in.

I bought some Leatt Airflex Pro recently after a fairly ungraceful dismount. Smashed my knee up pretty good so wanted some light protection until it healed. They’re so comfy that I wear them every ride now. Cliché but I literally forget I’m wearing them. They are light in the protective front. They’ve got a sort of rubbery plastic honeycomb over the knee cap and some dense foam padding around the sides. Toppled over the other day though and landed square on my knee. Other than the bump from the impact, didn’t feel a thing so they do help when you need them to. The bonus of the rubbery plastic honeycomb is that it let’s air through so they’re not too warm.