May go back, and try flats again…

but don't fancy wrecking my shins..

What pads are you wearing with yer flat pedals??

or do I just MTFU?

XC – none
DH – POC bones

Home – None.
Alps – 661 Kyle Straits.

Been riding XC on flats for about 15 years, you don't slip off as much as you think.

Oh…and in 5 years of riding bikes (and flat pedals) i have hit my shin once!

I've been running flats full time for a number of years now. I know this is tempting fate, but I can't remember the last time i scratched my shins.

I'm not waving my willy – I do it all the time.

661 veggie shin, if you want just shin

661 veggie, comfy and don't move around much. You don't slip off alot but shin scars take a long time to heal…

Oh…and in 5 years of riding bikes (and flat pedals) i have hit my shin once!

Thats enough!!!!

Mind you….most knee pads won't save your shin anyway!!!!!!

+1 for 661 Veggie shins, as used by my wife.

Raceface Rally, quite bulky and I don't wear them for local trail riding but will use them for longer trail center or playing jaunts.

Saved my legs from countless nasty scrapings!

I always use flats and almost never wear pads, only if going to somewhere to "play" like lee quarry or wharncliffe.

I've hit my shins a lot, especially when I was still getting used to them, but I find that many knee-only pads (e.g. Kyle Straits) will cover the fleshy top part of your shin, where a pedal pin can do some serious damage. Hitting the middle of your shins hurts, but it's not likely to require a visit to hospital.

If you are learning bunny hops on flats there is a reasonable chance of shin scrapage. Well, for me anyway.

Get some 5-tens and you'll find your feet don't slip off at all.

And I mean proper shin pads only, not those girly knee/shin pads. I have some Fox perforated neoprene ones, which are just fab. Used to want 2Hip pads but the huge length and full wrap around meant that your skin slowly rotted away over the course of a day.

Why would anyone, unless you are doing some pretty extreme free riding or downhill, need to use knee pads on an MTB?

Why would anyone, unless you are doing some pretty extreme free riding or downhill, need to use knee pads on an MTB?

To save from hurting your knees when you fall off?

I don't wear pads for XC, but looking at the damage to my knee/shin pads I use for DH I would probably have had horrible injuries without them.

It took me a while to get used to flats after using clips for years, but good shoes definitely help. 5.10's allow you to use less lethal pedal pins, but still have plenty of grip. Just keep your heels down on descent's and rough stuff, you will soon get used to them.

Why would anyone, unless you are doing some pretty extreme free riding or downhill, need to use knee pads on an MTB?

I once had a pretty minor fall riding some xc. My knee landed on a rock and i broke my knee cap and damaged some ligaments. I've worn knee pads all the time ever since. Admitedly softer one for XC, harder ones for DH.

I recently fell off my BMX and removed a 50 pence piece size of skin from my knee, which meant stiches and no riding for a couple of weeks, wish i'd had my pads on!

I assume your post is just tring to trying to be contraversial.

when i have worn shin pads rather than just my kyle straits, i used 661 veggies, but i find these get very hot over just an hour, never mind a long ride.

I assume your post is just tring to trying to be contraversial

Not really. Just protecting your knees is being quite selective in what you expect to have damaged. I assume you wear elbow pads and a back protector too?

I rode street bmx for a few years and never wore pads. The only things i ever hurt were not areas that could be covered by pads. Same with mountain biking. Shoulders, hands, thighs I think have been hurt. Maybe the bmx stuff taught me how to fall off better? I don't know.

Shoulders, hands, thighs I think have been hurt. Maybe the bmx stuff taught me how to fall off better? I don't know.

Maybe people just fall off in different ways. There was actually a recent topic on SDH about this. Most people seem to crash and hurt one side more than other. Most of my injuries are to might right hand side!

Whe i crash, my knees tend to be the first thing that hits the ground. Therefore knee pads do me a service.

Cos like heads, knees don't heal very well

I seem to have 4 permanent scars on my left shin now, so if you model tights like me it may be wise to invest in some shin protection. I haven't up til now and it's hurting my career.

Whe i crash, my knees tend to be the first thing that hits the ground. Therefore knee pads do me a service

That's fair enough.

It might be affected by the terrain you tend to ride. Around my way it tends to be steep and rocky, so if I come off it tends to be a over the bars crash, which will end up with a tuck and roll type of landing. If it's smoother and faster you're probably going to wash out sideways more often, causing knees and elbows to hit first. It's a theory, and probably not a good one but it might just work…..

im using flats ! never tried clip in to be honest ? i wear 661 pads…just knee pads …no shin pads they wud annoy me i guess!
once went over handlebars and hit my thighs first ! a reight thud…had black n blue legs for few weeks…got it hurt like hell..lol..they dont make thigh pads do they ????? hahaha

For just protecting shins against pin damage, I just wear thick knee length skiing socks. Cheap, comfortable and you only need to roll them up on the tricky bits

Personally I prefer riding with Knee pads only 85% of the time…

I find knee/shin all in one’s never stay up and seem to generally result in a damaged knee in a stack, I also find full knee/shin pads quite hot and not ideal if your doing a whole day of DH riding or lots of trails…

The number of DH kiddies you see with ill fitting Dainese knee/shin pads (supposedly “the Best”) flapping about the ankles 15 seconds in to a DH run is worrying, total, overpriced shit…

To be honest I don’t slip pedals all that often these days although I have some lovely old scars to prove that they can do some quite nasty Surface damage. If I do slip a pedal it tends to be in shittier weather, wet, very muddy conditions where the tread of my shoes (Not 5.10s) doesn’t quite do the job…

Separate knee and shin pads are probably the way forwards, the Shin coverage won’t drag your knee protection down…
I may hack the knee cup off of an old pair of pads and use the shin section with my Evo’s next time it pisses it down at a race…

I did once meet a goon who raced DH with Shin pads but no knee pads, looked ridiculous but more over probably twice as dangerous in the event of a crash, Buggered knees are the last thing you want, your knees are most likely to take a primary impact if you go over, smack your shin you get some bloody and a bit of stinging, maybe a lump but it’s stopped bothering you in about 5 minutes…

XC mincing (with or without SPDs) I generally wear at least some form of light knee protection, Can’t really afford a **** knee cap…

Shin pads? Meh… probably better off just getting some decent Grippy footwear and pedals…

they dont make thigh pads do they ????? hahaha

They make padded shorts with Arse and thigh padding…

…which I can confirm are useful when riding on black ice 🙂

sintered

Rugby socks and newspaper?