Knee and Elbow pads - help!

[PorkPieRider]

Hi Everyone

Well, after coming off for the first time in years (ran out of talent) I think it is now time to invest in some knee and elbow pads. Never had any before but my SL is getting me in to trouble now.

Actually, I am getting in trouble on it, can‘t blame the SL!!

Anyway - very new to these pads so any tips on good options or what to look out for? I don’t do big jumps, enduro etc, I ride XC and trail (pretty slowly really). My incident at the weekend left me with a couple of light grazes on knee and elbow, as an example.

Cheers

Will

 

[urastus]

Geez, I'm always bleeding - I must be too lazy to put on more gear. Although for me it does get hot in Summer. I think zimmer has put in a bit of time reviewing such things, although he may be on the more heavier type protection. Just did a search here: knee and elbow pads

 

[Stoffel]

You can look on the internet like I did and procrastinate for hours or just order a few pairs of what you like the look of, keep what fits and send the rest back.
What fits and is comfortable for one person might not be any good for you.
For what it’s worth I settled with Ion K-Pact zip knee pads and Poc vpd 2.0 elbow pads. I love the knee pads, they’re really easy to get on and off because of the zip and they’re comfortable enough to make me more likely to actually put them on. I generally only use the elbow pads for bike park days.

 

[Tubby G]

If you use the code ‘DANNY20’ on Bliss protection’s website you’ll get 20% off

 

[Gary]

light cuts and grazes for me have always just been an accepted part of mountainbiking. I wouldn't actually bother wearing pads at all if that's all you're trying to negate. They're really not comfortable. Especially for XC type riding or climbing.

 

[JP-NZ]

Anytime I'm riding DH/Bike Park I wear them, in fact anytime I'm pointing down really. If riding flat XC I don't bother.

Put a recommendation out for Leatt Knee (3DF 5.0Zip) and Elbow pads (3DF 5.0), comfortable and easy to live with whilst pedaling. Not too hot either for summer rides

 

[Alexbn921]

IXS are the best and most comfortable pads IMO. Everyone has move to them in our crew.

MTB

Welcome to the official iXS online shop - order directly from the original brand store ✓ free shipping from 59€ ✓ immediate delivery ✓ fast + secure ✓ 24h shipping

ixs.com

 

[flash]

IXS zip knee pads are my go to. Decent protection and not super warm. No issues with comfort. Personally I haven't found an elbow pads I like.

Gordon

 

[Tim1023]

light cuts and grazes for me have always just been an accepted part of mountainbiking.

I wear kneepads, but not full length ones, so bleeding shins from the flat pedals is a regular occurrence for me. Poor coordination may well be coming into play here...
Sick admission: thanks to exposed shins in the summer, I'll sometimes get stung by stinging nettles, partly because I don't try to avoid them. After the initial discomfort, I kinda like the "glow" from the sting that comes later.

 

[apac]

IXS are the best and most comfortable pads IMO. Everyone has move to them in our crew.

MTB

Welcome to the official iXS online shop - order directly from the original brand store ✓ free shipping from 59€ ✓ immediate delivery ✓ fast + secure ✓ 24h shipping

ixs.com

I agree, IXS are excellent but I find the sizing on the small size.

 

[urastus]

I wear kneepads, but not full length ones, so bleeding shins from the flat pedals is a regular occurrence for me. Poor coordination may well be coming into play here...
Sick admission: thanks to exposed shins in the summer, I'll sometimes get stung by stinging nettles, partly because I don't try to avoid them. After the initial discomfort, I kinda like the "glow" from the sting that comes later.

I wear shin guards, but not knee pads. I have had stitches in my knee from an otb, but that was when I was using clip in pedals. Then I went to flats with aggressive pins. For a while I was coming off the pedals in jumps and doing a fair bit of damage to my shins. The last time one of the pins gave me a spurter - that was disconcerting . I've been wearing soccer guards since and haven't had any shin hits - I think I've finally got the hang of flats on jumps etc. I'll keep wearing the shin guards through winter, but may opt out of them when it gets hot again.

 

[Doomanic]

I've just bought a set of these for general riding, mainly to stop me getting earache for not wearing any...
SixSixOne Recon Knee Pads II 2021 | Chain Reaction (chainreactioncycles.com)
For park riding I wear these, which are much more substantial;
Flank Leg |RaceFace – Race Face

 

[KnollyBro]

Pads, you only need them, when you need them. For 99.9% of my riding, don't need them at all and they are just hot, especially a helmet. But when I have had to use them, 99% of the time I can get up and ride again. Its full gear including a neck brace at the bike park. Its funny that when we started riding the Shore, we used to wear full gear as well. Now its only knees, elbows and a skid lid. The trails are not what they used to be in the good old days. If you are new to MTB and bike parks, check out. Whistler - Must See!

 

[skinipenem]

Checkout gform pads. Very lightweight and flexible non-newtonian.

They have a more burly e line pad that is likely overkill for what you described.

Not appropriate for full on dh, but likely just perfect for the type of riding you described.

 

[Jhagst]

Dress for the crash not for the ride, I’d rather be slightly uncomfortable for a few hours than suffering for weeks.
The Loam Wolf did a pretty good pad review on YouTube.

 

[Pdoz]

I've just bought a set of these for general riding, mainly to stop me getting earache for not wearing any...
SixSixOne Recon Knee Pads II 2021 | Chain Reaction (chainreactioncycles.com)
For park riding I wear these, which are much more substantial;
Flank Leg |RaceFace – Race Face

My son wears the six six ones, he has sensory issues and they are all we could find that he would tolerate. I'll probably get a set for myself next time - the d3o is thinner than most and vents well , is reasonably flexible, but hardens effectively the times he has tested them. They have a reasonably tough abrasion resistant front. Those older 2021 ones tend to tear at the back, but the 2022 are holding up better.

He rejected ixs flow, g forms, specialized, and alpine star guards.

I've been really happy with ixs , only tested them once but have had 4 years of regular use.


All the family wear g form elbow guards - their lighter version

 

[3dp]

Poc vpd for myself knees elbows - shins too and for when I go a little too far the upper body protector - have the poc backpack with spine too - plus the open and full face - why? It’s pretty rocky on my locals and a boulder drop gave way yesterday with the front end and threw me as a Friday fail - it was class all the way grabbed a small tree to stop me sliding down the scree a few yards
I rate their stuff but it’s not barb wire proof - scars to prove that one too

 

[Cyclopath1000]

For me ixs carve Evo+ are the best. I am 5.9" 175 and find medium doesn t move. Tight to get on and off but perfect on. But these do not cover the shin so folks that don't wear clip in ( SPD for me) and you need coverage then the fix launch might work for the knees. I have a used once pair in medium. Too small next to the ixs medium. I will sell these fox pads for a sweet deal to someone in the USA.

 

[Cyclopath1000]

Fox launch.

 

[Oldb**tard]

Hi Everyone

Well, after coming off for the first time in years (ran out of talent) I think it is now time to invest in some knee and elbow pads. Never had any before but my SL is getting me in to trouble now.

Actually, I am getting in trouble on it, can‘t blame the SL!!

Anyway - very new to these pads so any tips on good options or what to look out for? I don’t do big jumps, enduro etc, I ride XC and trail (pretty slowly really). My incident at the weekend left me with a couple of light grazes on knee and elbow, as an example.

Cheers

Will

Hi, Will. I have been riding with G Form knee and elbow pads for a couple years now and like them quite well. They're easy to put on and to remove and, at least for myself, once they're on, I almost forget I'm wearing them. They are moderately priced, and probably not great for riding risky, bike park-type trails, but it sounds like that's not what you're doing. I would recommend investigating them and perhaps talking to other riders you may see wearing them.

 

[Rod B.]

Hi Everyone

Well, after coming off for the first time in years (ran out of talent) I think it is now time to invest in some knee and elbow pads. Never had any before but my SL is getting me in to trouble now.

Actually, I am getting in trouble on it, can‘t blame the SL!!

Anyway - very new to these pads so any tips on good options or what to look out for? I don’t do big jumps, enduro etc, I ride XC and trail (pretty slowly really). My incident at the weekend left me with a couple of light grazes on knee and elbow, as an example.

Cheers

Will

Knee pads are such a personal thing. What will work for one person, may not work for another person. Fitment is the key thing here.

All knee pads tend to work on the first impact. However, on high speed crashes, your knee will often hit the ground multiple times. The trick is to find a knee pad that will stay up and won't pull down off the knee after the first hit. It sucks to be wearing a knee pad, you crash, and you discover that your knee pad pulled down and your knee is all skinned up.

The knee pad you choose needs to have a strong elastic retention band above the leg to keep the knee pad from shifting downward after the first impact. It needs to fit really well. It needs to be comfortable and vent well (Otherwise you won't wear it). I've tried POC, Troy Lee Designs, Dakine. They fit well, but wouldn't stay up on my skinny legs after the first impact. I'm currently running the Leatt Airflex Pro. The Leatt fits well, it has a high elastic band to keep it in place, it's comfortable and it has substantial protection on the side of the knee. I also like that it has a handlebar protection pad above the knee. Anybody whose ever gone over the bars at speed, knows the pain caused by the top of your knee wacking the handlebar. I really like the Leatt Airflex Pro.

Outdoor Gear Lab does a good in-depth group review on kneepads. I find their reviews are usually pretty good.

Best Mountain Bike Knee Pads

We scoured the internet and conducted exhaustive research on nearly every pair of mountain bike knee pads available. After that, we purchased 14 of the...

www.outdoorgearlab.com

 

[Cyclopath1000]

I have had at least 6 pairs of pads. The g form just don't have enough of protection from a direct blow to the knee. Ion, ixs, 669 are better. I have a bunch of g.force and they sit in my useless box.

 

[Mugsack]

Fit is king...everyone is a bit different so what awesome for one may not be for you, of course. Then I'd say, decide how you want to protect yourself (ie. hard shell or padded).

I wear g form pads and haven't any complaints though I haven't really challenged them yet. I'm very average size and shape. I considered soccer (football) shin guards bc I know what my flat pedal would do if dragged across a shin. I abandoned the idea cuz I was concerned that if it continued to slide up to my knee I'd get "torn".... therefore my pad covers shin and knee.

My wife went over the bars and had no pads and has cuts and bruises on her shins, thighs and upper chest....she was out for three weeks. Getting pads isn't a bad plan at all.....forget all the macho tough talk, riding time is much more fun than healing time.

 

[DogRanger]

Would you rather have armor you didn't need or need armor you didn't have? That's an easy decision for experienced adults who no longer need additional memories of the youthful mistakes they made.

FYI: I bought G-Form brand knee and elbow pads. They seemed comfortable and worked well. (A couple very minor get-offs that resulted in not even a scrape as opposed to some road rash.) However, they the stitching failed prior to any contact with the ground, the company refused to honor the warranty. I'll be looking at other brands in the future.

 

[Ballameiro]

I have had at least 6 pairs of pads. The g form just don't have enough of protection from a direct blow to the knee. Ion, ixs, 669 are better. I have a bunch of g.force and they sit in my useless box.

Agree, they are not very good. Regret the purchase.

 

[KnollyBro]

I have had at least 6 pairs of pads. The g form just don't have enough of protection from a direct blow to the knee. Ion, ixs, 669 are better. I have a bunch of g.force and they sit in my useless box.

Depending on how adept you are at crash landing, it has been my experience that the only way to survive a direct impact to a knee or elbow is with a pad that has a hard plastic shell as part of its protection system as it will displace the impact over a greater surface area than the soft style pads. This is especially noticeable when crashing on rocky or rooty sections. We use these knee pads which stay in place and are not too uncomfortable when pedaling.

 

[RebornRider]

Another vote for IXS, and another opinion that they run small. On my regular ride, I don't notice my Flows when climbing, and they have not moved in any of my crashes. I switch to Mallets at the bike park. Less comfortable, but a much larger area of protection.

"Dress for the crash, not for the ride." I love it!

 

[urastus]

Not intended as advice. I saw this yesterday - check out the dude who won @ 6'40" into the video:

 

[Cyclopath1000]

Great riders.

 

[Rankbad]

Hi Everyone

Well, after coming off for the first time in years (ran out of talent) I think it is now time to invest in some knee and elbow pads. Never had any before but my SL is getting me in to trouble now.

Actually, I am getting in trouble on it, can‘t blame the SL!!

Anyway - very new to these pads so any tips on good options or what to look out for? I don’t do big jumps, enduro etc, I ride XC and trail (pretty slowly really). My incident at the weekend left me with a couple of light grazes on knee and elbow, as an example.

Cheers

Will

There are plenty of lighter (Enduro style) pads around but go into your LBS, as it's too difficult to buy online, unless replacing something you like. I ride hard in all weather and always pad up. Comfort = putting on & leaving on it case a ride gets rowdy