# Do G-Form pads work in a crash?



## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 1996)

So I've been riding these and am doing a review on them.

They're cool cause they're like arm and knee warmers and I can wear them all the time without much bother even on climbs. they bunch up a bit behind my knees.

The problem is I haven't crashed so it's hard for me to evaluate them.

So have you crashed in them?

- did they stay in place?
- did they protect you?
- blunt hit? sharp object hit?

fc


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## Rocky Mtn (Jan 19, 2014)

are you sure you are trying hard enough to crash?


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## Pau11y (Oct 15, 2004)

francois said:


> they bunch up a bit behind my knees.
> 
> fc


It's funny, this has been an on-going complaint w/ the knee ones and discussions of a solution have been (and some have taken them to seamstresses) to cut a hole in the back. WHY G-Form isn't listening is beyond me... Maybe you can flame them w/a low score on fitment in the knee ones for not listening? I just don't put them on (hang them around my shins) until I get into an extended downhill section of the trail.


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## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 1996)

Pau11y said:


> It's funny, this has been an on-going complaint w/ the knee ones and discussions of a solution have been (and some have taken them to seamstresses) to cut a hole in the back. WHY G-Form isn't listening is beyond me... Maybe you can flame them w/a low score on fitment in the knee ones for not listening? I just don't put them on (hang them around my shins) until I get into an extended downhill section of the trail.


photos please.

fc


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## Pau11y (Oct 15, 2004)

francois said:


> photos please.
> 
> fc


Don't gotz none. If I find me a seamstress, I'm gonna have mine done too.


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## oaklandish (May 7, 2011)

I have the knee ones and leave them on the whole ride. I don't even notice them anymore. I'll bet I notice them more when the weather warms up though. Did they send you a few sizes to get the best fit for your legs?

I had a front wheel washout and hit/slid on the left knee pretty good. I didn't feel the hit on my knee at all and the pad shows no signs of damage. I was pretty stoked.

I think Rocky is right. You need to try harder to crash or else place them on a mannequin and drag it behind the Crosstek for a bit and check the results.


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## mbcracken (Aug 12, 2006)

Some riding friends of mine have been using these for the last 6-10 months. They are returning them because the stitching is failing causing the padding to come away from the lycra they are attached to.

I'm looking the most peddle friendly ones for endurance(30-50 miler) type riding. Just too many ways to go down up here in the PNW and not have some protection.

Cheers,
Mike


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## Legbacon (Jan 20, 2004)

I went down on my side at low speed and tore the Lycra on the side of the pad. I didn't hit the padding though. The fabric is flimsy and is not protected by the padding enough for me. I find my POC VPD 2's just as comfortable and they are definitely wearing better.


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## martinizer (May 2, 2011)

I've got the knee, elbow and compression shirt. Personally I haven't had any issues with the knee pads bunching up. 

As far as crash worthiness, I've taken a few good diggers in mine. One, I landed pretty hard on my elbow. The G-form pad helped some, but slid up on contact, exposing my forearm and giving my a scrape. I'll give them a C on that wipeout. 

I've also had two hard crashes on my shoulder, and in both of those cases I remember laying in the trail waiting for the pain of a shoulder separation or at least bad bruise. Instead, nothing. No pain, no bruise, no damage. I'll give G-form an A on those two crashes. 

I'm thinking of adding a pair of their new crash shorts for shuttle days.


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## Burt4x4 (Feb 21, 2013)

I have only "field tested" the elbow pads...it worked! My skin stayed on my elbow and the pad took the scrape well and did not move. I was not wearing knee pads and did get a 50c piece size Owewee on me knee...so I thingk I'll give the Gform knee a try with remembering the "cut the circle" mod if needed...

I love the light, easy to pack/foldable feature of thease light impact pads..."Skin Pertectors"


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## cecald (Feb 17, 2010)

I've been down on these a few times on dirt. Knee pads did a great job - no loss of skin and no bruising. Elbow pads were decent - no bruising, but lots of skin rash on my forearms. To be fair - the skin rash could have happened with another kind perhaps so . . . . .


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## cyclelicious (Oct 7, 2008)

My husband and I both owned a pair of the knee G forms. He wore his for a season on trail rides (winter and spring/fall) . He freerides but never crashed. His chief complaint was that the stitching on the lycra unravelled. He replaced his knee pads with lightweight TLD and is happy

I wore my knee G forms on a couple of winter ice biking rides (2 years ago). I had one wipeout when I lost traction and landed on my knee on hard ice. The pad worked to absorb the impact and I continued the ride without any pain. I stopped wearing the G forms because I didn't like the fit. They fit ok below the knee but were tight above the knee and tended to slide down and bunch up. I'm not sure if a different size would have made a difference. I could not try them on in the LBS when I bought them because of the packaging....so I went with the manufacturer's sizing guideline. 

The concept is good. The price is good but the end result product is flawed


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## NS-NV (Aug 15, 2006)

The pad itself is fine for less gnarly conditions, although I have taken some good bails on rocks with them with no ill effects.

Like most others, I think the sleeve is crap. After a year, I ended up having the pad sewn onto a proper pair of knee warmers, and they work great.


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## mbcracken (Aug 12, 2006)

FWIW...I test fit a bunch of knee pads over the weekend in a shop. I think everyone now has some light weight models that slightly vary in design. I ended up getting the TLD TBones because they fit my knees the best. I'll be test riding them today. Hoping not to fall and do any full testing.
In talking to the LBS manager, he mentioned that knee pad fitting is kind of like helmet fitting...each are shaped for a specif size and will be more torture if they don't fit properly.

Cheers,
Mike


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## Varaxis (Mar 16, 2010)

Didn't have my weight back when I hit a powder-fied berm and the sudden slow-down from the deep sand/dust stopped my bike, but I kept going forward:















I didn't slide. I just sort of plopped on the ground with my palms flat out towards the ground, with elbows bent. The abrasion was caused by the pad rubbing on my skin. I believe no blood would've been drawn if I had worn a "DH style" long sleeve jersey, without this pad. I think the sand/dust pile would've absorbed most of the impact in my case.

Don't think the pad's a bad idea. Its main weakness seems to be that the part it's sewn onto is crap. Would not buy this again. Perhaps a revised mtb-specific version might interest me, but for now I think the TLD EG is worth its asking price and this is not, as long as the TLD fits you well. No comment on the knee pads, as I'm happily on POC VPD2.


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## lb2 (Mar 1, 2012)

Picked up a set of the new design (at Sea Otter). They re-did the sleeves. For me the old version of the knee pads were too tight around the calves. The new ones are much better fit.


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## material guy (Mar 14, 2011)

It can depend on the crash. I was wearing POC VPD2 when I did this.
Nothing is perfect.









Varaxis said:


> Didn't have my weight back when I hit a powder-fied berm and the sudden slow-down from the deep sand/dust stopped my bike, but I kept going forward:
> 
> View attachment 884781
> View attachment 884782
> ...


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## L8APXR (Mar 9, 2014)

francois said:


> photos please.
> 
> fc


of the seamstress? here:


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## snodrift (Nov 2, 2011)

Clipped a pedal and went down, somehow putting my g-form covered right knee into the front wheel. Broke three spokes. Gave a slight tear to the foam stuff, knee was bruised and sore, but no broken skin. Confident it would be much worse without.

That said, the Lycra and the stitching have been poor. Great customer service, got a replacement really quick.

Upgraded to race face ambush, very happy with those. Comfy, and strap on without shoe removal. 

Sent from my XT1049 using Tapatalk


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## Varaxis (Mar 16, 2010)

material guy said:


> It can depend on the crash. I was wearing POC VPD2 when I did this.
> Nothing is perfect.
> View attachment 885003


I see you are making a similar point as me, sort of. My opinion was just emphasizing how the pad's sleeve material was a bad implementation. Even if the pad was utilized to absorb an impact, the sleeve would've cause some issue. In other words, I was implying that if anyone had a similar problem with this and perhaps experienced what I did, it's likely the sleeve that did it, and not the pad's failure to absorb. Just hoping that it would be addressed, which apparently it has been.

Mtn biking involves a decent amount of speed and sliding and tumbling/rolling are likely to happen in a crash. The pads are not going to only see square, straight on hits. Even a high shock absorbing material like VPD can allow something like that if it's not designed to handle such crashes, with speed, sliding, and tumbling involved. If the pad doesn't fit me well enough to securely stay in place, I doubt it's going to work very well. I do recognize how a pad should absorb impact (and not just be soft-med desity foam), as I've had my knee get bruised with broken skin straight through my Kyle Strait knee pads, landing sketchy off a short rock huck, loosing my footing and falling to the right side at a higher than comfortable speed with my right knee making first contact and my other foot still on the bike--about as straight on of a crash as possible, with minimal sliding and tumbling, just a little rotation. My POC pads fit very well and comfortably, at least as well as the Kyle Straits, and offer better absorption, hence why I'm happy with them. Just saying no comment on G-Form knees, since I haven't tried them. I almost always wear knee pads, but rarely elbow pads, until I got the G-Forms. Just voicing my disappointment a little with them, expecting a little more for the price.

If a pad like the 7idp Tactic didn't scare me off with a cost that is about as much as the arm and leg it's meant to protect, and see if they're worth their price some how.


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## RTM (Sep 17, 2005)

I applaud the effort. It is extremely hard to be "right" reviewing stuff people wear. And you go an pick the absolute hardest category, lightweight protective gear...good luck my friend.


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