# Usefullness of knee/shin guards?



## Urbansniper (Jun 12, 2011)

I have some race face rally knee/leg guards on backorder and am debating if i should follow through in getting them or not. 

i intially went with the purchase to protect my legs against the screws on my platform pedals...and to protect my knees. but i'm in houston....and i assume it's too hot for leg guards in the dead of summer. but on the other side, it would be nice to have them in the cooler months.
but, how common it is to injure your knee on a mountainbike? the times i have ate it...i either flip over the handlebars... or end up falling on my side.

i mainly ride single track trails and attempt most technical obstacles...unless it involoves medium to big jumps/drops.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Urbansniper said:


> I have some race face rally knee/leg guards on backorder and am debating if i should follow through in getting them or not.
> 
> i intially went with the purchase to protect my legs against the screws on my platform pedals...and to protect my knees. but i'm in houston....and i assume it's too hot for leg guards in the dead of summer. but on the other side, it would be nice to have them in the cooler months.
> but, how common it is to injure your knee on a mountainbike? the times i have ate it...i either flip over the handlebars... or end up falling on my side.
> ...


For me light scrapes on the legs from trees and branches...

The elbow and forearms take most of the beatings in a crash.


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## SeaBass_ (Apr 7, 2006)

Save your money.


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## Urbansniper (Jun 12, 2011)

jeffscott,

would elbow/forearm guards be a good investment? I took a small spill last week and it left a dime sized rash/pit on my arm by my elbow that is taking forever to heal. especially due to repeat falls and abraision due to my jiu jitsu uniform...looks like cheese pizza.

oh, i have video of my spill:
9/4/2011 Cypresswood MTB Trail - YouTube


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## fireball_jones (Mar 29, 2009)

To protect you against pedals, they're a bit much. Pedal pins will leave holes in your legs and occasionally bite in good, but they never hurt, and you can throw some alcohol on them and they heal up quick.

If there's a chance of crashing and going shin / knee on exposed pointy rocks, then I'd wear them. The worst-case OTB faceplant doesn't happen to often, but if you ride in places with nasty pointy things, it's better safe than sorry.


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## AndrwSwitch (Nov 8, 2007)

I like shin guards when I'm using flat pedals. The foot slip/pedal whip accident really hurts.

It's very, very rare for me to bang my knee when I wipe out. But it hurts a lot when I do. So if I rode skills parks more, and more aggressively, I'd want knee pads.

The most common scrape for me to actually need to clean up is a forearm or elbow cut. I wore forearm guards for a while in college when I was being particularly stupid about riding too fast. I'm more conservative now, don't fall as much, can't find my forearm guards, and I'm pretty confident that I'm faster too - I haven't stopped trying to develop my skills. I just try to push the envelope, rather than pointing my bike at the bottoms of things and hoping to get there upright.

Anyway, if there was one piece of armor, beyond a helmet, that I'd recommend to a flat pedal rider, it would be shin guards. If there were two, the forearm guards would be the next one. A lot of people who follow a fire road climb/singletrack descent model with their riding put the pads in a pack for the climb.


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## zebrahum (Jun 29, 2005)

I'm typing this to you with a fresh arm scrape, but I say if it makes you feel comfortable then go for it. When I first switched to flat pedals I wore my shin guards all the time and I needed them too. Eventually I got more comfortable and slipped pedals less so I wore the shins less, eventually only wearing them on lift served days then not at all (didn't ride lifts at that time). Recently as my riding includes more gravity riding (lifts, bike parks) I'm wearing my 661 knee/shin combo much more frequently and last year I picked up a full face helmet, Leatt brace, and elbow pads (after a friend shattered his elbow on a mundane fall).

So through that long-winded paragraph my point is that yes, they're hot but they certainly do make a difference when you need them. Utah summer is pretty hot but I wouldn't shy away from padding up just because of the temperature. If you need protection, you need protection no matter the temperature. I've smashed my knees and shins off of some pretty amazing things while crashing my bike and I've always been glad to have the pads on. 

For me I pad up when I'm doing something with a medium to high risk of crashing and I do not pad up when I'm on a typical trail ride. I've gotten past the point where I just "slip" a pedal from riding flats for a long time (and Straitline pedals are really grippy) so now the decision to wear pads is just about the likelihood of me wrecking the bike. My suggestion is to wear the pads until you get comfortable with platforms to the point of not slipping a pedal anymore then just pad up when the going gets rough.


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## carspidey (Aug 1, 2011)

it all depends on what kind of riding you do... and it depends the terrain you ride...

I just started into DH riding and my armor (knees, shin, elbows, forarms, etc) are worth every penny...

i just took a fall last week that it would have put me in bed for days if it wasn't for my protection...


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## nord1899 (Aug 29, 2011)

I use knee pads for all riding. Relatively new rider myself, and this summer I've taken two falls that ended up bruising my knee pretty badly. First one was an endo, I think I hit the handlebar or stem as I went over. Second one was a low side due to too much front brake locking up the wheel. Was able to finish the ride for both, but definitely left me hobbled for a few/several days afterwards.
I've found that with the right pads, you don't really feel them after the first minute or three. Granted if you are racing it would matter, but just riding around, not an issue.

Shin guards I could see to prevent pedal strikes. Haven't tried elbow guards yet, but only really done one day of lift served riding so far at Deer Valley. Maybe next year if I do that more often. But so far, my elbows and arms have escaped pretty much unscathed, but my knees have taken a beating.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

Urbansniper said:


> jeffscott,
> 
> would elbow/forearm guards be a good investment? I took a small spill last week and it left a dime sized rash/pit on my arm by my elbow that is taking forever to heal. especially due to repeat falls and abraision due to my jiu jitsu uniform...looks like cheese pizza.
> 
> ...


Well, if you are gonna ride like that then yeah maybe you want some arm protection...

We ride steep mountains, you really do not want to crash....boulders, scree, sharp branchs...

So we try to never hurt yourself...still happens but generally not a big deal.....so we all ride without armor...

BTW those cheap little stunts will get old and then falling on a loose nail can really hurt.


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## Eckstream1 (Jul 27, 2011)

This would have been prevented with knee guards...


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## kikikuku (Jul 20, 2011)

Urbansniper said:


> jeffscott,
> 
> would elbow/forearm guards be a good investment? I took a small spill last week and it left a dime sized rash/pit on my arm by my elbow that is taking forever to heal. especially due to repeat falls and abraision due to my jiu jitsu uniform...looks like cheese pizza.
> 
> ...


I haven't been to cypresswood trail, but it looks sandy from your video. Nice video though, i'm assuming that mount your camera on the handle bars, how did you angle it? (picture would help). If it makes you feel more confident to wear protective gears, then by all means do it. I'm a new to this sport too, and I'm thinking of getting the knee and and shin protection. I ride mainly at anthills, seen some folks have knee/shin and elbow, others has full-body protection.


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## was98strat (Jul 10, 2007)

simple solution...clipless pedls and proper shoes! leave the flats for the kiddie bikes!!


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## Urbansniper (Jun 12, 2011)

jeffscott said:


> BTW those cheap little stunts will get old and then falling on a loose nail can really hurt.


yipes...never thought about that :eekster:



Eckstream1 said:


> This would have been prevented with knee guards...


ouch man...do tell us what happened....



kikikuku said:


> I haven't been to cypresswood trail, but it looks sandy from your video. Nice video though, i'm assuming that mount your camera on the handle bars, how did you angle it? (picture would help). If it makes you feel more confident to wear protective gears, then by all means do it. I'm a new to this sport too, and I'm thinking of getting the knee and and shin protection. I ride mainly at anthills, seen some folks have knee/shin and elbow, others has full-body protection.


cypresswood is overall pretty relaxed. yes, there seemed like quite a bit of sand in the beginning of the trail. i actually have the rollbar mount on the neck of the handlebars. i will try to take a picture for you soon. i like the anthills as well mang...


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## Porschefan (Jan 14, 2011)

Urbansniper said:


> I have some race face rally knee/leg guards on backorder and am debating if i should follow through in getting them or not.
> 
> i intially went with the purchase to protect my legs against the screws on my platform pedals...and to protect my knees. but i'm in houston....and i assume it's too hot for leg guards in the dead of summer. but on the other side, it would be nice to have them in the cooler months.
> but, how common it is to injure your knee on a mountainbike? the times i have ate it...i either flip over the handlebars... or end up falling on my side.
> ...


Why did you order them in the first place? If you don't fall much, then they are PROBABLY superfluous.

I'm not a very good rider and used to fall/crash regularly. I bought knee/shin guards pretty quickly and am very glad I did. Then I went OTB big time into a cactus patch and bought forearm/elbow pads after that.

I don't fall nearly as much, but I still wear them both. I really don't notice them much now. When it's hot, it's hot, and the pads don't seem to make anything much hotter. They are surprisingly comfortable as far as freedom of movement goes, so I wouldn't worry much on the comfort score.

I can see not wearing them on easy rides after reaching a certain skill and confidence level. But if you fall often or if you are riding an area that is particularly dangerous, then they can save you a lot of grief.


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## Colo Springs E (Dec 20, 2009)

My elbow/forearm scrapes from falling outnumber my knee/shin boo-boos about 5 to 1. If anything, I'd opt for elbow/forearm protection. I ride platform pedals too.


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## bad mechanic (Jun 21, 2006)

You'll fall less as you get better. I'd say skip the guards, since they're uncomfortable _all_ the time, and scraps and only uncomfortable_ some _of the time.


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## Urbansniper (Jun 12, 2011)

Porschefan said:


> Why did you order them in the first place? If you don't fall much, then they are PROBABLY superfluous.


i thought they would be good against getting pits/scratches against the pins on my platform pedals. heh...i probabaly eat it at least once every outing; and i would like to step up to harder technical obstacles. nothing crazy, just higher drops and a attack a bit bigger jumps (nothing too crazy).



Colo Springs E said:


> My elbow/forearm scrapes from falling outnumber my knee/shin boo-boos about 5 to 1. If anything, I'd opt for elbow/forearm protection. I ride platform pedals too.


good to know...eblow/forearm damage annoys the @#$% out of me.


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## DeanFBM (May 8, 2011)

Yea elbows most commonly get scraped, but it's always minor, rarely hit my knees, but it's pretty major when i do. I ride knee pads al the time


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## terrasmak (Jun 14, 2011)

XC riding i wear a Lizard skin shin guard on my RT leg with the hard armor removed, it works great against pedal strikes and protects my leg from the chainring.

Aggressive trails (more like downhill ) i wear 661 4x4 and 4x2 pads.


IMAG0134 by terrasmak chainring hit


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## db_Is_Me (Sep 14, 2011)

sorry to hear that.

Smacked my knees big time with a chain drop. Went down on my hands that had cheapy, but protective gloves. Knees only had thick jeans. Hands OK. Right knee still striped with road rash. And farken hurt initially. Bruises due tomorrow :-(


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## Urbansniper (Jun 12, 2011)

wow tasty MiniTrail...sorry to see your injury, but thanks for sharing your picture :thumbsup:


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## tshulthise (Apr 23, 2010)

Ever consider using clipless pedals? No need for chin guards when you ride clipless.

With platforms I would not ride without chin guards and a bash guard to protect the calf from the chainring.


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## carspidey (Aug 1, 2011)

that is a nasty cut... ouch!!! 

i fell on a light trail and scraped my forearm... not as bad as the pictures but big scratch... after that i've been wearing elbow guards, knee/shin guards and they have saved me so many times... so many times...

i've seen a lot of XC riders on the trail i ride DH with full armor and wonder if they'll ever realize the importance of body protection...


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## standamantx (Nov 10, 2009)

I too live in Houston! I ride with shin/ knee guards every time I ride. The scars on my guards tells me they are doing their jobs. I have some pretty gnarly chain ring scars and scars from platform pins. I love my guards.


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## dubthang (Apr 2, 2009)

If you only slip once a ride, save your money, and invest it in a good pair of shoes. Get something super sticky like 5.10's.


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## Eckstream1 (Jul 27, 2011)

Urbansniper said:


> ouch man...do tell us what happened....


I was actually snowboarding... But my knee contacted a 90deg angle at about 30mph... Just under the kneecap at the top of my tibia.

Tore my LCL and ACL and broke the outer layers of bone on my tibial plateau... The bruise took 2.5yrs to heal...

After that I decided that knee guards are cheap insurance and less uncomfortable than an injury...:thumbsup:

Here is a MRI image from after the crash...


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## Urbansniper (Jun 12, 2011)

tshulthise said:


> Ever consider using clipless pedals? No need for chin guards when you ride clipless.


i bail too much...and am afriad of being one with the bike.



Eckstream1 said:


> After that I decided that knee guards are cheap insurance and less uncomfortable than an injury...:thumbsup:


damn...rehab is a bastard. i know the feeling.
it's funny that we only acquire protective gear after something happens.

i just came back from cycle gear and picked up some motorcross elbow pads for my wife and I...less than $50 for both (Fox and EVS).

going to resume backorder status of the race face rally knee/shin guards. they were on sale for $44...not that big of an investment.

guess i'll keep the same mentality as when i used to ride crotch rockets...dress like you are going down.


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## Urbansniper (Jun 12, 2011)

kikikuku said:


> Nice video though, i'm assuming that mount your camera on the handle bars, how did you angle it? (picture would help).


took some pics last night. i'm using a the gopro roll bar mount on the neck of the handlebars. i positioned it so if i were the bike were to flip over (forward) the gopro would hopefully tilt back instead of breakage....


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## svmike (Sep 23, 2007)

I'm in Houston as well and recently had twelve staples put in my left leg thanks to my pedal. I have shin guards now but only wear them when dirt jumping. My feet don't come off the pedals very often when trail riding. 

I bought TLD combat knee/shin guards. Only one fall with them so far. Ended up with an annoying rug-burn type injury on my right knee cap from the guard turning when I hit the ground. Disappointed with the quality of them as the stitching holding the plastic to the foam has started to fall apart with only a handful of uses.


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## Urbansniper (Jun 12, 2011)

dang it...this just happened. was practicing a wheelie drop off a bench and slipped...


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## zebrahum (Jun 29, 2005)

Urbansniper said:


> dang it...this just happened. was practicing a wheelie drop off a bench and slipped...


Welcome to the club! I have dozens of little hole scars on my legs. You'll get better at riding flats and eventually you won't need them to protect yourself from pedal slips but until then I'd get some knee/shins to keep the blood down.


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## PedroC (Aug 14, 2008)

I have operated both knees due to other sports injuries (judo and squash) and have for years always ridden with knee pads. I have used 661 Kyle Straits hey saved me a few times but 6 days ago I was going fast when I lost grip on a corner crashing directly on my right side. I immediately felt a terrible pain on my right knee (that since the operation9 years ago is very sensitive to any type of knock on it). As it is getting colder I was wearing an Underarmor lycra pants and unknown to me the pad slid down so when I needed it it was not there to protect me. 
Now I am trying to find a way to avoid the same from happening again. Has this happened to anyone? Any suggestions on how to stop it from happening again or any other knee pad that stays in place better than the 661?
Appreciate any help.


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## GotoDengo (Aug 6, 2010)

You say you get pedal-slip a lot, but that you're afraid of not being able to bail while clipped in. The fear of not being able to unclip quickly is very unfounded, IMO, especially with Shimano pedals whose tension can be ratcheted down to the point the clips barely take hold.

Just sayin', you're posting injuries that *would* be resolved with clipless, but not using that solution b/c you (like a lot of us originally) are worried about something that *might*, or might not, be a problem. 

There are so many oft-posted benefits of clipless, and the fact that I think they're the biggest upgrade a MTB cyclist can make for power and control, just compels me to bring them up again.... hammer it away until you try them .


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## Will Goes Boing (Jan 25, 2008)

PedroC said:


> I have operated both knees due to other sports injuries (judo and squash) and have for years always ridden with knee pads. I have used 661 Kyle Straits hey saved me a few times but 6 days ago I was going fast when I lost grip on a corner crashing directly on my right side. I immediately felt a terrible pain on my right knee (that since the operation9 years ago is very sensitive to any type of knock on it). As it is getting colder I was wearing an Underarmor lycra pants and unknown to me the pad slid down so when I needed it it was not there to protect me.
> Now I am trying to find a way to avoid the same from happening again. Has this happened to anyone? Any suggestions on how to stop it from happening again or any other knee pad that stays in place better than the 661?
> Appreciate any help.


If you're going to wear the knee guards over underarmour it is going to slip. I have tried several knee guards and by far the kyle straight 661's are the most grippy.

I know this is kind of an older post but my 0.02 cent is that knee/shin guards are great if you're riding some really gnarly downhill where you're expecting to crash.

I've tried on two different 661 full shin/knee guards and both of them were extremely uncomfortable, I don't think it's even possible to pedal uphill with them. The kyle straight 661's actually cover half of my shin and they're great for pedaling.


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## ehigh (Apr 19, 2011)

How about this.. I wanted the POC leg guards. They can even protect the calves. But no, I decided, it could get too hot. Now I have a fleshy area of dermis layer exposed as the result of one of my straitline pedal pins going all the way in and ripping down a few inches. Lots of blood as a result and a stitches worth injury. I settled on duct tape. These days I ride with 661 pro knee/shin. Most of the rides out here are up it and then down it, so they spend time either in my pack or in my top tube


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## DannyHuynh (Sep 13, 2011)

i wear the 661 kyle straight knee pads on every ride. I went OTB once and banged up my knee pretty bad. After that I purchased the pads and never looked back. 

i have platforms with pins also. just get used to scratchs and stuff, your legs will look like vietnam war POW's in time LOL 

adds character to your legs and shows you ride hard! haha


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## Tystevens (Nov 2, 2011)

I gashed my knee right under the knee cap, partially sliced my patellar tendon in the process, going knee-first into sharp rocks lining the trail, so knee injuries do happen. 

Of course, this was more of an XC trail, and I wouldn't likely have been wearing knee guards even if I owned any at the time. I blame it more on the SPD pedals -- grinding up and around a steep switchback corner, hopping the front up over a root, and then my back wheel spun out on said root on the top of my stroke -- I went down in a flash and couldn't unclip in time. Expensive medical bills and 5 months before I could bend it well enough to ride a bike or run again. 

I went back to flats for all mountain riding after that. I very rarely get pedal strikes on my shins, and they hurt but heal quickly and don't impede your riding at all. Besides, I never lose a pedal in techy stuff. I do feel a little more confidence with my knee/shin pads in place, FWIW, but I really only use them at the resorts.


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## Pimpride (Nov 14, 2005)

Depends what bike you are riding & how you are riding it. With platform pedals, if you want to get air or on a slope style DH type of course, you should pad up as much as is comfortable. I use some shin guards when I ride platforms so I don't get snake-bit by the pedals, heat is an issue, but look on the bright side, you could be at football practice in the heat with way more equipment..... On my full squish bike, I have a short post, large DJ seat and platform pedals that I run when I'm looking to get air, and a XC setup with clipless pedals when I want to trail ride it. I don't use pads at all on my XC hardtail, just helmet and gloves. Dirt Jump and DH days lead you to pad up more, but shinguards are important if you are riding platform pedals unless you want to bleed when you miss a pedal.


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## PedroC (Aug 14, 2008)

You are probably right, I had never problems with the Lyle Straight slipping before.
Has anyone got any experiences with the RaceFace Flank LW Leg Guards? They seem to be very confy for a knee/shin guard. The intended use would be AM with lots of pedaling on the uphills.


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## carspidey (Aug 1, 2011)

PedroC said:


> I have operated both knees due to other sports injuries (judo and squash) and have for years always ridden with knee pads. I have used 661 Kyle Straits hey saved me a few times but 6 days ago I was going fast when I lost grip on a corner crashing directly on my right side. I immediately felt a terrible pain on my right knee (that since the operation9 years ago is very sensitive to any type of knock on it). As it is getting colder I was wearing an Underarmor lycra pants and unknown to me the pad slid down so when I needed it it was not there to protect me.
> Now I am trying to find a way to avoid the same from happening again. Has this happened to anyone? Any suggestions on how to stop it from happening again or any other knee pad that stays in place better than the 661?
> Appreciate any help.


best bet to wear it over the skin...

another thing that has helped mine from moving is full shin guard protection... that way it locks the knee guard in place...


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## ehigh (Apr 19, 2011)

pedal pins gonna getcha!

my leg just moments after my foot slipped forward on a bad landing. not even bleeding yet


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## Urbansniper (Jun 12, 2011)

*all,*

I picked up some launch knee/shin on ebay. i like em alot so far; wish i had them earlier! I wear some under armor heat gear tube socks underneath (for comfort).

*ehigh,*

damn!!!!! that is pretty bad man.


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