# Elbow and Knee Pads



## MTB Smith (Jul 23, 2009)

Hello Ladies and Gents,

I was thinking about buying a bit of protection for my knees and, mainly, my elbows after a recent accident.

Managed to find this thread that was rather helpful.
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/general-cycling-discussion/protection-roadies-208691.html

The thread recommends pads from 661 that seem to be fairly light weight and flexible.
:: SixSixOne Protection ::

Anyone have any other recommendations?


----------



## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

I recomend that you quit worrying about it and just ride smart. Just wear a helmet and gloves and go. Sure there's always a chance of an accident but cycling is a non contact sport. Well, unless you're racing but I'm talking about sport riding.
The injury that is most likely is a broken collar bone or a shoulder injury, and when's the last time you've seen a road cyclist wearing shoulder pads?


----------



## empty_set (Nov 1, 2006)

I find a full-face helmet is also helpful.


----------



## nomit (Jul 13, 2009)

Buffalo Classic 100 mi on a Knolly Freeride bike 9/13/09 - YouTube


----------



## terry b (Jan 29, 2004)

I've had about 3 crashes in more than 2000 rides (since I started keeping track) that resulted in bothersome road rash. Only one of those was really uncomfortable.

I don't think that a .15% chance of scraping my knees is worth being uncomfortable 100% of the time.

If you're worried enough to invest in protection, sell your bike and buy a recumbent. Same riding enjoyment but much closer to the ground.


----------



## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

There's a reason that you don't see roadies wearing elbow and knee pads.


----------



## Vayinafash (Oct 16, 2007)

Broken elbow here - I wear fox elbow pads - don't know if they will do anything but I wear anyway - not a problem - had one jerky comment from a jerk. I've been told by an ortho that speed and impact causes breaks and pads won't help a lot. I still wear them. I do not wear pads on knees for road biking - where combo shin guars and knees when mountain biking, even just cross country.


----------



## Shinjukan (Aug 22, 2011)

To the OP, if you think wearing those elbow and knee protectors would give you peace of mind and gain back your confidence in riding after a nasty crash, then by all means go for it. You're the one who is responsible for your body, not other riders who will see and probably look at you with disbelief. Tune them out. I would assume you're in the USA, so you could do whatever you want as long as you don't cause injury to other people.


----------



## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

I've had some nasty road rash. It messed up my hip, right on top of the joint capsule, and the heel of my hand. I never ride without gloves, since then. Getting things removed from my hand was incredibly painful, local anesthetic or not. I figure if I wear a helmet (I do) for a kind of injury I think I'm pretty unlikely to get in most falls, I can wear something for an injury I'm confident I will get in most falls. The scars on my hips don't bother me so much - I think they add character. :wink5:

Off-road, I once left a lot of skin from my forearm on the trail.

I can kinda see elbow pads, especially if you're doing that Red Bull Road DH race. I wouldn't bother with knee pads unless I was also going to do shorts with padding over the hips.

I always wear a helmet. I've never even had my bell rung falling off a bike, but a brain injury is pretty serious. But for me, hundreds of hours wearing knee and elbow pads are not worth the protection they might offer me if I manage to land on them. I'd feel differently about wearing them for DH, though.


----------



## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

I have had more than my fair share of bike crashes. Among my most significant crashes are: (1) slipping on a wet descent at 44 mph that resulted in a broken shoulder and severe road rash on my upper thigh/butt (literally ripped the shorts off of me); (2) being hit from behind by a car; (3) crashing on a narrow descent in the Alps to avoid an oncoming car; and (4) crashing after almost being hit by a tractor trailer. Although I had some road rash around my knees and elbows on each occasion, that road rash was minor compared to road rash elsewhere and other injuries such as a badly bruised and swollen hip (indicents 2, 3 and 4), a broken helmet that prevented head injuries (incidents 2 and 4) and cracked ribs (incident 4). Bike gloves definitely minimized damage to my hands in incidents 3 and 4 and wearing a base layer under my jersey minimized road rash on my shoulder in incident 3 (i.e., my jersey was completely ripped, but I had minimal road rash because the base layer provided a second line of defense.

Knee pads and elbow pads would have made little difference in my crashes. YMMV,


----------



## RRRoubaix (Aug 27, 2008)

Glad the Lownje kit is okay! :thumbsup:
Whew, nasty...


----------



## jimmythekidd (Nov 13, 2009)

Seems fairly radical but whatever works. As a veteran of many, many crashes (11 broken bones, insane amounts of road rash) I can honestly say that I have a hard time envisioning how elbow/knee pads are going to make a big difference in a road crash.


----------



## vmaxx4 (Jul 19, 2011)

I've been thinking of getting a set of these for my mountain bike. Might work well on the road bike as well. Just like a leg/arm warmer. They now come in an "all black" version as well as the original yellow.

G-Form


----------



## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

RRRoubaix said:


> *Glad the Lownje kit is okay*! :thumbsup:
> Whew, nasty...


There are those who claim that the Lounge kit is jinxed. It has been blamed for flats, etc. Until my crash on May 20 I never had any bad luck while wearing the kit. I was apprehensive about wearing it again, but the Lounge RAGBRAI team said to bring it along. I waited until the last day of RAGBRAI to wear it, just in case. Given that I came out of my May 20 crash alive and finished RAGBRAI without a mishap notwithstanding a very sketchy descent into Davenport on the final day, I now believe that the Lounge kit is good luck.


----------



## MR_GRUMPY (Aug 21, 2002)

I recommend that you buy both of these items, put them on, have a photo taken, and post it here.

I would really love to have a photo like that to email to all of my friends.

I'm sure that they would like to see something like that. I could also post it on our team's website.


----------



## Hooben (Aug 22, 2004)

Most of your problems in a crash are going to come out of your skin scraping against the road for a few meters at speed. This results in road rash. The other problem lies when the body is propelled over the handlebars which results in you reaching out with arms to stop the fall. Broken collar bones, facial bruises and cuts, and cuts on forearms are common. The knees are just one of those areas that usually doesn't impact. The elbows, well maybe...but how could you stand to have your elbows in pads on long rides?


----------



## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

ah how fun this is to compare with helmet and gloves threads. 

https://www.cyclesportmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Museeuw-crash.jpg


----------



## kreyszig666 (Jan 6, 2010)

Hi
I started the first thread the OP mentions. For those that can't be bothered reading it, I was after some protection following a seriously broken elbow and damn near broken hip. (I got hit by a van and landed on my left side + head) 
I got some 661 stuff (some quite subtly protected shorts, and elbow pads and also mtb underarmour) after the accident. 
First problem was the elbow protection stuff was painful on a fresh wound (and still would be on pins near the skin) and generally pretty uncomfortable. despite the claims, that "smart" stuff that's supposed to harden up on impact is pretty damn stiff to start with.

It turned out that I just naturally got my confidence back, and I feel no need to use the armour. The shorts would probably be ok, and I believe they would offer some decent protection to your hips, but the underarmour would cook you before you got far enough to get in an accident.

I would advise reading up on a few statistics, which is what I did. Contrary to what you might think, the odds are not bad in terms of having a serious accident. If you are worried about getting hit to the point of spoiling a ride by wearing armour, you won't be enjoying the ride anyway, in my opinion.

Sort your head out (in the nicest possible way) and enjoy the freedom of cycling!


----------



## Ventruck (Mar 9, 2009)

Best compromise is you hope for a cold day to layer up a bit more.

Anything made to resist impact in current times aside from the helmet is going to be very uncomfortable, unless you're descending. Imo, cycling apparel companies should be looking to come up with something that can slide at least...not shred and leave your skin for the beating. Of course I wouldn't know such a solution myself.


----------



## MTB Smith (Jul 23, 2009)

Thanks for the replies. The ones poking fun were expected and good for a laugh (the video of the freeride bike on the road ride was great).

Mainly looking at the elbow pads because that is typically one of the first parts of my body to break my fall.

I do agree that wearing something like the 661 might be a bit uncomfortable. Was looking to see if anyone had used something that was a little more comfortable.


----------



## spade2you (May 12, 2009)




----------



## Yolajeff (Aug 24, 2011)

After too many trips to the ER (lost count) my wife thinks I should be covered in bubble wrap when I ride. I don’t, but I do wear a helmet.


----------



## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

You could stop crashing. That would negate the need for pads...


----------



## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

robdamanii said:


> You could stop crashing. That would negate the need for pads...


helmet and gloves as well......


----------



## MTB Smith (Jul 23, 2009)

Spade, that's exactly what I was looking for! Great find!


----------



## Shinjukan (Aug 22, 2011)

spade2you said:


>


Ha! This is even better.


----------



## innergel (Jun 14, 2002)

robdamanii said:


> You could stop crashing. That would negate the need for pads...



this. 


maybe work on your bike handling skills a bit.


----------



## martinrjensen (Sep 23, 2007)

I really don't think that's the norm


MTB Smith said:


> Thanks for the replies. The ones poking fun were expected and good for a laugh (the video of the freeride bike on the road ride was great).
> 
> *Mainly looking at the elbow pads because that is typically one of the first parts of my body to break my fall*.
> 
> I do agree that wearing something like the 661 might be a bit uncomfortable. Was looking to see if anyone had used something that was a little more comfortable.


----------



## Camilo (Jun 23, 2007)

OK, my personal opinion is that people who think that normal, recreational road biking is so risk-prone that they need elbow and knee protection really don't have a rational assessment of the true risks involved. (and as an aside, I think the same about helmets). Yes, I understand you can fall down and hurt your knees, elbows, and head. But the chance of it happening is just so slight it's not worth worrying about. 

"Dangerism" is just getting out of hand, I think.


----------



## malanb (Oct 26, 2009)

it is not common to fall on your knees and elbows. you usually fall and slide on your butt, shoulder, hips, hands, arms , ears etc.


----------



## kykr13 (Apr 12, 2008)

innergel said:


> maybe work on your bike handling skills a bit.


This. Ounce of prevention = pound of cure. In other words, look at this from the standpoint of how you can reduce the odds that you'll wind up in a bad situation.


----------



## jspharmd (May 24, 2006)

If you are looking for some protection that is not the hard-case type used in downhill, try this link: http://g-form.com/

I saw this company at the 12 hours of Snowmass race this month. The pads actually looked fairly comfortable. Personally, I would have a hard time wearing these where I live, but that is just due to the heat.


----------



## PlatyPius (Feb 1, 2009)

jspharmd said:


> If you are looking for some protection that is not the hard-case type used in downhill, try this link:
> 
> I saw this company at the 12 hours of Snowmass race this month. The pads actually looked fairly comfortable. Personally, I would have a hard time wearing these where I live, but that is just due to the heat.


Invisible link is invisible....


----------



## jspharmd (May 24, 2006)

Not sure what happened. I clicked insert link, then pasted the link in. 

Let's see how this goes: G-Form

There we go.


----------



## SassyCat (Oct 12, 2015)

Hi, 
New to this site; joined after crashing when a squirrel darted out of the underbrush directly in front of my bike; badly broke elbow (learned a new word olecranon). I've been reading the discussions on elbow pads, but general opinion seems to be that they aren't super useful. Any other experiences out there? This elbow thing has been no fun and has disrupted my life quite a bit. Would love to hear other experiences - thanks.


----------



## ziscwg (Apr 19, 2010)

SassyCat said:


> Hi,
> New to this site; joined after crashing when a squirrel darted out of the underbrush directly in front of my bike; badly broke elbow (learned a new word olecranon). I've been reading the discussions on elbow pads, but general opinion seems to be that they aren't super useful. Any other experiences out there? This elbow thing has been no fun and has disrupted my life quite a bit. Would love to hear other experiences - thanks.


Kitten killer.....................


Anyway, if it was a bunny, could you have bunny hopped it???


----------



## nsfbr (May 23, 2014)

terry b said:


> I've had about 3 crashes in more than 2000 rides (since I started keeping track) that resulted in bothersome road rash. Only one of those was really uncomfortable.
> 
> I don't think that a .15% chance of scraping my knees is worth being uncomfortable 100% of the time.
> 
> If you're worried enough to invest in protection, sell your bike and buy a recumbent. Same riding enjoyment but much closer to the ground.


You've had 3 crashes in 2k miles??? Yikes. That would be 7 crashes this year for me. I can't even imagine. Glad to see it doesn't phase you. It would me.


----------



## wgscott (Jul 14, 2013)

nsfbr said:


> You've had 3 crashes in 2k miles??? Yikes. That would be 7 crashes this year for me. I can't even imagine. Glad to see it doesn't phase you. It would me.


Only if Terry B rides 1 mile per ride.


----------



## J-Flo (Sep 30, 2015)

I use the iXS Flow knee and elbow pads. They are pretty comfortable and I quickly forget I am wearing them, even on long climbs. But only on steep/rocky mountain bike trails -- the type where a full-suspension bike is mandatory. Never on the road or for cross-country/moderate trail mountain biking. 

If you are prone to falling I see no harm in wearing pads, but this seems against the roadie ethic of going clean, light, and aero. If you are going fast enough to need pads, then they will also slow you down, so somewhat self-defeating. If you aren't going that fast, and are falling anyhow, maybe your skills need work?


----------

