Knee protection please

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
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Pinhead
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Re: Knee protection please

Post by Pinhead »

Psamathe wrote: 10 Mar 2024, 10:57am
Cowsham wrote: 10 Mar 2024, 9:41am ...
He did say he wasn't asking for advice on the not falling off bit but that's exactly what he got reams of.
...
He did say he wanted knee protection and one way to protect the knees is through not falling off and hitting the knees and better technique which protects the knees.

Or if I advised visiting <x> store who sell knee pads I am giving advice!

Good technique, protecting body parts are all inextricably linked.

Do you go to your GP with a problem but tell them you don't want to be told the solution? Madness.

Ian
I go to my local Quikfit and ask for a specific tyre I am not questioned as to why I don't want other makes either, I know why and it is nothing bad, so why question MY decision !
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Cowsham
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Re: Knee protection please

Post by Cowsham »

Psamathe wrote: 10 Mar 2024, 11:30am
Maybe you just don't want people to freely give their time trying to help you?

Ian
He specifically said he didn't want help not falling off the bike just which knee protection to have. You've heard of unsolicited advice well you've taken that one step further. Falling off happens to everyone except the ones that don't get on a bike to start with.
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PH
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Re: Knee protection please

Post by PH »

I've no experience of the sort of knee protection worn by some cyclists, I have spent some of my working life on my knees with protection designed for that purpose. I don't think it's the same thing, the sort of pads I've worn add comfort but I doubt they'd offer much protection from impact, though they would maybe reduce abrasion injury. My advice would be to get something specifically designed for the sort of incident you're anticipating.
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pjclinch
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Re: Knee protection please

Post by pjclinch »

Cowsham wrote: 10 Mar 2024, 11:51am
Psamathe wrote: 10 Mar 2024, 11:30am
Maybe you just don't want people to freely give their time trying to help you?
He specifically said he didn't want help not falling off the bike just which knee protection to have. You've heard of unsolicited advice well you've taken that one step further. Falling off happens to everyone except the ones that don't get on a bike to start with.
Everyone falls off from time to time, but happening so often it's considered normal even when not trying to do tricky stuff is actually a red flag. It shouldn't happen.

In cycle training the core principles, the fundamental stuff that underpins safe riding, are headed up with control. If you can't stop and start and get on and off without being in control then you're not actually that safe, and that's something where stepping beyond what was asked for is reasonable to do.

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Cowsham
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Re: Knee protection please

Post by Cowsham »

pjclinch wrote: 10 Mar 2024, 10:20am
Standard risk management, PPE comes at the bottom of what to do, not having the problem in the first place is significantly better.

Reinforced knees on trousers are good against abrasion but don't take much away from an impact, so for some values of "help".

Pete.
You're the boy that could give advice on which mtb trousers to use with all years of training and knowledge about mountain biking. There's bound to be something in a Lycra style legging with knee protection as well as the bum padding he could wear under his jeans for example.

The great thing about cycle leggings is that it keeps the padding in place better than just separate saddle pads/ covers so I'd expect built in knee pads have a similar advantage.

Elbow pads might be good for us of the older variety. MickF could've done with some last year when he went down at a roundabout and scraped his to the bone. The cycling experience he has probably out trumps us all.
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Psamathe
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Re: Knee protection please

Post by Psamathe »

Cowsham wrote: 10 Mar 2024, 11:51am
Psamathe wrote: 10 Mar 2024, 11:30am
Maybe you just don't want people to freely give their time trying to help you?

Ian
He specifically said he didn't want help not falling off the bike just which knee protection to have. You've heard of unsolicited advice well you've taken that one step further. Falling off happens to everyone except the ones that don't get on a bike to start with.
Additionally the forum is an open forum so is a resource used by many, even non-registered people searching through eg Google. Falling off that often should not be presented as "normal" and broad comments should be posted even if outside the constraints of the OP as they will be relevant to others (others staring cycling who need to be aware that falling off that often is not "normal").

People starting a thread do not own the thread to constrain and determine what can and cannot be said. Avoiding normalising such frequent falls, highlighting related risks and providing a cost free means to provide what OP is asking for is absolutely on-topic and relevant to others even if OP is not receptive to help from others with more experience.

Ian
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pjclinch
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Re: Knee protection please

Post by pjclinch »

Cowsham wrote: 10 Mar 2024, 12:20pm
pjclinch wrote: 10 Mar 2024, 10:20am
Standard risk management, PPE comes at the bottom of what to do, not having the problem in the first place is significantly better.

Reinforced knees on trousers are good against abrasion but don't take much away from an impact, so for some values of "help".
You're the boy that could give advice on which mtb trousers to use with all years of training and knowledge about mountain biking. There's bound to be something in a Lycra style legging with knee protection as well as the bum padding he could wear under his jeans for example.

The great thing about cycle leggings is that it keeps the padding in place better than just separate saddle pads/ covers so I'd expect built in knee pads have a similar advantage.
It doesn't say anything about built in knee pads in the link you shared, it says, "Reinforced 300 Denier polyfabric panels on the saddle area and on the knee for durability. That's a slightly thicker bit of fabric, not a pad. 300 denier is quite a bit thicker than typical riding trousers, but still less substantial than e.g. a typical rucksack fabric. It won't wear out or tear that easily, but it's not padding and will do nothing special to keep padding in place

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Cowsham
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Re: Knee protection please

Post by Cowsham »

pjclinch wrote: 10 Mar 2024, 12:54pm
Cowsham wrote: 10 Mar 2024, 12:20pm
pjclinch wrote: 10 Mar 2024, 10:20am
Standard risk management, PPE comes at the bottom of what to do, not having the problem in the first place is significantly better.

Reinforced knees on trousers are good against abrasion but don't take much away from an impact, so for some values of "help".
You're the boy that could give advice on which mtb trousers to use with all years of training and knowledge about mountain biking. There's bound to be something in a Lycra style legging with knee protection as well as the bum padding he could wear under his jeans for example.

The great thing about cycle leggings is that it keeps the padding in place better than just separate saddle pads/ covers so I'd expect built in knee pads have a similar advantage.
It doesn't say anything about built in knee pads in the link you shared, it says, "Reinforced 300 Denier polyfabric panels on the saddle area and on the knee for durability. That's a slightly thicker bit of fabric, not a pad. 300 denier is quite a bit thicker than typical riding trousers, but still less substantial than e.g. a typical rucksack fabric. It won't wear out or tear that easily, but it's not padding and will do nothing special to keep padding in place

Pete.
Yes you've already said that but do you know of something with more padding at the knees ? -- I'm not an expert on this sort of stuff.
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pjclinch
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Re: Knee protection please

Post by pjclinch »

Cowsham wrote: 10 Mar 2024, 1:02pm Yes you've already said that but do you know of something with more padding at the knees ? -- I'm not an expert on this sort of stuff.
With the "all years of training and knowledge about mountain biking" you're attributing to me I suspect you haven't actually been paying much attention to what I've actually said about my experience.
The mountain biking I do is typically very basic stuff mostly with beginners for the training aspect, and touring for my own preferred mode, neither of which has any particular need of knee pads.

My expertise in training is primarily the fundamentals of control. This strikes me as an issue about the fundamentals of control, and that's why I'm putting my oar in about that.

Pete.
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hercule
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Re: Knee protection please

Post by hercule »

Kris Holm knee/shin guards are popular amongst unicyclists, where falling off (or UnPlanned Dismounts) is standard fare no matter how experienced you are. Obtainable from unicycle.com. I was seriously thinking of getting a pair when I had a UPDuni 3 months ago, but as I’ve still got a swollen and painful knee, it might be that I part with the unicycle instead ☹️.

FWIW!
mattsccm
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Re: Knee protection please

Post by mattsccm »

Assuming that the OP isn't prepared to change their habits (their prerogative,) surely the answer is so easy it didn't need the question?
Knee pads as sold by any shop, real or online , that sells MTB kit. Any more advice is silly as what fits one won't fit another be it size or price.
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pjclinch
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Re: Knee protection please

Post by pjclinch »

mattsccm wrote: 10 Mar 2024, 2:11pm Assuming that the OP isn't prepared to change their habits (their prerogative,) surely the answer is so easy it didn't need the question?
Knee pads as sold by any shop, real or online , that sells MTB kit. Any more advice is silly as what fits one won't fit another be it size or price.
Not entirely., e.g. "I had some Brand X Model Y and though they fitted they fell to bits within a month and so did the replacement pair, same happened for my pal", "I have Models Y and Z and they work similarly but Z was 3 times the price" is potentially very useful if your pad-monger of choice is selling Brand X.

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cycle tramp
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Re: Knee protection please

Post by cycle tramp »

Psamathe wrote: 10 Mar 2024, 12:27pm

People starting a thread do not own the thread to constrain and determine what can and cannot be said. Avoiding normalising such frequent falls, highlighting related risks and providing a cost free means to provide what OP is asking for is absolutely on-topic and relevant to others even if OP is not receptive to help from others with more experience.

Ian
....its always worth attempting to improve your sense of balance if only to stop yourself falling from your bike, when there's an articulated truck behind you...

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pwa
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Re: Knee protection please

Post by pwa »

Pinhead wrote: 9 Mar 2024, 2:42pm Reasonable cost thanks

I fall off, usually once every ride LOL, either starting or stopping, cambers, hill turning round, yes I know, I am not however asking for advice on that so...

Knee protection, I see many professionals use knee protection, I also ride on places such as the video, any advice please on reasonable knee protection, eg what about these, (or similar) can I have advice from "users" please.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bodyprox-Prote ... 9hdGY&th=1


https://youtu.be/WVkgaoL9hw0
All the cycling knee pads (and other protection for the body, other than the head) that I have seen in use have been worn by MTBers doing mainly downhill extreme stuff at speed, and not by cyclists doing a lot of pedalling to get somewhere. I'm not sure guards of that sort would be comfortable to wear for normal cycling. But if you want to give them a go, Leisure Lakes sell that sort of gear.
rareposter
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Re: Knee protection please

Post by rareposter »

Might be able to pick something up in the Chain Reaction sale:

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/c/h ... /knee-pads

The only time I've worn knee pads is BMXing (when it was mandatory equipment) but I see MTBers wearing them at trail centres fairly routinely. A lot of baggy MTB trousers and shorts are cut specifically to allow knee pads to fit under them.

That said, I agree with the other comments on here - if you're falling off every ride then you're doing something wrong and you need to look at the underlying cause. Having seen several pictures of the OP's badly set-up bikes - which the OP himself started a thread on: viewtopic.php?t=159118 - I'd be looking at the bike set-up first and foremost rather than the knee protection.

Very bluntly, the sort of trails pictured in your video is the kind of stuff I ride near daily on my gravel bike - no suspension or fat tyres - and I manage to do that without falling off every day. I suspect - if your bike set-up is still as it is in the thread I linked to - that your front wheel is washing out on corners and turns and dumping you on the ground.
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