Knees? warm, compression, padding, stabilizing

epicski tends to have quite of bit of outside of the box thinking, so I thought maybe i'd get some good ideas or directions here...
so, knees...
i've been thinking about knees lately.
I bruised my patella tendon badly a week prior to my downieville All Mountain race and it's still driving my nuts. i ended up wearing knee pads for the DH after the injury, not the XC, but am thinking there needs to be a different product out there...

So,
1. i really like to ride in either knickers or knee warms except on the hotter days (i live in the mountains, so hot days are over 80 degrees). even before my injury, i liked the feel of covered knees.
2. MTB knee pads seem huge, designed for DH and jumping impacts, but us XC riders could enjoy some padding as well, i just don't think it needs to be so extensive.
3. it seems knee warmers like the lycra ones i use, with some minimal padding could be a great MTB product that i haven't found.

it could provide, compression, warmth, a little more stability, and a degree of protection.

anyone seen anything like this out there? Any thoughts on the idea?

cheers,
Holiday

W -

You might be interested in either the Veggie or the Evo from Six One Six. Check 'em out here:

http://www.sixsixone.com/Catalog_661...D-D47CB7C112B8

Lightweight mountain bike specific knee padding without feeling like you're going dirt jumping. Very easy to pedal in for XC and trail riding. I think the Veggie is pretty close to what you're describing:

Softball:

http://softballjunk.com/kneepads.htm

or

Speedskating knee guards.

http://theskateshop.home.att.net/ice...l#ICE_HELMETS:

There's a reason why those are softball pads and not mountain bike pads. Knee pads that have an open area in the back of the knee can 'dig in' to your skin when your knee flexes on the up-stroke and on longer rides can leave nasty abrasions/burns from the neoprene or whatever material they use for the upper and lower straps. I would not want to pedal any distance in those. (I'm referring to the first product in that link). I'm not sure how breathable some of that thick soft padding is either.

The Trace ones (second from top on first link) are actually pretty standard wear for short-track speed skaters. No probs with up stroke at all, even flexing the knee higher than any MTB should ever do.

Can't speak to the warmth or what happens at high cadence tho.

gotcha. I'm just saying that I've used knee pads with an open back like the Traces's and the upper and lower straps dig into your skin and cause crazy burns/abrasions...therefore I would never use or suggest something like that again. Mountain bike rides tend to be much longer than short track speed skating events, and over a longer time period I can see those straps digging in. Just speaking from my personal experience.

Also noticed that the padding in those is some combination of vinyl and foam. I haven't seen them of course but I'm guessing anything with vinyl in it isn't going to be very breathable.

They are cheap though so a minimum investment to try them out.

I was originally thinking of these:

Powerslide Kevlar knee socks

Okay, so, here's a question>>>>
I'm planning on heading to Boyne to do some lift served mt biking in a few weeks.

I've heard that their trails are somewhat unforgiving.
This thread has me thinking I need some kind of armor.
What should I expect to spend?

veggies may work

Thanks for the thoughts,
Tyrone, I've tried on the Evo and they are just as burley as the Kyle Strait that I ended up buying for the DH. They actually were a little too tight over the knee cap, so didn't pedal even as well as the strait.

I may try the veggie, but I'm still thinking there maybe something better out there. Have you pedaled in those?

Trek chick,
i believe you have an idea how fast and what type of risks you are willing to take. I have to admit that I have always been anti pad and have thought that padding knees and elbows didn't make sense, as you'd just beat up something else... then, a week prior to my race, i had a pretty forcefull freak crash, where my bike got stopped dead and chucked me into a rock filled incline that i stopped dead in from around 12mph... i got lucky, but my left knee had a serious patella tendon bruise and my left elbow still hurts like hell w/ a bone bruise. So, knee and elbow pads can be a good thing. I think how thick or heavy they are should be determined by likely speed, and many of the armour out there is designed for big impacts, not trail riding in rocks.
Anyway, I'd look into knee and elbow, maybe like the ones Tyrone pictured above, as I believe you are on an xc bike, and not going DH speeds.

cheers,
Holiday

wow so the Evo is as burly as the Kyle Strait huh? Interesting.

I have not pedaled around in the Veggie myself, yet. A good riding buddy of mine has them though and recently gave me an enthusiastic recommendation for them. And he's strickly a trail riding kinda guy (i.e. he's riding TRT and Toad's-type stuff in South Shore...but not lift served at Northstar) and has been loving the Veggies. Based upon his recommendation and my personal woes with the more dirt jump style kneepads (i.e. the open back behind the knee), I was planning on getting a pair for myself.....but unexpected costs keep getting in the way of that (i.e. like building up a new Intense 6.6 hahaha ).

FYI - they also make the Veggie for shin protection too. It's kind of a wrap that goes around your shin and can hook into the knee Veggie somehow. I haven't seen them in person though nor do I know anyone personally who has tried them.

Let us know what you end up with!

I will probably run my Trek Liquid when I head to boyne, unless my husband goes, then he'll use it and I'll stick with my HT.
Thing is, I've been kicking it up a notch each time I'm out, and coming from a bit of an "over the handlebar" experience, which leads me to believe that extra protection may not be a bad thing.

Trek

start with knee or knee shin and fullface

then some DH shorts

then pressure suit or Dainese

elbows/arms

hips

That was my first thought too.

I tried the Six Six One Evo elbow and knee guards the other day on a pretty short ride. Didn't crash, so can't speak to protection. Elbow pads were fine. I didn't think the knee guards were all that comfortable. They got hot and restricted range of motion. I have some articulated knee and shin guards which I'll try next time, but they do have straps in the back so chafing could be a problem.

Those kevlar knee socks look very interesting. Anybody tried them? Might be worth a search at mtbr.

so, i bought a few to just see how they fit,
the best were the "Team Blowin It" soft pads. way better then my Kyle Staights, so I will keep them for races like Dville and riding in places w/ lifts, but still not what i think i want for to keep the knees warm. i may take my knee warms and shape a little light padding and design my own...

cheers,
Holiday

I had a pair at MSA. Whoooweee, they were BRRRRRcold, a sheath of schwitz ice I tell you.

Bumping an old thread...

I've been looking for some knee, elbow, and back protection, since I'm getting more fragile in my old age. I recently bought some soft elbow pads made by Race Face, which also cover the forearm and fit nicely under my shell. I'm going to get some Race Face knee pads too. Backcountry.com has them on sale for ~$30.