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Knee pads come in a variety of styles and price points so we decided to talk about Our Five Favorite knee pads that can be ridden in all day long! With all of the knee pads that we carry, choosing just five was tough! Having a comfortable set of knee pads that are protective can make the difference over a long ride. One of the biggest things we look at in a set of knee pads is how pedal friendly they are. The five knee pads we've highlighted below vary in how slim or bulky the fit is. That's why some riders prefer to ride with knee pads all the time and some choose not to. With the use of D30 protection and new fabrics and materials, today's mountain bike knee pads are becoming more versatile, comfortable, and protective.
The first on our list is one of the most popular selling pad and is also a shop favorite. The G-Form Elite Knee Pad features a slip-on and slim fit. This gives a nice comfortable feel that is one of the more pedal friendly pads on our list. The Elite Knee Pads do not use any straps but instead utilize a tight slip-on fit with breathable mesh on the back of the leg. These are definitely one of our favorites and is why it sits on top of this list. For more info on sizing, availability, and pricing, check out the G-Form Elite Knee Pad on our website.
POC describes the Joint VPD Air Knee as a light duty knee pad that is focused on flexibility, ventilation, and freedom of movement. The pad features an elastic strap on the top, locking the pad in place while allowing the lower part of the pad to move more freely while pedaling. POC's VPD impact absorbing compound does the job in protecting your knees even on the toughest crashes. These knee pads are just sweet! They stay in place and are easy to take on and off if you are worried about getting hot on those super long climbs.
Fox is one of the most successful mountain bike gear companies around and their most popular knee pads they've ever produced are the Launch Pro Knee Pad. The Launch Pro pads are one of the most aggressive pairs of knee pads and on this list. They are also some of the most versatile. If you are looking for one knee pad to do it all, the Launch Pro may be the one. Featuring a hard plastic shell, two elastic straps, and kevlar materials, the Launch Pro can handle some serious thrashing and abuse. The open back design also makes the pads more breathable and pedal friendly for the ample protection they provide.
iXS has a great lineup of Flow armor that is some of the most minimalistic on the market while still meeting appropriate safety standards. The iXS Flow Knee Pads are designed for that rider that might not have ever considered riding with knee pads. The Flow knee pads use one strap above the calf so that the quads don't feel restricted. Like a lot of the other pads on this list, the Flow knee pads use a preformed shape and are ventilated on the back side to keep you cool while riding.
The RaceFace Flank leg guards are not like anything else on our list here. The pads are not the most pedal friendly but provide the highest level of protection. With RaceFace implementing D3O impact protection, the Flank pads still remain flexible and feel light even though they offer a complete protection. These pads a still slim and low profile even though they cover both the knee and the shin. The Flank pads are great for those riders looking for ultimate protection and that is why they make it on Our Five Favorites List. See you on the trails!
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What's up guys, Jeff with worldwide Cyclery and today we're going to talk about our five favorite knee pads.
Alright so knee pads. They come in kind of a variety, there's some that are a little bit more padded and protective and better for what you would say downhill riding that are maybe a little less pedal friendly, and then there's some that are a little bit more lightweight and more pedal friendly, and then there's some that are kind of in the middle. So here are five of our favorites and they kind of range in both of those categories.
So to start out with g-form elites. So, g-form is famous for this really cool interesting-looking design they have on there and this density of foam. I don't know all the technical specs behind this stuff but it's pretty amazing, it's super protective, and it's dense so it has a really slow rebound to it. But part of what's cool about the elites, hundred bucks, they are the most pedal friendly one of the bunch right here. So big ventilated back, there is no strap but it does have a very sticky I don't really know what that is right there but it's a sticky little rubber strip most of these have that and it kind of helps it stick to your skin so it prevents them from sliding down. it's got that at the top as well as at the bottom and like I said so it's got a good ventilated back here. There's no straps, it pretty much covers the entire top of your knee and all the way a little below past it and the most pedal friendly lightweight and really comfortable like if you were gonna pick any of these pads and go do a 20 mile mountain bike ride this would be a phenomenal pad to do that with. its protective but it also just doesn't feel like you're wearing it in a sense so really good for those long pedal rides.
Next up the puck or POC however you pronounce that, I call it POC joint VPD air. So this is an $80.00 knee pad, this is kind of in the middle of being like a pedal friendly and a downhill pad. So the air is their lighter model VPD is that specific type of pad or rubber or whatever foam density stuff they have in there that protects the knee. Again it's it's kind of like a slow rebound impact thing so when you smash it and you know it's it once it's hard and protective in that sense there's a lot of technology behind all of these pads especially G form and POC have some of the most complex materials that are used in these things. This one's got a pretty big traction pad you could call it right here so this is like a grippy material that goes above the kneecap to prevent this thing from sliding down. And then you have one strap on the top and that's it. It’s a pretty simple pad, super comfortable. It has kind of like this pocket feeling in it so it always kind of forms to your knee. So good pedal friendly knee pad but also really darn protective as well and small and lightweight and doesn't come too far down or too far up on your leg. So great pad awesome for pedaling in and protective as ever as well.
So when I was riding those things they didn't slide down at all which I really like even when my legs got a little bit sweaty on more of a downhill sort of like rocky terrain they didn't slide down, none of these knee pads have that problem where they were like sliding off of my legs when I was using them and we haven't got that feedback on any of them. That problem has been pretty well fixed with good knee pads at least these days and if you get the right size none of them should really be sliding off of your legs. They all will kind of slide off your knee if you like actually crash really hard and you know push your knee into it, pretty much any knee pads gonna do that. But what you want the protection for is like that initial impact and slide that's where you want the pad to come into play. No pad is ever gonna totally stick to your knee when you crash but that initial impact is what you need it there for.
So next up, Fox Racing launch pro. So this is a $60 knee pad this is more of I would consider like a downhill bike pad it's not quite as pedal friendly as some of the other options here but if you're looking for a pad to use on a downhill bike or if you're going to a ski resort I have these in my own gear bag and I use them every year when I go to Whistler to ride downhill for five days straight and I love that they have a ton of side protection which some of these other ones I mentioned don't. The race face flanks do as well, we'll get into those in a little bit but this is more of what I consider like a downhill bike pad. So full kneecap coverage goes down a little bit on the upper part of the shin above the knee, coverage right there so you have a big padding there and then you have coverage on the entire side of the knee on each side, the inside and the outside. So these pads have two straps, nice soft interior, and a bit of a hole in the back for ventilation there. This is all pinned for ventilation to keep your knees cool and I love these things, I never have problems with them sliding down and they have a ton of protection. So for riding a downhill bike or being at a ski resort these are my absolute go to pads and favorite and you can wear them all day and not notice because it's got a super soft material on the inside. So none of these really that I've ridden in any good knee pad these days shouldn't really be causing you like skin irritation at all. Everyone's different in that sense but these things don't cause me any problems and I love them.
Next up we've got IXS flows. So these are 69.95 and these things have got yeah I don't know X matter is what ixs calls it and that's again it's some type of like slow rebound foam or rubber I don't know. Again I'm not an expert on exactly the material they're using in these things but there's a lot of tech behind it. So look it up if you're interested, it's pretty cool. This pad is more of a pedal friendly pad so it just has protection on the front of the kneecap there. It has one strap on the bottom it's gonna have that rubbery material up here that's nice and grippy to help prevent that pad from sliding down while you're pedaling or while you get sweaty and these things are ultra comfortable ultralight this whole back material right here is extremely soft and it's very very ventilated. You can see my hand coming through there so it's these things probably have the best ventilation of any of these pads just because this whole back material is super thin and breathable. So good knee pad for hot weather and good knee pad for pedaling a lot and just an all-around awesome pad especially for 69.95, one of the more affordable ones as well.
Last up, the Race Face flank pad. So these are a hundred and five bucks and these are more in that downhill category. So if you're really looking for a ton of protection, these are gonna have the most of any of the pads that I've shown you so far. Full knee cap coverage all the way to the top, all the way out of the bottom of the knee cap, and then the whole upper part of the shin you've got a good nice thorough pad right there. You've got protection on the inside of the knee and the outside of the knee. This has got three straps on it. I guess this is a Velcro step too so that would probably count as a fourth one so you can see what it looks like in the back, there’s tons of protection. So if you're really looking for a lot of protection a full downhill pad I mean you could pedal really any of these things these are probably made more for not going on a 20 mile mountain bike ride peddling, but more for your ski resort bike park type riding where you want a ton of protection and really cover the shin and all around each side of the knee. So again, phenomenal pads, 105 bucks if you're really looking for you know the most protective comfortable pad this is probably it right here.
And that sums it up! Let us know what you guys think, what pads are you using, do you ride knee pads often, and do you ride them only at ski resorts, do you ride them when you pedal on long enduro rides, let us know what pads you like, what do you think of these ones, hit that subscribe button and we'll see you guys in the next one.
Dean is a freelance cycling journalist based in Dorset, who enjoys travelling the world in search of the best trails. He has spent extensive time riding in the Alps and exploring iconic locations in Scotland, Aosta Valley, the Pyrenees, Finale Ligure, New Zealand and Whistler. In terms of racing, Dean has dabbled in DH, enduro to cross-country but has recently taken up exploring the UK with his gravel bike which has sparked a new interest in bikepacking culture.
Rides: Open U.P
Height: 180cm
Weight: 65kg
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