View Poll Results: Do you wear elbow or knee pads?
I wear elbow pads only
0
0%
I wear knee pads only
0
0%
I wear BOTH knee and elbow pads
3
6.67%
I do not wear them
42
93.33%
Voters: 45. You may not vote on this poll
Do you wear knee or elbow pads?
05-25-09 | 09:18 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Do you wear knee or elbow pads?
I'm a newbie to biking and am trying to "learn" about all the safety precautions before hitting the road.
So I have a cheapo K-Mart bike from many years back. Main point is to work out and get fit. Will use it to bike around neighborhood (hills + flats) and also to the nearby park.
Just got my helmet and fixed up my bike. My last concern is about knee or elbow pads. Do any of you wear them? Any suggestions?
So I have a cheapo K-Mart bike from many years back. Main point is to work out and get fit. Will use it to bike around neighborhood (hills + flats) and also to the nearby park.
Just got my helmet and fixed up my bike. My last concern is about knee or elbow pads. Do any of you wear them? Any suggestions?
05-26-09 | 07:00 AM
#4
Infamous Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 24,360
Likes: 7
From: Ohio
Bikes: Surly Big Dummy, Fuji World, 80ish Bianchi
Can't be too careful. I wear one of these...always.
__________________
"Let us hope our weapons are never needed --but do not forget what the common people knew when they demanded the Bill of Rights: An armed citizenry is the first defense, the best defense, and the final defense against tyranny. If guns are outlawed, only the government will have guns. Only the police, the secret police, the military, the hired servants of our rulers. Only the government -- and a few outlaws. I intend to be among the outlaws" - Edward Abbey
"Let us hope our weapons are never needed --but do not forget what the common people knew when they demanded the Bill of Rights: An armed citizenry is the first defense, the best defense, and the final defense against tyranny. If guns are outlawed, only the government will have guns. Only the police, the secret police, the military, the hired servants of our rulers. Only the government -- and a few outlaws. I intend to be among the outlaws" - Edward Abbey
05-26-09 | 07:28 AM
#5
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 4,063
Likes: 1
From: Toronto
Knee-shin pads when riding off-road with jumps, drops, or elevated structures.
I might wear them riding on the street if I was on the way to MTB.
No elbow pads. I have a full upper-body suit for lift-serviced DH mountain biking.
I might wear them riding on the street if I was on the way to MTB.
No elbow pads. I have a full upper-body suit for lift-serviced DH mountain biking.
05-27-09 | 04:14 AM
#7
I find elbow / knee pads are both too restrictive to movement and doesn't provide enough coverage. Better protection comes from a heavy leather jacket and pants, coupled with boots and a full face helmet
__________________
This is Africa, 1943. War spits out its violence overhead and the sandy graveyard swallows it up. Her name is King Nine, B-25, medium bomber, Twelfth Air Force. On a hot, still morning she took off from Tunisia to bomb the southern tip of Italy. An errant piece of flak tore a hole in a wing tank and, like a wounded bird, this is where she landed, not to return on this day, or any other day.
This is Africa, 1943. War spits out its violence overhead and the sandy graveyard swallows it up. Her name is King Nine, B-25, medium bomber, Twelfth Air Force. On a hot, still morning she took off from Tunisia to bomb the southern tip of Italy. An errant piece of flak tore a hole in a wing tank and, like a wounded bird, this is where she landed, not to return on this day, or any other day.
06-05-09 | 08:02 AM
#8
down in the drops
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 216
Likes: 0
From: Wilmington, NC
Bikes: Miele Doral, Bianchi Boardwalk, Cannondale R300
The only time my knee pads come with me is when my speed skates are on the back of the bike. Otherwise just helmet, eye protection, and sometimes half gloves. I honestly don't think more than a small percentage of bike injuries would be help by knee pads, which typically only offer primary protection for the front of the knee.
06-05-09 | 08:07 AM
#9
Senior Member
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 12,103
Likes: 96
From: Wilmington, DE
Bikes: 2016 Hong Fu FM-079-F, 1984 Trek 660, 2005 Iron Horse Warrior Expert, 2009 Pedal Force CX1, 2016 Islabikes Beinn 20 (son's)
My two most important forms of protection are sunglasses and sunscreen.
06-05-09 | 09:42 AM
#10
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 428
Likes: 0
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.
06-05-09 | 09:55 AM
#11
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 40,863
Likes: 3,116
From: Sacramento, California, USA
Bikes: Specialized Tarmac, Canyon Exceed, Specialized Transition, Ellsworth Roots, Ridley Excalibur
Nah. Years of baseball on hardpan fields left me with inch-thick scar tissue on my knees and elbows.
