went down (to the left) landing on my left knee & left hand. nothing tragic but closely missed a pyramid shaped rock which could have easily damaged my patella. I thought my knee struck the soft dirt patch circled but I guess it was a more glancing blow due to the location of these two areas of broken skin. it happened early on my ride & I was able to keep riding with to no discomfort. but later & also the next day, plus today (2 days later) there's still some soreness but it is waning. got me thinking I might wear MTB knee pads. anyone else?

I'm still holding off on buying a pair even after this wipeout at a loose turn last year:

IMG_4967 by 2cam16, on Flickr

'bout 10 yrs ago, Wifey broke her kneecap in two, split it in half, just walking w girlfriends downtown Boston. she was looking up at the sky when she tripped on a cobblestone then fell striking her patella squarely on the edge of a curb. girlfriends described the scene as from hell. lots of screaming. hailed a cab to the ER. by time I got there she was on pain meds but the thing had swelled to a grotesque semblance of a knee. she has surgery a few hours later after getting on morphine. she had a long recovery. as I was getting up from the fall I was remembering her ordeal & thinking how awful that would be if it happened to me on a remote trail. I've taken maybe 3 or 4 falls so far since starting to mountain bike. I sense a trend. so while I never gave it a thought before, I am now

Ive had a couple of pedal strikes to the shin and knee, been thinking about getting knee pads at the least.

thought this was interesting. guess they don't keep track of minor knee bashes

The NICA Safety Study’s (for 5 most common mountain bike crash injuries) parameters include only injuries which required medical attention, forced riders into a period of recovery, and/or resulted in time away from work or school

Head trauma and brain injury
Fractured hand and/or wrist
Fractured forearm
Trauma to the face
Fractured shoulder or clavicle

i run them most times and elbow pads

just a copay resistance straddle

they have been scuffed ripped and torn

they are never like you dont notice them but a good pair does not slow you down

on sustained climbs i put them in my pack and change back fort he decent

in the summer they can be hot

Picked up a set of IXS Flows near the end of last summer when chain reactions had them for 50% off. Haven't wrecked since buying them but I know if I skip wearing them for one ride that will be the ride I bust my knee on. I won't lie and say I don't notice them while riding but they don't bother me.

I don't really want knee pads, but I have thought about shin pads. I bruised my shin a couple of years ago. Doesn't sound so bad, but it means that my shin bone was crushed in a small spot. Had all the wonderful symptoms of a broken bone without the inconvenience of needing treatment. We do have a lot of nasty rocks on the trails. I think my best investment would be a dropper post though

yeah the more MTB'ing I do the more I appreciate the features & benefits of more expensive MTBs bikes, such as the dropper post for steep descents, a lower top tube for when I stall & have to jump off & straddle with the bike pointed uphill & my feet further back downhill, & that little jockey wheel just behind the from chain rings which I imagine prevents chain-suck when the chain gets muddy

got my hair cut today. my cutter was telling me about how she used to do fake falls for laughs in school. then she nearly tripped on her colleague's mat ...

I wish droppers were a lot cheaper. I'd love to have one as I know it will improve my riding. I'll wait for them to "drop" in price. lol

That makes perfect sense since droppers, in their modern form, have only been around a mere 16 years. One of these years they're sure to spontaneously drop in price. After all, that whole "market forces" thing is a sick hoax.

I've read a lot of good things about Kali Strike knee pads. They do not restrict movement for common XC & trail rides with varied terrain like some more protective pads do. I am seriously thinking about picking up a pair.

I'm just getting back into MTB and this thread made me think more seriously about knee pads as I've already had two surgeries on my left knee.

or start falling to your right side ... sorry couldn't resist. I guess the surgeries were the result of MTB falls? how's it feeling? if not from that, then regardless, yeah I'm thinking pads are in my future. one time this winter I was able to hop off & land flat footed on both feet but I can't rely on that happening ever again

just saw this video

I do the Biker Fox Flip

G forms work great.