Shin pads, knee pads or shin-knee pad

[wyszard]

I am in the process of getting my first trials bike (stock) very soon, & am a total beginner, learning the basics, located in a trials desert wasteland (Ottawa Canada).

So I need to get some to get some kind of leg protection.

At minimum I am going to get some shin pads & maybe a knee pad

Here are my questions.

1. Is the knee pad necessary.

2. If I go with both a knee & a shin pad, then how about "leg-armour" combined knee & shin pad vs individual items

3. Anybody have any purchasing recommendations.

And before anybody starts telling me that pads are for wimps, don't bother because I am definitely a wimp.

[bikeperson45]

I use a pair of 661 shin pads which I find pretty comfortable, as long as you're not wearing the skinniest of jeans they'll slip under fairly easily. I tried knee pads for a while but I'm a sweaty creature so stopped using them, never fell on my knees anyway. 

[ben_travis]

Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '18
Wear shinpads
If I could offer you only one tip for the future
shinpads would be it

The long term benefits of shinpads have been proved by scientists
Whereas the rest of my advice
Has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience
I will dispense this advice now

Enjoy the power and beauty of trials
Oh, never mind
You will not understand the power and beauty of trials until it has faded
But trust me, in 20 years you'll look back at photos of yourself
And recall in a way you can't grasp now
How much possibility lay before you
And how fabulous trials really looked
You are not as fat as you imagine

Don't worry about footjam whips
Or worry
But know that worrying is as effective as trying to tilt your bars forward when you're not Jack Carthy
The real troubles when training are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind
The kind that blindside you at 4 PM on some idle Tuesday
Do one thing everyday that scares you

Grind your Rims

Don't be reckless with other people's bikes
Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours

Practice

Don't waste your time on weight saving
Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind
The race is long
And in the end, it's only with yourself

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults
If you succeed in doing this, tell trials forum how

Keep your old riding photos
Don't look at your old tartybikes statements

Stretch

Don't feel guilty if you don't know whether you'd actually prefer a street trials bike
The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their bike
Some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don't

Ride plenty of Natural

Be kind to your knees
You'll miss them when they're gone

Maybe you'll be insta famous, maybe you won't
Maybe you'll ride for Echo, maybe you won't
Maybe you'll be riding at 40
Maybe you'll dance the bike dance at your first demo

Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either
Your sidehops are half chance, so are everybody else's
Enjoy your body
Use it every way you can
Don't be afraid of it, or what other people think of it
It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own

Trackstand

Even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room
Read the directions, even if you don't follow them
Do not read trials forum, it will only make you feel ugly

Get to know your favourite rider
You never know when they'll be gone for good

Be nice to your riding buddies
They are the best link to your past
And the people most likely to stick with you in the future

Understand that riders come and go
But for the precious few you should hold on
Work hard to bridge the gaps in street trials and comp trials
Because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young

Ride up North once
But leave before it makes you think your hard
Ride down South once
But leave before it makes you soft

Practice some more

Accept certain inalienable truths
Prices will rise
Demo Teams will philander
You too will get old
And when you do you'll fantasize that when you were young
Prices were reasonable
Demo Teams were noble
And riders respected their elders

Respect your elders

Don't expect Red Bull to support you
Maybe your daddy pays for everything
Maybe you've a decent Credit Limit
But you never know when either one might run out

Don't mess too much with your bar angle
Or by the time you're 40, your wrists will feel 85

Be careful whose old frame you buy
But be patient with those who sell it
Buying it a form of nostalgia
Selling it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off
Welding over the cracks and selling it for more than it's worth

But trust me on the shinpads

 

For the record....I use these currently, and they're pretty good. https://winstanleysbmx.com/shadow-tsc-invisa-lite-shin-guards?gclid=EAIaIQobChMImNWT97Pg2QIVT7XtCh0ULgH3EAQYASABEgKzQPD_BwE#black-small) 

Edited March 10, 2018 by ben_travis

[wyszard]

Wonderful eloquent post by Mr ben_travis, thank you.

Please check out this video on youtube,

I love my fat bike but need to acquire some trials skills, this is my goal. This has the potential to become a new Canadian winter sport.

So I have purchased a set of shin pads online today. One of the overlooked benefits is that if you brush across some porcupines while trying out a move or two on a trail, then you will have some additional quill protection. (I wish my dog would learn to stay away from these animals, but somehow she always found them irresistible)  

Yes, respecting the older riders is a good thing, I should mention that I am 65 so am a little late coming into this sport & am curious to see how far I get.  I am still not sure what I am going to do when I grow up, but that is a discussion for another time.

[Luke Rainbird]

10 hours ago, ben_travis said:

Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '18
Wear shinpads

 

 

I don't know what's better - this post or the fact it'll likely go right over the heads of half the folk who read it.

[ogre]

that was gold. i tried some 661 downhill knee and shin pads for trials, they were not okay, they smelt like a rotting corpse and made me sweat like a pregnant nun.

The jitsie ones are good, they won't stop the pain of the impact but they'll stop the pins from lacerating you and that is what counts! they're as minimalist as you want for trials.

 

ben travis has just won TF and needs to be senior member.

[DeersSlayer]

13 hours ago, wyszard said:

Wonderful eloquent post by Mr ben_travis, thank you.

Please check out this video on youtube,

 

Good trials riding on a Fatty! That last manual on pavement shows his back tire pressure is set for soft snow, probably 4 or 5 PSI.

[ItsMatt]

8 hours ago, ogre said:

travis has just won TF and needs to be senior member.

+1

[Herbertlemon102]

50 minutes ago, ItsMatt said:

+1

+2 

[Felix_HBtrials]

4 hours ago, Herbertlemon102 said:

+2 

+3
This was an epic run Ben!

[cwtrials]

On 3/10/2018 at 7:22 PM, Felix_HBtrials said:

+3
This was an epic run Ben!

+4.

Did Ben just run a shinpad thread into one of the best of all time?

P.S.  I never wore shinpads, but my left leg was so scarred I didn't have hair growing on the front of it for about 10 years.  Shinning hurts like hell.  My advice is wear shinpads at least till you haven't needed them for a year, and always if riding in the snow.  Kneepads not really, unless you're really a carnage seeker.