Dainese Oak Pro Aluminum Knee Pads - Eurobike 2011
The new Oak Pro Aluminum knee pads from Dainese incorporate the clever Boa Closure System directly into the pad, allowing you to easily fine tune the fit with a quick turn of the dial. When the ride is over you simply pull on the dial and the tension releases, allowing you to slip the pad off.
Dainese Oak Pro Aluminum knee pad details:
• New knee pad for 2012
• Uses the Boa Closure System
• Aluminum knee cup
• Multi material 'Crash Absorb' soft protection above and below the knee cup
• Open back for cooling and to prevent fabric bunching
• Silicone gripper strips to help hold pads in place
• Available Feb, 2012
• MSRP: $199 USD
What is the Boa Closure System? Long used on high-end cycling shoes, the Boa system is a clever design that uses a single lace, made from woven steel with a protective coating, that is routed in such a way that tightening the lace provides a quick way to custom fit the amount of tension without having to deal with standard laces or Velcro. Tension is controlled via a single dial - turn it to the right to increase the lace tension in incremental steps (one click of the dial equals just 2mm of lace adjustment, then simply pull the dial out to quickly release all of the tension. The Boa Closure System is not only lighter than buckles or multiple Velcro straps, but it also can provide you a much more uniform feel that is free of pressure points. While it looks complicated from the outside, the design uses only three parts: the dial, a small inner spool and the lace itself. The Boa system may be ideal for use on knee pads because it offers a quick way to adjust the fit of the pads without having to step off the bike or even stop.
This simple dial controls how tight the Boa Closure System grips. Simply turn the dial to the right in order to bring the tension up, or pull it out slightly to instantly release all tautness. The lace (there is only one that per pad) runs out of the dial, along the side of the pad and down to the bottom, then up the other side and back into the opposite side of the Boa dial.
The Boa lace itself is actually made from aircraft-grade stainless steel twisted together and then woven into other bundles and covered with a protective coating. It runs through hard guide loops within the pad to keep it from tearing the material. Dainese spent a lot of time experimenting with lace position in order to find a route that provides a uniform and comfortable feel all around.
The pad's knee cup is made from aluminum. Why? Dainese wanted to use a material that would slide over rough surfaces, allowing you to better absorb the impact instead of stopping dead when you hit the ground. We had to admit that it also looks pretty damn cool in person. Above and below the hard aluminum knee cup you'll find soft multi-material protection that is made from a mixture of polymer foam and nitrile rubber. Instead of simply layering the material Dainese employs an interesting looking honeycomb layup that they say performs a better job of absorbing impacts.
There is no denying that the Oak Pro Aluminum's $199 USD asking price is a hell of a lot of dough for a set of knee pads, but they are quite different - and possibly better - than what else is out there. If you don't want to spend that amount of money on pads Dainese also offers a $149 USD version that includes the aluminum knee cup but without the Boa Closure System, as well as a model that goes for the same price but forgoes the aluminum cup and includes the Boa. For $89 USD you can get the standard Oak knee pad sans Boa and the aluminum cup, but we could see these being a hit with all-mountain riders or those looking for a lighter duty option.
Dainese was also showing off their new Second Skin upper body protection. Made from the same honeycombed polymer foam and nitrile rubber, the Second Skin is light enough that it could make sense for aggressive all-mountain riders who are looking for more protection, but don't want to wear constricting and hot standard upper body armour.
Visit the Dainese website to see their entire lineup.
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Really, how many times in a complete spread of wrecks do you smack that top part of your thigh?
Also, all the lower comments about Al vs plastics in sliding/friction comparisons need to consider the SPEED of the fall.
These will probably be used more for aggressive AM and maybe freeride (just a guess), so speeds shouldn't be TOO slow when an actual bail occurs. Binding in that type of wreck is much less likely...
I love them, and being a skier, I'm used to BOAs. These will perform as well as - if not better - than ANY others, and I'll stake $$$ cash money $$$ on it!
Everyone is bitching about price and that the little wire will snag which is BS, they look awesome and are much better than your foam rubber 661s, 661 sucks balls
I have seen some of this gear first hand and have to say it is pretty cool.
• Aluminum knee cup"
Says "Titanium" in the pic.
So?...
Part of what you don't see included in the price is progress. Some people need to learn a little respect here.
Aluminium being a relatively soft material actually generates a lot of friction when hitting things like rock/rough surfaces, its quite "sticky". Probably worse than some plastics.
If they wanted to do this "low friction sliding thing", steel might be a better choice.
A lot of plastics are also fairly soft, so will also grip due to deformation, but unlike ally, some plastics are self lubricating
For sure the BOA system looks like it'll help tighten and custom fit the fit, while being able to be loosened for the climbs. Not sure about the dial position but how many times do we actually hit the top of the thigh. Not sure.
Now, I don't think that Dainese, if they want to grow back their mtb biz would stick to producing only 1 new knee-guard. I am sure there are cheaper versions of this one with different features. Isn't Team Pivot sponsored by Dainese this year, including Kyle Strait? Maybe he helped influence the new knee guards.
what about the albs multiplied by the g's at impact, don't you multiply those albs by the number of g's. What do we impact at in a Super D or DH run, let's be conservative and say 5 g's? no?
But carbon maybe would be the best??
As for these dainese pads they might be worth the money, considering how amazing is their Next back protector and upper armour in general. Dainese means a real thing, they are the same kind of people that work at Ferrari, Ducati, Armani - amazing north Italian perfection... with style
I'm not saying there is a right or wrong answer as to what material to use, (I also feel plastic would be better suited here) I'm just saying that every crash is different and each material has their own strengths.
Then there are people who are new to the sport and don't want to look like they're about to enter MX GP, but want a bit increased yet comfortable safety margin (like riders dear GFs and wives
For kneepads???? What a joke...
On top of that, they absolutely work as good as hard shells. As someone who's blown out both knees, one of them twice, and who puts a premium on protection... as well as somene who understand the physics behind it... D3O is not only as good as hard shells, it's actually better in many ways.
but not everyone wants to read it.
Knee pads aren't there to keep you from blowing out a knee, they're there to keep you from shattering a kneecap or sustaining fractures to the upper tibial region and tibial plateau... which D3O does with more effect than any plastic pads out there. It's basic physics... plastic doesn't offer much in the way of energy absorption, D3O offers huge amounts of energy absorption while also producing a hardening effect on impact to help guard against punctures... The science is real, proven, and absolute fact whether you chooseto believe it or not.
As for the name calling rant... seriously, quit your crying. I called you dumb... which you've proven to be in just these few posts. If you don't want to be called dumb, don't post dumb shit... pretty simple really. I have no issues if you say you just prefer hard armor, that's certainly your perogative, but saying that they're not as good as something that they've been proven to be better than is just dumb, pure and simple.
You do realize that D3O is not memory foam or shape retention foam right...? It's a dilatant material or non-Newtonian fluid. As the material transitions from solid state to flocculation state, it hardens and locks molecularly taking a 'fluid' substance and hardening it for only the moment of high impact shear strains before immediately returning to its natural state.
As for how only brands without labs or R&D budgets buying D3O, that's laughable... for one, the US Department of Defense liceneses D3O... Dow Corning, possibly the largest R&D lab in the world, also licenses D3O for use as a base layer in their ballistics vests. So I think what you actually meant to say that even the most advanced labs in the world with the largest R&D budgets possible recognize that D3O is a technilogical marvel.
So, non-newtonian fluid or not, non "memory foam or shape retention foam", doesn't really matter here how you describe it, does it hardens only or does it absorb the impact gradually and slows the g's of the impact down? Because it looks like the harder you hit the harder it gets?
Definitely a great product, for other usage maybe, not proving better in our sport.