What are the best leg/shin guards? I need some

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What are the best leg/shin guards? I need some
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flag The-Medic
Posted: Sep 9, 2011 at 19:44 Quote
I know this is an old thread I'm digging up out of the grave, but I thought it'd help for those who were searching for some up to date opinions on shin-guards so...

I've run several sets of Shin guards over the many years I've been riding, from old Adidas Kevlar soccer shinguards (acctually FAR better then ALOT of the bike specific offerings...kinda sad) to the new 661 RAP's (NOT the Vegie RAPS that seem to be really popualr with the "I wear womens jeans crew") I just picked up.

My last set of Knee/Shin's were the 661 Race, and while I liked them and would recomend them, I really didn't like the "full leg" coverage and I've NEVER needed the part from mid/lower shin down to my ankle. So I found myself a great deal fromPricepoint on some 661 RAP guiards (the ones with the black/white striped guards) and I'm LOVING them. I couldn't find alot of info on them on the web aside from the kind of hit/miss reviews you find on MTBR so I just took a shot and I'm REALLY happy with my choice. They're not very hot IMO wich is obviously nice for riding in the heat. The hard knee cap protectors are more then up to the task, and the shin guards cover everthing that I want them to cover. For me these really are the perfect length/coverage. the strap system is far from involved, but it get's the job done and aside from pedaling up some of the long haul at Black Rock they never slip (best to take your guards off for that climb anyway so...) On the way down when it really counts, they stay in place and the hards knee cups never seem to get in my way OR feel bulky despite my initial living room impressions that they might be a bit big and in the way. Not the case when on the bike. the shin's are made out of flexible god knows what, but they conform to your legs well and in the few times I've tested them out (read eaten shit...) they did their job abmirably. I haven't torn the covering yet, but that's something I'm a bit concerned about in the future as a pedal pin that doesn't hit straight on could easily rip them up and I'm not sure what the result would be after that (not sure if the shin guards would degrade w/o the covering but we'll see) The knee cups cover you well and combined with the upper thigh strap do a good job od protecting you from the top-tube. The looks are gonna be hit and miss and they certainly won't be for everyone, but I like them and they actually kinda match my kit well so I'm happy.

Hope maybe thet'll help someone as I said I couldn't find any to the point reviews online of the 661 RAP so...

On another Knee/Shin note, I was given as a gift some Fox Launch Shorty's and while I haven't taken them out on the trail yet (they were a gift so I'm keeping them as my next set for when the RAP's are done with, hopefully aways down the road, not anytime soon eh Wink )they feel GREAT. The straps do an X across the back of the calf and while it does feel like it's a great strap system I've noticed that with my larger then average calves and thunder thighs (being a 20+ year Soccer player and then a Firefighter earlier in life will leave ya with those kinds of physical traits...) mean that I do feel some rubbing on the sensetive sides and back of my knees. I'm sure that I'll get used to it when I finnaly get out to ride in them, but it is somethig to note. Also, with the "herion skinny" build of the younger generation of riders, this may not be a problem so... A note to you "sister's jeans" wearing new gen riders... neither of these pads are gonna fit under your pants. but hey, all the more reason to give up the oh so awfull skinny jeans style for some functionaly superior looser jeans... On the Fox Launch Shortys, the shin guard doesn't come down QUITE as far as the RAPS do, and while I was WANTING them to not be a full shin guard, the Fox's might just be a bit short compared to the RAP's shin guards. Also, they're hard plastic which while better for durability means that they don't conform to your shins like the RAPS do and therefore may be less likelyto fit a wider range of riders. On the subject of the hard plastic guards, the knee cups are GREAT and the added inner claf coverage is great for protection agains the dreaded "Top-Tube rub" or the even more dreaded "zip-tie slice"... What is also REALLY nice, is there is NO covering to them meaning there's nothing to get ripped like on the RAP's so they'll stay cosmetticly good for longer I'm guessing. On a looks note, the FOX's are all black sop they're more sedate looking and the'll probably mean they'll apeal to a broader range of riders. I like the looks of them.

From 1 pair of Knee/Shin guards that I was never really all that crazy about (too long of a shin guard as I mentioned above) to TWO pairs of guards that I really like for both the samne and a few different reasons. "Everything is commin' up Millhouse!!!" Yeah, I'm happy, and my shins will be happier when the time comes to really NEED these guys (Oddly enough, after 20+ years of getting kicked in the shins playing soccer, my shins are nearly impervious to the average pain extracted in a fall, BUT that doesn't men they're impervious to the slashing/cutting qualities of todays mega grippy and sharply studed pedals (With pedals like the "Shin Burgers" and some others out there, if you're NOT running shin guards, I highly suggest you do.)

Hope that wasn't too hard to follow, I tend to ramble so sorry if it was too much for some but hey, it's the nature of this beast so Wink

Cheers

Dave
flag bkchef2000
O+
Posted: Sep 9, 2011 at 19:57 Quote
thanks for the help, that was rather ironic seeming as I am in the market for a new set of gaurds and I came onto the forums to search this very topic.
flag dnlparr
Posted: Sep 9, 2011 at 20:03 Quote
i use 661 4x4 knee and shins and they are great. dont use for dj though because there real bolky but great for dh and fr.
flag The-Medic
Posted: Sep 9, 2011 at 22:49 Quote
bkchef2000 wrote:
thanks for the help, that was rather ironic seeming as I am in the market for a new set of gaurds and I came onto the forums to search this very topic.
HAHA well there ya go mate, that's exactly WHY I wrote this mini-review of mine. Hope it helped, I know it's only relevant to the two models I mentioned, but I gotta say, if you're tight on funds, for $34(us) the RAP's are pretty hard to beat. This is what they look like if you're not famillar:
photo

And these are the FOX's I have too:
photo
I'm glad I got them as a Gift cause I'm NOT returning them, they'll make a GREAT back-up pair/replacement pair when the time comes eh.

I notice that the FOX Shorty Launch's are ALSO going for a pretty good deal at $54(us) so if you're in the market (what am I talkin about, you just SAID you were in the market...DUH) I'd suggest checking out Price Point... I am a BIG proponent of supporting your Local Shop, but in my case, I couldn't find the kind of deal I needed and I wasn't finding the models I was looking for either (and overall not a very good selection in the whole of Portland OR) so I went with an online retailer. Don't know what your LBS has to offer so maybe you'll get lucky and find somethig you like local eh.

As an aside, i forgot to mention that as I said, I had the 661 Races, and had them for awhile so IMO they're really good both in Value AND in use.
photo
They never let me down, as I said, I just wanted something of a hybrid between a Knee only pad, and a full shin guard. The two I mentioned are IMO great contenders in this arena. The Race has good retention straps, and for a full shin guard they aren't too hot. Only thing I found that I really DIDN'T like that the the VERY bottom end down my my ankle would on occasion get caught on my BB or my chain-stays from time to time and kind of distract me in some sketchy situations. Still, if you;re looking for a full on leg guard they're really good.

Another one that I personaly have no exp. with is the 661 Nitro
photo
...they're full plastic, but they have an anti-hyperextension brace built into them. For someone like me who's had knee injury's and has in fact HE'd my knee, they really caught my eye. They do however look kinda flash (more so even then the RAP's I got) and with as high as the thigh section goes, I'm curoius to see how they'd feel and if they'd make your shorts ride up.

I borrowed my buddies Race-Face DIG knee pads.
photo
I gotta say I REALLY liked these guards. They may "only be a knee guard" but they extend down far enough onto your shin to be RIGHT in the wheel-house of a slipped pedal and therefore I think are better then alot of the knee-only guards. plus they're slim and can be run under your jeens .

Of the two different guards I have, I REALLY think that they both have +'s and -'s (doesn't everything Wink ) and idealy I would just magicaly smash them together and make ONE guard out of them both... I LOVE the solid plastic shin sections of the FOX's, but I like the fit and thigh strap on the 661's the best. AS i said above, the FOX straps are GREAT behind on the claves, but with the shape and size of my legs I get some rub/irritation so something to think about eh.

These RockGardn's look pretty simillar to the RF's too, but I have ZERO personal EXP. with RG products so I can't tell ya anything about them.
photo

Jeezuz, just LOOK at how I balther on eh. Sorry for the long winded responce, but hey, if anything I say can help ya find a guard ya like then it's worth it to me.

Cheers

Dave

PS: What are you looking for, and what do you tend to ride (terrain/style)??? I see in your pics you've got a sweet Porter (cool bike, I've always liked the simple clean lines of those rigs. Esp. in this day and age of mega complicated rigs... If only these kids could see the bikes guys our age grew up nearly killing ourselves on eh Wink ) so I'm guessing you're into FR/DJ-ing??? When ya do find/buy something, post it up and give us some feedback on how you're liking them and the good/bad's... like I said, I kinda just posted cause I wasn't finding much quality info. so I thought it'd help folks down the road.

EDIT: Oh hell yeah, I see you're from Mill Cr. Wash. NW Riders in the house eh... Oh god how I LOVE the NW. I lived in Australia for 2 years and I really think that if I wasn't from the NW I would NEVER have come back eh. I LOVE OZ, but the NW/OR(WA and ID too) is someplace I'm very happy and proud to be from. I took a ton of pictures down there with me of home and some of the people I lived with (I lived on a Huge cattle station in South-Central Queensland) couldn't BELIEVE where I was from. They just kept talking about how it looked like there should be dinosaurs living there. Course I was blown away by Australia just the same, but still, I was happy as hell to show off my home region eh Wink
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