Dainese Announces Details for Knee Pads & Back Protectors

PRESS RELEASE: Dainese

The technical development of mountain biking in the last decade has given rise to clear evolution in the sport. While a cross-country bike was once considered good for any route apart from downhill, today’s market is considerable more fragmented. You can switch from trail to all-mountain, and from enduro to bike park. All these uses are less extreme than pure downhill, but can reach speeds that were once unthinkable even for downhill bikes themselves. And with greater speed comes a greater need for protection.

Until a few years ago, protection was the prerogative of downhill. Knee pads and vests that were effective against impact were certainly produced, but they were heavy and bulky. You wouldn’t dream of wearing them for longer than a downhill run. Since then, there’s been exponential development in these devices, no less than that on the bikes themselves. Today’s modern technologies and ever greater mastery of materials mean that extremely light and slim protectors are made that nonetheless match and exceed the safety of previous ones.

But just how much choice is there in the range of MTB protectors? Today, protection is increasingly widespread throughout the mountain biking world, and each sub-category of bikes requires products that are developed specifically.



Knee guards designed for pedaling

The first protector to make headway in the world of trail riding and all-mountain, apart from helmets, was the knee guard. But why knee guards, specifically? It’s simple: Together with the hands, knees are the first point of contact with the ground in a fall, even the most uneventful. Even a seemingly trivial slide, whether on stony or very compact ground, can really hurt. So knee guards are often the first protector that those who approach this world take into consideration.

There are many types of protector on the market, which can be worn for long periods of time and don’t interfere with or become annoying when pedaling, and also offer different levels of protection depending on the type of trail. The difference mainly lies in the front protective panel, which can even include steel reinforcements or use the latest technologies related to shock dispersal during an impact, such as auxetics.

Aside from safety, when you wear a knee guard all day long, its features need to include good ergonomics (it must be designed to hug the joint and perfectly follow all its movements), overall lightness, and breathability, even at low speed, when you’re going uphill.


Dainese knee protection solutions

A knee guard like Trail Skins Lite is the lightest and most comfortable solution you could wish for. Suited to trail riding, it consists of a breathable fabric section and soft protector at the kneecap. It’s the best option for those who want a safe knee guard, but one that’s always imperceptible when riding. The protector with Pro-Shape 2.0 technology allows Trail Skins Lite to follow the shape of the knee perfectly in every movement. The design of the protector itself, extensively ventilated, allows air to flow and heat to be expelled even at low speeds.

Trail Skins Air features a wider protective panel than the Lite version. The technology is the same: Pro-Shape 2.0, guaranteeing a 55% ventilated surface, for maximum heat exchange even uphill. There’s also an insert on the outside of the kneecap protector for greater side-impact safety. Stability on the leg is ensured by the elastic with silicone thigh and calf inserts.

Trail Skins Pro adds the ability to adjust the fit down to the millimeter through Velcro panels on both the upper and lower elastic. The protective side insert can also be found on the inner side of the knee guard. The front protection retains the flexible and resistant Pro-Shape 2.0 technology, which can combine safety and the utmost freedom of movement.

Rival Pro was created for the most extreme all-mountain and for enduro. This knee guard uses technology developed on professional MotoGP™ riders’ suits, the front metal plate. The metal protection has two purposes: It’s the best solution for dissipating the force of impacts over as large an area as possible, and at the same time it supports sliding in contact with the ground. Under the metal plate, Rival Pro incorporates a Pro-Shape 2.0 panel, for maximum flexibility and ventilation.


Protecting your back on a mountain bike

After the head and knees, the most important part of the body to protect is the back. That’s why protectors for the upper body can never be missing on a trail, all-mountain or enduro outing. There are jerseys with protectors built into the chest, back and shoulders according to different protective performance levels. They can be Level 1 or Level 2 depending on their capacity to absorb the energy of impacts.


Dainese has two different solutions of this type, offering different levels of protection. Rival Pro Tee is the protective jersey with a protective insert on the chest and level 2 back protector, the ultimate in mountain bike equipment. Its protective panels are made with Auxagon technology, flexible and breathable protectors that can offer safety and excellent freedom of movement at the same time. The ventilated sections of the surface promote heat exchange in all climates. On the shoulders there are Pro-Shape 2.0 protectors, also highly ventilated.


Trail Skins Pro Tee takes up the Rival Pro concept, with the same Auxagon and Pro-Shape 2.0 solutions and technologies, but adopts level 1 protectors and focuses on the utmost lightness.

As well as jerseys with protectors, you can also find vests of the same type, like Trail Skins Air Vest, though the protective inserts will only be on the chest and back. This is a great solution for trail rides in the warmest season, as leaving your underarms exposed will allow for a considerable amount of ventilation and extra coolness.


It helps to know your riding style when choosing every protector, from helmet to knee guard and protectors for the upper body. Modern mountain bikes are ever more refined and specialized, and require a certain amount of preparation to make the best choice of the most appropriate protective equipment. So the right advice makes it possible for even this apparently tricky decision to prove another opportunity to live out our passion.

For more information about Dainese protection designed to pedal click here