Where should knee padding sit?

[agour]

Hey,

I've just picked up an alpinestars durban suit for a decent second hand price, but I'm not too sure if the knees are sitting too low.

When standing up/walking, the knee padding drops to just below my knee, leaving it exposed.

When sitting down it rises up most of the way up my knee, but if I pull the trousers slightly it it sits nicely on the front of my knee. I thought it would be higher up, but the shape of the pad moulds nicely to my knee, so it must be right.

Do you think that this amount of movement is OK? I read that the padding doesnt really matter if you have a straight leg - as it wouldn't really be protecting your knee then anyway.

Cheers
-agour

 

[Giles]

Have a look / feel inside the liner where the knee pad is held. Some suits have a second (some a third) velcro tab within the pocket that holds the pads allowing you to raise or lower them.

The very nature of the sort of suit that you've got means it's trying to cope with protecting you whilst you ride, and allowing you to get off and walk about. Hardcore off road riders will wear body armour on their body rather than built into the suit. look at good quality one piece track leathers - quite hard to actually walk in because it's cut and shaped in an 'on bike' shape.

So .... what you have is a pretty normal compromise. You may be able to adjust it slightly though ...

 

[Deleted account 200502001]

Just make sure that if you fall off your bike you keep your legs bent

Some of my trousers fit in a similar style, with the armour hanging below my knee when stood, but when I bought my new suit I managed to get trousers with better fitting knee armour.

 

[agour]

Yeah I pulled the legs inside out and had a proper nosy, unfortunately there's only one position!

Haha yeah that's a great idea, I could probably also curl up into a ball so that I just roll safely to a stop.

I did consider buying a different set of trousers, but for what I paid I think it's better to just keep them as-is

 

[Giles]

If it's really annoying you you could try some different armour in them ... they're all different shapes and sizes, most of my kit has been swapped about a bit for a better fit ....

 

[agour]

The pockets for the armour are only so high, so taller/different armour wouldn't make a difference. I could mount it between the liner and fabric, but that would require more modification

 

[Deleted account 200502001]

I find most motorbike clothing to be quite poor considering the extremes it might one day be tested to. Armour usually sits in the wrong place and feels like it will offer only limited protection. I guess manufacturers are catering for a small market share?

 

[agour]

Yeah I imagine they have to take averages for the measurements. Some of the clothing is very intricate, so perhaps it's too complicated to manufacture in tons of different sizes

 

[Bobbin-Man]

What size are the trousers vs how tall are you?

I've have various trousers from Hein Gericke, Dainese and BMW and all are very similar in that the knee protection still sits pretty well on my knees when walking ... usually the curved nature of the protection means the top edge digs in just above my knee caps when my legs are straight.

Stu.

 

[RedRick Esq.]

If it's really annoying you you could try some different armour in them ... they're all different shapes and sizes, most of my kit has been swapped about a bit for a better fit ....

Does that include your many wives

 

[Giles]

Oh dear .... my reputation goes before me ......

 

[Deleted account 200502001]

From my limited experience, dearer clothing such as the new BMW Streetguard has a much better fit, and better armour adjustment than cheaper clothing. The Streetguard comes in an almost infinite combination of sizes/lengths etc.

 

[paul nicholls]

armour

I gave up on knee and elbow armour in jackets and trousers years ago.
Never seemed to be in the right place, now use forcefield armour tubes for arms and legs.
The forcefield armoured shirt with back protector is on the list I've sent to Santa.

 

[Schtum]

I could probably also curl up into a ball so that I just roll safely to a stop.

I appreciate you're joking but rolling isn't a good idea. If you do that, your arms and legs thrash about and you're more likely to break bones. A nice smooth slide to a safe halt, away from any hard objects, is by far the preferred way to conduct an unplanned dismount.

 

[Deleted account 200502001]

I gave up on knee and elbow armour in jackets and trousers years ago.
Never seemed to be in the right place, now use forcefield armour tubes for arms and legs.
The forcefield armoured shirt with back protector is on the list I've sent to Santa.

Sadly not available in genuine tosser size

 

[Pukmeister]

A nice smooth slide to a safe halt, away from any hard objects, is by far the preferred way to conduct an unplanned dismount.

And should I hit that kerbstone or roadside furniture mid-slide, I hope the correctly fitting armour means my broken limbs require only basic surgery to repair. Badly fitting armour is as good as none.

My last trip up the road was a simple 30mph slide to a stop in the wet, with nothing more than scuffs and bruises but they aren't all like that.