protection for legs?

[ima_bleeder]

I'm just wondering if any of you who wear guards have any advice for specifically XC riding.

Any ride in my 'neighborhood' has a lot of climbing, and the Specialized XC guards that I've tried chaffe my knee enough to make me bleed before the ride is over, and the hinge between the knee and shin portions of the guard create resistance that I totally don't need ... climbing is hard enough.

I'm not familiar with the guards mentioned here ... any advice about which guards might be the most light-weight, XC friendly?

[lovelylibrarian]

Thanks. Every time my legs are about healed, I go out and injure myself again. For some reason, it's mostly my right leg. This weekend we are backpacking so I'll have some more time to heal.

I'm glad I'm not the only one with these "issues". I could have worse problems for sure.

I like how these look but haven't ordered them yet. Scroll down to the basic series. http://www.skinzprotectivegear.com/bicycleproduct.html

[ima_bleeder]

Those look promising. Thanks!

[Irulan]

Those look really hot to me. As in, sweaty. I've got a friend who's got something similar, maybe by Veggie Skins (??)

[MtnBikerChk]

Those look really hot to me. As in, sweaty. I've got a friend who's got something similar, maybe by Veggie Skins (??)

Veggies are very popular.

btw, I think they are all hot but you do get used to them. I wear mine XC all the time and don't really notice them anymore.

[tattiefritter]

Any ride in my 'neighborhood' has a lot of climbing, and the Specialized XC guards that I've tried chaffe my knee enough to make me bleed before the ride is over, and the hinge between the knee and shin portions of the guard create resistance that I totally don't need ... climbing is hard enough.

I had this same thing when I bought shinnies for my MTB holiday, I won't wear them at any other time (think they are at the back of the wardrobe) but a silly spill at the beginning of the holiday could've put an end to it so I reluctantly wore them. On the pre-holiday test ride I got a chafed knee as I hadn't done the straps up tight enough when climbing. On the really long climbs on holiday we took them off as it was too hot to be climbing for an hour dressed like a stormtrooper but at other times I tightened the straps and covered my knees in Bodyglide and cleared any dust out that had gotten in under pads. I took the small pack of Bodyglide out with me and reapplied it frequently during the ride - seemed to work.

[SadieKate]

I like how these look but haven't ordered them yet. Scroll down to the basic series. http://www.skinzprotectivegear.com/bicycleproduct.html

I have these. I don't think they're hotter than anything else and they're certainly more comfortable for XC riding than others I've tried.

The trails I've been riding lately have a lot of overgrown manzanita and sage so I might break them out just for that. On the other hand, all the scrubbing means I don't have to shave my legs as much.

[Tabby]

I've taken to jeans, no shorts this summer. I've got bruises I didn't know I got until it 'colored up'! We have a lot of tight 'go-betweens' (2 trees) and they love to grab handle bars. Some have high roots that even flat pedaling snags on then. I affectionately call it tree-hugging or bark rash, especially on my forearms!

PJ

[SadieKate]

What is flat pedaling?

[Tabby]

Flat pedaling (to me) is having the pedals at 3:00 and 9:00 so they are even going over something so a low position pedal doesn't snag underneath.

Someone else may have another name for it ...

PJ