Originally this review was supposed to be a shoot between various new knee pads available on the market. After riding The Troy Lee Designs Brian Lopes Signature pad for a good month, the idea got nixed. Why? It would be no contest. The TLD pad leaves the other pads far behind in comfort, protection and syle. There is no competition.
The biggest gripe I have had for years with knee pads is that they slide down my legs. No matter what model it was, from which manufacturer, after a few rides the elastic straps have stretched out beyond repair and it is no longer possible to get the straps tight enough to keep the pads from slipping down as you pedal. TLD came up with an ingenious solution to this problem, the gasket.
This simple, neoprene sleeve goes on first, and the hard shell pad velcros to them, and the attaches around your calf with 2 more straps to keep everything nice and snug. It has a small amount of padding itself, and can be worn alone if you so choose. The gasket has some stretch panels int he back and as such does not bunch or feel bulky and chafe. In 30 days of riding at Whistler, my pads never slipped once and the backs of my knees were never bothered. 30 days of runs included a couple of boneheaded crashes where I slid a good ways on my knees. Any other pads, and I would have had hamburger knees. As the gasket stretches out from sweat and pedaling after a few rides, you can simply throw them in the washer and then the dryer, and they tighten right back up.
Simple, elegant protection; and at a good price to boot.
At first I thought these would be ridiculously hot, due to the neoprene, but surprisingly enough, they were not. They breathe well, even under the hard shell and I never seemed to overheat, even in the midday whistler sun on run number 4 after having stood in line for 45 minutes. They are pretty gross when you take them off and they are drenched with sweat, however.
The only downsides I have had with mine are that the stitching on the neoprene gasket seems to be coming apart in a few places, especially around the TLD logo. Not sure if this is a fluke occurrence or an ongoing issue, but I'm going to keep my eye on it and contact TLD if necessary.
http://www.troyleedesigns.com/
MSRP: $80 USD
UPDATE: A Troy Lee Designs representative has fired over an email to let us know that the they are aware of the stitching problem and that it is being taken care of at the factory. There are also some changes coming to the next run that will adjust strap length and placement, as well as changing the gasket a bit by adding rubber grippers and moving the velcro down lower so you can pull it up higher.
Have a different experience with this product? Leave a comment below and let others hear about it.
The TLD's look really nice, good style and a solid design. Funny thing is, I've seen plenty of folks doing this same thing with all sorts of brands of knee pads by just adding soft neoprene skate pads underneath.
And as for a "no contest" knee pad showdown, I think the Fox System knee/shin pads would at least make the finals. I've ridden them a few times this season (the few times I've gotten to ride) and they're staying in place comfortably, even on the most pedally of tracks.
Quite possibly. I never heard back from Fox however, so we didn't have them available for the review.
The difference with the neoprene skate pads is that they aren;t actually used as a retention mechanism for the pads. Padlocks over the top work well, but they eventually stretch out and slide, and are super hot. I did it for a few years with Dainese pads, and these are WAY better than doing it that way, in my opinion.
I bought these pads because I too always had the problem of knee/shin guards slipping down my chicken legs. The Lopes guards have been an improvement, although they still sli a little.
My problem was with sizing. The S/M neoprene gaskets fit my legs better than the L/XL, but the L/XL pads were a better length.
Also, the velcro "wings" on the pads don't line up very well with the velcro on the gaskets.
The stitching on the gaskets on my pair is coming apart in a number of locations. It would be nice if TLD sold just replacement gaskets, because I don't want to buy a whole new set of pads just for the neoprene sleeves.
Another brand which does nt always get a mention is UFOPLAST
They make an awesome knee shin guard which PROKOP uses
two shells cover the knee and bend 90 degreees so you can peddle
and they dont slip down .. check them out
I just got these and tried them on. The sleve (and hole shin guard) slides down my knee. I'll try shrinking them in the washing machine. Maybe I need fatter legs. haha
After shrinking them, they don't slide down. These work really well for biking. Though when I tried to get on my bike to ride it, I cutup the lower backside of my leg when I put my foot where I thought the pedal was...
My first test occurred when I thought (or didn't think?) I could manual all the way through a set of whoops. They stayed in place while I bounced and rolled across them on my seat with my legs under the pedals. They are also much quicker to put on than my 661 4x4's.
I have the fox launch with the x-up system and I tried the Lopes/TLD ones as well.
My issue is that I am not too tall (5'9), but I have thick legs, so I needed the larger size. I found the sleeve bunched up in the back of my knee and was no more comfortable than my fox pads.
In addition, the fox can be put on and taken off much more easily with the x-up system. I think the fox are cooler too without a sleeve. And the fox definitely do not slip down. This has been my biggest complaint with knee pads over the years and the fox are great in that regard.
As a side note, I had to cut my fox pads as they were too long and were hitting the top of my foot. That is why I tried the Lopes pads. I ended up cutting the fox just below the bottom strap. It turns out fox makes them in a shorty style now anyways!