Apparel - Pads

Kids have it good these days with sick bikes and good gear helping them conquer the trails.

A quick nod to some attempts at getting with the times.

Shorts, gloves and knee pads from the new kids on the block.

Pants, a Trail Jacket and Shorts from NF's "Lightweight" Line, as well as some NF-branded 7iDP kneepads.

Tim Coleman dressed in a full Leatt kit for a summer of riding and racing - here are his thoughts...

Trevor checks out Race Face's Indy line including the long-sleeved jersey, pants, and knee pads.

Some pants (from The Awesome Shirt Company!), Race Face Covert knee pads, and two sets of eyewear from Adidas...

Some hits and misses in a selection that includes jacket, pants, jersey, gloves, shoes and kneepads from PI...

Two all-day kneepads ridden and reviewed

Style mongers from Whistler set out to make one knee pad to rule them all. Did they succeed?

The new Shorty (II) soft-condition tire, Dakine's Drift shoes, and some upper body protection from POC...

661's Recon and Recon Advance knees get Shore-tested, along with the Recon elbows...

Coming to terms with his mortality, and his brittle ribs, has Trevor padding up like it's 2004...

Tools from Crankbrothers and Leatherman, bibs for women, pads from Raceface, and a handlebar from OneUp...

Elbow or knee pads, armour choice is as personal for groms as it is for adults. The Race Face Sendy and Pearl Izumi Summit, have very different use cases.

A Kortal Race MIPS Helmet, $200 shorts, my favourite knee pads ever, and some eyewear to satisfy your inner DB...

2020 wasn't a great year to be a human, but if you were a mountain biking human (and you weren't under lockdown) it was vastly better...

It isn't easy to find leg armour that's great to pedal in, offers full shin protection against vicious pedal strikes, and fits a six-year-old...

Knees yes. Then why not elbows? A look at options from 7 Protection, POC, Fox and Race Face

Camelbak updates the "Hip-Pack-Killer" to combine the great stay-put-fit of the first edition with a CE Level 2 back protector.

An early ouchy left Andrew leary of the Elevate knee pads but he's come full circle...

Andrew gave up on better-than-nothing knee pads ages ago: "I decided it was hard-shells or nothing. Usually nothing."

Let's face it, your riding gear's funky and the washing machine alone is not up to this task. Time to bring out the big guns.

Slytech is an offshoot of Shred Optics - or was - which isn't a great resumé for making comfy and protective knee pads...