Shin protection.

[juggle508]

I am wanting to buy some shin guards and I found some. Are SIXSIXONE 4 by 4 Knee and Shin guards very good? Is it still easy to bend your knee or are they not very flexible? Just wondering.

[spyder]

Here's some reviews.

[tom_edmonds]

ive worn mine for about 8 hours before and it didnt bother me too much, i forget im wearing them half the time.... only thing is when you take them off, have a bucket ready to catch the sopius amounts of liquid lost.

[munimanpete]

I find my 4x4's fine, they're really comfortable and make you so much more confident. But yeah to answer your question they're fine.

[juggle508]

Thanks for the reviews. Anyone else?

[john_childs]

The 661 4x4 pads are good, as long as they fit you. If they don't fit correctly they aren't going to be as good. Make sure they're long enough so they won't slide down your leg and expose the tops of your knee during a crash.

The 661 4x4 pads shouldn't restrict your knee movement. If you have fat legs then they may be more snug than they should be and could be uncomfortable.

Best bet is to try them on at a bike shop. More and more bike shops are carrying armor now so it's easy to try things out first. There are also more and more armor choices than there were just a few years ago. Look and see what's available. You might see something that fits you better. Just look for protection for the back of the leg too. That's one big benefit the 661/Roach/KH armor -- it also protects the back of your calf. A lot of other armor leaves the back of your calf open to nasty pedal scrapes.

[tennisgh22]

Originally posted by john_childs
That's one big benefit the 661/Roach/KH armor -- it also protects the back of your calf. A lot of other armor leaves the back of your calf open to nasty pedal scrapes.

sorry for resurrecting this thread--

my new kh24 gives really nasty pedal bites. so far i've had about 6 bad ones that have drawn blood, 5 of which have been on my calves. so my question is, which armor is the best at providing *calf* protection.

it seems we have two contradicting reviews of the 661.

j_c says it "protects the back of your calf".

harper says "No calf protection" in his review.

which is it? do the veggies protect the calf better than the 661? any other brands of armour i should think about?

-grant

[TheBadger587]

Your calf is it's own calf protection, the only thing you need is something to prevent the skin from breaking. other than that the muscle on your calf absorbs most of the shock of an impact. i've found the sixsixone's protect really well, and are very comfortable (especially with the top 2 straps left undone.)

[digigal1]

I wanted padding in the back to avoid bruises as well as scrapes.

I looked at the 4x4s (knee/shin protection) but never tried them on because they looked like they only had a bit of stretchy material on the back, no padding.

I tried the veggies (shin protection), which did have some padding in the back, but the large's weren't big enough for me, I could barely get the velcro together. I don't think I have huge calves, but I don't know. Also FYI, they are lighter weight with no hard plastic shin protector, but would have been fine for me.

I went with the lizard skins, (shin protection) which are larger than the veggies, had good padding in the back, are comfortable, and the fact they don't have knee protection was fine because I already had an old pair of rollerblade knee pads. They do have a sort of strange shin protection though - the removable inner hard plastic is shaped like a "V" around your shin, instead of a flatter "U".

[john_childs]

Originally posted by digigal1
I wanted padding in the back to avoid bruises as well as scrapes.

I looked at the 4x4s (knee/shin protection) but never tried them on because they looked like they only had a bit of stretchy material on the back, no padding.

The 4x4's have plenty of calf protection. You don't need padding back there, you just need protection to keep the pedal pins from cutting into your skin. I've never hit the back of my calf hard enough with the pedal to get a bruise. There is no real need for padding back there. I have hit the back of my calf with my pedals and the 661 4x4's did what they were supposed to do and protected me from the pedal pins. They've saved me from some clumsy crashes that probably would have caused me to need stitches on my calf if I wasn't wearing them. Don't be put off by the fact that there is no actual foam or plastic padding protecting your calf.

If you're practicing uni spins then maybe you'll want some pads that have padding around the back of the calf. But for muni and trials the 4x4's will have plenty of calf protection.

[Max_Dingemans]

what Iv seen done, was to wear either roach or 661 4x4's, and then put on some cheap soccer shin guards backwards, so they protect you're calf instead. I havent personally tried it, but it's an option. I have never had a problem with the back of my roach not being protective enough though.

I play hockey and a trick I learned to protect my calf's... is to buy one of
those cheap foam pads that are made to go under a sleeping bag, and cut out
2 pieces to fit your calf's, then slide them under your shin guard straps.
"Max_Dingemans" <Max_Dingemans@NoEmail.Message.Poster.at.Unicyclist.com>
wrote in message
news:Max_Dingemans.1a0oak@NoEmail.Message.Poster.at.Unicyclist.com...
>
> what Iv seen done, was to wear either roach or 661 4x4's, and then put
> on some cheap soccer shin guards backwards, so they protect you're calf
> instead. I havent personally tried it, but it's an option. I have
> never had a problem with the back of my roach not being protective
> enough though.
>
>
> --
> Max_Dingemans - Hey Look, who's that?
>
> BLAH!
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[TheBadger587]

Originally posted by john_childs
Make sure they're long enough so they won't slide down your leg and expose the tops of your knee during a crash.

I thought i could make my 4x4's more comfortable by leaving the straps that tighten the guards to your knee undone, this worked until i actually crashed... skid directly on my exposed knee in loose dirt for 8 feet... it's ok to leave those straps undone for trials though.

[digigal1]

Originally posted by john_childs

The 4x4's have plenty of calf protection. You don't need padding back there, you just need protection to keep the pedal pins from cutting into your skin. I've never hit the back of my calf hard enough with the pedal to get a bruise. There is no real need for padding back there. If you're practicing uni spins then maybe you'll want some pads that have padding around the back of the calf. But for muni and trials the 4x4's will have plenty of calf protection.

I know you are a unigod, John, but as a total newbie I have to disagree. The reason I wanted to buy guards in the first place was not because I banged my shins, but specifically because I had bruises all over the back of my legs. And all I was doing was learning to unicycle, nothing crazy like unispins. Maybe I'm just a klutz, but based on my personal experience, if a person hasn't purchased anything yet, it won't hurt to get something with calf protection.

[TheBadger587]

digigal, you've actually gotten bruised from the pedal hitting the back of your leg? sixsixone's will prevent all kinds of cuts on the back of the leg, but as far as bruises go... wear soccer shin guards backwards. i just didn't think calf bruises actually happened.