How do you choose mountain bike knee guards? Are they better soft or hard?
There’s no right or wrong to it. Everyone has their own preferences, affected by clearly defined factors, how we use our bikes, our ability, the trails we’re used to taking.
When mountain biking began, the only goal was to protect and cover the rider as much as possible. Today, on the other hand, through developments in technology and research into materials and geometry inspired by the natural world, we have the ability to blend features that seemed incompatible, like protection, ventilation and lightness.
That’s why you can choose your ideal knee guard from a variety of models that cater to different needs, preferences and uses.
Do you want to take on the toughest, most technical downhill with the utmost safety, without giving up the freedom to ride in transfers and uphill, without needing to take your protector off?
Dainese Rival Pro is the CE EN 1621.1 Level 2 certified knee guard designed for just that. Its Pro-Shape 2.0 Hybrid technology combines carbo-elastomer construction with geometry inspired by natural auxetics, with a steel front plate derived from the Dainese sliders used on MotoGP™ suits. This allows for the highest level of protection, impact absorption and coverage against sharp objects – like rocks and roots – with an excellent degree of rideability and ventilation.
The result is a knee guard that’s perfect for the fastest, most aggressive downhill and doesn’t need to be removed or lowered when pedaling.
Do you love trail rides but want to be ready for the most challenging downhill?
Dainese Trail Skins Pro is a light and breathable soft knee pad, designed for spending entire days in the saddle, pedaling uphill and enjoying the downhill, with a high level of protection.
The Pro-Shape 2.0 protective front panel is inspired by the forms of auxetic materials. The geometry of auxetics present in nature, applied to the design of a knee guard, give the material the ability to stiffen when it suffers a shock and expand in all directions as a result of traction, faithfully tracing the knee’s movements and allowing significant freedom of movement.
Maximum freedom to pedal is combined with the protection needed to tackle the most technical downhill stretches.
Trail Skins: natural patterns shape protection into freedom
Looking for a protector that offers maximum comfort on long trail rides?
Dainese Trail Skins Air is the knee guard you’re looking for. Its structure maximizes airflow, so much so that you can’t feel it on climbs,even on the hottest days. Its protector featuring Pro-Shape 2.0 technology, with geometry inspired by natural auxetic materials, has a 55% perforated surface. That means total ventilation, allowing constant airflow even at low speeds.
There’s no need to choose between protection and freedom to pedal. You can have both.
Do you want a versatile protector, one you can always have with you for when you need it?
Dainese Trail Skins Lite is the lightest and most compact knee pad in the entire Dainese range. It is designed to be quickly put on and removed, due to its construction without Velcro fasteners. It can be folded up for storage anywhere, or the special strap included means you can secure it to the bike frame, when you’re about to tackle a particularly long climb.
The Pro-Shape 2.0 protective panel with Auxagon technology, able to stiffen in case of impact, is highly ventilated and made of an even softer compound on this version.
Dainese Trail Skins Lite is made for those wanting to ride for an extended period and be safe in all situations, on any mountain bike trip, without even sensing the presence of a knee guard. Its strength lies in its simplicity.
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The invention of protectors for bikers
When our riding style becomes more aggressive and the trails more challenging, we often feel the need for a thicker, more rigid protector. The Enduro 2 knee guard has been designed and manufactured in collaboration with athletes in the Enduro World Series. Enduro 2 ensures both great protection and ease of pedaling. It has been specially designed to trace the form of the knee during all phases of movement, so that it doesn’t feel heavy or constricting, even uphill.
Enduro 2 is a hybrid knee guard that combines rigid ABS panels to protect the kneecap and tibia with more flexible Pro Armor panels that cover the side areas of the knee and shin. It’s the perfect knee guard for anyone who wants to push themselves to their limits downhill, whether you’re racing or training, whilst enjoying the ability to move freely as you pedal without having to move the protector down. 
Whether you pedal up more than 1,500 meters in altitude, are carted about by shuttle or ski lift, take it easy on the trails and enjoy the scenery or run the flows in a single breath, there’s always the perfect protector for you.
Lightness, rideability, protection, coverage. Choose the way you want to go. Always use protectors, no matter what the conditions.
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