OK, so this is meant to be equal parts rant and looking for serious recommendations. I'm one of those people who wear knee pads every ride, don't often need them but am always glad I had them on when I do. There's a lot of decent knee pads now that you can pedal for hours in, don't slide down, and will take a hit. Having taken some pretty ugly scrapes and 1 case of bursitis in the elbow, I'd like to have the option of wearing elbow pads on spicy rides. But every single elbow pad I've tried (probably several hundred dollars worth at this point) either gives me arm pump or is otherwise so uncomfortable and distracting that I'm worse off wearing them then not. I'm 5'-8"/172cm, weigh 165lbs, wear size medium in basically everything, except that if you go by elbow pads size charts and actual fit I'm apparently Popeye (28-29cm forearms at the largest point). That's in the middle-ish of large in most size charts. But in my experience, any size large "sleeve" style pad gives me wicked arm pump within 1 lap, but size XL is so loose they fall down (and feel like they'd slide up in a crash). At the same time, I don't want some hot, bulky velcro-strapped contraption hanging off my arms either. I don't see any of the pro Enduro racers running elbow pads, and it looks like very few of the pro DH guys do, so clearly I'm not the only one who hates most of the current options. Hell, at one point I emailed one of the protective gear brands asking for their suggestion, and the guy basically told me, "Yeah, I can't wear any of our elbow pads for the same reason also." But surely there's got to be something that works... right?
I don't like elbow pads, but I had a huge gash in my arm so I kinda had to try some to protect the stitches. I've got arm pump before from them which had put my off.
Anyways, raceface indy's have been mint. They're very minimalist, they've saved some skin so they definitely work. No arm pump and they don't slip down. They have a velcro upper which I don't use either. They're so good I've kept wearing them despite my aforementioned wound healing. I think I sized xl in them, man's not skinny in the arms (or anywhere 🤣) they're true to chart size. They're pretty cheap, give em a whirl 👌
Is it possible to find good fitting elbow pads? I gave up years ago after so many failures.
i gave up on pads with straps and tried a lot with a strapless design, ended up on some pro-x3 from g-form. those stay up and don’t slide down and have even pressure that don’t restrict blood flow
Troy Lee stage works well for me as a burly pad that you can still pedal in. Had similar issues to you and this is the first pad that doesn’t slide down on me. Sucks when it’s hot out but anything lighter isn’t gonna do anything more than prevent a light scratch. Have had it save my elbows on multiple occasions already. Took a direct hard rock strike that would have definitely split me open deep and broken something but thanks to the pads was able to shrug it off with just a bruise and a friction raspberry from the backside of the pad.
I have had pretty good luck with the current Fox stuff. Haven’t noticed any difference in arm pump on vs off. But it also genuinely fits me pretty well. Mostly like that the skid plate is fairly small but is right where needs to be. Everytime ive crashed and my elbows hit the ground the skid plate was what contacted the ground. But it’s not remotely as bulky as some of the burlier options. It also comes off if you wanted to go without it.
Not sure how bad it is for pedaling. I only wear elbow pads for park days.
There are world cup DH riders who wear elbow pads. I believe there might even be more now than few years back. Brruni (has done for years), Isles, Dunne are among those wearing elbow pads. It might also be they wear custom fitted ones. Anyway they all seem to wear the less bulky sleeve type.
FYI all World Cup racers are required by regulation to wear hard elbow and back protectors at numerous venues, including all races in the nations of Austria and France, like Leogang, Les Gets, Loudenville, Lourdes, etc. These rules went into effect in 2012 or 2013 in Austria (I think), and a little later in France. Probably not the worst rule in the world.
I'm encouraged to hear other people's reports in this thread who've been able to run elbow pads without constant slipping. Slipping was always my problem, so I might need to try a set again if the new ones are better. Would love to start using them again, because the elbow is an incredibly complex and surprisingly vulnerable joint, and there are certain slip-out crashes where it's the first thing to hit the ground. The rocks where I live are not soft.
Following this thread. I know I am 'okay' with my Gforms, but lets be honest thats a spacklin of D30 stuff on a compression sleeve. Not a pad meant for gravity riding. My GF was actually wearing them and did the thing that we all knew was possible but unlucky... She kinda took a rock BETWEEN those inserts, and got a small cut through the pad. Couldn't believe it. Def made me question wearing those/getting new ones.
She just outright said screw it and got 'moto' elbow pads aka old school hard shell elbow pads cuz for her level of riding she really needs abrasion resistance more so than impact resistance. And she loves them. Grabbed some from 7mx cuz Bubba is a legend, and their gear is quite good/cool lookin.
I'm still not sure where to upgrade, but I am thinking potentially the Leatt Reaflex hybrid pads with hard shell panels. I was at Mammoth Bike Park and the Surefoot store is doing an entire Leatt pop up shop for summer and it was EPIC. As someone who can never find Leatt gear to try on at a bike/moto shop... It was legendary. Almost entire inventory to try. (And the lady bought the womens specific Reaflex chest pro, hands down most popular chest pro for women.)
My general theory for elbow is the less sleeved and more 'strapped' it is, the better chance you have of liking it. Full compression sleeve styles by nature have to be designed for the most average of average humans... And then some designs just suck from the box, or will stretch over time and get worse and worse.
Sadly people don't value elbow pads so I don't think the proper amount of RnD went into making em better, not nearly as much as knee pads have had. But as someone who basically switched to MTBing 6 years ago after breaking their elbow on BMX... I need a viable elbow pad option.
I also tried a body armor jacket and that backfired massively. 100% Tarka one was awful, straight awful. I've had to rip the elbows and shoulders out to even bear the armor, and then its still a very hot/bulky feeling item. I may get the Ion Arcon HD Pro and call it a day. Not sure.
Here's a million dollar idea that you can have for free. The problem with elbow pads is that if they're tight enough to stay in position, they restrict circulation. So you need a way for looser pads to stay in position. The obvious solution is to have a thong like network of straps that connect the elbow pads, with a loop for your head to go through. It keeps the elbow pads in position without being hot like full body armor. I guess technically it's less of a thong, and more of an athletic supporter for your upper extremities. Regardless, I think it'd work great. Someone with a sewing machine and sore elbows should whip up a prototype.
After eating crap on probably one of the dumbest slow speed falls I've ever managed to accomplish and in the process gashed my elbow pretty badly, good bone bruise as well, I started wearing elbow pads last year. I started off with the RaceFace Ambush which for me turned into one of the worst pads I've ever worn, I was getting pain on the tip of my elbow from rubbing the inside of the D30 which has no fabric or anything to cover it and protect your skin. I actually got bruising on both elbows just by wearing them for 3 days at the park. They also slid down constantly. That same trip I at the end of Sunday while dropping my buddy off at his house I inadvertently left my Fox Baseframe upper body protector on the roof of my SUV and lost it to the highway gods on my way back to my place. Enter Leatt, I decided to give the body tee ReaFlex stealth a go to replace my lost Baseframe and grabbed a pair of the elbow guard 3DF 6.0's. I'm a happy camper now, the Leatt's are on the burly'er side but are really comfortable and the way the arm band comes up and sits under the arm band on the body protector the elbow guards don't move an inch. I haven't tried wearing them on their own but they seem tight in the right spots to prevent them from moving. YMMV
Edit: Raceface pads were Ambush in XXL, they were pretty damn tight around my arms, Leatt's are XL's and fit tightly but not uncomfortably tight. 6hrs of riding at N* is no issue. Im 6'3" 205lbs
Every time I forget my elbow pads it feels so freeing, but then I remember almost every one of my crashes has involved my elbow pads in some way or another so I continue to wear them.
I’ve had good luck with the Fox D30 pads. They do slip a little if Im shutting and haven’t gotten them properly warmed up and sweaty from pedaling but aside from that very specific circumstance that I rarely do anyway they stay put and I barely notice them.
For park days I use a POC Oseus jacket that has the elbow pads integrated in so they don’t slip down.
Thanks for the replies & suggestions. I ordered a set of Indys because at $34, why not. Going by the Jenson size chart for those I'm an XL lol. I owned a set of the first gen G-Forms like 10 years ago, and found them fairly useless while also being hot, but also have seen a few comments by people that the X3s don't give arm pump, so will try and find a set of those or the newer X4s to try on. I know one of the shops at Northstar has Leatt gear so I'll see what they have when I'm up there this weekend.
I've also been thinking that as annoying as they are, straps might be key to achieving both no arm pump and not sliding up on a crash (trade off is less comfortable otherwise). A strap about 2/3 down the forearm could be run just loose enough not to get pump but run into the thicker part of the arm and stop a slide up, and likewise a thin one just below the bicep should keep it from jiggling down during descent. A friend suggested one of the full jackets and I discarded that idea based on needing a size medium torso but L/XL arm thickness.
I actually own Fox Launch Elites (sleeves) in both L & XL (L gives me wicked arm pump and XL won't stay in place). I owned TLD Stages (sleeves) before with the same issue.
If I had to do it again I’d go the jacket route. Or get a diffirent chest protector with straps I’d trust not to come off over the jersey. With my chest protector I only feel comfortable with it under a jersey and then it’s only comfortable with a layer underneath it. Absolutely do not understand the flimsy clips they put on my chest protector. Might just start zip tieing it so I can wear it over my jersey.
Random one but Pearl Izumi Elevates are by far the best I've tried vs. TLD Stage and 7idp.
Without diving into actual arm measurements, I reckon we should at least fire off height and weight with any recommendations. To add enough context for prospective buyers.
Again I've been lagging behind still using size large Gforms on my 200lbs 6ft frame. But I wouldn't recommend them to anyone outside of trail riding, as well as might not recommend them to outlier body types. That said the sleeve probly stretches a bit more than thicker pads. But if there is an unusual taper from bicep to forearm they are either not gonna fit, or stretch out and begin to slip over time.
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