The most comfortable shin guard you will ever wear. Designed and made in-house by LizardSkins. Removable injection molded plastic inserts ride on the side of your shin, not the bone. Made of 5mm perforated neoprene, foam, and powertex crash panel. Works great with our hard cap knee guards for the ultimate in protection.
Submitted by
bek
a Weekend Warrior
from Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Date Reviewed: August 11, 2010
Strengths: This shin gaurds provide all-around protection. I have a tendency to get nasty marks all over my legs from my pedals and with these shin gaurds, I can bang around all I want and stay scratch free. Only took one time out to feel comfortable riding with them. I fell once directly on some roots, but did not feel a thing with these gaurds on.
Weaknesses: Slightly warm, since they do wrap all the way around your leg.
Bottom Line:
Great shin gaurds if you're looking for some protection on the back of the leg as well.
Submitted by
Rick Lee
a Weekend Warrior
from Superior, Co
Date Reviewed: June 2, 2006
Strengths: Fit, comfortable, stay in place on me, great protection.
Weaknesses: Some complain about no knee protection, but the freedom of movement is much better than full knee coverage.
Bottom Line:
If you are into technical riding, as I am, and tired of shin bashing, these are a godsend. I use them on all rides now. After trimming the velcro tabs and a bit of the neoprene behind the knees (rubbing) they fit great and stay in place. The top velcro strap holds the pad up. Trim it so it fits above your calf and it wont slip. I took the hard inserts and drilled holes down either side to allow for more air flow, this allowed air to move down the ridge over the front of my shin and made a big difference. Be carefull not to drill to many though as you may compromise the protection factor. I did the same with the soft inserts, but put a ton of holes in them since they fit flush to the shin. I've used them on 90 degree days and have not be bothered by them, you almost forget your wearing them. If you have ever played hockey you know how neoprene can start to stink. When these get to that point just throw them in the wash, A BIG PLUS. The Liz skins are a great compromise from hard shells and offer just as much protection from all but the most treacherous impacts. Get them you wont be sorry.
Similar Products Used: none on the legs. Fox arm/elbow guards.
Bike Setup: 01 Giant NRS 3. Marz. Bomber fork 4.5 travel, XTR Rapid Rise shifters, XTR Crank, Fox rear shock 3.5 travel, Mavic Crossmax rims, Saint 6" Hyd. brakes.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Dain
a Cross Country Rider
from Chico
Date Reviewed: May 8, 2006
Strengths: Great protection. They protect my legs from my pedals both front and back from the pedal bite. Taken some nasty falls and they stay on.
Weaknesses: HOT. Wrapping these things on in 110 degree heat isn't the funnest thing to do. No knee protection. They do slide down after a long ride. If you have big calves like me they can be a little tough to get the top strap on.
Bottom Line:
Overall these things are bomb. I have gone through some nasty stuff and come out of it relatively unscathed. They do help with the confidence factor. I'll keep wearing them til i find something better. The heat thing I could really do without. The summers can get pretty bad and the full neoprene wraps can get you pretty warm pretty quick. On the flip side, if you ride in the winter they are awesome. I bought them at cost from the shop I worked at, so I don't really know the retail. But for the $ they are great.
Bike Setup: Santa Cruz Chameleon, Psylo, Mavic Pro's, Avid Archrival, XT driven, Thompson, Race face Carbon Cranks........
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Don
a Cross Country Rider
from Woodland Hills, Ca.
Date Reviewed: June 19, 2005
Strengths: Protect shins and back of calf from rocks, pedals, stinging nettles, poison oak, light weight, stay in place, comfortable, easy to adjust, and washable.
Weaknesses: Haven't found any yet.
Bottom Line:
I bought these to protect the stitches in my shin from a riding mishap. It felt a little weird wearing them at first, but after a few rides, I realized I should have done this earlier. They are comfortable to the point that I don't notice them when riding. Also, they stay in place, don't shift around and don't require adjustment during the ride. The hard plastic inserts protect against hard hits and the neoprene/nylon protects against stinging nettles, poison oak, etc.. When they get dirty and muddy on the outside and sweaty on the inside, just take out the inserts and toss them in the washer. I have long skinny lower legs, so these fit me perfectly without rubbing the backs of my knees.
Bike Setup: mosh brass 3 star, oddessy hubs and wheel, specialized tires, maddog bars, pirmo cranks, kink sprocket,and Man o war toe tac magnisium pedals
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Bugzee Malone
a
from Kiwi in Kobe, Japan
Date Reviewed: November 4, 2003
Strengths: Good shin protection (if you want knee protection buy something else) They cover the calf area as well. removable plastic insert. Washable.
Weaknesses: a little hot but bearable. I wore them through summer
Bottom Line:
After chewing up both of my shins and a 10cm cut in my calf muscle I bought these shin guards at my LBS. I have never regretted the yen I paid. I even wear them on road training rides as one slip of my pedals and the allen type screws studding them will shred my shins to the bone. I have had one bad crash since I started wearing them. My knee got torn up but even then the damage stopped from the edge of the guard onwards. The neoprene got a little damaged but nothing to worry about. I have had no problems with rubbing...once on, I forget I'm wearing them.
These pads are washable by removing the plastic inserts. A good thing as they do get a bit "Funky" after a while because they do get hot in summer.
Strengths: These pads are the Sh..............it! they make u feel invincible! The 50 bucks are well worth spending on these shin pads! lotta ppl i know have em, dont look bad, really stand out color, i have red to match my bike!
Weaknesses: wish it would cover some of the knee
Bottom Line:
Really good and stylish shin guards for a pricy price! get em theyll end up saving u having to go to the hospital for stitches! trust me they do! GET EM! WEAR EM! USE EM! but dont eat em, they dont taste good! LOL!
Strengths: despite what other people say, they're surprisingly cool considering they cover so much of your leg... look good (if you don't mind free advertising)
Weaknesses: slightly expensive... but you get what you pay for...
Bottom Line:
if your a rider like me (esp. trials riders) who whack your pedals against your shins and the lower part of your thighs alot, these things are for you... really like them
Bike Setup: LTS(GT die hard)XTR,Spins, carrumba cranks
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Specter
a Weekend Warrior
from Toronto
Date Reviewed: August 18, 2001
Strengths: They Fit Great, protect amazing, look sweet (if you don't mind advertizing for the company), and a really lite
Weaknesses: don't cover all the way around the calf for those of use with big ass calf muscles. velcro will eventually start lossing it's hold (i've been wearing them day in day out for a year, and they havn't started yet, but eventually)
Bottom Line:
these shin guards rock. before them, i was always bleeding from scraps, cuts & puntures all over my shins and calf (damn freestyle with blood rivited pedals :) ), and the pain of a shin crunching on something hard is almost as bad as smashing your knee. so i went out and bought these on the advise of a really awesome rider in my area. so i slap them on. simple, once i got the straps all the way i liked them, the fit was perfect, nothing jabing me anywhere, nothing hard biting into my skin, and they were so lite and cofertable i almost couldn't fell them. i wore them for two day's straight (yes i slept with them on), they became undetectable. they did get sweaty in there though, but it's neoprene, what would you expect). Bottom line, if your looking to protect your shins from pedals, cranks, pegs, sticks, rocks, logs, Little yappy dogs, and the occasional kick from a wussy soccer player, buy these baby's. they don't offer any knee protection (hence why there called shin pads), so if you want to protect your knees aswell, pick these up and some high cut knee pads (like Ryan Nyquiest uses) or go with a knee shin combo (hopfully lizard skins will come out with on soon)
