With today's more aggressive mountain bike trails and advancements in bikes themselves people are finding themselves going faster than ever and taking on terrain that they would never have dreamed of attempting a before. And with that speed comes the need for protection from faster and potentially more harmful crashes because all it takes is one bad crash to put your out for weeks…. or even for good!

Fox Sport Knee Guards Reviewed by Jim Bernstein Review Date: 08/07/2013 Product Ratings

There have been a lot of companies putting out body armor that you can wear to protect yourself in case of a crash and some are more effective than others and some are also more expensive than others. And not all of us can afford the top of the line gear and need something that will do the job without breaking the bank.

Fox has been making products for mountain bikers and motorcyclists for many years now and have a substantial line of body armor to fit just about anyone's needs. One of their more inexpensive models of knee and shin protection is their Sport Knee Guard which you can get for as little as $20 if you shop around. But just remember that you get what you pay for and that applies to body armor as well even though there are some expensive products that don’t do as good of a job as their cheaper counterparts.

The Fox Sport Knee Guard is an entry level knee and shin guard made of plastic and foam padding that you strap over your calves and around your inner knee. They feature a "floating" knee pad that allows your knee to bend while pedaling and not be restricted by the pad. The pads have 3 straps to hold it in place and they use Velcro rather than buckles to keep them on your legs.

Overall they are a decent pad and are fairly comfortable even when pedaling your bike. One thing we noticed is that they did tend to slip down a little when pedaling which can get annoying after a while. The Velcro straps hold pretty good but would be better if they could attach behind your leg rather than right in front of the pad because it limits how tight you can make them. We also found that if you have smaller calves the end of the strap will be flapping around because there is no place to Velcro it down to. Another negative is that if you ride in areas with loose dirt then it tends to get underneath the pad and can cause irritation on your legs and you will find yourself taking them off to clear the dirt out.

On the positive side the Fox Sport Knee Guards are fairly light and offer good protection as long as they stay in place. They have good shin and knee coverage and should do the job except maybe on more serious crashes where they may move out of place or may not provide enough side knee coverage. The build quality is pretty good and they should last you a long time and you can't beat the price for the security of protecting your knees and shins while on the trials.

The Fox Sport Knee Guard is a one size fits all universal size and should fit just about any adult but if you have a chance to try them on before buying them then that may be a good idea. If you are looking for something a little more substantial then you may want to check out the Fox Titan Pro or Launch Pro guards. Fox also make several models of elbow guards and helmets to keep you covered.

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