Unfortunately, regardless of whether a person is professionally engaged in motorcross or just likes to exhibit the very fact of his belonging to the motorcycle world, leg injuries are inevitable. Knees are the most vulnerable body parts here. Such injuries are always associated with expensive treatment and a fairly long recovery period. That’s why even the most experienced bikers prefer to use special motocross knee braces. In case of a road incident, these protective shields can help the owner of the bike to prevent joint displacement as well as other injuries.

However, it doesn’t mean that plastic protection is suitable for use. When choosing motocross knee braces, you need to pay attention to many nuances. First, let’s determine the best design.

Based on the preferred type of ride and the professional level of the biker, there are four categories of motocross knee braces.

Pads for newcomers

These are the simplest and cheapest pads. Unfortunately, it results in their awfully low durability and reliability. Avoid buying this stuff, just following the principle “it’s better than nothing.” These motocross knee braces can let you down at any time.

Semi-professional pads

These pads provide fairly sufficient protection. As a rule, these are hinged motocross knee braces (the hinges are plastic here). They are sold both in pairs and separately. Moreover, they often differ for the left and right legs.
Professional motocross knee braces

These pads feature a more complex and well-thought-out design. In this case, hinges are made of light aluminum or carbon fiber used in aircraft construction. More elastic parts of knee braces are made of heat-resistant plastic, which ensures the highest level of protection.

The best motocross knee braces stabilize the knee joints, thus preventing them from twisting, over-stretching and other hazards. Such models are usually sold individually. They differ for the left and right knees. The best producers of professional motocross knee braces include such brands as FoxPod, Oneal, Evs, and Alpinestars.

Road pads

Such motocross knee braces stand out from others. They are primarily utilized when driving down an asphalt road surface. As for the key design features of these motocross knee braces, we should note their durable material - refractory plastic. Besides this, they are fairly compact, so bikers can wear them under their trousers.

These knee braces are fastened with three straps, one of which is located above the knee joint, on the biker's thigh. As for the remaining two fasteners, they fix the protective equipment on the calf muscle.

When talking about hinged knee braces, they can generate a number of inconveniences for city use. Well, if you put on such pads under your pants, then they will constantly wrap up and wrinkle. Therefore, you’d better opt for standard knee braces made of more durable material.

Finally, you need to pay attention to the substrate of the knee braces you are interested in. Earlier, soft EVE foam was considered the most reliable material. However, today, it has been replaced by more modern SAIF, D3O as well as Forcefield compounds. These materials are capable of absorbing up to 90% of shock loads, thus drastically increasing the overall reliability of your knee braces.