We’re often asked the question, “Do I really need knee and ankle protection if I’m not racing my motorcycle on a track?” The simple answer to this can be summed up in a yes or no answer to another question – Will you be riding your bike anywhere over 15 miles per hour? We choose 15 miles per hour as a number because if you’ve ever crashed on a bicycle at this speed, you know how easy it is for extremities such as knees and ankles to become bruised and injured.
And when you’re really moving on a heavy motorcycle, the odds of becoming injured in an accident jump way up. Recent National Highway Traffic Safety Authority (NHTSA) data shows the overall U.S. accident rate for motorcycles is 6.3 accidents per million miles driven, in contrast with 3.28 accidents for automobiles. Of those accidents, 78% of the motorcycle crashes resulted in injury, and 4% were fatal.
It’s also been estimated by the CDC (Center for Disease Control) that approximately one-third of non-fatal motorcycle injuries affect the leg and feet areas. In other words, unprotected knees and ankles suffer.
Bone breakage doesn’t need to occur to create an injury that will affect you the rest of your life. If knees or ankles are yanked in the wrong direction or twisted in ways they aren’t normally designed to, a variety of muscles and ligaments can get torn or pulled. In reality, these same injuries can occur all too easily simply standing on a street corner if your foot should slip off a curb the wrong way.
In this article, we discuss guards and braces specifically designed to protect your knees and ankles in the event of a motorcycle crash. This kind of armored knee & ankle protection should not be limited to racing, because motorcycle crashes are in no way limited to racetracks. In fact, they’re more likely to occur on public roads where careless drivers, trucks, potholes, and other unexpected factors create more troublesome issues.
Knee Protection
Most Common Knee Injuries
The most common type of knee injuries that occur in motorcycle accidents are hyperextension and improper rotation of the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament). The ACL is the major stabilizing ligament in the knee, and it helps keep the shin bone and thigh bone stay in proper alignment. It’s been estimated that a proper knee brace can reduce these injuries by 54%.
In addition to damaged ACLs, there are two C-shaped meniscus muscles connecting the shin and thigh that become torn as well if the knee is bent and twisted improperly (hyperextended) during a crash. A knee brace can reduce this injury by 42%.
If the ankle is bent or twisted sideways severely, or the ankle is forced outward and the knee is forced inward sideways, the MCL (medial collateral ligament) can be injured. Connecting the thigh bone to the shin bone, the MCL serves the extremely important function of providing stability to the inner side of the knee. It also prevents twisting and side-to-side movements of the knee. A knee brace can reduce the chances of this type of injury by 86%.
Other common knee injuries include knee fractures, dislocated knees, and ruptured tendons. We offer a number of different protective items for your knees such as knee braces, knee pads, knee sleeves, and knee stabilizers.
Knee Braces
Knee braces are equipped with hard shells that extend approximately 6 inches above and below the kneecap area. As you might imagine, these offer the highest level of armored protection against impacts, meniscus injuries, ACL, MCL, PCL, LCL, injuries, joint instability, and hyperextension/hyperflexion. However, some wearers find them more uncomfortable and restrictive than knee pads and knee sleeves.
Hard shell brace pieces are typically made of sturdy polymer blends, fiberglass, and even carbon fiber. On the underside of each brace piece are thick, protective pads filled with a cushioning material that adjusts its shape as you flex your knee and move your leg. This ensures that even pressure and support are applied at all times, and that comfort is maximized.
For best value, check out the EVS Sports polymer frame RS9 Knee Brace System with key features such as sliding knee cups, moisture-wicking liner, quick-release adjustable buckles, and strong hinges made from corrosion-free aluminum.
Moving up to lighter weight fiberglass construction, we’ve got a few great choices. First, the Mobius X8 Knee Brace is designed with panels that surround your knee more completely – giving you more protection in the rear as well as the front. The X8 also offers the unique convenience of a large, easy-to-use rotating dial for adjusting tightness.
The POD K1 Composite Knee Brace offers a fiberglass-reinforced nylon frame with fully adjustable straps and hinge spacers create a secure fit for a variety of leg sizes. POD’s K4 Premium Advanced Knee Brace adds a self-tracking kneecap guard piece that automatically moves where it’s needed as your knee flexes and your leg extends.
And if you’re interested in top-of-the-line knee protection, check out two EVS Sports knee braces we’ve got – both of which are equipped with two interactive, sliding knee cuffs instead of just one. This increases your protection to cover impacts at extreme angles. First, the Axis Pro Knee Protection System is made of an aluminum frame fused to a carbon fiber upper cuff for strength and light weight. An anti-microbial cushioning liner features a textured surface that limits unwanted sliding around of the knee brace. EVS’s Web Pro Knee Brace System is much the same as the Axis brace, but utilizes more carbon fiber in its construction.
Knee Pads
Knee pads extend a shorter distance above and below the kneecap and typically offer a lower level of protection than knee braces do. Depending on product application, the center piece that protects the knee may be made of soft foam, or it may be slightly harder without being as rigid as knee braces are. Because they’re simpler with fewer moving parts, knee pads are also significantly less expensive than braces.
When it comes to soft knee pads, we’ve got the EVS Sports Glider Lite Knee Guards and Lite Knee Pad as well as the Dianese E1 Protective Kit. Riders that prefer these knee pads appreciate that they provide a fair degree of coverage without the restrictions of less flexible hard braces.
The EVS Sports Knee Pad and Pro Grip Knee Guard (one size fits all) are designed to provide a larger-than-usual coverage area compared to the average knee pad. They wrap around your knee completely, with outer shell materials that are not quite as hard as a normal brace. As such, they are more flexible and comfortable to wear. So if you prefer a larger coverage area without the motion-limiting restrictions of a typical hard-shell knee brace, these are worth considering.
Knee Sleeves & Stabilizers
Knee sleeves aren’t intended as stand-alone protection the way knee braces or pads are. Instead, these full-length compression leggings are worn underneath braces or pads to provide support for the muscles and ligaments around the knee. Weightlifters, hikers, and runners use knee sleeves because they have the ability to gently squeeze stretched blood vein walls back in to shape so that blood is circulated through the body more efficiently.
By improving circulation, knee sleeves can effectively reduce muscle fatigue by increasing their supply of fresh blood, oxygen and nutrients while removing built-up toxins. If you’ve ever ridden for a longer duration, you understand how muscle fatigue can completely take the joy out of riding. And if you’re exerting yourself on an off-road bike, it can happen much more quickly. For some great choices when it comes to knee sleeves, check out our recommended offerings from POD, EVS Sports, and Mobius which are available in multiple sizes.
If full-length knee sleeves are a little too much material for your comfort level, we’ve also got soft, supportive knee stabilizers that perform the same function for knee ligaments, but extend only a few inches above and below the kneecap. Check out the EVS Sports KS21 Knee Support for best value along with their higher-tension KS199 Knee Support and KS61 Knee Stabilizer.
Ankle Protection
Most Common Ankle Injuries
Motorcycle accident statistics indicate that over 4 out of 5 riders suffer injuries in the lower leg, ankle, and foot area after a crash. The reason is simple – foot injuries are hard to avoid when you fly off the bike, slide under a bike that’s dropped, or suffer a direct side impact. Regardless of the exact scenario, when your ankle is extended or flexed past its normal range of movement, ligaments tear and bones break.
Anklebone areas consist of three bones which connect your shin to your foot. Two of them extend in parallel from the lower leg, and are known as the tibia (larger bone) and fibula (smaller). The ends of these bones form the malleolus that joins to the top of your foot. Three groups of ligaments tie these bones together and allow free movement to occur.
For protection of the ankles and feet while riding a motorcycle, we recommend soft ankle braces (known as “ankle stabilizers”) in addition to reinforced riding boots.
Ankle Stabilizers
Soft ankle braces wrap tightly around the ankle on all sides to provide strong support. They don’t have a hard outer shell for protection, because that’s what riding boots are for. Instead, these stabilizer braces take stress and load off the ankle when the foot is under pressure, when you’re carrying something heavy, or during leg twisting athletic activities.
These kind of stabilizer braces are often worn after an ankle injury because they provide excellent stability for the injured ligaments – holding them in place so they heal instead of shifting around and becoming torn or stretched further.
Ankle stabilizers are well worth wearing as a matter of course on a motorcycle. First, they’ll provide valuable ankle support when you’re holding up the heavy weight of your bike (plus a passenger) at a red light. If you enjoy off-roading, they’ll make standing and twisting on the foot pegs much easier and more comfortable. Tightness can be adjusted to your own personal preferences.
And if you take a spill off the bike, ankle stabilizers make injuries less likely because your ankle and foot will be protected against flexing or extending past normal ranges of movement. Ankle stabilizers such as the EV Sports AS06 Ankle Stabilizer, AS14 Ankle Stabilizer, AB06 Ankle Stabilizer, Allsports Dynamics Defender Ankle Support, and the Allsport Dynamics Ortho Ankle II Support are some examples we offer which feature sturdy synthetic rubber/foam construction that’s also highly breathable and comfortable to wear.
Reinforced Riding Boots
In our Boots & Footwear section, you’ll find a huge variety of boot styles that live up to higher standards of impact and abrasion protection. Think of them as an outer armor layer for your entire foot. If you prefer conservative looks, choose touring boots (shorter in height) or tall boots (taller for more protection).
Off-road boots include stronger straps, thicker leather, shin protection, and other shielding pieces that block impacts and high heat. For high-velocity track racing, consider racing boots with abrasion-resistant microfiber heat guards for better grip against the bike frame, slider pieces around the toe and heel for natural sliding in the event of a fall, and more.
On our website, you’ll also find other protective riding gear items such as jackets, elbow/wrist protection, armored jackets, armored pants, neck braces, and much more. Please feel free to continue your education on motorcycle gear by looking through other articles on our website regarding helmet styles, materials, certifications, accessories, riding gear clothes, and more. And if you have any questions, we’ll be happy to answer your calls seven days a week!