South West Bikers | Motorcycle Forum

...given the state of our roads?

Now if we lived on the continent then yes, for sure.

Off-hand..., I can't think of any roads around me that I'd confidently want to get that low on my bike around - you?

Reason for asking is I've just got some leathers that have removable knee sliders... and TBH I'm thinking of removing them.

probably not as you say with the state of our roads, but spose they may save your kneecap in the evnt of a spill

I've got them on mine. But then as I've never used them and probably never will I find it's easier to leave them on so that I won't loose them.

I've got a feeling mine will be coming off.
Where they sit I can't see them offering any real crash protection but they look a bit odd sticking out.

A scenario that might be worth considering is the unfortunate glancing blow in passing afforded by kneesliders sticking out in the breeze

And I honestly don't see the need on track days either, unless you like climbing all over the bike like a demented monkey

The velcro that holds the kneeslider on is harder to clean flys out of than the slider.

i look at them as crash bobbins for me. if i'm sliding down the road i would rather it be on them than my knees

I wouldn't say 'sliders offer any more protection especially with modern body armour, if anything I feel sliders may yank the knee protectors out of position in a crash.

Knee sliding on the road doesn't seem to be the thing now most magazines have 'grown up'.

From a practical point of view, leaving them on makes getting waterproofs on more awkward, kneeling in them hurts - usually being a hedge watching racing in the IOM) plus they make you/bike a couple inches wider squeezing through gaps. Taking them off means the Velcro gets full of flies & dead grass (again see above).

I did spend ages picked the stitching out of some slider Velcro once, only to find they're glued too!! Problem is, most sporty cut leather jeans only come with sliders.

Never got my knee down on the road but have been held up by riders doing so.

Mine had so little use ie none the glue failed on one and literally fell off in despair

It's been interesting reading these posts as I'm about to invest in my first pair of leather trousers so that I can join in on the trackday fun. As the trousers I'm going to buy don't come with knee sliders but do have the Velcro for them I was wandering whether I should buy some sliders. Like everyone else that's posted my riding style does not involve my knees getting sufficiently close to the road to demand them and my single experience of riding with someone determined to get their knee down was circling round a roundabout several times wandering what on earth they were doing and why they were going so slowly. Reading the posts on this thread there seems to be more situations where sliders are more of a hindrance than a help so thanks to what I've read I won't be investing in any. If the only downside of not using sliders is debris in the Velcro I'm sure a stiff brush will sort that out, though maybe there is a market for Velcro backed leather patches that you can stick on rather than sliders !?!

pieeater wrote:though maybe there is a market for Velcro backed leather patches that you can stick on rather than sliders !?!

Yup, that's where I am now. Gonna hit the charity shops to see if there is any cheap old black leather jackets that I can cut some patches from, then I just need a sheet of velcro and my mrs to stitch the 2 together.

This is enough "hook only" velcro to do the two sections on mine.
ebay velcro

Probably get some source of leather for a £5 too.

Jug_Inspector wrote:

pieeater wrote:though maybe there is a market for Velcro backed leather patches that you can stick on rather than sliders !?!

Yup, that's where I am now. Gonna hit the charity shops to see if there is any cheap old black leather jackets that I can cut some patches from, then I just need a sheet of velcro and my mrs to stitch the 2 together.

Post some pictures when you're done, just wandering how noticeable it will be.

If you don't want knee sliders why buy race leathers? Most of the big brands make non-knee slider leather trousers that will zip to sports jackets.
You can always buy a discounted or second hand race suit for track days.

Gimlet wrote:If you don't want knee sliders why buy race leathers? Most of the big brands make non-knee slider leather trousers that will zip to sports jackets.
You can always buy a discounted or second hand race suit for track days.

I want the trousers that match my sports jacket which happen to come with the Velcro patch for knee sliders, no big deal. I've found it's not safe to assume that any trousers will zip to any jacket even if they're from the same manufacturer as the chances are they won't, so if you're not buying the trousers that match your jacket you'll probably have to pay extra to get the zips matched up. Sadly there is very little on the used market in my size.

Gimlet wrote:If you don't want knee sliders why buy race leathers?

Bought mine used. I was only looking for leather trousers but a matching 2 piece Frank Thomas set appeared on a local FB group, in my exact size and the right colour to match my bike - so I jumped at them.
They've got both the rear flap zipper and the full 360 one, and both marry up.

The velcro knee sliders on these look cack though IMO and are quite heavy for what they are.

pieeater wrote: Post some pictures when you're done, just wandering how noticeable it will be.

Sorry pieeater, I've gone and changed my mind. I'm just gonna run with the fluffy velcro exposed and deal with the fly splats as they happen.