I’m not a fan of riding with bare knees, but thanks to Chromag, I now happily ride with bear knees, get it? In late January, Chromag Bikes announced the new Shift knee and elbow pads. The Shift knee pads are made for trail riding, offering Level 2 protection, and are designed to remain comfortable enough to wear all day long. The Shift elbow pads provide Level 1 protection, and they feature a slightly simplified design compared to the knee pads.
I’ve been riding the Shift knee pads since late February, and they quickly became a new favorite. They are one of the best sets of pads I’ve ever tried in terms of comfort; they stay in place reliably on my legs while providing a high level of protection. To top it off, their slim profile means they fit under riding pants easily.
Chromag Shift Knee Pads
Providing protection for the Shift kneepads is a 3D-shaped, energy-absorbing super polymer RHEON insert. RHEON’s padding stiffens up upon impact but remains soft and flexible otherwise. The RHEON pads are very flexible and lightweight, with an open structure to facilitate airflow.
The RHEON insert’s contoured shape wraps around the knee. The pad itself is about 5-6mm thick in the middle, and tapers off at the outer edges. With this insert, the Shift knee pads exceed Level 2 impact protection standards.
Despite their Level 2 protection rating, the Shift knee pads are surprisingly slim and low-profile. In that regard, they look more like lighter-duty pads that offer Level 1 protection. The sleeve is made from a breathable, durable, stretchy fabric. Like most knee pads, they also feature an abrasion-resistant outer material covering the pad-insert, which, of course, includes those eye-catching Chromag bear logos.
Chromag included a few features to ensure the Shift pads stay securely in position. Inside the pads is an internal bracing layer, and on the backsides, there’s a calf wrap to help them stay put. Most notably, the pads’ upper cuff is a broad elastic band with lots of vertical lines of silicone printed all around the inside. These segmented silicone lines still allow the cuff to stretch freely, whereas continuous silicone bands can constrict at a point. The vertical lines also allow sweat to move downwards through the pads.
The Shift knee (and elbow) pads are machine-washable, with the RHEON insert in them, but they should not go in your dryer! They are unisex and come in sizes XS-XL, in black only. MSRP is $140 USD.
Shift Elbow Pads
Chromag also makes Shift elbow pads, but unfortunately, I realized I can’t test them. Not long ago, I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, and now I wear a glucose monitor on my arm. The pad’s upper cuff would sit right on top of my monitor, which could cause faulty blood sugar readings. Seems like elbow pads are no longer an option for me.
The Shift elbow pads’ construction is very similar to the knee pads. They use the same materials and basic design as the knees, but the elbow pads don’t include an outer wrap or an internal bracing layer. However, the wide upper cuff features the same silicone print as the knee pads to keep them in place while riding.
The other notable difference is that the Shift elbows offer Level 1 protection. Chromag opted for the lower protection level in favor of comfort and mobility. So, as you might guess, the RHEON insert in the elbow pads is thinner than the one in the knee pads.
The unisex Shift elbow pads are available in XS-XL sizes, in black only. They retail for $110 USD.
Shift Knee Pad Ride Impressions: FIT
I have a slim build, and I’ve been riding in the size medium Shift knee pads. I’ve found them to be a perfect fit. They’re not overly tight, but they are snug on my legs. I also tried on a pair in size small, which were very tight. I’m happy to report that the more comfortable medium pads have stayed in place.
The Shift knee pads cover a decent amount of the leg, but I wouldn’t call them excessively long on the top or bottom. I thought the pads’ lower cuff might conflict with longer socks, but as you can see in the photo above, even my long socks weren’t an issue. That said, one of the things I appreciate about these pads is that the protection extends well below the kneecap. On my leg, about 5” of my upper shin is covered by the RHEON insert. It’s worth noting that the Shift pads do not feature any additional padding on the inside or outside of the knees, but the insert wraps around a good bit on both sides.
While the RHEON inserts are symmetrical in shape, they feel like they’re left and right specific when they’re in the pads. After several rides, I pulled one insert out, and it had clearly molded itself into the shape of my right leg. The flexible RHEON padding does a fine job of conforming to your legs, and it seems to maintain some memory.
Comfort and Security
In my experience, the wide upper cuff does its job very well. After two months of riding up to three-hour loops, the cuff has never slipped down more than about half an inch, where it settles in place and stays put. With the bending of the knees, the sleeve fabric gets slightly bunchy just above the RHEON insert, but never enough to create a comfort issue on the trail.
Despite having no silicone or grippy material in them, the lower cuff on these pads has also never budged at all. The Shift knee pads definitely earn top marks for reliably staying in place on my legs.
On my first ride, the backing fabric inside the knee was somewhat noticeable at first, but not a comfort issue. As I wore them more, it appeared the backing fabric was stretching out a bit, and I hoped it wouldn’t start bunching up behind my knees. Thankfully, the fabric hasn’t stretched out much, and so far it hasn’t become uncomfortable or chafed my skin.
The light and flexible RHEON insert allows for comfortable, non-restrictive pedaling. I’ve never even thought about sliding these knee pads down on my shins for the climbs. I just keep them up all the time and have been wearing them for every pedal stroke of every ride so far. The insert is soft enough that it doesn’t have any harsh edges to irritate your leg in any position. Throughout all my testing, I have had zero issues with uncomfortable seams, stitching, or friction from the Shift knee pads.
My last ride before finishing my review was a hot one, so I hit the trails with the Shift knee pads’ ventilation and breathability in mind. This ride confirmed these pads are reasonably cool on your legs. While you won’t feel air blowing through them at low speeds, I did notice wind cutting through both the insert and the sleeve material just above it when riding at higher speeds. They seem to breathe pretty well and dry quickly, too, as my legs were only a bit sweaty after that two-hour ride.
Fit With Pants
I was very pleased to find how well the Shift knee pads work with riding pants. Level 2 knee pads are often a bit bulky, which can conflict with some of the slimmer-fitting riding pants that I typically wear. Not an issue with the slim, low-profile Chromag Shifts. As the above photo shows, they fit under my 7mesh Flightpath and Patagonia Dirt Craft pants with ease. I had no issues with the pads fitting too tightly or hanging up on the leg fabric with either pair of pants.
Wear and Tear
After a couple of months of use, my Shift knee pads appear to be holding up very well. I haven’t dragged them across any rocks, but there’s no notable damage to report or signs of unwarranted wear and tear. I noticed some fuzzy loose ends coming off a few seams on the backs of the pads, but all of the stitching is still intact. As mentioned above, I noticed a little stretching on the back of the sleeves, but so far it has remained perfectly comfortable. Assuming that doesn’t get notably worse, I expect to be wearing these knee pads happily and comfortably for quite a while.
As a final note, I’m a big fan of the subtle Chromag bear logos on the Shift pads. I think they look awesome on your knees or elbows.
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