making 4x4 more comfortable?

Is there anyway of making 661 4x4’s more comfortable on longer rides?
Ben

Re: making 4x4 more comfortable?

Yes.

I wear cycling knee warmers under my 661/Roach/KH leg armor. The knee warmers keep the armor from chafing around my knees. I have a hard time wearing the armor without the knee warmers now, even in hot weather.

Find some light weight cycling knee warmers. Some of them are heavier weight fleece style lycra like what is used for cold weather cycling tights. Others are lighter weight lycra similar to the lycra used for standard cycling shorts.

Don’t let the knee warmer scare you. They aren’t that warm and won’t make you overheat in hot weather. But you do want to find the light weight ones rather than the heavy ones.

See what your local bike shop has. If they don’t have any you can try the Col d’Lizard Tokay Knee Warmers. The Tokay knee warmers are a medium weight fabric. They used to have a lighter weight fabric, but no longer.

I use the Col d’Lizard knee warmers cause they’re cheaper than others. Most other knee warmers are around $25. For example, check out Supergo for a nice selection of $25 knee warmers.

You might also be able to get by with cutting the bottom out of an old pair of socks and pulling them up over your knees. The lycra knee warmers will be smoother and have less friction, but the sock fix might be good enough.

for me the uncomfortableness went away after riding with them for a while. when i first got them i rarely wore them because i didnt like how they felt but i wore them more and more and now i always ride with them, no matter where or for how long i ride.

I can ride in them but past 6 miles it starts to become uncomfortable round the backs of my knees.

Oh Wait! I just noticed you’re in the UK. The links to Col d’Lizard aren’t going to be useful to you. Oh well. You’ll be able to find the same type of knee warmers locally.

After long or frequent riding I find the 661’s chafe my knees, the backs or straps have not been a problem. I plan on getting the knee warmers too.

Lots of riding will break them in; the knee warmers work pretty well too. My experience says that the pads chafe for a while, then you build up the tough skin and they don’t bother you, so I don’t use the knee warmers. The ones I have are Salsa. I do take one of the 4x4 top straps and drop it down so I have only one strap around the top. That eliminates binding behind the knee.

So I recently purchased and received a pair today and was looking for more up-to-date info.

First off, I’m not really interested in spending any more money for knee warmers or such.

Can anyone else vouch for this? Will they feel more comfortable the more I use them?

Anyone know if this works or use it?

Thanks!

Did for me.

me 3

For road riding I wore the leg warmers for a long time because there was lots more repetitive motion compared to MUni. My leg skin was just getting chewed up and not getting tougher. Finally I ditched the pads altogether for road riding.

The leg warmers are an excellent idea; thanks John.

Right now the only thing I’ll be using them for is trials. So, short distance rides only on a 20".

Alright, thanks for your input!

I made mine comfortable by cutting off the knee part and sewing it back up. When they were normal, the itched, poked me and wouldnt allow me to move my leg normally. Now they are really comfortable i forget they are on and i have even fallen asleep in them. The only thing i use them for is protection agains pedal bites and so i dont get eaten by my bc wheel, not really to protect my knees so if you want knee protection dont cut it off (obviously) :smiley:

I switched from 661s to Roach pads and found them to be more comfortable. Unlike the 661s, the Roach pads don’t have the prominent seams on the insides of the pad where the velcro straps attach. The seams rubbed against my legs during riding and made my skin sore.

Also the insides of the Roach pads have smooth fabric instead of a mesh fabric of the 661s, which irritated the tops of my knees more.

I still get some very minor irritation from the Roach pads but it was nothing like the 661s where I had scabs and sores forming on my legs.

I think the workmanship is generally better on the Roach pads as well. On the 661s the velcro straps seem to come unattached after moderate use.

I use 661s and don’t use the 2 knee straps at all, just the velcro tab that at the top. If you snug up the lower two straps, the shin guard stays straight on your leg and with the top tab stuck in place the part covering your knee will still provide the same protection while being loose enough not to cause any abraiding.

With even one of the top straps lashed too those things drive me crazy. Everyone who’s tried the above described method has used it, so far as I know. Forget socks and leg warmers and go with the easy method.

JL