Thigh Pads

Thigh Pad and Crash Short Buying Guide

Thigh and hip injuries are less common than knee and elbow injuries, but when they happen, they're severe — a hip impact on a rock at speed can cause deep bone bruising that takes weeks to heal. Crash shorts and thigh pads are standard DH and park kit, and increasingly popular with aggressive trail riders.

Crash Shorts

Crash shorts (Fox Titan, POC Hip VPD, Leatt Impact 3DF) are padded shorts worn under your riding shorts. They include foam or D3O pads over the hips, thighs and tailbone — the areas that take the worst impacts in a typical slide-out or over-the-bars crash. They're comfortable enough to pedal in, though hotter than regular liner shorts. For DH racing and bike parks, crash shorts are standard kit. Some riders wear them for aggressive trail riding on rocky terrain where hip impacts are a real possibility.

Standalone Thigh Guards

Standalone thigh guards are less common in mountain biking than crash shorts, but they exist for riders who want thigh protection without the full short. They strap around the upper leg and protect the quadriceps and IT band area. More common in motocross-style protection setups for DH racing.

Tailbone Protection

Most crash shorts include a tailbone pad — arguably the most useful padding in the garment. Landing on your tailbone after going over the bars is agonisingly painful and can cause a coccyx fracture that takes months to heal. Even if you skip thigh pads, a crash short with tailbone protection is worth considering for any riding where you're regularly leaving the ground.