0 Review: Alpinestars Bionic Knee Guard

Review of the Alpinestars Bionic Knee Guard..

In case of a fall from a bike, most of the time a biker falls on his “hands and knees”. A select few do wear gloves to protect our hands in case of crash. But “Indian knees” hardly ever gets protection.

Blame it on not being practical to wear protective knee guards/protectors for our city commute, we Indians would rather risk getting the occasional knock on the knees (and a couple of days bedrest).

Agreed that knee protectors are not very practical for our everyday commute, but when it comes to long distance touring, a knee guard/protector is a must.

Posted here is my review of the “Bionic Knee Guard” from Alpinestars, one of the worlds best known names when it comes to protective riding gear.

I had used this product during my road trip from Guwahati to Tawang (Apr 2011). I had borrowed a pair for the trip from a biker friend of mine who is into heavy touring.

Design & Construction: The Alpinestars Bionic Knee Guard is made out of thermoplastic shell which feels tough, durable and good enough to absorb impacts. The knee guard has a design which allows free and unrestricted movement of the legs/knee joint when riding or even when walking.

There is an aluminum reinforced knee cup to take the impact in case of a fall. Also the hinges which allows for the movement of the guard are constructed out of aluminum.

There are straps with Velcro fasteners to secure the guard on the knees. The Inner of the guard has removable, impact-resistant padding with a comfortable Lycra liner.

It is asymmetrical in form which means that the guards for the left and right legs are different. The Bionic Knee Guard comes only in a “one size fit all” design.


Comfort: The Alpinestars Bionic Knee Guards feel slightly heavy initially but when once put on, it actually feels quite comfortable. The movable design of the guard makes walking around with the guards, an easy affair.

The foam padding ensures that putting on the guard for long hours is not an uncomfortable experience.

Positives :

+ Protection: The Knee guard does it job well of protecting the knees in case of a fall

+ Comfort: I could wear them all day long

+ Ease of movement: The movable design doesn’t restrict the movement of the legs


Negatives:

- Scratches the tank: The hard plastic compound and the aluminum metal hinges scratch the paint of the tank of the bike very easily.

To protect the tank, I had to tape it heavily during the entire trip (This probably is an issue with most knee guards)

- Not practical for everyday city commute

- Price: At Rs. 5,250 it is a bit heavy on the average Indian bikers’ pocket. Making the Alpinestars Bionic Knee Guard a serious bike enthusiats gear.

Where to buy the Aplinestars Bionic Knee Guard (in India)?

DSG happens to be the only authorized Alpinestars dealer in India. One can buy it online from their website or visit any of its dealers. Check out www.planetdsg.com for more info.

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• Bike Trip to Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh [May 2011]

Disclaimer:

This is to remind that the Views or Opinions in the blog are entirely mine unless explicitly stated. The Views and Opinions published in this blog should in no way be related to any other person or organization associated -- directly or indirectly -- with me.