Review: Leatt C-Frame Kneebraces

A product the Transmoto team has tried, tested and would recommend to a mate.

WHAT IS IT?

It’s a medically certified kneebrace with a radical new design that’s aimed at superior injury prevention relative to traditional ‘cage-type’ kneebraces. The C-Frame is a first for Leatt, who is best known for pioneering neckbraces and other high-end safety products. The C-Frame comes in three sizes (S/M, L/XL and XXL) and includes interchangeable hyperextension-limitation rubber wedges – 5, 10, 15 and 20º – for ACL injury reduction.

WHY WE RATE IT

The biggest issue for riders who are new to kneebraces is the way they affect your legs’ interface with the bike. The Leatt C-Frame’s ingenious mono-hinge design, however, means there’s no internal frame to impede your knees’ connection with the bike, and that improves both grip and feel. This is particularly beneficial aboard adventure-style bikes with larger fuel tanks and/or wider girths. With conventional dual-hinge braces, you’re forced to ride these big bikes like a bowlegged cowboy, and this in turn makes it more difficult to keep the full width of your boots’ soles on the pegs (which is uncomfortable and chews the soles out faster).

With several Transmoto testers sampling the C-Frame braces at everything from multi-day adventure rides (where you’re strapped in from dawn to dusk) to the Transmoto 12-Hour, to motocross tracks, we really came to appreciate the adjustable width in the upper frame, as it allows the brace to be quickly adapted to a variety of leg shapes to optimise fit and comfort. Aiding that comfort is the X-pattern straps that spread the load more evenly across the back of your legs, and are fastened by neat Velcro strips. They’re attached by couplers, which are easily removed without undoing the Velcro. So, once you establish the correct tension on the straps, the brace is quick and easy to put on and remove. The only downside to the single-hinge design is that the brace’s patella cap can get caught on some bikes’ shrouds when you’re gripping the bike between your legs (it depends largely on the shape of the shroud, but is something to bear in mind).

Leatt’s C-Frame kneebraces are streamlined, offer excellent protection and comfort, and they’re reasonably priced. And they will certainly appeal to those who are new to kneebrace protection – especially if you predominantly ride a larger, adventure-style bike.