When listing the most important items of clothing, ten out of ten cyclists are sure to mention trousers, jersey, shoes and perhaps a helmet. And who thinks of arm and knee warmers? Nobody. Yet the fabric tubes are unrivalled in their flexibility. Rolled up small, they are waiting in the jersey pocket to equip the short-sleeved jersey and shorts for almost all weather conditions that don't promise sunshine and more than 20 degrees. From the outside, the 16 test sets from C for Campagnolo to S for Sugoi do not differ greatly. The material is mostly a synthetic fibre knit of different thicknesses, brushed on the inside. The only exception is the merino wool set from Smartwool.
In detail, however, arm and knee warmers are technically quite complex items of clothing, which is why it is worth taking a closer look at the material and features. A recognisable trend is that suppliers such as Castelli, Santini and Sportful are equipping the material so that it repels water. The days of simple elasticated cuffs to prevent slipping on arms and legs are a thing of the past. Nowadays, cuffs with silicone inserts are mostly used, which create a kind of adhesive effect on the skin. Their width, seam quality and elasticity must be adjusted so that they neither slip nor cut into the skin because they are too tight.
The test results of these arm and knee braces can be found below as a PDF download:
Campagnolo C713/C715
Castelli Nanoflex Arm/Knee Warmer
Craft arm/knee warmer
Gonso thermal arm/knee warmers
Gore Bike Wear Ozone arm/knee warmers
Löffler Art. 09306/ Art. 12984
Mavic Arm/Knee Warmer
Pearl Izumi P.R.O. Leader/Thermal
Protective Arm/Knee Warmers
Rapha Arm/Knee Warmers
Rose arm/knee rings
Santini SP 680 TFP H20/SP 671 TFP H20
Smartwool Arm/Knee Warmer
Specialised Arm/Knee Warmer
Sportful No rain Arm/Knee Warmer
Sugoi Herbie A.W./Mid Zero K.W.
Downloads:
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