Review: Sendy Kids Mountain Bike Gear

Most mountain bike apparel and gear brands offer a few kids items as an afterthought. That’s not the case with Sendy, who puts kids and youth front and center. From apparel to protection, shoes and hydration packs, Sendy offers high quality kids mountain bike gear.

We’ve been testing quite a few pieces of Sendy gear since this spring, and my 11 year old has put them thru the ringer. They’ve gotten a ton of use–particularly the shoes and shorts. The kiddo has used them at the bike park, on the trail, and even in his very first NICA race.

Read on to learn more about our experience. And then, make sure to check out our lists of our favorite knee and elbow pads, mountain bike shoes, and bike clothes.

Send It Kids MTB Shorts

My son has been wearing the Send It shorts in black, and they have quickly become his go-to bottoms for riding. He prefers them to both his Specialized Youth Trail short and his Zoic Ether Jrs.

As a result, they’ve been through an extraordinary number of wash cycles this summer and have held up really well. They haven’t faded at all, nor have they pilled or snagged.

The fabric is silky, stretchy, and lightweight, but still durable. Because they’re black they do show dirt and dust easily, but they come in other colors if black ain’t your thing.

The waist has a zipper and snap with velcro behind the snap to help hold it in place. On either side of the waist are velcro adjustment straps to help cinch down the shorts. This is nice because there is nothing to rub your child on the inside of the shorts, but as we’ve learned over time, they can snag other items in the laundry.

Both legs have zippered pockets that are large enough for snacks or a house key. They seem to be high quality and we haven’t had any issues with the zippers breaking or snagging.

In terms of length, they are on the longer side and work well with knee pads. If your child isn’t wearing knee pads, the length might be a bit of overkill, but our kid enjoyed the wearing them even for cross country riding.

Our kiddo is 4’11”, 90 pounds and slim waisted. He wears the XL short with some room yet to grow. It comes in 4 sizes (small to extra-large).

Send It Kids MTB Jersey

If you want your kiddo to stand out on the trail, the Send It jersey is for you. It comes in fun prints that look cool and feel hip.

The fit is loose and it has an enduro type cut. As a result, you may want to consider sizing down. While the XL shorts fit our kiddo perfectly, the jersey was a little long and we actually ended up stitching the bottom to make it a little shorter.

The fabric is a polyester mesh that breathes well and has been comfortable in our summer hot summer temps. It also dries quickly, as I discovered when I washed and line dried it while on a bike camping trip. It was one of the first items to be ready to go.

The back of the jersey has a small zippered pocket. It doesn’t hold much, but kids think it’s fun, and I was able to stash some cash in it so my son could ride to ice cream with friends after mountain bike practice.

Sendy Shred Sole MTB Shoes

The BIG winner out of all of the Sendy gear we’ve been testing are the shoes. Our son has both FiveTen Freeriders AND Ride Concepts Vice shoes, so I wasn’t expecting him to take to these like he has.

These shoes have been worn on a near daily basis for 4 months now, and have seen heavy use. Our kiddo is quite picky when it comes to the way shoes look and feel, and he loves these! He’s used them at the downhill bike park, for BMX racing, and general trail riding.

The sole is stiff and grippy, though perhaps not as stiff or grippy as the Five Tens. I think this has actually been part of his attraction to the shoe because it makes them better suited for riding AND playing. Kids have a tendency to use their bike shoes for more activities than adults would, and he will wear these at the skatepark, playground, and fort building–all of which are part of a typical bike outing.

Thanks to lots of small perforations in the shoe, there is good airflow, BUT this also makes them less waterproof than other options. Our kiddo has a tendency of looking for every puddle and creek crossing, so we’ve done our fair share of trying to dry them out after rides.

The only bummer is that the smallest size is a 3, so these won’t work for littler kids!

Send It Gloves

These are some of the best kids mountain bike gloves we’ve tested. They are durable, fit well, and are really dang cute! In addition to the “full send” gloves we have, there are several other prints that match the Send It jerseys.

The gloves are quite thick and have leather at the palm, which means that they provide significant protection and are well suited for gravity riding. It also means that they are more comfortable in fall and spring temps than on hot summer rides. I borrowed these for a recent ride, and found that my hands quickly got very warm and sweaty.

They come in a wide variety of sizes from XS to XL, which means no matter how small or big your child is, you should be able to get a good fit.

Sendy Saver Knee And Elbow Pads

Finding kids protective gear that is comfortable and fits well is tough. Believe me, I know–my kiddo is EXTREMELY picky when it comes to knee and elbow pads.

The knee pads have a unique design and I wasn’t quite sure what to think of them at first! The sleeve is made of a knit material that feels and appears almost sock like.

After using them for a while, we discovered that this design is great. They are comfortable and don’t scratch or itch sensitive skin. In fact, my son thinks these are the most comfortable knee pads he has. That said, some of the threads have started to pull, so I do worry about the long term durability of the fabric.

Most importantly, the pads do a good job of providing protection. The pad is made of high impact absorbing foam and the exterior is coated with Kevlar. He’s crashed in these, and as expected, they did their job!

The foam and Kevlar pad in the elbow pad is similar to the knee pad, but the sleeve material is more similar to what we’ve seen on other pads. In fact, the sleeve is nearly identical to the Woom Neebow. Like the Neebow, the inside panel is mesh and allows for adequate air flow.

What’s different is that the pad is extremely thin and malleable. Its far less bulky than pretty much any other elbow pad we’ve tested (except for G-Form). The pad is also wider at the elbow and thinner at the forearm which makes it more form fitting.

One of the biggest problems with kids and elbow pads is that they slip around. These do a good job of staying in place thanks to both a silicone gripper AND velcro.

Unfortunately, my kiddo pretty much refuses to wear elbow pads (G-Form are the exception) and thought the velcro on these felt restrictive. For him, this isn’t a complaint unique to Sendy, so take it with a grain of salt, but it did mean we got limited use out of them.

Both the knee and elbow pads provide more protection than Woom pads, for example, but less than a true downhill pad. These are best suited for skills park riding, the dirt jumps, and sessioning techy lines.

Sendy Kids MTB Socks

If you want to complete the look, the Sendy MTB socks are the final touch. These socks are super cute (in my opinion) and are well constructed.

They aren’t particularly compressive, but thanks to a silicone leg gripper they stay in place and don’t slip down. My kiddo had no complaints about the comfort or performance of these socks, BUT he did point out that they’re a little shorter than is currently the trend. For that reason, they haven’t gotten quite as much use as the rest of his Sendy gear.

More Stuff You Might Like

• Ultimate Guide to Kids Bike Shorts and Jerseys
• Your Guide To The Best Kids Mountain Bikes
• Your Guide To Downhill Mountain Biking With Kids

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