What is a Kneestop?
A Kneestop is a surface protruding from your motorcycle which transfers force between your knee and the machine's chassis.
You can use this surface to relieve stress on your arms, unmask subtle sensations you might be missing through the handlebars, aid in changing the bike's direction, and absorb chassis movement without creating unwanted steering inputs.
How do you use a Kneestop? Is it a new technique?
We have a very detailed Riding Guide which explains and demonstrates the different ways to use a Kneestop.
The short version: Plant your INSIDE knee against the kneestop during braking, corner entry, and direction changes. There's some subtlety to extract the most performance from a kneestop, but the basic way you move on the bike remains unchanged.
I can't use my INSIDE knee, it's busy opening my hips to the corner, or Rossi-dangling
On corner entry, your inside knee only remains against the Kneestop until you fully release the brake lever. Once you open your hip to the corner as usual, the Kneestop feels like it disappears, and the rest of the corner is executed normally.
Using the Kneestop to absorb chassis movement on corner entry is more effective than the Rossi-dangle, because your entire torso is a much larger and stronger counter-weight and mass-damper than just your leg.
Lifting your butt off the seat slightly when engaged with the Kneestop acts much like tongue-weight does on a trailer, automatically bringing a wagging vehicle back in-line.
Refer to the Riding Guide for more information.
I'm tall, short, or run a tank-extender. How do I put the Kneestop in the correct position?
Third Horse Engineering Kneestop Kits are adjustable to accommodate practically any rider or seating position. See our Installation and Adjustment page.
Kneestops must stick out from my bike, what happens when I crash?
As it turns out, our Kneestops make excellent frame sliders.
They are made of low-friction polymers, which allow the bike to gracefully slide along the track.
They are also designed to crush during a heavy crash, acting like a crumple-zone and absorbing energy to protect the bike.
Being wedge-shaped and mounted above the bike's Center of Mass tends to prevent catching obstacles and flipping the bike.
If the Kneestop does catch an obstacle, they are designed to break-away from the chassis to prevent a flip, while still staying tethered to the bike to prevent them from becoming debris or a projectile.
What happens after I crash on a Kneestop, does it have to be replaced?
Our kneestops have proven to survive a gentle lowside without needing replacement (cosmetic damage notwithstanding).
After a heavier crash, or whenever the kneestop base is cracking, chunking-off, or crumpled, it's structurally compromised and must be replaced. Single-side replacement kits are available, so you only need to pay to replace the damaged side.
We haven't needed Kneestops before, why are they important now?
Tire and suspension technology have evolved massively over the last 20 years, but in very small bites. The incredible braking performance available today has snuck up on us all.
The old wisdom of "squeeze the tank with your legs and think light thoughts" is simply no longer effective in this new world, where you can brake hard enough to lift the rear tire off the ground at a 45° lean angle.
We have all slowly adapted to bearing down on the handlebars, tolerating muted feel, instability, and fatigue. Kneestops once again give you the choice how these high forces get to the bike.
What happens if I buy a set of Kneestops and don't end up liking them?
Try them as long as you need to decide you like them or not. If they don't work for you, send them back for a full refund, no hassle. See our Policies page.
How are your Kneestops made?
3D printing is the only technology which can produce such a complicated part, balancing a complex shape, temperature/chemical/sunlight exposure, and the conflicting needs to support a rider's weight while also crushing during a crash.
How much have you tested your Kneestops?
We have been developing our kneestops constantly since May of 2023. A team of about a dozen Expert-license club racers have put tens of thousands of laps and dozens of crashes on our designs, bringing us to the highly developed product you see now.
What's the laptime improvement you typically see once adapted to using Kneestops?
We see laptimes drop about 25% of the gap to the outstanding lap record. A rider 8 seconds off lap-record pace will usually drop 2 seconds, a rider 4 seconds off will drop 1 second, etc.
Are your Kneestops Patented?
We have filed an International PCT Utility Patent Application for our Adjustable Kneestops and related IP.