Mountain Biking Assessories and Essential items

Contents:

 

Helmets

By far the single most important piece of equipment you need is a helmet, Never ride without one on, Anywhere!! It only takes a misplaced front wheel or blowout. A fall from any height even at low speed or a stand still can kill you if you bang your head. Sure you could fall over and bang your head while not out on the bike, but its easier to get away with wearing a helmet when on a bike than it is when going out for a drink with your mates or taking a trip to the shops.

NO EXCUSES, GET A HELMET AND WEAR IT!!!!

Ok thats your ticking off done, Helmets come in various styles and prices but one thing all good helmets from a good bike shop have in common regardless of price etc is that they will all conform to a minimum specific safety standard, i.e EN 1078 (just an example, always ask at your Local Bike Shop, LBS) the difference in price is often in the detail and comfort/ features of a helmet. For instance the GIRO Xen helmet is one of the most expensive helmets for Mountain biking, some reasons why are that it is, 1) Under wrapped (meaning that the harder decorative outer shell extends down and underneath the hard foam to hold it together better) 2) It has great adjustability both in how far it sits onto your head and how tight around your head it is. 3) It has lots of well designed and placed vents that help to draw the air into the helmet and over your head to keep it cool. 4) A really good retention system for the strap under your chin that is comfortable, easily adjustable and stays secure and doen't slip. 5) The soft padding insert is removable for washing and replacement. 6) The visor is adjustable up and down to keep the sun/rain out of your eyes and most importantly of all, I think, 7) If you have a crash and damage the helmet GIRO will give you a new replacement Xen at a fraction of the price as part of their crash replacement program! The Xen is a slightly larger helmet meaning that it covers more of the head because it extends down further at the sides and back of the head to offer more protection, although this inturn restricts air flow when compared to some of the more race styled helmets which are lighter due to their minimal styling but they also offer the least amount of protection in the event of a crash.

The replacement of crashed helmets is not just a GIRO thing, quite a few of the More expensive Model helmets from the other Manufacturers also come with a reduced price replacement, which is a good thing.

When choosing a new helmet be sure to try lots of different makes of helmet on as they all come in different shapes and sizes to fit everybodies different shaped heads, if you can feel pressure at a certain point then first make sure the inner frame is not tensioned too tightly, if so slacken off slightly (Helmets without a visor, make sure you have it on the correct way around) Next thing is to get the correct fit, with the inner frame tensioned so it is not too tight, and it is comfortable, you should be able to tip your head forwards or upside down with the strap under the chin Unfastened and the helmet should stay snug on your head and not fall off or move about.

Care instruction usually come with new helmets and never accept a helmet without its original box and Garuantee/ instructions, generally its ok to wipe dirt off with warm water with a small amount of weak washing up liquid in (Check first though), but no strong detergents or polish etc should be used and helmets should never be painted, in the event of a crash and the helmet takes an impact always replace the helmet even if it looks ok.

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Pumps

A good Mini Pump and Multi Tool plus Tyre Levers are the minimum you should be carrying while out on the trails. Mini Pumps come in many sizes and prices, try to steer clear of the really compact ( 15cm < ) Mini Pumps as these take an enormous amount of effort to inflate a tyre to a decent pressure and are more trouble than they are worth. Blackburn make a great range of Mini pumps and for under £20 you can get a double action mini pump where the inflation of the tyre is achieved by both pulling and pushing the pump lever in/out of the main cylinder body therefore doubling the speed and halving the effort required for tyre inflation. As well as manual portable tyre pumps for carrying out on the trail there are CO2 Canisters which are able to inflate a tyre in a fraction of the time it takes to inflate using a Mini Pump these are especially useful if you Commute or Race and need to inflate a tyre at speed, there are many Manufacturers who produce these CO2 Canisters and some Manufacturers produce Mini Pumps which the CO2 Canister fits inside. In my personal experience I find that these combined CO2 and Mini Pumps not very reliable and the Mini Pump part is not that good/ very difficult when it comes to topping up that last Psi of pressure required. TruFlo make a very cheap and compact CO2 system which comprises two Canisters and a controllable valve system which is compatable with both Presta and Schrader valve types and at under £8 it is killer value. Once you start to get hooked on bike riding you will probably start to get several sets of tyres for different conditions especially if you ride several trails of different terrain ( i.e Mud, Road, Rocks and Roots ) a good investment is a Track Pump which you can keep in the shed or Garage and also chuck in the boot of the car for setting your tyre pressures just before you set off on the trail. They take all the effort, with the ability to inflate a tyre from 0 Psi to around 40 Psi in approx 30-40 easy cycles of the piston as apposed to around 100-200 energy sapping cycles of a Mini Pump.

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Tools for out on the trail

While out on the trail it is a very good idea to carry a small compact mini tool and a set of tyre levers, there is no use in having a Mini Pump if you can't get the tyre off the rim and what if your chain snaps or you fall off and your brake/ gear levers slip around on the bars and you can't realign them or tighten them if they come loose. Always be prepared and carry a small amount of tools, most Multi Tools these days are cheap and light weight and at around £15 for a cheap model, they are great even if they only work a handful of times just to get you out of the brown stuff in emergencies ( there are some very expensive Multi tools which stand up to anything and last a long time ) Crank Brothers have a great reputation for making quality products and this multi tool is a great place to start and won't break the Bank, it has a set of useful sized allen type drives, a T25 torx drive, spoke tightening tools, a chain splitter, 8mm and 10mm open ended spanners, and flat and phillips screwdriver ends PLUS it comes with a LIFETIME WARRANTY. As mentioned above a set of tyres levers are essentail to removing a tyre while out on the trail. they make easy work of removing and refitting tyres, even more so when your fingers are cold during winter rides. Park tools make quality bike tools and this Kit comprising of three levers ( which lock on to the spokes to hold the tyre in position while you use the remaining levers to work the tyre off the rim) pre-glued patches and some sand paper to ruff up the area to be repaired is great value ( £2.99 from CRC ) and light weight.

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Bottles/ Bladders and Backpacks

Water bottles are cheap, light weight and easy to clean, they are an excellent choice if your thinking of taking in a quick 1 hour trail ride or you commute to work by bike, they are great for mixing up energy drink and can be kept in the fridge to keep cool plus ice cubes can be placed in most of the modern bottles with large openings (such as the Specialized Big Mouth 700ml bottle, or the more expensive Camelbak Better 750ml bottle, which comes with a little more technology to justify the high price). But with the maximum size being around the 1 litre size they only offer around 1 hours worth of hydration (working on the 1 litre per hour theory).

For any ride longer than 1 hour you would be wise to get yourself a hydration backpack, or if you already own a backpack that is capable of staying put and being comfortable during riding then there are stand alone hydration packs which can slip into your own backpack. There are a great range of Biking specific Hydration backpacks available from the likes of Camelbak, Deuter and Hydrapak just to name a few, plus many of the Bike manufacturers are getting in on the action with there own hydration backpacks. The good thing about hydration packs is that they are built specifically to stay put and be comfortable whilst offering anything from 1 to 3 hours worth of hydration and having extra space for the trail ESSENTIALS such as tubes, tools pumps, 1st aid, your keys, wallet, phone etc. Hydration pack manufacturers are realising that a good fit and back ventilation during hot weather plus foul weather water resistance is essential and so most packs from the main manufacturers are very good, nowadays they come with features such as MP3 pouches with wire outlets, and soft padded sections with water resistant zippers to put a phones, MP3's etc. The bladders themselves are very good to, with large openings for easy cleaning, especially the deuter range which come with a sliding binder top section so that the whole top is opened up for cleaning. there is a range of cleaning equipment available from the bladder manufacturers and almost all have spare and replacement parts available to buy, should you happen to damage yours ( they are very robust and usually come with a guarantee against leaking and splits ) the pipes are easily accessible and come with soft rubber ends or valves as they call them, Camelbak calls there version the bite valve and it is basically a thick rubber section with a prescision slit cut into it, you bite the sides and it allows you to suck the water up the tube from the bladder then just let the valve drop out of your mouth and carry on riding.

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Clothing, gloves and eye/ body protection for riding

During the summer months it can get very hot when out riding and it will not take long before you start to perspire, this is not a problem unless you are wearing the wrong clothes i.e normal clothes made from Non-Wicking type fabric, usually 'Proper' sports wear is made from fabric that will Wick away the sweat from your bodies surface therefore leaving you more comfortable to carry out your excersize. Good examples of this are Nikes DriFIT range of sports clothing, or Adidas Climacool range.

However, if you dont already own any of these 'Type' of clothing and do not do any other type of sport you would be better off getting some biking specific clothing, Biking specific clothing is designed and cut with biking in mind and therfore is better suited to the demands put on the fabric, such as harder wearing in places of contact, and differently shaped to suit a seated position with give/ flex in places where needed, some mid layer jerseys made by Fox have soft fabric sewn into the under side to wipe clear your trail glasses when they become dirty. Also longer sleeved slightly heavier tops can be useful in the early winter/ learly spring time when its not raining but there is a chill in the air. Lycra Shorts come with Chamois padded area's to cushion the behind while still maintaining wicking and compression properties. Also available are some more casual looking shorts that would not look so out of place if you decided to stop off for a drink/ snack. Check out these shorts from Endura, they even come with a detachable liner insert. Socks are a last thought but good biking socks will wick away sweat so are still something to consider, also for winter riding a good pair of waterproof / Thermal waterproof socks can be a Bonus, remember if you are comfortable when winter riding you will enjoy rather than endure the ride. As well as under and light weight tops a good mid/ top layer will keep out the wind and light showers, technical mid/ top layers of the Softshell type can be very expensive But if you look around you local hiking/walking shops, especially for the not so branded named tops you can pick up a softshell for a reasonable price. But for the worst of the weather you are going to want a good waterproof jacket with taped seams and waterproof zips but above all it must still be breathable!, there are many designs some that are heavily lined and some that are lightweight, in my/ our personal experience the lightweight full waterproof is the better option (unless you live in a country where it is well below Zero) as you can layer up underneath and therefore choose your degree of warmth! Too hot put less layers on underneath and VisaVersa, also if the rain does ease up or it gets warmer later on during your ride a lightweight packable jacket will slip into your backpack easily. My personal choice is the Blue Crosslite from Altura, so far its been excellent and I would recommend it to any of my riding buddies!

 

Sorry this page is still under construction and will be added to shortly 19/02/2008