Gear advice for mountian biking.

Padjo1981

Well I am about to start doing some off road biking, and was just wondering what gear you would recomend I get. I am sure I have most of the essentials, but would like some advice just to be sure. Thanks all.

seamus

Helmet is essential. It's designed to protect your head when you fall. And you will, and there will be rocks everywhere.

A good pair of gloves, not only to protect your hands when you fall, but also when riding past trees and brambles.

Outside of that it's up to you. Most people recommend tight-fitting clothing. A t-shirt and a pair of tracksuit bottoms aren't ideal if they're baggy because they snag on things or get caught in the bike. I've seen people wearing knee and elbow pads, but I'd don't think they're essential.

If you don't have SPDs, then a pair of hiking boots serve you better than a pair of runners when you have to put your foot down in a river

gman2k

A big no no are runners, as they will give no grip when you put your foot down on wet stuff.
I'd say a pair of clear glasses is a must also- says crud getting into your eyes.
Long finger gloves with armor protection because of the amount of gorse in this country.
A Camelbak or generic equivalent, as a standard water-bottle gets very dirty and unusable off road.
A toolkit that can into your bag is good - cleaner than saddle mounted bags. I use a tool bottle to store my tools and spares.
The toolkit should contain at minimum a good set of allen keys, or multi tool, a chain breaker, a couple of quick links for you chain, spare tube, patches, tyre levers and pump.
A small first aid should be considered a necessity also.
As a group, we also bring the following - gps, map, compass radios and mobile phones.
Like all technical kit, having them is one thing, knowing how to use them is another. I'm no longer shocked by meeting people out on the hills who cannot change a puncture!