Mountain Biking Equipment
October 18, 2008 by Michael Randall
Filed under Uncategorized
A bike – any bike will do. Back in the mid 80’s I introduced my best friend, Greg Dres, to a schoolmate from college, John Duerst, who was just starting to mountain bike on his pink Mantis. Greg went to a race with him and decided he wanted to race mountain bikes as well. He went home, put a straight bar on his mom’s Schwinn beach cruiser, and started riding the hills around his home. A month or so later, he took the beach cruiser to a race and came in 7th overall. That’s where John Parker saw him race, and gave him a Yeti single speed to ride. In 1985, Greg won the NORBA Ironman trophy. Could he have won on the beach cruiser? Not likely, but he certainly could have finished.
Honestly, there are a whole lot of mountain bikes out there to choose from. Steel frames, aluminum frames, carbon fiber frames, titanium frames, beryllium frames (in relative order of price…) Each type of frame has good and bad things about them, each will give a slightly different feel to the ride. For a first time rider, steel is fine. Aluminum can be lighter, doesn’t rust, and is pricier, but a beginner will probably appreciate that little bit of extra ‘flex’ that a steel frame provides. You can find a bike almost anywhere for under $200, but if you want a good bike that will last, go to a bike shop. The shop will also make sure the bike fits you properly and answer any questions you might have. Top of the line bikes are easily over $7000. A good rule of thumb is to plan to spend at least $500. Spending more money will get you better quality components, lighter weight, and more features. Higher quality components will last longer, weigh less, work better when caked with mud, and stay ‘in tune’ longer between adjustments. Another good plan is to find a bike with a high quality frame and cheap components. As the components break/wear out, you can replace them with better components.
A helmet – this is to protect your noggin. If you think you don’t need a helmet, there probably isn’t anything in there worth protecting. Helmets are not made to prevent injury when you t-bone a tree at 40 MPH, but it might help. A helmet is made to protect your head/brain from injury sustained during the fall from 5-6 feet high where your head is when you ride, to the ground. Even such a minor fall can cause brain damage, blindness, paralysis, or even death. Dirt might be soft, especially when wet, but rocks and trees are not. If you need convincing, go to your local county hospital, and volunteer to ‘visit’ people with head injuries. After wiping drool for a few hours, you’ll put a helmet on.
Some shorts – Unless you’re at the nudist colony, shorts would be appropriate. Long pants are even appropriate for rides in terrain where raspberry bushes may be nipping at your calves. If you want to go shirtless, that’s your business, but anything you put between your body and the ground, rocks, trees, et al. will be appreciated following contact.
Some shoes – Bike specific shoes typically have stiff soles so all of your energy goes into pushing the pedal, and none into flexing your shoe. Any good, supportive shoe will do, but since you’re going to be ‘mountain biking’ something that works well when you’re off the bike as well is recommended. For recreational riding, a hiking boot or trail runner works fine. When you get serious, mountain biking shoes will have that stiff sole, laces or multiple straps to get a better fit, some means of securing the laces so they don’t end up in the drive train, and a lugged sole to give you traction in rough terrain and mud. Many shoes also come with the ability to add cleats. Like the cleats on a Soccer shoe, these come in multiple lengths and screw in. You’ll appreciate them the first time you get fantastic traction on a slippery uphill.
Gloves – While not absolutely necessary either, gloves can make your ride more enjoyable. In cold weather, full fingered gloves keep your hands warm. In warm weather, ventilated or fingerless gloves keep your hands cool. Most gloves are reinforced in the places where there is likely to be more wear such as the palms for hanging on, and thumb/fingers for shifting and braking. Most will also have a terry cloth back or at least the back of the thumb for mopping mud/sweat/tears from your brow. My favorite pair was made of neoprene, with a synthetic leather palm and terry thumb back. They were so warm I used to wear them X-C skiing as well. Gloves are also handy when you fall off the bike, and your palms end up in contact with the dirt, rocks, roadway, sidewalk, raspberry bushes, and any number of other things that will mess up your hands. Gloves also protect the backs of your hands from the stinging thwack! of branches as you ride by.
A jersey – You can always ride shirtless on a nice warm day, and it will prevent you from getting the dreaded farmer tan, but a nice jersey is a welcome piece of equipment. A cotton T-shirt will soak up sweat and remain damp on your skin. This is OK for cooling if you live in one of those places where the drier air evaporates the sweat from your shirt, but in the Midwest, it is so hot and humid in the summer that the water vapor condenses on your cool body and makes you wetter. Jerseys are made intentionally to wick sweat away from your body, prevent chafing, and provide a more comfortable ride. They also have built in temperature adjustment (a zipper) and lots of storage for quickly needed items in the pockets on the back. Long sleeve jerseys reduce the need for a jacket on a cooler day. A jersey also provides some protection from the flora on the sides of the trail.
Cycling shorts – although most racers will wear road-weenie spandex shorts, mountain biking gave birth to the baggy bicycle short. Cycling shorts have a liner that is intended to reduce chafing between the bicycle seat and the part of you that contacts it. Typically called a chamois (since it was originally made from the skin of a goat-like creature called a Chamois) it can now be made of many different natural or synthetic materials. Like the jersey, cycling specific shorts are also designed to wick sweat and increase comfort.
(Sun) glasses – Even cheap sunglasses are better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, which is a real possibility when riding off-road. If you’ve got the money for high dollar sunglasses, more power to you, but if you ride a lot, you’ll find that you can go through a lot of sunglasses in a short period of time. Mud, dirt, and sand aren’t the easiest things to wipe off without scratching the lenses, and there’s always the possibility of losing them, stepping on them, or forgetting to take them out of your filthy jersey pocket before you throw it in the washer. There are a lot of reasonably priced glasses, specifically made for mountain biking that will not interfere with your helmet. Changeable lenses are also a nice feature, so you have dark lenses for direct sun, yellow lenses for overcast situations where you need more contrast and clear lenses for riding at night. Glass lenses can break and cut your eyeball out, so make sure and get a good quality, impact resistant, plastic lenses.
Toe clips/clipless pedals – Nothing is more entertaining that watching someone ride with toe clips or clipless pedals the first time. Toe clips are a metal ‘cage’ that goes from the front of the pedal, around the front of the toe, and back onto the top of the foot. There is a leather or nylon strap that goes from the top of the cage, down through the pedal. You stick your foot in the cage, and tighten the strap. This locks the front of your foot to the pedal and prevents your foot from slipping forward. To release, you have to reach down and push the buckle to loosen, and then pull your foot out backwards. Clipless pedals have a cleat in the bottom of your cycling shoe that snaps into the top of the pedal. In order to release, you twist your heel to the side. Having your foot locked to the pedal has many advantages. Your foot never slips around while pedaling, or slips off when landing jumps or going over rough terrain. In addition to pushing down on the pedal, you can also pull up, using a different set of muscles to propel the bike to get additional power and delay fatigue. You can also use your feet to hop the bike over obstacles and perform precise maneuvers like reversing direction on a tight switchback. The entertaining part comes with inexperience getting out of the pedals. This usually happens at low speed, on some type of difficult terrain like mud or sand. The question goes through your mind a hundred times in a split second “should I clip out, or keep pedaling and ride through it?” The end result is usually a slow fall to the side, with both feet still clipped in. If you’re riding in dangerous terrain, don’t decide. Clip out. There are many different types of clipless pedals. Mud buildup seems to be the biggest enemy of many of them. Mud buildup doesn’t necessarily prevent you from clipping in, but usually makes clipping out more difficult. When deciding on a brand, an old riding buddy helped me make the choice. His words: “Look at what the pros are using. They can afford any pedal they want, and they choose to buy that brand.”
Suspension – While suspension isn’t necessary either, it sure makes the ride a lot more comfortable. Pavement is relatively smooth, but off road, your hands and wrists can take a severe beating in short order. Most mountain bikes these days will have at least a front suspension fork (called a ‘hardtail’.) Travel can vary depending on the intended use. For general cross country riding, travel in the 3”(~80mm) area is adequate and sufficient. Downhill bikes that will be taking big hits at higher speeds can have over 7”(~200mm) of travel, and will have suspension in the rear as well as the front. With more travel comes more weight. You seldom see a downhiller riding up the hill. The bike is heavy, and much easier to take up on the back of a chairlift. Suspension technology has come a long way, and you can now get a full suspension bike that weighs less than the hardtails of 10 years ago. Most people start out on a hardtail. You can get a better quality frame and/or components without having the cost of a rear suspension.
Hydration Pack – Commonly known as a Camelbak® just as all facial tissue is known as Kleenex®, hydration packs are made by many manufacturers. You’re going to need water when you ride, because you’re going to get thirsty. Instead of having to reach down, pull the mud covered bottle out of it’s cage, pop the muddy valve open with your teeth and throw your head back to drink while riding with one hand, why not just slip the end of the hydration hose in your mouth and drink cool, clean water from the insulated reservoir on your back, with both hands on the bars and your eyes on the trail? Back when I was racing, I found I really wasn’t drinking much with a water bottle. There’s no problem getting a drink when you’re stopped, but trying to drink on the move requires a lot of effort. If you drop the bottle in a race, it’s not likely you’re going to stop to pick it up. When I got a hydration pack, everything changed. I could drink water any time I needed to, without stopping, and there was no danger of dropping the bottle. You can also store a lot of things in the pack like rain gear, extra clothes, food for longer rides, a cell phone, and anything else you might need. The bladder on your back can also protect your spine in a crash, though hydration packs also come in the fanny-pack style. It’s also a good place to keep your tools…
Tools – No one wants to get stranded in the middle of the woods on a broken bike and have to walk back. By carrying a few tools with you, you can increase your chances of making it back on the bike substantially. The most common problem is flat tires. The new tubeless tires have advantages, but they are harder to repair when they go flat. You can put a tube in a tubeless tire, so carry one with you even if you have tubeless tires. Even off-road motorcycles still have tires with tubes. If you’re really concerned about saving the weight of a tube, you can buy inner tubes of lighter materials such as latex, but unless you’re racing, I’d avoid tubeless tires. So, first off, you’ll need tools to change or patch a tire. Carry a patch kit and/or a spare tube. You’ll also need a pump. If you can change the tire using only your hands, this is the best way. If you need them, you can use tire irons, but this increases the chances of pinching the inner tube when replacing the tire on the rim. If you don’t have quick release hubs on your wheels, you’ll need the proper tool for that as well. Tools to adjust the derailleurs, brakes, seat, and handlebars/stem are also a good idea. You can usually find a ‘multi-tool’ that includes everything you need, even a chain breaker and bottle opener for the finer post ride glass bottled beverages without a twist-top. For often used tools, you might want to carry real tools as well. They are usually better quality, and provide more leverage. I typically have a very small under-seat pack on each of my bikes. It contains a multi-tool, a whistle, patches, and a cartridge type inflator. The cartridge inflator takes the place of a pump. It is like the CO2 cartridges use to power a pellet gun. After you change the tire, you screw it onto the valve stem, release the CO2, and it contains enough gas to fill one MTB tire enough to ride on. For what to do with the rest of the tools and how to fix other problems on your bike, there are many good books, or classes at your local bike shop or outdoor outfitter.
Other equipment – There are numerous other pieces of equipment you can add such as a GPS (Global Positioning system) Panniers, a rear rack, etc, etc. But basically, to ride and be safe, you can get by with a bike, shoes, shorts, and a helmet.
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Michael Randall - who has written 1 posts on Mountain bike product reviews, bike builds, trail reviews, forum, and tips – MTOBikes.com.
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