Choosing the Right Mountain Biking Apparel
Any discussion of mountain biking apparel should begin with the helmet. The greatest risk one faces while mountain biking is a head injury. Thousands of bikers suffer head injuries each year. In most cases, the difference between a headache and a disaster is the quality of the helmet being used. But, there is more to biking apparel than helmets.
Gloves are great to have, especially for long rides over rough terrain. Your hands can get pretty messed up just from a long ride without gloves. More importantly, when you take a fall, the gloves can be the difference between badly lacerated hands and a few bruises. Mainly, gloves are a great form of protection because our hands always seem to the first thing between us and whatever we're hitting. Most of us will instinctively throw our hands out in the direction we are traveling when we have an accident. Thus, strong gloves are a necessity for your protection. Yet, they also need to be elastic enough and have enough grip to help you keep control over your mountain bike.
Your eyes are very fragile and very exposed when you are riding a bike. Everything from insects and dust to ultra violet rays and tree branches can victimize exposed eyes on a mountain bike. Good sunglasses or goggles can help the bike rider avoid eye injuries.
Not all biking apparel is centered around safety, though. For example, Lycra racing shorts help the body breath and sweat more efficiently during intense biking or racing. For rough terrain, mountain biking shorts are available with some extra padding to keep your more comfortable during your ride.
Mountain biking shoes are designed to help you keep your feet on the pedals, even when the ride gets rough. But the type of shoes you should get depends a great deal on the type of pedals you have on your mountain bike. Your shoes should easily fit on your pedals, yet maintain a tight enough hold on them as to maintain constant contact. But don't neglect the comfort of your feet when you are picking out shoes. Your feet will be very involved in the whole mountain biking experience, so they need to provide good support and a comfortable fit.
While the primary concern when purchasing a mountain biking shirt is comfort and ventilation, you may wish to consider getting a long sleeve variety with elbow patches to absorb the blow in the event of a fall. If you do go with a short sleeve shirt, you may want a set of elbow guards. Whatever type of shirt you go with, don't get one that is so tight as to slow down your movements. If you will be riding in cold areas, you may also want a mountain biking shirt that doesn't provide as much ventilation, but that still draws sweat away from the body and helps it dissipate.