How to Dress for Singletrack Mountain Biking

Every day is biking day as long as you’ve got the right clothes. Our mountain bike collections are made to meet all weather conditions regardless of season and terrain. Here’s our guide on how to dress for mountain biking – from freezing winter days to hot summer madness.

Hot summer days

For those warm summer days on the saddle, ventilation and moisture transport is essential. Light weight clothing which rapidly pulls the sweat away will prevent overheating and make sure you stay cool and comfortable. Being a technical demanding sport, it’s also important to have flexible clothes that don’t decrease your moving range. With a baggier fit you’ve also secured room for protection underneath. If you’re hitting narrow trails in the woods or swampy areas, we suggest a long sleeve shirt to keep small branches and unwanted bugs.

Super light weight – light weight

Cold winter days

You don’t have to rewind many years to find a time where biking was considered a summer’s only activity. Thanks to our functional layering system, this is no longer the case:

Start out with a comfortable baselayer to pull moisture away from the body. We recommend both our super baselayer in polyester and wool baselayer made of merino wool: while both fibers will make sure you stay warm even when wet, the polyester fibers dry quicker and holds less moisture than merino wool, but will feel colder in the process. Follow up with one or two mid-layers to keep you warm – these can easily be added/removed to adjust to the weather and activity level. The outer layer should be a wind and water proof shell product with high breathability and functional ventilation options to transport heat and moisture. Top it off with a packable insulation layer to throw on when taking a lunch or when the cold starts to creep.

Base – equalizer – vest – flex1 - dri1 - primaloft

The in-betweens

Offering a wide variety of weather and temperature, the shifting conditions of spring and fall require durable, flexible and versatile clothing. We recommend wind protective yet breathable shorts or pants with good ventilation options combined with breathable shirt. A high back waist with silicon grip will keep you pants or shorts in place and prevent an exposed slip on your back. By always bringing waterproof, breathable and compressible outer layers you’re ready to face whatever wet surprise mother nature throws at you.

flex1 – flex1 – equalizer – dri1 – dri1

Freeride mountain biking

Setting out on an 8-hour on your two wheeler requires preparation. This is our essentials:

- Extra bike tube/foam

- Small pump or CO2 inflator

- Bike puncture repair kit (with tire levers)

- Mini toolkit consisting of a torx keys and pliers

- Some good ‘ol tape

- First aid kit

With this and some basic improvisation skills you can fix almost anything on the go.

Helmet

Whether you’re riding for fun or competing, using a helmet is essential for general safety. There’s nothing cool about head injuries and to be honest we think bikers without helmets look like idiots. With a great variety of helmets, we suggest you identify your area of use and go from there. Downhill freeriders would want to go for a full face helmet while single track bikers might want to go for a lighter a more ventilated helmet – still with a visor. Other protection gear includes pads, skins and guards and armor and should be used when hitting hardcore trails. Remember to never wear a neck brace unless you are using a full face helmet.

Gloves

Mountain biking requires maximum grip precision, a good fit and great durability. We recommend you to go for full coverage of your hand and a fabric that ensures a nice air flow. Friction rubber on the index and middle finger will provide a better break grip control.

Backpack

Spending hours and hours on the bike requires a pack to carry all your essential gear through a day of biking. A separate drinking system pocket with easy accessibility will make water supply super easy and make sure to separate wet form dry. Several smaller pockets made for tools, phone and keys combined with bigger compartment for extra clothes and food will help organize everything. The carrying system should provide great air flow while keeping the pack stable and tight. Other practical features include hip belt with a small pocket and compression straps.