See our
recommendations below for choosing the right mountain bike protective gear to
prevent mountain biking injuries. Wear your mountain bike protective gear to
keep yourself and your family safe while you mountain bike this summer.
A
properly certified and fitting mountain bike helmet is the most essential piece
of mountain bike protective gear. A head injury is the most serious of mountain
biking injuries, and a mountain bike helmet will help protect you from many
types of impacts – rocks, stumps, your bike, other riders, etc. No matter what
type of mountain biking you are doing, a good quality mountain bike helmet is a
must. The risk of a serious and long-term mountain biking injury involving your
head make buying and wearing a mountain bike helmet a “no brainer” – get one
today, and wear it always.
Although
not life-altering, mountain biking injuries like scrapes and bruises on your
knees and elbows are no fun. Several companies make very comfortable and
lightweight mountain bike knee pads and mountain bike elbow pads, which are a
great piece of mountain bike safety gear. SixSixOne, ProTec, and EVS all make
excellent pads which will help protect your knees, shins, elbows, and forearms
when you crash or scrape against a tree branch, rock, or other hard object.
Pick up this piece of mountain bike protective gear for downhill mountain
biking, single track riding, or more aggressive mountain biking vert or terrain
park riding.
From our
perspective, the second most important piece of mountain bike protective gear
is a good pair of mountain bike gloves. When you crash, your hands will lead
the way as you naturally reach out to break your fall. As a result, your hands
are at risk of nasty abrasions, cuts, and bruises from the dirt, rocks, or
pavement. You can easily avoid these mountain biking injuries with a good pair
of mountain bike gloves. Your hands are delicate and important to everyday
life, so you need to protect them. A pair of mountain bike gloves is a valuable
piece of mountain bike safety gear.
If you
mountain bike riding goes beyond recreational single track or street riding,
and you’re doing more aggressive downhill mountain biking, terrain park
jumping, or faster and/or higher mountain bike riding, then you will want to
consider mountain bike protective gear for the body to prevent mountain biking
injuries. Improvements to mountain bike body protection have made upper body
armor and mountain bike pants and shorts lighter weight, more comfortable, and
a versatile piece of mountain bike safety gear. Leading brands like SixSixOne,
Crash Pads, and EVS offer different features, including soft foam or hard shell
protection, sleeve and sleeveless options, and different pad placement
alternatives.
Staying
hydrated while you mountain bike is important to your safety. When you become
dehydrated, your muscles weaken, your vision and balance can be affected and,
in more severe situations, your decision making and judgment can be impaired.
Accessing a water bottle that’s in a cage on your mountain bike frame requires
you to take a hand off the bars and balance as you lean down to get the bottle.
Then, you must balance as you drink from the bottle, then balance and fret to
get the bottle back into the cage. A hydration system puts fluids within easy
reach, which will make you more likely to drink more often. That keeps you
hydrated and helps prevent mountain biking injuries from crashing as you fiddle
with a bottle.
Start
Shopping for All Your Mountain Bike Protective Gear
Now!
Bio: Jim Bartlett is the president of XSportsProtective, a
leading online retailer focusing on mountain bike safety gear, such as mountain
bike helmets, including Triple Eight, Giro,