Eight essential accessories for mountain biking – Once started in Mountain Biking one begins to have different needs of accessories both for the modality you are going to practice, for comfort, as well as for personal taste or simple fashion.

In the case of mountain biking, due to its different modalities, these accessories may vary or flat not need some of them. In this article, we will separate the most relevant and that every mountain biker needs to improve his experience.

  1. Mountain bike helmet

There are different types of masks for the different branches in which mountain biking is divided. Choosing the right helmet (size and type) is essential to protect the head and enjoy a more comfortable ride. For example, across Country helmet (XC) helmets are more ventilated but offer less protection than a helmet designed for Trail or All-Mountain. To learn more about this, we invite you to read more about the types of mask for MTB.

  1. MTB gloves

Many times we believe that any glove can serve us, we have even come to use those of the gym; however, as in everything, there are specific gloves for mountain biking.

If it’s too hot, your gloves can work with short fingers. For the rest of the climates and the most common modalities are long gloves.

There are several types of MTB gloves; some have protective plates on the knuckles or near the pinkie, which protect you on the descent for the modalities of DH, trail, AM, etc.

Other gloves for mountain biking wear pads. Are usually made of gel or a kind of foam. Some gloves have a little reinforcement, in terms of the synthetic material they use for the rest of the glove.

There are gloves for cold weather or rain, which are repellent to the water and its interior protects from the rigorous air in winter to keep your hands warm.

  1. Glasses plastic

You’ve probably heard it a lot. But you probably don’t know why they’re asking for plastic frames. It is quite clear; in case of a fall, a metal frame or similar can cause a severe accident by embedding in your face. Plastic frames are (most of them) made to disarm under an absolute pressure in the area of the legs, making them suitable for sports activities. Right cycling lenses are recommended for any type of cycling.

  1. Portaanfora and Amphora

If you like long routes, you’ll probably need a little more hydration. Most Mtb bikes have a set of screws to install one or two amphorae in the frame.

From Amphora we recommend that you use an average size to chico, as in descents very high amphoras usually come out quickly because of the excess vibration transmitted by the picture.

  1. Knee pads

It’s a fact, in mountain biking you are more likely to fall, due to the irregularities of the terrain. In the competitive XC mode, they are not usually needed, because pedaling can hinder and even graze the skin. However, in the rest of the modalities, it is considered to be used to protect the leg from possible scrapes or also fractures. From our experience, you will even enjoy the falls knowing that you will be protected.

There are several types of knee pads, and their difference is found in manufacturing materials. There are rigid knee pads that carry the full shell of rigid plastic, offering better protection but are somewhat uncomfortable to pedal. There are semi-rigid or soft knee pads, using in the tanks a material with thin technology that hardens with the impact protecting your knee from the blow. The content is made of neoprene, making these knee pads very comfortable, but some models are scorching. Depending on the brand they vary in prices, and we cannot say that there is one better than the other, rather, it will be the one you feel most comfortable with.

  1. Coders

The elbow patches also are used in competitions XC and very rarely cyclists who practice trail use. They are considered optional protection, and it will be your choice to carry them or not. Just like the knee pads, we can find them rigid or semi-rigid, there are even some markings that handle them with only foam in the elbow area.

  1. Hydration pack

In mountain biking we must make use of ourselves, that is why hydration backpacks are an ideal accessory. In addition to serving to transport water, they also help us to store the jacket and the refreshment in case of a roll that takes all day. The brands handle several sizes, from 5L to 25L (charge), which is already considered a massive backpack for cycling. All of them carry a bag of water that can withstand 2-3 liters.

  1. Odometer and cycle computers

If you plan to take very seriously it is a mountain and another cycling; it is highly recommended to use an odometer. Today we have many models from the simplest ones that only give you speed, km traveled and time in which we did it, to the cyclo computers that even have GPS and give you essential information about your performance on the bike.

It will depend just on the information you want to get to carry out your purchase.

These are essential accessories that as a mountain biker, you must take into account so that you enjoy your outing in nature on your mountain bike. If you have questions, comments or would like to share any team-related experience for MTB, leave us your comments. We would love to read!