Diary of a Mountain Biker

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If you ain't buyin' new gear what else are you spending your money on?

Altura_Altitude_Trousers
Altura_Nevis_Jacket
Altura_Gravity_Shorts
Decathlon_Bladder
Decathlon_lycra_shorts
Decathlon_Shades
De_Marchi_Cycling_shorts
Endura Stealth Soft Shell Jacket
Fox_Black_Box_Shirt
Fox High Frequency shorts
Fox Livewire jersey
Helly_Hansen_Base_Layer
Reebok Skate Shoes
Roach/Raceface arm armour
Roach / Race Face Rally FR leg armour
Sealskinz_mid
Specialized_BG_Ridge_Gloves
Specialized_Comp_Helmet
Specialized_Comp_Shoes

Altura_Altitude_Trousers

Price Paid: £49-99 (Cycle Surgery)
Length of use: Since February 2004
Overall Score:
Comments - What they say:

Based on the design of the Altitude shorts.
Hard wearing trousers that use a tough windproof outer fabric with a water repellent coating.
Reinforced stretch panels (non windproof) on the seat and knees combine strength and comfort.
The long calf zips permit easy access with velcro adjustable ankles for a perfect fit.
Includes side cargo pockets with velcro closures and 2 front pockets.

What we say: I normally wear the Altura_Gravity_Shorts all through the winter but bought these as I have been getting into the free ride scene recently where you feel a bit of a jerk wearing shorts plus the full length trousers protect your legs when you fall.

So to get full use of the trousers I have also been wearing them out on the muddy English Winter and Spring trails.

They have proved to be really great trousers. Rain repellant although not waterproof, they keep you warm in the winter and are still cool enough to wear for lengthy (20 miles plus) rides in spring and autumn. The bottom of the right leg is reinforced to protect from the chainrings but can tend to get caught and tear unless you use the velcro to stop it flapping around your ankle.

Baggy enough to comfortably wear Roach pads underneath.

Altura Gravity Shorts

Price Paid: £29-99
Length of use: continuous (since May 2002)
Overall Score:
Comments: These shorts feature:

zipped side pockets
an elasticated drawstring waist
velcro side and rear pockets
lightweight mesh liner with seat pad

A reasonably priced short that looks good, has plenty of pockets and does the job. I usually wear a pair of tighter lycra shorts underneath.

Specialized Comp Shoes

Price Paid: £69-99 (Cycleopedia, Surbiton)
Length of use: Continuously since April 2001
Overall Score:
What they say: Incorporating Body Geometry^TM Technology and durable material.

Uses unique design to increase comfort and efficiency.
Varus edge, metatarsal button, medial arch support.
Made from micro fibre synthetic leather and tight weave for a lightweight breathable upper.
Moulded outsole.

What we say: Extremely comfortable, light, reliable shoe. The firm base transfers all the power into the pedal. The mesh means that it can be cold in the winter but a pair of sealskinz underneath sorts that out.

These shoes have been through it all and have only started showing wear during the Autumn of 2003 - the mesh on the sides has worn through and one of the velcro straps has lost its 'stick' (that's after two and a half years of continuous use). I will be looking to buy another pair of these when the chance arises.

Decathlon Bladder

Price Paid £15 (Decathlon, Canada Water)
Length of use: Continuously since July 2001
Overall Score
Comments: A very good price for a bladder that holds in excess of 2 litres. Plenty of zip pockets and mesh for it’s size. Buy it! This bladder held enough kit and spares (water, powerbars, spare tubes, pump, simple toolkit, extra layer of clothing) to see me through the 80km's of the Marin_Rough_Ride - unbelievable.

Altura Nevis Jacket

Price Paid £60 (Action Bikes, Epsom)
Length of use: Since February 2001
Overall Score
Comments: A very good jacket that is windproof and waterproof whilst being light enough to roll up and stick in the mesh pocket of the backpack. A combination of sturdy zip plus velcro’d flap keeps you windproof at the front.

Toggles around the neck and waist allow you to batten down the hatches when required. Large zip vents under the arms allow you to create a throughflow of air on those changeable days. A large zip pocket in the back for Powerbars, inner tube etc. plus a bum flap / storm flap that can be buttoned up out of the way when not wanted.

This has taken a lot of abuse and has only lost it's waterproof coating in Autumn 2003 - that more than two and a half years.

Decathlon Shades

Price Paid: £12 (Decathlon, France)
Length of use: Continuously since July 2001
Overall Score
Comments: Unbelievable value. The frame isn’t particularly attractive but comes with four interchangeable shades ranging from clear to dark. A retaining strap is also included. The only downside is the nose grip/rest that came away too easily but these shades can be worn without so it’s not a problem.

Endura Stealth Soft Shell Jacket

The lot of a mountain biker in England is that waterproof jackets play a key part in the planning for any ride.

Way back in February 2001 I bought an Altura Nevis jacket although this went the way of many waterproof jackets many years ago and lost it's waterproofing. I have read about those re-waterproofing kits you can buy and stick in the washing machine but neither I nor my wife have been very keen on those.

Next up was a Fox Convert Jacket bought in October 2007. I love the Fox styling and brand and I really liked this jacket. It also has removable sleeves to turn the jacket into a windproof gilet. However, within 4 months of buying this I had ripped the pretty thin sleeve as I fell into an old tree stump lying alongside the trail and last month I ripped the other sleeve. The Fox convert jacket was only really showerproof anyway and was not totally waterproof and with significant venting it was not particularly warm either.

Which leads me to the point of this story which is I just bought another jacket and this time I went the whole hog and bought the much raved about Endura Stealth Soft Shell Jacket.

It's not cheap but it has all the features that an avid mountain biker could want including:

A waterproof, breathable, stretch outer fabric (it's nice and soft)
Ultrasonically welded seams (whatever that means)
External stretch taping (all the taping over the seams is on the outside so it's nice and comfortable inside)
'Napoleon' style waterproof chest pocket with media-port (you can put your iPod in there and push the wires through the inside)
Waterproof rear map pocket (a large rear pocket with 'side-entry')
Another waterproof rear pocket (that's right, two rear pocket's. This one is for your energy bars, puncture repair kit or whatever else you normally keep in there)
Endura silicon gripper hem (simliar to what you get on the bottom of lycra shorts, this helps to keep the jacket snug against you)
Rucksack/Camelbak compatible waterproof side vents (this took mew a while to work out. Instead of one long zip under your pits that is interrupted by the Camelbak straps there are two separate zips; one under the arm and the other down the side. Clever eh!)
Reflective prints on shoulders and cuffs (for those who regularly run the gauntlet of commuting in traffic/at night)
Waterproof zipped cuffs (cuffs that are tight on the wrist but can accomodate gloves if required)
An LED loop (one of those things to hang a rear light on, again for those regular commuters)

It turned up in the post this morning from Wiggle and given that it was minus 5.5 degrees Celsius when I dropped my son off at work at 7-15 this moring I am keen to see how it performs tomorrow. It's one of those ergonomic cycle-specific fit's and there's not a lot of room for layers beneath it. One reviewer claims that it's "so warm it is rare that you need anthing but a short-sleeved base layer underneath" but I can promise you that I will have more than that on when I take it for it's maiden ride tomorrow. (Published 3rd January 2009).

Fox Black Box Shirt

Price Paid £40-00 (bought from Fox direct)
Length of use: Since October 2001
Overall Score
Comments: I love this shirt but this is probably cos I’m a Fox fanatic. It looks great but as for performance, if I’m honest, it performs pretty much the same as any other wicking top.

Decathlon cycling shorts

Price Paid £5-00 (Decathlon, France)
Length of use: Intermittently since July 2001
Overall Score
Comments: Great value simple short that I use as a backup pair for when the others are in the wash! These are fine for up to about 3 hours but the foam insert gets a little uncomfortable after this.

De Marchi Cycling shorts

Price Paid £25-00 (Action Bikes, Epsom)
Length of use: Since January 2001
Overall Score
Comments: Really comfortable shorts that can and frequently do get worn all day. The insert is comfortable and soaks up the sweat. Too thin for winter use unless combined with another layer.

Sealskinz mid length

Price Paid £19-00
Length of use: Since January 2002
Overall Score:
Comments: Reasonable socks that keep my feet mainly dry although are not always 100% waterproof and not particularly warm. The socks feel strange when you put them on so I normally wear them over a pair of thin ankle socks or decathlon MTB socks to keep me warm even in the February snow.

Specialized Comp Helmet

Price Paid: £35-00 (Cycleopedia, Surbiton)
Length of use: Continuously since April 2001
Overall Score:

Comments: Comfortable, mid-weight helmet with the brain trust system for ease of adjustment. Not the lightest or prettiest of helmets and the large exhaust system at the rear is a bit bulky but the helmet does the job and that’s all you can ask.

Helly Hansen top

Price Paid: £24-99 (Evans, Waterloo)
Length of use: (since March 2003)
Overall Score:
Comments: Long sleeved lightweight base layer that acts as a 'second skin'
(buy them tight) and wicks away all the moisture from your body to prevent
you feeling chill.

This can be used 3 seasons of the year either on it's own during those warm October days or as a base layer during colder weather.

Specialized BG Ridge Gloves

Price Paid: £19-99 (Cycleopedia, Surbiton)

Length of use: April 2001 - May 2003
Overall Score:

What they say: Simple clean styling including Body Geometry ^TM padding. Featuring:

q Stretchable spandex back with lycra forchette fingers.

q Synthetic clarion leather palm.

q Silicon ink palm for grip and silicon print on fingers.

q Airprene cuff with Velcro closure.

q BG padded palm.

What we say: Comfortable, light glove ideal for summer. Feels like you aren’t even wearing gloves. The BG padding really makes a difference, supporting and relieving pressure from the ulnar area. These gloves are suitable for all year round except the coldest of January and February mornings. Only wore out when I started riding to work (30 miles a day, 5 days a week soon wears out your kit).

Reebok Skate Shoes

Price Paid £9-99 (World Sport)
Length of use: Since November 2004
Overall Score
Comments: These are lightweight shoes that have an aggressive sole pattern in soft rubber that looks like it will grip my platform pedals well. I used them solidly for 3 months over a really muddy winter and they performed well. As well as being more water resistant than my SPD's they gripped the DMR V8's well. The only fault was the soft sole that tended to lose some of the power you are putting in to the pedal stroke. But for £9-99 I'm not complaining. I think I will replace these with some more shoes I have my eye on which have a firmer sole.

(Updated 31st July 2005): I took these to the Alps this year and they performed excellently. Super grippy on my DMR_V8's I never felt worried that my foot would slip on the pedal during 6 days of hard riding over some of the gnarliest terrain I have ever ridden which was full of braking bumps. I found that if i wore cycling socks with my Sealskinz over the top, the extra padding gave a better feel on the pedal.

brand new out of the box ....................and after a good pasting in the Alps

Roach / Race Face Rally FR arm armour

after a weeks wear in the Alps

Price Paid: £40
Length of use: Sporadically since September 2004
Overall Score
Comments: Previously marketed by Roach but now bought out and badged as Race Face (end 2004). These are uber comfortable to wear. These pads have solid armour on the front held on to your leg by 4 sets of elasticated tapes stretching from your ankle to behind your knee. There are lycra sections too which grip your calf and give a really comfortable feel.

Expect more stars to be awarded when I really start to test these by going large and falling off more!

(Updated 31st July 2005): I took these to the Alps this year and they did everything you could ask of them. Comfortable even whilst undertaking the 70k Porte de Soleil, they didn't slip at all. Protection from the inevitable slips and slides and save your shins from being gouged by your flatties. Top marks

Roach / Race Face Rally FR leg armour

after a weeks wear in the Alps

Expect more stars to be awarded when I really start to test these by going large and falling off more!

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