Protective gear

[neatbik]

Can you tell i'm new to trail riding?

What gear do you guys wear when riding off the beaten path?
All my stuff is road orientated - I have a fairly tough textile jacket i can wear, but im guessing i need some tougher boots, trousers, gloves etc etc.

Cheers, Nick

[Tonka]

When I started out I bought some knee pads and body armour, but that's because I did (still do) quite a bit of falling off! Gloves are light and not as padded as road riding bike stuff and cost around £20. Boots are MX and they are pricey - about £200 seems to be the price for mens, I managed to fit into kids so paid half that. Not sure what you can get as a cheaper substitute tbh and not sure it would be advisable, as you do use your feet a bit and I reckon a breaking an ankle would be quite easy if not in a tough boot - they do have secondhand ones about if you're lucky.

As far as clothing is concerned, you can get away with old textiles or I used old walking gear - it will get ripped and snagged, so don't use anything you want to keep nice! At this time of year (hot/summer/dry) I'm not so sure as I use MX pants and top, but you can pick them up fairly cheaply if you're happy to go with odd colour combos that they have discounted or even secondhand. Army surplus is the other favourite and seems to be extremely well priced and sturdy. Steer clear of jeans if you're gonna get wet though, as they have a tendancy to chaf and take a while to dry.

I reckon you could get safely kitted out for £100 if you have to buy new and are canny (excluding boots)! Otherwise try and pick up secondhand stuff!

HTH
____________________
'The core of a man's spirit comes from new experiences'
Suzuki SV650S (Clean); Yamaha XT250 Serow (Dirty)

[neatbik]

Cheers Tonka!

[silky666]

Buy 2nd hand (except helmet/goggles and gloves).

Many people are put off by the fact of having someone else sweating in their kit ... but the first puddle of cow pi*s that you fall off in, will soon alay that fear
(plus I figure that another mans sweat cant be any worse than the gunk my body produces).

When I first started out I purchased the following:

Boots (Fox Forma) = £40 on ebay.
MX Trousers + Jersey (Alpinestars) = £35 from local mx pro rider (the mx shop down the road sells all of the teams kit once it is 'last years' design/fashion)
Knee and Elbow protection (Alpinestars) = £15 on ebay.
Body protection (661) = £20 on ebay.

Helmets are £50 for new ones.
Gloves are £15 new.
Goggles are £25 new.

For winter riding add:
Goretex Army over trousers = £25 on ebay.
Sinisalo Enduro Jacket = £40 on ebay
____________________
There's nothing that shouts "Poor Workmanship" more than wrinkles in the Gaffa tape.

Gaffa tape is like "the force" - it has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the universe together.