SkipRatt mountain bike blog

Mountain bike-specific clothing. Personally I wouldn't bother with mountain bike-specific clothing such as wind stopper jackets and shorts/bibs. Most of these high priced clothes are either not windproof/waterproof or have very hard double stitched detail around the crotch area (really not good for your sensitive parts)!
Depending on how much mountain biking you see yourself doing. £100 and upwards for a windproof/waterproof jacket is a complete waste of money, regardless of whether it's well made or not.


I have to admit that I have started to wear clothing from outdoor supply stores or cheap 3/4 length shorts from warehouse sport stores etc. You'll get the same thing for less money (without double stitched detailing!). The only mountain bike-specific clothing that I do use are mountain bike gloves, shoes and tops. To be honest though, bike tops are pointless too, if the only reason for them is the back pockets. (I where a camleback and I'm NOT a sponsored rider!)

"Trek-mates" have wicking t-shirts at very cheap prices and they are quite loose when your wearing them. (very good for layering up with other tops in colder weather). Also packable wind/waterproof jackets for about a tenner. Clima-cool is an excellent item to buy..it has the same wicking feature as the expensive gear but you can get it in a lot of sportswear and general wear clothing these days so when buying, it is a good thing to keep your eye out for the internal labels which state whether the item is 'clima-cool'. Regatta have some plain t-shirts with clima-cool which can be found in yeomans for just £5.99.

So I say "save your money for your new ride" and don't focus so much on brand names and the latest in thing. Having all the latest gear in the world won't make you a better and faster rider!