Pick the Proper Helmet for Mountain Biking

Video Transcript

"Hi this is Aaron Phillips for Expert Village Let's talk about the equipment you need when mountain biking. And you might have seen that bumper sticker that says bike naked, that sounds cool and all and I'm sure it's fun. In fact, I confess, I've tried it, but a lot of the time, well all the time you want to have the proper equipment. Even if you are naked or whatever you're thing is you want to have a helmet. Make sure that thing is a good helmet that's going to sustain an impact and keep you out of the ER. I tell you what, a helmet cannot be overlooked and its importance even if you're going on a short ride, even if you're riding around a camp ground, do not leave home without it, like mastercard, and the only time you're gonna need it is when you don't have it on. So remember that, wear it. Gloves. You want good gloves. They are a key safety item, they've got pads on them. Most cyclists go up for fingerless gloves, some mountain bikers wear full fingered gloves, like when you see the downhill guys cruising down like at Big Bear California doing eighty miles an hour, they're wearing full fingered gloves. you might choose to do that, they do offer a little more protection. Now moving down from the head and the hands to the jersey. Most jerseys for mountain biking are made of synthetic material. They are not cotton. There is a reason for that. When you're mountain biking there is always moisture involved. Primarily the moisture is your own sweat, you might get moisture coming down from the sky as well. Polyester is a better material when moisture is involved than cotton. It's gonna whip moisture away from your body, it's gonna keep you dryer, allow your sweat to evaporate, thereby keeping you cooler. Most mountain bike jerseys have a zipper, I'm not gonna show you this sort of Elvis chest hair here, but basically they zip down and cool you off a little bit, for the long uphill you can kind of pull down that zipper. Some of them go all the way full zip, that's actually a really nice way to go sometimes or a longer zip. Short sleeves are pretty common. There are long sleeve jerseys for when the temperature is getting a little cooler for those nice crisp fall days. Most jerseys are brightly colored and some mountain bikers opt for more sort of low key colors and most of them have pockets in the back to carry an energy bar or maybe a zip pocket for your keys."