There’s a whole lotta gear out there, with lots of people trying to get you to buy it. After the essentials, how do you figure out where to part with your hard earned dough? You chat up your girlfriends, of course!
On this page, I’ll slowly record my own personal favorites, but to make it REALLY useful, you need to add yours as well. Here we go in no particular order:
- Camelbak – Mule
It holds up to three liters of water for those long rides (or short rides in the desert heat!) and it has plenty of compartments for your gear (spare tires, pump, patch kit, tire levers, universal tool, etc…), food, first aid kit, and there’s still space for the jacket you needed at the start of your ride when it was 48F, but no longer needed by the end when it hit 70F! (I love winter riding in Phoenix!) - Women’s mountain biking : a trailside guide, by Kulier, Jennifer.
Yeah, I know a book technically isn’t “gear” but it’s worth checking out anyway. She gives good advice from a woman’s perspective, making it much more palatable and believable. Lessons learned: upper body strength and core strength are two things you can work on to help improves your skills immensely. - Shimano SPD pedals
This isn’t a discussion of whether to go clipless, that’s up to you. Don’t rush into it. But once you decide to go that way, you must at least consider the Shimano SPD’s. I’m not totally sure about the model number I have, they’re whatever were originally spec’d for my bike (Specialized Myka Expert). When I first bought my bike, they put on a pair of Crank Brother Candy C’s. I knew it was supposed to come with Shimano, but in the great pedal debate, both styles have their lovers and haters. I figured it was all in what you got used to. I tried very hard for several months to like these things. But after so many dead cows (tipping over without unclipping, you just fall like a dead cow) resulting in several huge bruises, contusions, abrasions, and ultimately bruised ribs, I admitted defeat. I called the shop and asked for the SPD’s the bike was supposed to have come with. It was night and day! SPD’s are adjustable, Candies are not. Enough said. Oh- except that I”m not the only ones to say this. My riding partner tried the entire trial period to convince me to switch over. Then once I did, we worked together to convince our third riding partner (also on a new bike with Candies) to switch. We are all firm believers in SPD. (Sorry Crank Brothers! I tried!) - Ergon grips
These ergonomic hand grips help with the numbness that comes with long rides. I use the GP1-S (S for size Small). Very comfy, easy to set up, and easy to get used to.
[...] Gear Faves [...]