Whether you’re new to gravity mountain biking or you’ve been taking part for a while, there are a few things you can do to look like less of a newbie. Much like one doesn’t(or at least shouldn’t) wear socks with sandals, or run a helmet with no visor – these are a few things you should avoid to prevent yourself from coming off like a kook.
Sunglasses + Full Face Lid = NO!
Need we say more? It doesn’t matter how enduro you are, this looks stupid. If the terrain you’re riding is gnarly enough to warrant a full face lid, you should probably just put some damn goggles on, because glasses won’t help your cause when things go south.
Visor position.
Put your visor up. Unless you just got done riding off into the sunset like John Wayne, then just position your visor up a bit. It looks horrendous when its smashed down into the lowest position – as if you just recently crashed and landed on the top of your head. Bonus : you will be able to see more of the trail when you’re in that attack position.
Goggle Strap position.
Fix that goggle strap. You know where it should go. Don’t have it hanging off of the bottom of your helmet. Run it parallel to the bottom of the helmet and pointed back, not aiming down at your rear tire.
Shorts/Kneepads ratio.
If your shorts don’t reach your kneepads, then they don’t reach your knees. If you are a male, this is a not good – it actually even looks a bit silly on females. Anyhow, your shorts should cover part up at least part of your kneepads. If not, you need to stop wearing your girlfriend’s gear. We’re not condoning wearing super baggy moto bro gear. Things should be nice and tidy, but not ridiculous. There is only one man who can pull this look off : Rene Wildhaber. If you don’t know who he is, look him up and you will see why he’s allowed to do so.
Neck Braces.
If you run a neckbrace, that’s all well and good, but just figure the damn thing out before you show up at your local DH spot, otherwise it’s more apt to hurt you than help you. Wear it over top of your jersey like a normal person. Don’t put your jersey over it…not even parts of it – you will look like a teenage mutant ninja turtle. And whatever you do, don’t try to be a hero and conjure up your own system where you’re cutting open and modifying your jerseys and weaving straps through. A jersey is basically just a synthetic shirt to cover up your pasty body – and you’re not a seamstress. Just wear it like the directions tell you to.
We hope you aren’t offended by this, and please remember – this set of guidelines is merely a suggestion. Feel free to do as you please, but don’t say we didn’t offer up some help.
Thanks to Luca Cometti for being a flawless kook model.
