Family circumstances brought me from Louisiana to New England in early May. I grabbed my bike and some gear (and thanked my past self for keeping a well-stocked tool box in the vehicle). Despite the unplanned nature of my decampment, I was able to get a bit of trail riding in while dealing with family circumstances, in large part due to a state park with a range of hiking and biking trails being a 10-minute drive away. While no one is driving long distances for the trails, they’re popular with local riders and are on par with most of the trails I have access to in Louisiana. Being able to trail ride 3-4 days a week without having to drive more than 10 minutes has given me time to reflect on the gear I use and on riding in general. What follows are reflections on the gear. What might follow this are reflections on trail riding in general.
Some of the gear I’m reviewing here is old. It’s at least one or two product cycles old, though some of it is still available.
Gear Repair
Early on in the summer I had to repair some gear. I grateful that I could repair it and in one case was able to get replacement parts for something that is no longer a front-line product for the brand. First the good.
Several years ago—pre-pandemic days, the bike shop I raced for and that sponsored the collegiate cycling club I advised got us a deal on POC DO Blade or Half Blade sunglasses. I chose the Blade for reasons. The glasses are at least seven years old and the frames are going strong and I was able to get some Clarity Trail Brown lenses that work really well for riding in the woods and for the sunny sections of the trail. The last several months the nose piece has been looking more and more ragged. Finally in June when cleaning it, it was clear it was in need of replacement.
POC has them in stock for $10. Or they had the black in stock, but I like the black over the stock white. It shipped quickly and was a breeze to replace. Being able to replace a small part on seven-year old item, especially one that is on its way to being phased out is a good thing. Spare part availability should be the standard.
While I’m not crazy about the dayglo green frames of my DO Blades, they do kind of fit my started riding bikes in the woods in the early 1990s heritage even if I never embraced the neon 90s (though I did have purple anodized Zaskar). And not having to replace a $200 pair of glasses because of a $10 part is a good thing.
Now for the not so good. The next part replacement wasn’t so straightforward. First the on/off button and then the select button on my Garmin 520 disintegrated within a few days of each other. I headed to the internets and the social medias thinking surely there’s an easy and elegant solution. Alas there is not. Well. There is an easy but not elegant solution.
What I ended up with is cutting some polymer pencil eraser into small rectangles, shoving them in the button openings and applying some electrical tape to hold the eraser bits in the openings. And then because I was unsure of the electrical tape’s staying power, I ordered a Garmin silicone cover to help protect the repair. It works. Sort of. The cover doesn’t fit as snuggly as it should since the new eraser buttons and tap stick out more than the original buttons.
At first I thought, maybe when I get back to Louisiana and have access to my workshop, I’d fashion up some better replacement buttons and attachment, but for I haven’t and my trusty 520 is working.
Sure, I could replace it, but have you seen GPS prices? And the 520 does everything I need and more—speed, distance, time, heading, heart rate, basic map, and more. I don’t need power anymore since my power meter went away as part of the great Shimano crank recall. And I mostly ride mountain bikes when riding outside. And if I’m riding a road bike outside, I’m not doing so in a way that makes having a power meter useful, let alone meaningful. Besides my science trainer has a power meter.
That there’s no elegant replacement for the buttons on the Garmin 520 is a shame. Really. We shouldn’t have to cobble together fixes for expensive or even for inexpensive gear. We should be able to repair our gear and/or get replacement parts. Based on what I found on the internet, I’m not the only person who has buttons on a Garmin Edge unit disintegrate. That Garmin doesn’t have a solution other than buying a new unit is disappointing.
But hey, at least I was able to fix some gear instead of spending in excess of $400-500 to replace it (and yeah there are cheaper replacements for both, but on one hand I’m pretty committed to the Garmin ecosystem and on the other, both pieces were functional but for some small parts and having to replace them isn’t something that should be the default).
CamelBak HydroBak Light 50oz
I bought this earlier this spring or late winter to replace the CamelBak M.U.L.E., which was always a bit too much pack. The HydroBak is perhaps not enough pack, but it is much lighter and compact something I appreciate, especially in hot and sticky Louisiana.
When I first got the HydroBak the shoulder straps felt a bit stiff. They’re mesh with something that feels like wire edges and they felt like they’d dig in and be a point of annoyance. They are not indeed so when riding. Once I figure out how to adjust the sternum straps, the pack fits pretty well and doesn’t seem to shift around or get in the way (something I felt with the M.U.L.E.).
While I was looking for a smaller pack, the HydroBak Light 50oz is that and more. At times it feels a bit too small in terms of storage. I struggle to fit everything in it. By everything I mean, a Silca Ratchet + Ti-Torque with bits, a C02, a C02 head, a Buff neck gaiter, a phone, a wallet, and keys. Lately I’ve down sized the wallet to just the essentials—ID, insurance card, debit card, and some cash. What I can’t fit is a tube, though I haven’t tried one of those new fancy plastic tubes. I guess I could fit a tubeless repair kit once I get around to buying one. All of this is a tight fit even now that I have a smaller phone (thanks Hurricane Francine), but really the one glaring problem is the key strap. It’s there, but it’s sewn to the side opposite the zippered opening and once everything is loaded, it can be a pain to access, especially with gloves on. I mean keys go in last and first, having to fish around for the key lanyard is suboptimal. Perhaps sewing it closer to the center of the pocket would be better?
Unlike the M.U.L.E. there is no magnetic clip for the hose and I’ve found the mechanical hose hook is tight and can restrict water flow and is hard to unhook the hose from when riding. Other than that, the Crux bladder is good and the on/off valve lock works. I’ve been a CamelBak user since I got my first one in the late 90s—when they were a basic neoprene type sleeve with some straps, a bladder, and a hose. I might still have that floating around in a closet. I may think about upgrading to the Chase Vest, though it looks like it’s on its way to being updated because it’s not currently listed on the CamelBak website.
Mad Alchemy EuroPRO Chamois Cream
An old standby. It has a good goopy but not too goopy consistency. It’s got a nice but not overpowering scent. It just seems to work. It’s vegan. It’s made in the USA. It’s animal cruelty free. One or all of those may matter to you. It now comes in 6oz plastic pouch option instead of 4oz jar. Mad Alchemy says the pouch uses 90% less plastic than the jar. And besides I have enough left over jars that are being used to store screws, nuts, bolts, and small parts. And the pouch looks to be a bit easier to store in a travel bag than the jar.
Chamois cream is a must have in hot and humid Louisiana, and I think for camping and traveling chamois cream just makes sense especially if the next shower is a day or two or more away.
Giro Gloves
I’ve settled on Giro gloves. I had and have a pair of Fox Racing gloves—Dirt Paw and Ranger Gel (all I could find in a pinch). One pair of which I ended up using more for yard work, etc. than for riding (the Dirt Paw). While the Fox gloves are ok, they have Velcro closures and I’m not a fan of Velcro closures on gloves. And yeah, Fox Racing makes some non-Velcro closure gloves, but I think Giro just fit my hands a bit better than the Fox gloves—the Ranger Gel feels a bit loose and the Dirt Paw is too heavy for most of the year in Louisiana. The Drit Paw made for an excellent glove for lawn mowing, gutter muck out, and other yard tasks.
In hot weather (and even on the indoor trainer) I’ve been using Giro Trixter glove. It’s light. It’s thin. It’s pretty cool in all but the hottest and most humid weather, but overall it’s Louisiana tested and approved. One thing I’ve notice since switching back to them once the New England’s summer got a bit hot and humid is that the fingers on the Trixter can feel a bit slick on the brake levers and shifter paddles.
The Trixter glove is a bit fragile though—especially in the thumb webbing area of my hand. When they fail due to use and not crashes or trail incidents, this is where they fail for me.
The other Giro glove I’ve been using is the Giro DND glove. It’s more expensive and a bit heavier than the Trixter, but the finger and thumb material seems to be a bit tackier than the Trixter’s. The one thing I don’t like is there seems to be a bit of inconsistency in sizing. I have two pairs. One older pair that don’t fit just so, but does fit and a new pair (they were on sale and I needed to replace some lost gloves) that fit just so. Perhaps Giro altered the seams at the finger tips? Or maybe there’s just inconsistency in fit across the various color options?
The DND is still a fairly light weight unpadded glove, but it does offer a bit more protection from things like trail side brambles and thorns. I’ve noted in the first few Trixter rides in New England that I felt the trailside brambles and thorns on the backs of hands in a way that I haven’t with the DND gloves.
The DND seems to require a bit more moisture than the Trixter before the touch screen compatible feature kicks, which if you have a touch screen driven GPS unit, keep that in mind.
Shorts, Bibs, & Jerseys
Most of my trail riding clothing is basically what I use for road riding. I do wear baggy shorts. I started doing so when I was recovering my fitness from a bad case of COVID. My thinking was, I’m going have to stop and sit on a rock, a log, or just the ground and don’t want to snag my bibs or otherwise wear them out. That need has mostly passed but I continue to wear baggy shorts over bibs. A lot of the places I ride tend to be a bit overgrown and having a layer between my bibs and brambles, thorns, and branches seems like a good thing, even on very hot days. Mostly I look for XC or light trail type baggy shorts because the fabric is lighter and more breathable than on the full on trail or enduro models.
I started with Endura, but have mostly migrated to Pearl Izumi for baggy shorts because I like the belt type waist over Velcro closers. I’m not a fan of Velcro on gloves and clothing. I’ve also had good luck (more or less) with Pearl Izumi going back to the 1990s, with the exception of some of their chamois. And in part because Pearl Izumi seems to be on sale and well stuff is expensive and I’m not too picky about colors or model year, etc. Overall, I’ve been happy with the two pairs of Pearl Izumi baggy shorts—the regular Summit and an Elevate. Both are 2022 model years so the exact model doesn’t quite matter. Both have Pearl Izumi’s belt closure system with a zippered fly and no button waist closure. I like it. It works for me.
The Summit or Summit Pro’s front only pockets are a bit useless to me. I ride with a hydration pack so I’m not really a ride with stuff in my pockets person. My use of pockets is for getting to and from the trailhead, going to the grocery store (I live a super exciting life) post ride, etc. and for those purposes the backward angled and small pockets aren’t very useful. The Elevate’s pockets are bit bigger and because the fit of the shorts is a bit baggier than the Summit’s, the pockets work a bit better and they do have a zippered rear pocket. Generally, I’m not fan of opened rear pockets for mountain biking (I have a fear that they’re going catch on the nose of my saddle), but the rear zip does work, I guess as I’ve never used it.
The Elevate shorts seem to wearing a bit worse than Summit shorts, but that may be due to a non-cycling barbarian family member washed them incorrectly. The surface feels less smooth than it did.
I picked up both pairs for under $50 each. Shop the sales. It’s mountain biking. Stuff breaks, tears, snags, etc. Both are my go to shorts over the older Backcountry pair and Tasco Fantom Ultra Light shorts. I like the Tasco shorts except for the Velcro fly. The Backcountry shorts tend to ride up a bit, but they’ve been redesigned. I like the Backcountry for yard work though so there’s that.
