7 essential products for Enduro Mountain Biking
Climbing up forest trails to reach a mountain top and enjoy a well-deserved descent—Enduro mountain biking has captivated thousands of cyclists around the world.
What do you need for an enduro mountain bike ride? If we think about our gear, we would all like to carry as little equipment on us as possible so that our movements are fluid and natural, wear protection that allows us to walk away unscathed from a fall, and have all the grip necessary at our contact points.
Grips
Mountain bike grips are the most important contact point between us and the bike; they must have enough grip so that our hands do not slip, even if we are riding in the rain. A tread pattern that holds the palm of your hand, a soft rubber that absorbs vibrations, and protected edges so they don't break in the first fall are essential.
Helmet
Let's not kid ourselves: a "half-shell" helmet does not protect us as much as it should in enduro riding. Although the pros might do Freeride jumps with this type of helmet, the truth is that we need to protect our faces against an unexpected fall where the weight of our head will make us land face-first. A helmet like the Giro Switchblade will allow us to tackle the climb with the necessary ventilation and provide a protective chin bar when descending.
Knee pads
Take care of your knees because they are what will allow you to keep walking when you are 75 years old. The knee is a complex joint that you don't want to damage; wearing good mountain bike knee pads is a basic requirement for Enduro. Look for MTB knee pads that allow you freedom of movement while pedaling but offer real protection against a rock impact to the knee.
Hip packs
It is a fact that the use of hydration hip packs by cyclists is growing. Two of their great advantages are: they free up your back, which significantly reduces sweat in that area, and they put the weight on your lower body, which improves your balance compared to carrying the weight on your upper back as happens with a backpack. It is important that when choosing an MTB hip pack, we look at its capacity, because we will end up putting everything we used to carry in our backpack into it.
Back protectors
Soft and super-ventilated back protectors are starting to be used due to the rise of hip packs. You won't always need this protection, but there are certain very rocky enduro routes where that extra protection will be more than necessary, as nobody wants to fracture a vertebra in a silly fall.
The bicycle
If there is one thing that cyclists agree on, it is that you need a good mountain bike or a good electric bike if you are going to practice enduro. Having at least 150mm of travel, suspension that can be adjusted to adapt to the different types of trails we encounter, and good mountain bike tires will make our riding experience very positive and will end up putting a smile on our faces.
Everything on the frame
When we look at the pros' bikes, we see that they find ways to carry their basic repair kit attached to the frame. For this, we find solutions like the one offered by Lizard Skin, which allows us to carry the inner tube, tire levers, tubeless repair kit, and CO2 canister attached to the frame.