Dirt bikes

Look up the Acerbis LED headlight- it's much brighter than the oem unit and fit is good. The oem rear light is the way to go and should also be plug and play.

 

Anyone want to learn me on gear? What are you wearing? What are you bringing on the trail as far as tool/spares are concerned?

 

That could be a thread all on its own.

Short version...
- ATGATT, properly fitted.
- Water, CamelBaks (or other branded hydration backpacks) are your friend.

For the bike?
Nothing. If it's not fit to be on the trail, bringing tools and spares to fix known issues is just being stupid. Fix that shit before you hit the trail. You don't want to be forced into performing "reactive" maintenance miles and/or hours from your resources.
No known issues? How are you gonna prepare for an issue that hasn't occurred? If anything, safety wire, duct tape and a multi-tool, but only just cuz. Prolly all fits in a pocket on your hydration pack. Keep up with your preventive maintenance and the bike will be fine so long as you don't launch it off a cliff, in which case you may consider lashing a length of Rambo rope and a snatch block to your hydration pack...could help ya pull it out of an unrideable situation, too.

Emergency stuff? A phone likely won't have a signal, but a box of Bandaids could be useful if you end up at the bottom of that same cliff you launched your bike off. Either way, both can fit in the hydration pack of your choice along with the other stuff, if you get one big enough. (I've noticed the women's versions have more capacity. Seriously. lol)

 

Tech 7 Enduro Boots
Tech 10 for the track
Knee braces galore...
Klim pants and shirts
Ogio camel back
Klim gloves
6D helmets lately, Shoei and AGV before
Fox and 100% goggles

I bring a spare bike

 

I started wearing a Leatt 5.5 pro hd chest protector this year. I had worn nothing in the past on my chest. It is hot in the summer. It makes getting to stuff in my camelback kind of a pain. I really like having protection over my kidneys, and I've definitely taken some big hits with it on that seem to have helped.

I keep my tools in a waterproof bag on a rear rack. It is cumbersome to get them out, so I don't unless necessary. It seems to be pretty common to have one bike in a group of 4 or more that needs to adjust their levers, chain etc. Having quick access to tools to make you want to take the time to make the ride better seems prudent.

My tail bag is too big, so it convinces me to bring more shit than I really need. I've got a spare front tube, tire inflator, first aid kit. All it is, is one more thing to hit me in the ass as I'm going over bumpy terrain and one more thing to wash when I get home.

A buddy had a stick pop and hit him in the upper shin, breaking his leg when he didn't have kneeguards. We always wear them now.

Finding reliable riding buddies is hard and sometimes I just like riding solo. For peace of mind for my wife and I, I got a Garmin Inreach Mini that I keep on my person. It's got an SOS feature that works off satellite so I can call for help if I don't have cell service.

 

+1 on the Leatt 5.5

I'm waiting on a backordered 6.5 for a few weeks now

 

I titled mine and got a tag when I bought it, so I put a sicass racing dual sport
Kit on it. Works great. Although I took it back
Off as we’ve been doing HS and figured I’d just rip parts of it off.

 

Alpinestars tech7 boots (for the win!!!)
leatt dual axis knee/shin guards. prefer these over braces. i would rather tear up a knee, then to have my femur, tib fib break. (personal preference)
klim over boot pants for when wet muddy (i rarely ride then though)
troy lee GP pants jerseys, or fly stuff for normal riding
ktm soft armor body suit
Airoh (light as hell), or troy lee helmet depending on how i feel
100% dual pane vented lens (racecraft frame). the dual pane ELIMINATES ALL FOGGING
Klim, fxr, 100%, or tld gloves.
uswe hydration back pack (for the win!!!)
will have a leatt 5.5 neck brace before next springs riding starts.

buy it, wear it!!! does you no good in the truck, or at home, in a box. it might seem hot, heavy etc... better than an extended stay at the hospital. Ski

 

I wear a Fly armour suit with Elbo and shoulder pads, EVS knee pads and Gaerne SG10 boots. All of it is really comfortable and very protective.
Wear a Fly Formula helmet, it is the lightest most comfortable helmet I’ve ever put on. Has them funny looking Little blue pads in it also that helps with lower energy impacts. It’s amazing how noticeable the weight missing is, almost feels like you don’t even have one on. Definitely worth the money.

As far as pants and Jerseys, they don’t do much. I do have a pair of over the boot fly pants that are pretty good, and some vented stuff also. For when it’s not cold. Have rode in overalls and t shirts though and as long as you’ve got the armor suit and the protective stuff it’s just as good.

 

oh yeah, almost forgot... sent my KTM forks and shock out today, to Kreft, for their magic on the aer48/linkage suspension set up, including their revalve control. hoping to have it all back by christmas. Ski

 

I started out with a Sicass lighting kit on the XC-F and then added an Acerbis VSL headlight and high-output stator from Trail Tech. I had a strong dislike for the plunger-type on/off headlight switch, so I sourced a Yamaha WR headlight switch and the requisite wiring. The nice part about the LED element is that it doesn't take up that much space in front of the handlebars light an incandescent bulb would. The VSL is bright, annoyingly so - people sometimes flash their brights at me when riding on the side of the road between trails during the day.

 

That bike looks amazingly clean after 22 hours of riding.

 

When mountain biking, I would always have a spare tube, tire patch kit, pump and tire levers. I changed or patched plenty of tubes out on the trail. For the dirt bike, I actually just got a shipment in for most of that of that stuff, but I am not convinced I want to be changing a tube on the dirt bike on the side of the trail. I'd probably just ride it back to base camp and fix it there. I guess it depends how far you are venturing out and what the terrain is like. I haven't run into that situation yet so I am not sure.

 

What other options did you consider for this? In a similar boat in going out alone and not getting cell service so wouldn’t mind something similar but 350 and 35 bucks a month seems steep..........until you’re in a ditch and need it, obviously

 

thanks for the info guys.

yeah, i know most mountain bike peeps carry spare tubes and spoons.. is that something that’s not needed for dirty bikes?

 

Which is rare for that race. The dust was considerable. It tailed off a bit in the early morning as it picked up some moisture from the air, but not much.

Also, each team member can ride their own bike so it’s only 5 hours at that point

 

Mousse tubes. Never worry about a flat again.

 

That's why this topic could be a thread on its own. Of all the various scenarios from a) I'm in the back yard, b) I never lose sight of my truck, to z) I have no idea where my truck is, much less where I am...there's a prudent amount and type of gear to be wearing and carrying.

 

this or tubliss. Either will give you amazing traction and much less worry about flats.

 

I don’t mind tubliss for fun rides because they are so easy to plug and be on your way. For racing it’s still a risk.