Although you may have the most sophisticated, ultimate, most expensive bike model, you can’t really call yourself a serious biker unless you have the appropriate cycling apparel. If you practice this sport at amateur, semi-professional or professional levels, you will notice that cycling apparel will make a big difference in your performance, in your comfort while riding the bike and in preventing injuries.
Let’s start with what you can get for your head. You have 2 main pieces of cycling apparel here, namely sunglasses and helmets. Besides the fact that both look cool, they have quite important practical uses. Sunglasses will greatly impact a long run, where you may meet adverse weather conditions such as frontal sun, wind and so forth. They also protect your eyes from dust or any sort of other particles that might get in your eye, hindering you from concentrating on the track. They will also allow you to avoid that nasty wind draft eye soreness after a longer run.
In what regards helmets, it goes without saying that their first role is protection from injury. When you fall off your bike at higher speeds you DO NOT want to be caught without a helmet. Of course, if you go down at a speed like that, you’ll probably end up with a couple of scratches and bruises (if not worse) anyway, but whether these injuries can be healed relatively easy, a head injury might prove more serious. Hence the importance that cycling apparel companies put on their helmets, making them safer and a lot more shock-resistant than before.
Besides this practical (and ultimately, logical) use of the cycling helmet, some have an aerodynamic shape that allows you to attain higher speeds and avoid problems cause by heavy wind on the track. Of course, this is mainly noticeable for professional cyclists, but these aerodynamic types of helmets are becoming more and more popular amongst casual bikers too. Other important advantages of wearing a cycling helm include being protected from rain (most modern helmets are water-proof) and they can have small LED lights attached to them, enchanting your visibility. These helms have a large array of prices, mainly because of the multitude of companies producing them and the popularity some of them attained in cycling events. Some of the most famous such companies include Giro, Bell, Gita or Diadora.
Let’s move down the body a bit and talk about cycling jerseys and pants. Their main role is to keep body temperature comfortable and to allow sweat to dissipate through them. A good pair of cycling pants is elastic enough to allow pedaling without any constraints and at the same time keep thigh muscles warm, thus protecting you from pulled hamstrings, strained muscles and other similar injuries. For professional bikers, these two pieces of cycling apparel need to be tight, giving them a bonus in aerodynamics and in long runs their ability to keep you warm in chilly winds or keep you cool on a hot afternoon race is essential to your ability to concentrate on the track.
Knee, shoulder and elbow pads are also important pieces of cycling apparel. In the unfortunate event that you fall off your bike, it’s one of these areas you’ll hit the ground with first, so these protective pads might allow you to avoid some nasty cuts and bruises if not more serious fractures and sprains. When choosing such a pad however, you must make sure you are comfortable with wearing it and it doesn’t feel too tight or too loose, thus making it uncomfortable. A good protective pad shouldn’t even be felt when it’s on in the first place.
Last but not least, a good pair of running shoes is an essential piece of cycling apparel to both casuals and pros. Think about the fact that you’ll have to do thousands of pedal cycles with your feet and you DON’T want your shoes to feel uncomfortable doing so. They must be light so you don’t put extra pressure on your legs and they should have a good grip so that your foot doesn’t slip off the pedal.
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