MTB Start-Up Clothing Survey

cooldad

Yet another pointless survey.

Eg. How often do you replace your cycling clothing?

No option for as and when required. I have stuff that's 30 years old (in nice garish 80's colours) and stuff I bought recently that probably needs replacing as I crashed.

LimitedGarry

I think the survey would be more suitable for the roadies. Many MTB riders I know wear plain functional shirts (or even cotton shirts in some cases) and whatever shorts they have at home. Cycling specific jackets? Forget it. Comfy sweatshirt is sufficient. Mountain bikers spend much more time on the dirty ground than roadies, so many of us dress accordingly.
And the priceranges? Dude! My summer set minus gloves probably costs less than the cheapest jersey option.

rockmonkeysc

No option to select buying online & instore. I probably go 50/50.
No option for buying new kit when the old stuff is dead.
I gave up after that

Crazyjenkins01

Sorry but I cant see what useable data this would provide, so I haven't participated.

fat daddy

RockmonkeySC wrote:

No option to select buying online & instore. I probably go 50/50.
No option for buying new kit when the old stuff is dead.
I gave up after that

that's exactly how far I got

LimitedGarry

Crazyjenkins01 wrote:

Sorry but I cant see what useable data this would provide, so I haven't participated.

IMHO they want to know how much are people generally spending on clothing and whether they prefer functionality, looks or brand.
To be fair, I don't think you can do business today solely on cycling clothing. You either also sell other gear, or wider variety of clothing. And unless your prices and selection are really good, you're not going to convince people to buy stuff online instead of going out and trying it on before buying.

On another note, I just got some belgian truffles with chilli as a gift and god damn, that is possibly the best chocolate product I ever had. It's like drinking hot chocolate, but with that melting on tongue sensation you only get with solid chocolate. I also looked up how much they cost online... :shock:

Angus Young

Mountain bikers must be the whiniest little bitches on the internet.

LimitedGarry

Angus Young wrote:

Mountain bikers must be the whiniest little bitches on the internet.

You know, if you see someone making a survey about something you know a lot about and then see that the survey author has only surface knowledge of the subject and/or accepts embarrassing stereotypes as common reality, you can't help but call them out on it.

Angus Young

LimitedGarry wrote:

Angus Young wrote:

Mountain bikers must be the whiniest little bitches on the internet.

You know, if you see someone making a survey about something you know a lot about and then see that the survey author has only surface knowledge of the subject and/or accepts embarrassing stereotypes as common reality, you can't help but call them out on it.

Well, I'm guessing you don't really "know a lot about" this subject given that you dismiss their efforts on the grounds that "Many MTB riders I know wear plain functional shirts (or even cotton shirts in some cases) and whatever shorts they have at home. Cycling specific jackets? Forget it. Comfy sweatshirt is sufficient. Mountain bikers spend much more time on the dirty ground than roadies, so many of us dress accordingly." And yet there seems to be a very healthy market for specific and often expensive MTB clothing so someone must be buying it. Lots of someones.

cooldad

I ride and run and wear specific technical clothing for both.

But I have little time with people who join the forum, dump a crappy survey and leave.

The Op hasn't logged in since posting the survey, and if they don't give a crap, neither do I.

This is my happy little community place.

Angus Young

cooldad wrote:

I ride and run and wear specific technical clothing for both.

But I have little time with people who join the forum, dump a crappy survey and leave.

The Op hasn't logged in since posting the survey, and if they don't give a crap, neither do I.

This is my happy little community place.

Perhaps they saw the warm welcome they received and thought better of returning.

cooldad

You might have a point.

I still don't give a crap.

In the nicest possible way.

LimitedGarry

Angus Young wrote:

LimitedGarry wrote:

Angus Young wrote:

Mountain bikers must be the whiniest little bitches on the internet.

You know, if you see someone making a survey about something you know a lot about and then see that the survey author has only surface knowledge of the subject and/or accepts embarrassing stereotypes as common reality, you can't help but call them out on it.

Well, I'm guessing you don't really "know a lot about" this subject given that you dismiss their efforts on the grounds that "Many MTB riders I know wear plain functional shirts (or even cotton shirts in some cases) and whatever shorts they have at home. Cycling specific jackets? Forget it. Comfy sweatshirt is sufficient. Mountain bikers spend much more time on the dirty ground than roadies, so many of us dress accordingly." And yet there seems to be a very healthy market for specific and often expensive MTB clothing so someone must be buying it. Lots of someones.

I'm not claiming there isn't a market for it, just that the MTB portion of it is definitely not as thriving as the road portion.
What you quote to be a dismissal of their effort was my personal feedback on their survey. I dismiss their efforts on the grounds that starting up a company solely by selling MTB clothing is IMHO not feasible. The market thrives by selling less items for more money. That's why you rarely see clearance discounts on MTB clothing. While it's a great business, it's not a solid base for a new company.

And to be completely honest, I don't even think that the OP is actually starting up a company. IMHO it's just another school project meant to get literally whatever data.

Angus Young

LimitedGarry wrote:

I'm not claiming there isn't a market for it, just that the MTB portion of it is definitely not as thriving as the road portion.
What you quote to be a dismissal of their effort was my personal feedback on their survey. I dismiss their efforts on the grounds that starting up a company solely by selling MTB clothing is IMHO not feasible. The market thrives by selling less items for more money. That's why you rarely see clearance discounts on MTB clothing. While it's a great business, it's not a solid base for a new company.

The likes of Troy Lee and Endura would beg to differ. And I don't think I've ever seen anyone at a trail centre in some old pair of shorts they had just laying round the house rather than MTB specific shorts. Go look at any of the threads here that ask about shorts and most of the locals will show up with their recommendations. One would hope they're talking from experience and not just going off a picture in a magazine of shorts they've never worn. And, yes, you see plenty of discounts on MTB clothing. You seem to be living in a bubble.

cooldad

Endura stuff for me. Well made and tough. I always buy on sale though. You can get baggies for about £28 at the moment at Evans, and short sleeved jerseys for £18 from CRC. Not exactly extortionate prices.

On One/Planet X socks, some decent gloves, a reasonable helmet on sale and you can be kitted out well, and fashionably for under £100.

Angus Young

cooldad wrote:

Endura stuff for me. Well made and tough. I always buy on sale though. You can get baggies for about £28 at the moment at Evans, and short sleeved jerseys for £18 from CRC. Not exactly extortionate prices.

Yeah, they make great kit. I've had lots of big crashes in their shorts and they look like new. Tough as nails. A bit pissed off as I've gone and lost my pair of Full Monty gloves which I really liked and it turns out they're not making them anymore so I can't replace. But I'll definitely be looking for something else in their range.

JBA

LimitedGarry wrote:

I think the survey would be more suitable for the roadies. Many MTB riders I know wear plain functional shirts (or even cotton shirts in some cases) and whatever shorts they have at home. Cycling specific jackets? Forget it. Comfy sweatshirt is sufficient. Mountain bikers spend much more time on the dirty ground than roadies, so many of us dress accordingly.
And the priceranges? Dude! My summer set minus gloves probably costs less than the cheapest jersey option.

You've never ridden in Wales, have you?

Cotton shirts, comfy sweatshirts??!!! They would double their own weight in the rain here.

LimitedGarry

Angus Young wrote:

The likes of Troy Lee and Endura would beg to differ. And I don't think I've ever seen anyone at a trail centre in some old pair of shorts they had just laying round the house rather than MTB specific shorts. Go look at any of the threads here that ask about shorts and most of the locals will show up with their recommendations. One would hope they're talking from experience and not just going off a picture in a magazine of shorts they've never worn. And, yes, you see plenty of discounts on MTB clothing. You seem to be living in a bubble.

[/quote]

Discounts are a different thing than clearance sales. When we receive some new clothes, we know exactly when they're going to get cleared out (go on 50-90% sale). Biking gear in general is stocked up and only goes on clearance sale when nobody's bought it for a long time.
Sales are used to boost incomes during specific time periods, clearance sales to clear out the stock and make financial and physical room for more stuff.

And I certainly do not ride in some old shorts. Shorts used for daily MTB riding rarely get the chance to get old. I go for general sports gear. Will give Endura a look, although I've not seen much of their stuff in my locale other than helmets (actually bought one of their helmets a few weeks ago)- And I highly prefer to buy locally after trying clothes out, especially shorts. Bad shorts can ruin a ride.

LimitedGarry

JBA wrote:

You've never ridden in Wales, have you?

Cotton shirts, comfy sweatshirts??!!! They would double their own weight in the rain here.

Actually, no. I haven't. Cotton shirts suck for riding, although people do use them. And a sweatshirt or a hoodie can be rain proof.

Angus Young

LimitedGarry wrote:

And I certainly do not ride in some old shorts. Shorts used for daily MTB riding rarely get the chance to get old. I go for general sports gear. Will give Endura a look, although I've not seen much of their stuff in my locale other than helmets (actually bought one of their helmets a few weeks ago)- And I highly prefer to buy locally after trying clothes out, especially shorts. Bad shorts can ruin a ride.

Try the Hummvee shorts. They're excellent, can't fault them.

mattyfez

Angus Young wrote:

LimitedGarry wrote:

And I certainly do not ride in some old shorts. Shorts used for daily MTB riding rarely get the chance to get old. I go for general sports gear. Will give Endura a look, although I've not seen much of their stuff in my locale other than helmets (actually bought one of their helmets a few weeks ago)- And I highly prefer to buy locally after trying clothes out, especially shorts. Bad shorts can ruin a ride.

Try the Hummvee shorts. They're excellent, can't fault them.

Yeh apart from gloves, humvees are the only bike specific clothes I wear, for the same reasons, I kept ripping my casual shorts. Other than that, random old tshirts, sometimes a scruffy old fleece or old short sleeve checked shirt.

LimitedGarry

Hey, since you mentioned gloves. How are you guys getting along with your paddings? I've tried a whole bunch of gloves and ended up taking out the gel padding out of all of them because of palm pains after about 90 minutes of riding. Currently on Specialized Grail. Just now I'm finishing stitching them back up after removing the padding. I bought them because firstly, they actually seem durable and super comfortable and secondly, their padding is different than other gloves. Funny thing is, they turned out to be the worst pair of gloves in terms of chronic pain. It's like the pads do the exact opposite of what they're meant to do. Without padding, the Grail is the most comfortable pair of MTB-suitable gloves I ever had on.

cooldad

I don't like any padding. Just want a bit of protection and some warmth in winter.

Angus Young

That's one of the good things about the Full Montys - very unobtrusive padding.

Crazyjenkins01

Seems a can of worms was opened there!
Endura are my go to, windproof (cant remember which ones) gloves, humvee 3/4s, MT500 spray baggies, singletrack jacket and singletrack (I think) softshell convertible jacket. Great kit, not to expensive and looks good. what more could you want?!?!

JBA

LimitedGarry wrote:

Hey, since you mentioned gloves. How are you guys getting along with your paddings? I've tried a whole bunch of gloves and ended up taking out the gel padding out of all of them because of palm pains after about 90 minutes of riding. Currently on Specialized Grail. Just now I'm finishing stitching them back up after removing the padding. I bought them because firstly, they actually seem durable and super comfortable and secondly, their padding is different than other gloves. Funny thing is, they turned out to be the worst pair of gloves in terms of chronic pain. It's like the pads do the exact opposite of what they're meant to do. Without padding, the Grail is the most comfortable pair of MTB-suitable gloves I ever had on.

So why don't you just buy gloves without padding? :roll:

I use Endura Humvee Lite gloves. They are a good fit (for me) and afford just the right amount of grip.

Angus Young

JBA wrote:

So why don't you just buy gloves without padding? :roll:

That's exactly what I was thinking.

LimitedGarry

If you think I'm going to be enlightened by your wisdom, you're going to be disappointing. If It was as simple as "buy gloves without padding" I wouldn't be asking about them.
Visited all eight of our local bike shops and three of the general sports clothes shops. The only half finger gloves without padding they sell are feather light road gloves which will disintegrate after as much as touching mud. Before anyone asks why I wear half fingers, I don't live in the UK. We get 35°C temperatures quite regularly during summer.

rockmonkeysc

I have at least three pair of gloves with no padding. I can't think of a manufacturer who doesn't make them. Mine are Troy Lee, good quality and cheap.