DI.A 2015 Breakout Sessions | Bike fashion and its potential
Fashion is a term that has all sorts of connotations, embracing everything from the superficial to the latest in performance orientated clothing. Through fashion many sports have evolved their own identity; take a look at the surf and skate booms for example, as soon as the clothing was considered cool the popularity of the sports exploded. But where does that fit with cycling, what is our identity? If you ask the average person on the street, they may describe a High Viz, Lycra clad road warrior; is that how we want to be seen? Fashion has a huge potential to attract new riders to our sport; so during the Design & Innovation Award 2015 Jim Buchanan hosted a Breakout Session to determine the future of our sports aesthetic.
Being a rider who started out in the mid 90’s, I’ve seen a lot of bike fashions come and go. When I first got into mountain biking its style had just emerged from the shocking looks of the dreaded florescent lycra, polystyrene peak-less helmets, big wrap-around shades and fingerless gloves. The proper XC riders were still full-on lycra clad from top to bottom, pretty much as most are now, but the new sport of DH was bringing in new trends to the table, cool ones, rad, gnarly and all that shit, but it sold and it set those types of riders apart and gave them an identity in mountain biking, separate from that of their uphill racing buddies.
When we went racing back in the day the weekends consisted of XC races on the Saturday then DH on the Sunday, we were like chalk and cheese, we thought we were the cool ones; baggy race jeans, MX lids, goggles plus baggy casual clothing. That was us, it was our identity and what we stood for. The XC riders were like a different breed, prim and proper, sensible, going to bed early and taking their shit so seriously, just crying out to be ridiculed by us. I look back now and think how dumb we were, we would have been so much better if we were fitter and so much more set up for the switch (for many old-skool DH riders) over to the new world of Enduro.
But suddenly Enduro brought these two opposing worlds together, lycra became something we started to wear under our ‘not so baggy’ trail shorts in winter, tops became tighter and designed more with comfort and performance in mind. All DH riders back in the day wore big pads and armour, now the pads are minimal and full-face helmets are just used for racing only. Again we strive to show our identity, so the stereotypical trail rider now sports a fully equipped backpack, body contoured shorts and jersey, ultra light-weight jackets and half face helmets offering more protection.
The image our sport portrays is what brings in new riders, and we are starting to loose the ‘skin tight lycra’ image that most non cyclists believe we love. We now have XC riders championing the cause, steering away from the tight lycra towards the baggier style of Trail. They see the top Enduro racers looking less hardcore and more professional. Then there are the trail riders who are opting for the skinnier tighter fitting gear and lighter more performance based riding kit. So I wonder if we are heading for a kind of middle ground, one where we can all meet and do away with a categorized look. Can we ditch the old fashioned separate looks of someone who either goes uphill or someone who goes downhill, to sport a new fashion style of a rider who does it all? Lets hope so; as personally as I have got older and wiser I find that I think riding category prejudices are just a bit sad!
Joe Parkin
At our recent Design & Innovation Award 2015; I hooked up with some of our star jury to get some words on their thoughts on this topic. Joe Parkin, legend of the MTB and road industry, ex-pro rider and all-round California cool guy shared some wisdom from the US market:
“As far as colours, colour-schemes and shit like that goes, I think that what I’m seeing is the manufacturers seem to be really concentrating on things that fit better than they used to. I mean I remember some baggies that I wore just three or four years ago that were just total rubbish, just basically surf trunks, just straight-up board shorts. Now I’m seeing products with thought behind it; take Yeti for instance, when they released their short, they sewed this kind of silky satin material around the knee, and that kept your knee-pads from sticking to it. In the States it’s popular to wear button-down western wear, Club Ride is the leader in that charge, and that’s kinda cool. Then there’s Loraine Blancher; she’s one of two girls that enters the Whip-Off Worlds at Crankworks. Anyway I remember a great quote from her, it was ‘we finally know how to dress’. So once you can get to a point where the average person looks at us and doesn’t go ‘what a bunch of weirdos’ then ultimately that’s a good thing, it’ll get more people into it.
I’ve started wearing baggies on the road, I’ve been doing that for a few years now, it’s funny, I get stopped by ladies who roll down their window and ask where I got the shorts, because their husband or boyfriend rides on the road and doesn’t have the body to ride in lycra. The other kind of trends I’m seeing is people going towards really muted colours, dark colours, I mean the Enduro kit seems to be pretty loud, but there’s a lot of other people out there making it a lot more toned down, more urban styles. You can still go to any old bike park and you see people renting bikes and wearing jeans and a T-shirt with the pads on the outside, because they don’t know what bike fashion is. But I’ve definitely seen designs and clothing apparel that speak exactly to trail riding, the demands of the sport from beginner to pro.”
Manuel Fumic
To bring a different perspective, Manuel Fumic, top-ten world and number one German XC racer known for his mid-race whips and baggy shorts shared his thoughts on XC race fashion and his maverick approach:
“It’s just my kind-of style, that’s how I see mountain biking and nobody forced me to wear baggy shorts. I was the one who said ‘can I wear baggy shorts, because I don’t like to wear lycra any more’. In the end I’m a pro racer; but I think like a normal guy, like a customer; the type who doesn’t have to wear lycra or race races, who just enjoys mountain biking and wants to look cool on the bike. If you put baggy shorts on you feel more comfortable than when you are in tight lycra gear. That’s how I see the mountain bike sport and there are a lot of things to improve, especially clothing, because I think we can grow the sport if we have better and more stylish clothing. Most people are not into XC clothing, especially women, when they wear the tight lycra stuff it is not always a flattering look, they think ‘I don’t recognize myself or feel attractive’. The same with the men; if we were to have more casual and lifestyle clothing image I think more and more people would ride bicycles. I’m a guy who races XC races, and if there’s focus on me I can transport a message, I try to do this by wearing baggies! I get so many guys sending me emails and giving me good feedback. Many XC riders are a little bit afraid at the moment, because there are so may stories about baggy shorts not being as aerodynamic, but this is complete bullshit, we are not going fast like on the road.
When it comes to women’s fashion, my experience is that the girls love cycling but hate the clothing. The first time they jump on a bike they all love it, but what needs to be changed is the image. If you look at other sports like surfing or skateboarding, the sport has its roots in style and clothing, I think that’s what I think is missing in the mountain bike sport. If we can change that into a really good direction then mountain biking has so much more potential than it has now.”
Vali Höll
And finally we talked with the fastest female kid from Austria, at twelve years old, Vali Höll absolutely rips, a definite Rachael Atherton of the future, but how does she see the sports fashion developing:
“I think at the younger ages like me there aren’t many manufacturers making good biking clothing, the cool race trousers and helmets only seem to be done by Troy Lee, IXS and a couple more, they are often great for the boys, but it’s maybe a little bit too big for the younger girls. I think there should be more kids casual stuff out there too. Often bike clothing manufacturers worry more about the look than the function, because they don’t do enough rain jackets for example and the cuffs often aren’t well thought out. The gloves also are mostly too big and can ruffle up in your palm area, which is quite annoying and uncomfortable, especially when racing. I hope there is more stuff available, as there is only really three brands or so, there needs to be more protection and a lot lighter helmets for the little kids, I’m pretty sure this can only get better though, especially with so many fast kids coming through nowadays.”
The clothes that we wear and the style that we portray may seem like a superficial issue, but to those who do not ride it becomes our image and identity. When it comes to attracting new riders and interest in the sport, the more aesthetic and stylish we look, the more attractive our sport becomes. Also, it means that we no longer look like fluorescent skinned aliens as we enjoy our post ride beers, looking good on and off the bike. As we move out of the ‘lycra clad’ dark ages, into a newer, fresher trail style; we must never underestimate the power of fashion and its potential to improve our sport.
Words Jim Buchanan | Pictures: Joe Parkin, Christoph Bayer
Did you enjoy this article? If so, we would be stoked if you decide to support us with a monthly contribution. By becoming a supporter of ENDURO, you will help secure a sustainable future for high-quality mountain bike journalism. Click here to learn more.
