I wear road gear and a camelbak and MTB shoes, If I have a looser jersey available I'll wear that.

I wear baggy MTB shorts and a tech/running tee but no problem wearing a road kit (I used to only wear road kits on my MTB). I would just advise not wearing white if you're getting muddy. I wear gloves when ride off road, prefer full finger for MTB.

Yes, full finger gloves too

It depends , I do XC riding so I wear a cycling kit, full gloves and small camel back.
Other folks with more travel type bikes (trail/ all mountain) use casual loose trail shorts and loose type of jersey.

MTB clothing tends to be baggy to suit the needs of enduro and trail riders. Proper xc riders just wear road lycra and helmets without peaks. You will probably find the baggy clothing as alien as a downhill racer would find lycra. Like you I dabble in a bit of MTB (general riding and xc racing), and when just riding I wear gravel type semi fitted shorts with a slightly more relaxed lycra jersey, or a technical t shirt.

Our bike team members who race mtb wear normal "road" bibs and jerseys. Maybe not tight road jerseys, but a normal jersey nonetheless.

They also do use a Camelbak. There's a practical nature in some gravel riding and mtb of both losing bottles OR the fact you really need hands more often on the bars. You may toss the tube in your mouth in a second of easy stuff then drink hands free then spit it out.

The whole baggy pants t-shirt thing with mtb I just boil down to a combo of folks more recreational and less race oriented and a tad of being seen as cool.

Personally I don't like baggy shorts as it may hang on a saddle or something. Normal jerseys have convenient feed pockets.

Do what's comfy for you.

But 100% folks who really race mtb use bibs and jerseys in the races and often in training. I mean, as a team we're kinda obligated to rep the sponsors by wearing it anyway.

I go back and forth between lycra shorts and a jersey or baggy mtn bike shorts with a padded liner and just a wicking type shirt. It mostly depends on what is clean.

If you decide to go baggy and are looking for recommendations, I would recommend these shorts.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088LXLVBQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Is short: whatever you want. The only difference in the SE between trail and XC is how hard you're pushing...we are all on the same trails. Going slower and for less time I do like baggier options. Fox Flex-Air long sleeve jersey are incredibly light and help keep bugs away during hotter months. If I am going out for a longer or faster ride, the chamois on proper bibs will beat every liner short every time. Camelbak and a road jersey are a great combo as you can reach the outer pockets and drinking while riding is easier.

like others have said, you can wear whatever you want. If people think you look funny, that's their problem and not yours. I just ride normal road stuff on my MTB. Its comfortable, breathable, and I already own it so it doesn't cost me extra money. Usually in the summertime i dedicate one kit to MTB so i can coat it in permethrin to avoid ticks.

It's an engineering problem- purely a function of suspension travel.

0-100m roadie tight
100->150mm looser fitting
>150mm baggy

Just my opinion: If you are going to wear your road kit, wear an old one. Even a low speed fall can rip your nice new kit. I wear my old bibs that are now too transparent for road use (showing too much skin) under baggy bike shorts or rip stop type shorts. I have a few older bike jerseys I’ll throw on. One of them got ripped in a bike wreck and I have it patched together with gorilla tape. LOL. It holds up in the wash.

I would also advise using good flat pedals with some mountain biking shoes made for flats. No worries about not getting un clipped. Great for learning, in my opinion, and its how I ride now. I’m not a pro, just an old guy that wants to minimize injuries.

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56-11...the only way to fly

Follow up boarder line dumb question. Does it matter what kind of camel back? I feel like with water bottles sure a nice one is well... nicer. But cheap ones hold water and squirt in your mouth all the same. So will a cheap walmart style hydration pack do or will that just fall apart and die after one heavy ride?

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I still lapped everyone on the couch!

2 friends bought cheap hydration packs, then they bought a camelbak.

I won't waste money on a cheap hydration pack, you're going to get a camelbak anyway so don't bother with the cheap non-functional one.

Personally, I put my flat repair kit in my camelbak and use a Ratchet 100 oz Hydration Pack. I've also used a Rogue 85 oz Hydration Pack.

I like the 100 oz for long rides. It's not unusual for me to spend 3+ hours on a mountain bike.

Edit: I don't use a Ratchet, I use a Lobo.
Edit, Edit: Apparently I use an older Lobo that looks like a newer Ratchet :)

I wear my "fancy" road lycra road shorts but with baggie shorts over them. (Never bibs in case I gotta pee.) This helps by 1) not feeling like a dork as I bike with my 10 yr-old, & 2) protects the shorts in the event of a crash. Regular bike shirt but a cheaper one.

I do a little of both but probably 80% baggy and 20% cycling kit. I find the baggy stuff more comfortable in the summer when I get really sweaty - with less wind than road riding the front of my bibs gets saturated and it gets really uncomfortable. I also like having some pockets on my legs for easy access to phone, nutrition, etc. Also as others have mentioned cycling kits can get ripped pretty easily. All of my baggy shorts are significantly more durable than road bibs.

If you do get into any more aggressive riding you may want to consider knee and elbow pads which don't really work with tight kits. I do typically use a regular cycling kit when I race XC. On my local trails I see a 50/50 split between baggy and lycra. No issue either way.

Re: hydration packs, I use bottles on most of my fun/casual rides but as other have mentioned it can be tough to grab a bottle when you're riding and need to keep hands on the bars. I will still use my Camelback for races and longer rides (maybe over 2-3 hours). My 10-year-old Camelback is still in great condition so I think it's worth spending the money on a decent one.

Style is subjective, so I'll stay away from that.

For shorts, I like a two layer approach. Wear whatever bibs or shorts you want. Then a liner shell. The shell protects your expensive roadie bibs and gives another sliding layer because you should be moving around a lot on your saddle. You don't have to go crazy with shells. I like the Pearl Izumi Summit shell for MTB. To me, PI really hits a good performance vs. money ratio. A lot of the crossfit type shorts work well too. They aren't too baggy and most are made with durable fabric and enough stretch built in. An unlined Helix II with whatever inseam length you want can be yours for $34 USD right now. I can tell you they work really well and are extremely similar to the MTB specific shorts you're paying way more for. My Pixel XL in a small case fits in the zippered side pocket if you like keeping your phone close. Nobody has to know you're wearing your $250 Raphlociostelli shorts underneath and you don't have to worry about messing them up with a shell short you can also use at the gym.

Tops might depend on where you live and your climate. There's no rules and it's hard to go too casual. If you are using a hydration pack instead of bottles, you can basically wear whatever the weather allows. I live on the IL/WI border and cotton is miserable in the warm months, but would probably be fine in low humidity areas. Polyester based flannels are really, really common here unless it's too warm. Polyester based short sleeves that are somewhat loose fitting typically fill in for the summer months. If you want to go bike specific and very breathable, more bike brands are getting into stuff like this mesh button up shirt from Pearl Izumi. Outdoor stores have similar types of shirts for fishing, camping, hiking, etc that don't overheat and dry quickly. MTB always feels 10-15 degrees warmer than road biking so I tend to find cooling more of an issue than staying warm for half the year.

Full finger gloves are highly desirable. Padding is not too common, but it's whatever your preference is. Work gloves from the hardware store are great too. The original Mechanix work gloves have been popular MTB gloves for a long time.

I'm a large knee pad advocate, especially for newer riders and/or runners. I have ridden MTB for many years and rarely ride without them now. Smacking your knee once can keep you away from running for weeks. I think there's a little mental security while wearing them too that you may be willing to push yourself and expand your skill set slightly. Elbow pads are pretty rare around here, but are probably next in the hierarchy after helmet, gloves, and knee pads. If you're concerned about what you're wearing to ride bikes, it's very rare somebody would wear knee pads without 'baggy' shell-type shorts over them.

I like hydration packs more than bottles most of the time. It's a lot quicker and safer to put the hose in your mouth than try to drink from a bottle. Osprey tends to be more popular than Camelback in the MTB realm. There's other good brands as well. The Osprey Raptor 10 is about as big as I can imagine needing for a single day. Their Katari series is nice for fast and light. I have the Katari 1.5 for races that aren't too long and the Raptor 10 for everything else. I have tried the hip packs, but anything bigger than a single bottle is a bit bulky for me and all I'm doing is using it to hold the bottle not in my frame's bottle cage, not to actively drink from. The Bontrager Rapid is my favorite of the few hip packs I have used.

Helmets are a personal thing. MTB specific helmets have gotten pretty good and a little more coverage on the sides and lower part of your head is very welcome with rocks, roots and trees all over. Since you're moving around so much on your bike, it really helps to go somewhere you can try helmets on. If you can shake your head around a bit with the helmet on, but unstrapped, and it moves with you instead of rattling around, that's a good fit. A helmet that doesn't fit great becomes noticeable real quickly on a MTB.

Socks are whatever you want. Ankle socks are not very common. The socks you would wear at 50 degrees on the road is what you would probably wear for 40 degrees on the MTB.

Lots of people are still hitting the trail in pure road gear, so don't feel pressured to buy a bunch of new stuff though.

I wear my normal bibs, and don’t bother with a shell. I use to wear road jerseys but recently bought a POC MTB specific jersey and I regret not getting one earlier, and only getting one (link below).

If you’re going to ride for 2 hours or longer I’d consider getting a Thule hydration pack with a straw that is retractable. Definitely don’t cheap out or you’ll just be wasting money in the long run. Camelbaks are fine too but I’ve never really loved the 2-3 I’ve had compared to the Thule ones. They also make insulated ones if you’re going to be riding where it’s really hot where ice won’t last long enough.

https://www.pocsports.com/...stance-ultra-zip-tee

I have a camelbak chase and a osprey raptor. Both are very well made IMO and i would buy either of those two brands again. They will last me a decade more of hiking and cycling.

I really like the size of the Chase. I also like that i can get to my back pockets pretty easily with the Chase on. and when hiking, most of the sweat from my back evaporates before it gets into my shorts, which eliminates salty discomfort later. With a traditional shaped camelbak, a lot more sweat drips down where i don't want it.

Definitely depends on the activity like others have said. I typically only ride XC so if I'm out just having fun I will resort to baggies, but if I am out for an actual ride it will be roadie like kit. There are a couple of differences though. I have a completely different helmet that only sees mountain bike time. That way if I head but a tree branch or fall I don't have to worry about my road helmet getting trashed. Second, are my jerseys. I do were my road jerseys but they are usually the older ones. Crashes happen but that its my main concern. There are always tree limbs that seem to reach out and snag you ripping little holes and me being a taller guy I usually find ways to rub shoulders, hips and thighs into tree trunks and branches in tight spaces. As for bibs Pactimo has some great bib liners that are nice and light that have two deep pockets on the small of the back. I usually carry my phone and my tools in those. These bibs also allow me to wear my baggie jerseys without having to worry about needing pockets on my jerseys to carry things. As far as hydration goes XC is simple. Put your bottles on your bike for shorter rides and get a good hydration pack, I have the Camelbak Chase, for the longer ones and can use you bottle cages for more water or for gear bottles.

No matter what you're doing just get out and rip. You can wear whatever you feel like. The mountain bike community is more accepting of everyone that the roadie and triathlon scene. They are just stoked to have others out on the trails having fun.

Road kits you no longer care about so that when you crash and tear it up, you're not kicking yourself.
The lightest knee pads you can find from Leatt. They're awesome. Makes kneeling while working on bike on the trail way more comfy too ;)
Gloves. Preferably, full finger gloves.

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Dr. Alex Harrison | Founder & CEO | Sport Physiology & Performance PhD
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"Mountain biking" is a pretty broad umbrella... What to wear totally depends on the type of ride I'm planning to do, which can vary a lot from one outing to the next, even on the same bike (obviously you can expand it even further w/ a stable of different bikes that are better-suited to various types of terrain).

I guess the simplest way to characterize it is how much time you plan to spend off the bike ~ some rides are pretty much all constant riding from start to finish, like more of a fitness-driven workout, so I'd dress more like a typical road ride. Other rides might be more like an adventure 'hiking' feel, only on wheels ~ i.e., more photo stops, maybe a quick side scramble up to a viewpoint, more snacks like trail mix or real food instead of multi-sport tech goo, possibly a quick dip in a lake or river if it's really hot out, etc. For those, I prefer the baggy-style riding shorts (usually an integrated pad/liner, or just wear some hiking shorts over normal biking shorts, depending on how warm the weather is, etc), so that way you have more pockets to carry stuff and aren't worried about thrashing your fancy lycra kit picking through brush and sitting/scooting your ass over rocks and such.

I've been mtb'ing since before the Girvin Flex Stem was considered front suspension.

The beauty of riding a mountain bike is wear whatever floats your boat.
Traditional bike shorts, baggy bike shorts. Bike jersey, t-shirt.

I use a Camelbak because it's much easier to get a drink when riding technical trail which is about all we have in my area.

Wear what you are comfortable in. I could not care less what someone thinks about what I wear when doing sport. I particularly like the pink frock I have with built-in padded short liner and low-cut front. As long as I’ve shaved my chest and leg hair it looks perfectly lovely.

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Trust me I’m a doctor!
Well, I have a PhD :-)

Yes.

Also true of road riding.

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