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Lairy colours are the way forwards
Doddy Thursday, Aug 14, 2008 1.00am
Bold is in... (Doddy)
Outdoor brands like The North Face and Helly Hansen have always made bright colours as they look great and double up as safety aids when out in the elements. Snowboarding is one of the most fashion led sports around and the last year or so has seen an influx of lairy 80's colour threads- and mountain biking is getting the same treatment.
Tech doesn't mean boring
Sombrio cartel clothing: the originators of modern mtb cool?
Companies like Animal have woken up and as well as offering killer apres clothing, they offer some ace riding threads- like the Rocket shorts in Camo which are mega lightweight, are compatible with inner shorts and feature a full wicking mesh liner. They look ace on and off the bike. At the other end of the spectrum is Charge bikes who like the factory look - but with bold graphics and bright colourways (and a bit of colour co-ordination on your part) you can have a sweet looking factory look. Charge definitely have the cool end of the stick going on - hardwear and softwear alike.
Finishing touches are tidy: you get what you pay for - quality
Helly Hansen has been one of our favourite brands for sometime now as they kick it in the mountain stakes and are applying their skill to the MTB world. The Gaupe jersey is an MBUK favourite - despite the fabric that snags on velcro - as its loose fitted cut and super wicking material works amazingly. And the colourways are available from fresh white through to fluro orange and grey. Awesome.
Helly again: the gaupe ticks our boxes
Maloja are another brand that seemed to come from no-where, and have an enormous range - believe us, they will be HUGE. The demand this year has been pretty high but still not many people know about their stuff. Just wait until next year - the kit will be everywhere. We're donning plenty of the kit right now, but we expect it to be hard to get hold of soon thanks to the great design, bold colourways and apres appearance. Check them out here.
Maloja: subtle and loud from the german giants
And it's not just the clothing that's getting lairy - check these fluro yellow pedals from Gusset. They really are so loud your eyes go funny - and are also availabe in fluro pink and green. Amazing stuff - if you've got the balls!
Oakley as usual have more than enough lairy stuff out there - you've no doubt seen me wearing the fluro yellow Radar glasses - known as Retina Burn, well this is the latest colourway to get off the boat- and they are f-f-f-f-fressssh!
Who says lairy ain't cool?: pick one and rock it out
Apres clothing is as important to many bikers as the performance kit as socialising is something that us mountain bikers do well. There are many associated brands for those that want to fly the MTB flag like DMR and Dirtyhabit, but look a little closer and you'll see other brands that tie in nicely. There's DC shoe co; Etnies, Nike 6.0 and a whole bunch out there. Any Forty are a small brand hailing from Newcastle making some loud colourways in simple designs- but we expect big things from then in the future. Remember how Dirtyhabit started- and high street giant Fenchurch too. They were just small brands with big ideas.
And again...gettin arty here
Don't forget about classics like Vans too- they've been around since people started wearing cool clothing, and clearly have no intention of going away- these hi-tops are their interpretation of 80's B-boy basketball sneaks. Again- lookin' fresh!
And vans: back to the future...
Probably the best thing about MTB fashion right now is that there is so much good stuff out there that we don;t all have to look the same- like everyone did donned in Fox MX kit back in the mid '90's. Fox are back big time with some ace threads, but variety is what makes people stand out. Check out the linked websites on this blog and you might get some ideas yourselves.
Now go forth and get that credit card smoking, grasshoppers...
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