Equipment for the bike arena: Perfectly equipped for the bike park!

Here you will find information on the topics SAFETY FIRST and BIKE-TUNING and to the CHASSIS SETUP.

Safety first

Most bike park operators prescribe extensive protective equipment. A full-face helmet, knee pads, gloves and goggles are the absolute basic equipment if you want to shred in the park. However, you can only be on the safe side if you also equip yourself with back, chest and elbow protectors and also wear special bike shoes.

Full face helmet

Lightweight full-face helmets with good ventilation are expensive and can easily cost 200 euros. However, they usually score points with significantly greater comfort and are also easy on the neck muscles. The IXS Trigger FF Mips full-face helmet has numerous ventilation channels, a practical magnetic fastener, an easy-to-use adjustment wheel and weighs only around 600 grams. However, it also costs 280 euros >> available here.

Leatt's Gravity 1.0 is a little simpler. For around 100 euros, however, it still remains under a kilo and is a good alternative for sporadic visits to the bike park >> at Rose or Maciag Offroad available.

Bike shoes

Walking shoes or trainers may still be okay for your first attempts on easy courses. But as soon as you venture into serious descents, there is no way around special bike shoes. Soft and grippy rubber compounds and a flat profile interlock perfectly with the pins of the pedals and provide perfect grip when ironing over braking bumps or sailing through the air. Five Tens Freerider is an absolute classic, has been tried and tested for many years and is still reasonably priced. Price: 110 Euro >> e.g. at Rose available.

Back protector

Our body's nerve motorway runs through the spine. It is particularly important to protect it. That's why you shouldn't set off on a bike park descent without a back protector. While hard-shell protectors used to be stubborn and sweaty, there are now flexible and well-ventilated options such as the Bluegrass Seamless B&S D3O. Self-hardening foam panels protect the back on impact, while the mesh structure of the shirt feels like a lightweight vest. Available with or without shoulder protectors. Price 250/190 euros >> e.g. available at Alltricks.

Goggle

Frenchie style is what you say when you slide normal sunglasses under your full-face helmet. Goggles are not only much more stylish, but also more functional. They protect your eyes perfectly from draughts and flying dirt or insects at high speeds. Dark shades should be avoided, as they make it difficult for the eyes to cope with the rapid changes between light and shade. Riders in the Downhill World Cup often opt for clear lenses, even when the sun is shining, because they provide better vision. Treat yourself to a double lens, which provides better protection against fogging. Otherwise, an inexpensive model such as the O'Neal B-10 for approx. 40 euros >> e.g. available here.

Knee pads

For use in the bike park, we recommend pads with the higher protection level 2, which are generally heavier and less well ventilated than the lightweight level 1 pads, but also provide better protection in the event of a fall. The Ion K-Pact was able to prove itself in our last Test in BIKE 8/21 with a high level of comfort and protection. For those who don't want to do without elbow protection, Ion's E-Pact is the perfect match for the arms. Price 90/80 Euro >> e.g. at Mountain friends or Rose available.

Caution when using your own bike

Jump a drop on a trail bike? Hit the downhill track on an enduro bike? Most manufacturers clearly regulate what you can do with a mountain bike. Find out before you take your bike to the bike park. Manufacturers use stickers to indicate the respective classification (category 1 to 5). Bikes in the Category 3 (mostly Trail and AM) approved for rough terrain and difficult routes as well as jumps and drops up to a maximum height of 61 centimetres. Models of the Category 4 (enduro bikes) can cope with descents on rough terrain, a maximum speed of 40 km/h and jumps and drops up to a height of 122 centimetres.

Bike tuning

Of course, a downhill bike is the ideal machine for the bike park. However, flow country trails and less demanding park descents can also be mastered on a trail bike, all-mountain or enduro bike. With a few tricks, you can prepare your bike for a visit to the park. However, if you are unsure or want to protect your equipment, it is better to hire a bike on site.

The right tyres

Tyres suitable for downhill riding do not immediately turn a trail bike into a downhiller, but they do provide much more safety on rougher terrain. It makes sense to change your tyres before going to the park and the effort will be rewarded with better grip when cornering and braking, better damping and more puncture protection. Schwalbe Magic Mary (1) or Maxxis Minion DHF and DHR (front/rear) (2) are tried and tested bike park tyres. As it's usually only downhill anyway, weight doesn't play a major role here and you can go for the heavy enduro or downhill carcasses - such as Maxxis Exo+, Schwalbe Super Gravity or Contis Enduro-Casing. Ideally, you should choose a tyre with an additional apex - a puncture protection insert that prevents punctures. Soft rubber compounds, such as Maxxis MaxxTerra, Schwalbe Addix Soft or Contis Soft Compound, are also a good choice.

Inner tube or tubeless?

The question also arises in the bike park: with or without a tube? If you're fitting new tyres anyway, you can save yourself the tubeless setup for the park. If you go flat despite the more robust tyres, the repair is easier with an inner tube and you save yourself the mess with the sealant. A slightly more stable inner tube, such as the Freeride/DH light from Maxxis (€ 13.50) (4), reduces the risk of punctures even further compared to a standard inner tube. However, if you already have a suitable tubeless tyre fitted to your bike, you don't need to switch to tubes for a visit to the bike park.

Tubeless insert

If you want to play it absolutely safe, you can have your tyres fitted with a tyre insert. (3) upgrade. The foam rings can be installed in addition to the tubeless set-up and significantly increase puncture protection. The puncture protection inserts are available in different versions and weigh between
70 and 300 grams. Manufacturers such as Tannus now also offer versions that can be ridden with a tube and enclose it. Although fitting the protective rings is somewhat complex, they do not have a negative impact on rolling resistance.

Suspension setup for the bike park

Steep descents, hard hits - the suspension has to cope with a lot in the bike park. Setting the fork and shock a little firmer not only prevents them from bottoming out too quickly, but also ensures that the suspension is higher in its travel, which reduces the feeling of rollover on steep sections. We recommend a maximum of 20 per cent sag on the fork and 30 per cent on the shock - but a little less is better.

A similar effect can be achieved by slightly increasing the compression damping - usually the blue adjustment wheel on the right fork leg. It regulates the compression speed. If the low and high-speed compression damping can be adjusted separately, a few more clicks on the low-speed compression damping will prevent the fork from bottoming out on steep gradients. If, on the other hand, you increase the high-speed compression, the fork will not bottom out so easily on jumps or drops. | Photo: Daniel Simon

Tuning with volume spacers is somewhat more complex. These are usually supplied together with the fork and shock. If the suspension sags despite correct adjustment, the plastic sleeves can be used to reduce the air chamber and thus increase the progression. As a result, the suspension bounces less quickly and the response behaviour remains unaffected. You can find instructions on in our article on suspension fork tuning.

Pedals

Need to quickly put your foot down in a tricky spot? That can be tricky with clipless pedals. Platform pedals give your feet a secure foothold and sufficient grip in the terrain thanks to snappy pins. They are definitely the better choice for bike park use. The Crankbrothers Stamp 7 (here in the Seagrave edition, 170 euros) have proven themselves in numerous tests. They are available in two different sizes. Shimano PD-GR400 (70 euros) are inexpensive plastic pedals with nine interchangeable pins per side.

Cockpit

A wide handlebar provides more safety on demanding terrain. 760 millimetres
should definitely be the norm in the bike park. Perhaps you have a handlebar with a little more rise in your parts box? This raises the front end and reduces the feeling of rolling over. You can achieve the same effect by adding spacers from above the stem downwards. Two centimetres already make a noticeable difference.