At this year’s Eurobike expo mountain bike brands showcased a smattering of new wearable products, including featherweight helmets, all-mountain and trekking shoes, goggles, and full coverage body armor.
Full face and half shell lids
The moto-focused team at Alpinestars has taken their gas-powered racing knowledge and transferred it to an even broader mountain bike range. The brand now offers two full face skull protectors to match the rest of their gear. The Missile Tech lid includes a MIPS liner, 22 air vents, and an ERS emergency extraction system. The patented visor release system allows riders’ heads to move with their bodies when they hit the deck, and the D-ring chin strap keeps the lid properly mounted. The Missile Tech weighs in at a reported 1020g (size medium).
The Missile Pro skips the MIPS system for a lower price tag, and a lighter weight class (950g, size medium), while retaining all of the cool features of the Tech model. Both helmets are molded around a broad field of vision, suitable for the largest goggles on the market. Prices and availability for the new Alpinestars helmets will be available on their site soon.
Over at the iXS booth, weight was the primary focus, and the company has done well by creating the lightest full face helmet on the market to date. The Trigger FF has all of the protection acronyms might expect from a head-wrapping lid, like the EN1078, CPSC, and ASTM certifications. The helmet is molded as one unit, with an internal frame to reinforce the chinbar, allowing IXS to cut in additional vents and keeping the weight below 600g (size s/m).
The Trigger FF will ship with 2 sets of cheekpads to help dial in the fit, and a dial retention system to better strap it to your skull, all held together with a Fidlock chinstrap. The lightest full face helmet on the market is available now for $249 (find and compare prices).
Giro’s latest lid, named the Tyrant, is neither half shell nor full face, but a clear moto-trials replica. The MIPS-equipped helmets are aimed at a lower price point than the brand’s other gravity lids, as well as a different fashion perspective. The Tyrant will be available in four colors and will retail for $150 (available on Amazon.com). Check out Giro’s jump-happy release edit here.
Leatt’s DBX 1.0 half shell is a pricepoint piece with most of the bells and whistles of their top models. It includes the 360° Turbine technology that the brand claims “reduces up to 30% of head impact at concussion level, and reduces up to 40% of rotational acceleration to head and brain.” The DBX 1.0 is available in three sizes and five colorways for $69.99.
Leatt will also have their first dedicated women’s apparel line, including jackets, jerseys, shorts, and gloves. The new helmets and line are expected to be available later this year.
Flat and clipless shoes
We recently covered the new Trailcross shoes from Five Ten, and the brand has not slowed down their creativity machine since. Early next year they will have an additional GorTex model of the flat-pedal offering for wet weather riding, and a clipless version is in the works as well.
Giro has a new all-mountain and trekking shoe available with their Ventana Boa and Fastlace kicks. Both shoes feature a grippy sole for hike-a-bike situations, while their main differences lie in lacing styles. The Boa version will retail for $180, and the Fastlace for $130 bucks. Both of the new styles will be available this fall.
Shimano launched several new colorways for their popular AM9 and AM7 shoes, and a women’s fit in the AM7 that comes in a sweet looking plumb color with peach laces. The peach accent color showed up in a number of places throughout Eurobike expo, including Kona’s 2020 downhill frame. Shimano also released a new ebike-rated trekking shoe, designed to be versatile and walkable while retaining the sole stiffness to make it a good day-long pedal pusher.
Goggles
Celebrating 20 years of mountain bike fun, component brand Funn is jumping into the wearable gear game with a new set of goggles. The masks will come in a variety of colors, with a primary focus on maximizing the rider’s field of vision.
The outrigger frame design allows the strap to push the goggles firmly into the helmet, and against the rider’s face. Pricing and availability info will soon be posted on the Funn website.
The gravity practitioners at iXS have released two different goggle options for the 2020 season. The Trigger mask comes with a single or double-paned lens, in a variety of lens tints and strap colors. Trigger goggles are available from $75.90 – $149 depending on lens configuration.
The brand’s entry level model, named the Hack, forgoes the outrigger strap attachment and larger vent holes of the Trigger, and retails for $39.90.
Armor
Several protection brands had new body armor on display and of course, Leatt was in the mix. Their two new Airflex Stealth armor shirts both provide back, chest and shoulder padding, and the long-sleeve version includes elbow armor. Each of the Airflex Stealth shirts has a full-length zipper for easy entry and exit, and a removable upper back panel for proper integration with the brand’s neck braces.
The long sleeve Airflex Stealth armor retails for $239.99, while pricing on the short sleeve is not available at this time.
Pearl Izumi is throwing a knee and elbow into the armor game, and they’re using the skills they have to make it great. The brand has been developing knee and arm warmers since the dinosaurs were wearing them, and they know how to keep the leg or arm sleeve in place. The new D3O-equipped pads have been tested by hundreds of riders from around the globe over the past several years, and the engineers at Pearl Izumi are confident that they have a pad that protects as well as it pedals.
Knee and elbow pads will come in two levels of protection, with the sturdier Elevate knees and elbows selling for €124.95 and €84.95 respectively, and the thinner Summit models at €84.95 and €64.95. Pearl Izumi’s new pads will be available at your local dealer in spring/summer of 2020.
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