What kit would you take, specifically protection kit, for a week of guided riding in southern Spain (around the seirra nevada)?

Planning on a holiday in Feb/March, and I’ve currently only got a half shell helmet, and thin knee pads, which are both quite adequate for 80% of my riding.

However, the several hundred metre, rocky descents (with uplift) of Spain are quite another thing.

I’m already thinking I’ll need some decent knee and elbow pads (fox launch Pro d30 are on the list), but I’m also thinking a full face and pair of goggles would be a very good idea, alongside the normal helmet and riding glasses. The Fox proframe is high on the list.

Obviously I’ll get more use out of this at BPW/Alps and many other places, so it’s not like it’s just being bought for this trip.

Thoughts? Bear in mind that a bit (a lot!) of the riding there will be pushing my comfort zone (in a good way).

Anything else to consider/add to the list?

If it’s rocks you’re worried about I’d be looking at some pads with a hard shell.
I used some Dainese Trailskin (knee) and TLD soft pads in Whistler and were fine including a couple of offs but not too much rock out there..

I’d take my normal Fox Launch Pro pads but probably make do with an open-face lid unless doing shuttle runs.

Elbow pads a good idea. Test before to make sure they don’t end up on your wrists after 100m of descending.

Yeah the fox launch pro d30 have hard shell covers and d30 pads, which I’m a big fan of, all my motorbike kit has them.

Spain seems to be 95% rock with the other 5% being spiky bushes, from what I can gather…

And its likely to be a lot of uplifts with very little climbing.

I went over for a few yrs running to Ciclo Montana and used hard shell knee pads & elbow pads.

Both got used, although I was doing a lot of falling off.
This was before the days of D30 type ‘clever’ pads that stay soft until an impact.

I didn’t bother with a full face & goggles, but I don’t tend to ride that hard & the really rocky bits were taken with a fair amount of caution.
A couple of my mates took Met Parachute pseudo full-face jobbies.

The only troublesome injury I had was one relatively hard impact on my kneecap where my pads had slipped down slightly while riding & I hadn’t got round to yanking them back up (I replaced them after this incident). It made bending my knee uncomfortable for a couple of days, which was obviously inconvenient & the pressure of the knee pad on my knee cap made it worse.

Goggles are a good shout, as you forgot the 50% dust and unless you’re at the front all the time it could get in your eyes.

Also makes you more likely to wash out and possibly land on your face, so full-face is probably a sensible idea if doing multiple uplifts per day.

Depends which company you’re using. Ciclo are more uplift-assisted (you will climb) and I wouldn’t dare take a full face or goggles out with mark, except on the DH day. switchbacks supposedly more full uplift. Never ridden with them.

If it’s Ciclo I’d go with elbow protectors and knee/leg pads that you can stash on a backpack. Mark will always give you fair warning as to when you should pad up. I’d possibly suggest full length shin guards. The low-level undergrowth is spiky as hell and will leave you torn and battered. Descents such as Arthur Scargill throw up sharp edged rocks that dent down tubes and tear at flesh.

It will be cold in feb in the mountains. Consider taking waterproofs and long sleeve baselayers. coastal spots are warmer though.

Whoever you’re riding with, enjoy it. There’s nothing quite like the terrain out there anywhere else.

It’ll most likely be with RSS (ride southern spain), I think they’re mostly uplift but can tailor to riders preference. I’d always take a normal helmet and glasses anyway.

For me personally – riding a trail blind (following a guide) open face and knee pads – my natural wimpiness on a trail I don’t know will regulate my speed.
Obvs YMMV.

Glasses are a good shout for riding in a group somewhere dry and dusty.

I’m unfamiliar with the climate of southern spain in march, but would recommend gloves for protection on any week long biking trip, however warm it is. A 0mph crash on day 1 that cuts your palm will ruin the week.

Just come back from a week with RSS
Wasn’t very impressed tbh.
Disorganized, no guide on the first day and the food was terrible and none existent on one occasion.
Would not recommend.

Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend

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Hmm, interesting. I know they’re one of the newer outfits there but they seemed pretty decent going by the videos etc.

There’s plenty of choice down that way, and lots of time to decide before booking, and apart from the amount of uplifting, the riding is likely to be the same so eveything above still applies! 😀

That’s what I thought too
I was wrong.
They seem to be all about the website while not actually delivering
Riding wise we’ve been going out there for 5 or 6 years. All I tend to wear is knee pads I don’t do armpads and a convertible lid that’s mainly use in open Face mode.
It’s rocky but not as steep or exposed as some Alpine trails

SSstu’s advice is sound, Spain is bloody hot for a full face, but not steep and exposed like the Alps. Just come back from a week with Basque MTB and didn’t feel that I needed one. (and in fact their advice is not to bother with one)

EDIT, Good knee pads on the other hand, are worth their weight…I went with Sweet Protection, they were a pain to pedal in, but I was thankful every time the trail got rocky and pointed downwards

Who would be on your reccomended list @spaindescendingstu ?

I’d want a decent villa accomodation base – pool would be a bonus, good apre ride atmosphere (I’d be going on my own so always good to get a good bunch of people out there,) a good 5/6 days of riding, and around the £500-600 mark for 7 days.

I know Basque MTB (although not technically southern spain) are just about the best in the business, you get what you pay for with them. Switch-backs seem good at £680 currently, then there’s enduro malaga, ciclo montana, sierra mtb, ride sierra nevada…

It’s almost like it’s a great area for mountain biking… 😀

And I agree Spain in general would be too hot for a full face, but in Feb/March? This year at the end of March there was the odd day above 20, mostly 18-20 degrees which to me is perfect.

I’ve used Singletrack Safari based in Andorra, and that has all you want, based in the west of the Pyrenees though, so probs knee deep in snow in Feb/Mar

I’ve been out with RSS, and had the opposite experience to sstu. It was an amazing holiday. Really good riding too. I think it depends what you want to ride as Andy can take you on anything from xc to full on dh. Alot of the tracks are very Rocky, and I personally preferred wearing a full most if the time.

Yes the riding is good in that area who every you go with but when the guide is asking a guest for trail advice there’s something not right…
Andy is a nice enough guy but doesn’t know enough trails yet.
We’ll be going back to Mark again next year and wouldn’t consider RSS again unless they improved drastically

I’ve done 2 trips in the last year to the Pyrenees with Basque MTB and on both occasions found 3DO knee and elbows (I use POC VPD Air) do a great job. On both trips I caught a rock to the shin once in 6 days of riding, so personally feel shin pads to be overkill for such low odds. It stings for a few minutes but that’s about it.
Open or full face is down to personal choice and what you feel most confident in. Most riders on both my trips wore open face, I and 1 or 2 others opted for Enduro style full face. You hope not to need the extra protection, but I can tell you from experience that if yon crash in a rock garden an hit your face it hurts, a lot.

I’d highly recommend Basque MTB’s Ainsa Winter Enduro trip in Feb/March. It’s chilly, there’s no pool, but riding is fantastic, with superb well organised guides.

As above, good knee pads. The terrain in Spain (will cause you pain?) is quite rocky.
I would also suggest a good long sleeve top as certainly here in the north there are a lot of spiky plants so its worth having something to ward of the thorns!

We’ve done a load of trips out with Basque MTB – body armour is a tough call. Knee and elbow pads are a good idea. More would always be good when you come off, less to carry the rest of the time (I can’t climb any distance in pads – feels like it drains the energy from my legs).

I’ve got some POC Stormtrooper but it felt overkill – Fox Lanch pro and D3O elbow have done the last few years. I did catch a rock to the shin on this year’s trip (and still have last remnants of the scab 6 weeks later) but it was in France after the week with Doug and some days in Ainsa on a trail I wasn’t even riding knee pads for so “shrugs”.

For me I’ll be trying to find something that I can put on without removing shoes next time. For arms I’d go pretty lightweight but extending as far down the forearm as possible (further than the POC I’ve got now). Spiky bushes and trees can be an issue. Lightweight shins would protect legs from thorns and stuff but at the expense of being hotter to pedal in.

This Fox top was pretty good at protecting from brambles last summer in the UK https://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/305998/products/fox-attack-pro-ls-jersey-midnight-blue.aspx

I’ve ridden with Ciclo Montana and only had a roadie helmet and some basic shin / knee pads. Some people in the group were dressed like full on storm troopers which did seem a bit over kill to me…

Marco (guide) wore elbow guards as well.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/6bFxU3]Marco[/url] by Ben Freeman, on Flickr

Who gave Marko proper gloves? Usually it’s some dodgy orange builders mitts. Also: there’s actual tread on his tyres. Wtaf?

Dont forget long socks and fingered gloves for the spikey plants…only saying as I always do forget and end up like pin cushion

I’ve done two trips with Switchbacks, one to Bubion the other to Malaga.

I would say it’s as much down to you as the terrain. There’s a lot of descending, and if you crash it’s always got the potential to hurt, A LOT! A lot of riding, means the risk of a bad off is intrinsically higher than say a trail center in the UK. Even compared to an uplift day, you’re doing a week of it.

So basically you’re probably going to crash, and it’s probably going to hurt.

I’ve taken full armor, knee/shin pads, armored shorts, elbow pads, FF and open helmet. On balance, I think I prefer riding in an open face, with knee pads and riding at 90%. I crashed a lot more in full armor and full face, and they still hurt, and I ended up with a broken arm. I’d actually be tempted to take a saw to a FF and remove the chin guard as a compromise as I’ve not found an ‘enduro’ helmet that really fits my big head.

Also, consider how much “some” climbing might actually entail. Even if the uplift van takes you from 1000m above sea level to 2000m. That can still leaves 500m of climbing to the trail, even just carrying a full face and armor at that altitude feels like hard work, let alone wearing it! And if you’re solo, then if there is scope to tailor the days to the rest of the group you’re unfortunately outvoted so worth taking every bit of kit you have room for and at least having options.

Also, if you do take a full armor jacket, take plasters, wearing them for 6 days straight chafes somewhat!

the picture of the rider above…….

is it me or has his bike got ultra narrow bars ? , looks around 650mm !!

and apparently not a fan of 1 finger braking either….. 😉

That’s a pretty old photo to be fair! 3×9, 26″, old pikes and larsens…

…and apparently not a fan of 1 finger braking either…..

…I don’t think he uses them that often.

Mark looks like a young puppy in that pic. 😉

Sierra Nevada is like the lake District with bigger hills and more sun. I’d not go beyond a half face and elbows/Knees unless I was Ridimg park or DH with uplift.

It’s certainly very loose – crashy, and also rocky – hurty. However it’s (compared to most UK trails) also quite techy. Techy is slow. I don’t think you really need full robocop outfit. Trail kit is fine, unless you are going to be hitting downhill race pace.