Quote Originally Posted by tzvia View Post
An article I read in a MTB mag some years ago comes to mind, when they were answering a letter about fingerless vs full finger gloves. Their reply was to take pruning sheers and cut off the parts of your hands/fingers that you do not want to cover with gloves, as they are not important, then get gloves for what was left.

My MTB shoes are all scuffed up, and I wonder what my feet would look like had I worn sandals. And I'm no hard core rider. Funny, but my feet never feel hot, even when it is pushing 100f, and I never worry about them even when I crash. Good cycling shoes are worth every penny and sandals are for beach cruisers doing walking speed IMO.
I never wear anything but full-fingered gloves. Considering how hot it gets here, you'd think I'd notice, but I really don't. Gotta protect my hands!

As to the shoes... Yikes! When I think of what would have happened to my feet had I not been wearing MTB shoes on some rides, it makes me cringe. Again, never noticed my feet feeling hot. Wearing socks that wick probably helps that.

Seeing as I'm a downhill singletrack junkie, I wear protective gear over anything I don't want to get hurt. I believe this was brought up in another thread, but seriously, even with my gear I manage to get hurt where it doesn't cover. (For example, my shins and knees are protected but I still get bruises, scrapes & chain ring tattos on my calves.)

Oh, and do I need to remind everyone to wear a brain bucket? I still can't believe I see people speeding down a rocky singletrack wearing no helmet and flip flops. Or, in the case of some men-- no helmet, flip flops, and no shirt.