Basics of a Mountain Bike First Aid Kit

Mountain biking is fun, exciting and a great way to spend quality time outdoors. But it does come with risks. While riding within your limits and wearing proper equipment can help to minimize the risk of falls and injuries, mistakes and accidents happen to the best of us. And when they do, you’ll be happy to have a first aid kit handy. Read on for what you should include in your MTB first aid kit.

What to include in your mountain bike first aid kit

Alcohol wipes

Alcohol prep pads or alcohol wipes are useful to have on hand in case you take a fall while mountain biking.

Before applying any bandage or dressing to your cuts, scrapes or abrasions, you’ll want to give the injured area a good cleaning and disinfect the wound.

These are great to clean your cuts when patching yourself up trailside, but keep in mind you may still want to give the affected area a more thorough cleaning once you get home from your ride.

Wound dressings and bandages

It goes without saying that you’ll want to make sure to have wound dressings or bandages of some sort in your first aid kit.

This can include gauze pads, a gauze roll, and small bandages like band aids. These items are great to treat relatively minor injuries like scrapes, cuts and abrasions that are commonly sustained when you take a spill mountain biking.

Gauze pads and rolls are especially useful for larger cuts and abrasions, while band aids are handy to have for smaller scrapes and cuts.

Medical tape

If you’re going to be using gauze pads or a gauze roll in your first aid kit, you’ll need medical tape.

Mountain bikers who take a fall and have cuts, scrapes or abrasions that are too big for just a band aid will benefit from having gauze dressing, and the tape will be needed to keep this dressing in place.

You could use duct tape in place of medical tape, but you may find duct tape too big and onerous to carry with you while out mountain biking. Medical tape rolls are usually fairly compact.

Latex gloves

While latex gloves aren’t something that will be standard to all first aid kits, they can be very useful to have in your kit.

When you’re out riding, your hands are probably getting sweaty and dirty from the ride. Your hands might have just been in your old mountain bike gloves, or they could be covered in dirt or have lubricant from your shocks or drivetrain on them.

If you take a tumble off your bike and end up with some cuts or abrasions, ideally you won’t want to be touching the area with dirty hands.

This is even more true if a riding buddy goes down and needs your help to get them patched up. You won’t want to be touching the area with your bare hands, and they probably would prefer you not touch their cuts or scrapes with your bare, dirty hands either

Whether attending to yourself or a friend, its nice to be able to throw on a pair of latex gloves, tend to the wound, and then dispose of the gloves. This keeps things more sanitary for everyone.

Small light

Keeping a small, easily transportable light in your first aid kit is a good idea. The reason for this is in case you take a bad fall and aren’t able to get out of a trail under your own power, like if you broke your leg.

You may wind up being alone in the woods and if it gets dark, not only will your own ability to see what’s around you be greatly reduced, but people searching for you will have a lot harder time finding you if you’re just sitting in the dark with no light.

Utility knife

A small utility knife can come in handy in so many situations. For first aid purposes, having a knife to even cut a piece of gauze can be quite useful.

Beyond that, a utility knife can be useful even as a tool for your bike in a pinch. Some MTB multi-tools come standard with a small knife.

Ways to carry your first aid kit with you on your mountain bike

One issue that comes up for mountain bikers thinking of carrying a first aid kit is how will they carry it on the trail with them while they ride. One obvious requirement of any kit is that it be fairly lightweight and compact.

Backpack or hydration pack

One way of carrying your first aid kit with you while out on the trails is by keeping it in a small backpack while you ride.

If you ride with a hydration pack, this is also another way to store your kit while you ride. If you don’t already have a hydration pack but are starting to think you should be riding with a first aid kit, this is a great reason to get yourself one!

Frame mounted bag

Another way to go about carrying your kit with you while riding is by attaching a frame mounted bag to your bike. In addition to holding first aid supplies, you could even throw some other useful things in there like some bike tools or a small tire pump.

Things to consider with your first aid kit

Proper training

Learning to properly use the supplies in your first aid kit is just as important as having it to begin with. For the basic first aid kit discussed here, using the supplies is fairly self explanatory, but if you’ve never applied gauze bandages, read up here.

This article should in no way be considered a replacement for first aid training.

If you want to be able to provide more than just basic assistance for relatively minor scrapes and abrasions, you should check around your area for first aid training courses. There are even first aid courses geared toward providing wilderness first aid, which of course would be quite useful for mountain bikers.

Weight and space

When putting together your first aid kit for mountain biking, keep in mind you are constrained by both the weight of the kit and the amount of space it takes up, as you’ll need to carry it with you while you ride.

You won’t be able to carry a kit that will cover you in every possible situation while mountain biking, unless you’re willing to sacrifice serious speed and mobility.

Keep larger kit in the car

Because you only have space for a limited amount of first aid supplies while you ride, it’s a good idea to keep extra first aid gear in your car. This can include extra bandages, tape, alcohol wipes, a flashlight, and anything else you decide you’d like to have relatively close by while you ride.

This way you can quickly patch yourself up on the trail, but if need be head back to the car to do a more thorough job. It also could come in handy if you come across an injured rider on the trail.

More safety tips

• Ride with others if possible – It’s always best to ride with others when mountain biking. While the sport is relatively safe if you ride within your abilities, mistakes and accidents can and do happen. A worst case scenario is a bad crash that causes you to lose consciousness and not having anyone there to get you the help you need.
• Let someone know where you will be riding – There will always be times when you want to go riding but don’t have a riding buddy who’s free to go with you. If you still decide to ride alone, make sure you let someone else know where you will be riding, and be as specific as possible. If you’re heading to a large or remote trail system, it probably makes sense to identify which specific trails you will be on, just in case you end up taking a bad fall and aren’t able to call for help.
• Carry a cell phone – You should always have a way to contact help whenever you go mountain biking.
• Call emergency services if seriously injured – Never try to deal with a serious injury on your own without getting proper medical care. If you or someone else is seriously hurt while mountain biking, do not delay in calling emergency services.
• Ride within your limits – A good way to stay safe is by avoiding the need to use your first aid kit to begin with! Riding within your limits and abilities is a good way to cut down on falls and injuries.
• Wear the proper protective gear – Wearing the proper protective equipment, including a quality helmet, mountain biking gloves, and other protective gear is a great way to cut down on injuries.
• Understand the wilderness in the area – Depending on where you ride, the types of wild animals in your area can make your riding experience less safe. Be sure you understand if there are large predator animals in your area, and take additional precautions if there are (such as carrying bear spray).

Frequently asked questions

Conclusion

Basic MTB first aid kits are excellent at dealing with the most common scrapes and abrasions you are likely to get from a fall while mountain biking. While this won’t replace other best practices for safe mountain biking, many riders find them useful to have on hand. It never hurts to be prepared.

Now get out there and ride, have fun and be safe!