As you can see, the Element gear looks right at home blasting berms. There are more high-performance products available from O'Neal, but the entry-level stuff we tried out was perfect for the target buyer.
If you've ever had your gear bag fall out of your truck or had a buddy borrow your gear only to have it cut off of him in the hospital, you know that replacing your riding apparel on short notice can be difficult. Considering the price of top-level gear, fully restocking your gear bag can be one hell of a challenge financially, especially this time of year with the Holidays right around the corner. Trails fresh with long-awaited moisture are begging to be ridden, but luckily there are options that allow you to snare some new duds and still afford that holiday ham. We recently put some budget-minded gear to the test in the form of
O'Neal's 2007 Element pant and jersey.
The Scoop:
Element Pant:
When I pulled these out of the packaging the first thing I noticed was how light they are. I'm really sensitive about gearing up in heavy pants because I've got enough problems with fatigue without adding extra poundage. Made from 840 denier fabric, 120mm Spandex side panels and Kevlar on the inner knee, the Element pants are minimalist. Injection-molded rubber emblems grace the upper thigh and outer knee for clean looks and a tad more protection. Internal safety features come in the form of hip pads, the same form, actually. Likely a result of keeping costs low, the pads are interchangeable, triangular-shaped inserts. They were a little wide for my taste and I could feel them bunch at the waistline at times when crouched or seated.
Picking up a pant/jersey combo for less than a C-note is pretty cool. Getting decent quality out of that gear is even better.
Sliding into the pants revealed a comfortable fit. The size-34 waist was a little larger than some and a lack of adjustment left the pants a little loose every time we went out. The plastic buckle offers some level of fit, but the pants would benefit from a set of Velcro straps at the sides to help cinch things down. One reason a loose-fitting waistline causes problems is that it allows the pants to slip when gripping the seat and makes it difficult to transfer that stability to the rider. As for the Elements, that wasn't too much of a problem because the contact patches on a rider's butt and knees struggle to hold their place against the bike. Although these pants come up a little short in some areas, they never leave a rider completely lacking in some facet of performance. The actually do a respectable job all around considering that they retail for under 70 bucks.
Element Jersey:
The best thing about the Element jersey is how easy it is on the eyes. Sublimated graphics, 100% polyester fabric and bright colors give the impression that this jersey is worth more than its $21.95 MSRP. We've certainly seen worse entry-level gear so we were pleased with O'Neal's clean, simple styling. The shiny polyester is pretty hot to ride in and doesn't offer much in the way of air flow. The jersey does, however, include decent sewn-in elbow padding and fits comfortably. An extended tail section helps keep from coming untucked, but the slippery polyester and loose pants had us showing off our riding shorts quite often.
The Sentence:
Keeping your butt planted is important whether it's during hard acceleration or hillclimbing in the woods. Gripping the bike was one of the areas we struggled with inside the Element pants.
The performance of this entry-level gear is obviously lower than what you'll get from top-shelf duds. Our biggest issue was venting. Our sweaty moto sessions in SoCal really emphasized this weakness but once we returned to the cool, misty mountains of southern Oregon for some trail riding, we didn't find the venting to be nearly as big of an issue. The best feature of this gear line is the durability. Even though the pant material doesn't grip a bike as well as some others, it surely is tough. The jersey has resisted fading and tears from the kind of inconspicuous trail snags that have left plenty of other jerseys flapping in the wind. This gear does a great job at what it was designed to do: provide inexpensive, reliable and attractive race wear that will appeal to experienced, budget-minded riders or newbies looking to get out of their ratty jeans and long-sleeves.
Product: O'Neal Element Pant
Color Options: Blue, Red, Grey, Army Green
Sizes: 28 - 42 (44-52 in Grey only)
MSRP: $69.99
Buy It Now: O'Neal Racing Element Pants
Find More O'Neal Element Products
Product: O'Neal Element Jersey
Color Options: Blue, Red, Grey, Army Green
Sizes: S - XXL (3XL and 4XL in Grey only)
MSRP: $21.95
Buy It Now: O'Neal Element Jersey
Find More O'Neal Products
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