There’s a photo of Freehub’s founder wearing stormtrooper-looking knee and shin pads with Keen sandals while riding the Whistler Bike Park hanging in the office.
It’s a decade old, and a beautiful and hilarious reminder of how much our sport (and Freehub) has evolved. But when it comes to those knee pads, thank God those days are long behind us. It used to be you had two options: wearing big, bulky and uncomfortable knee pads, or wearing none at all. But as pedaling became more popular and wearing pads more universal, it was only a matter of time until comfortable and decent-looking “enduro” pads started to show up.
Destroyer Equipment, based out of Salt Lake City, Utah, has a strong connection with the snowboard and skate worlds, like may mountain bikers, myself included. Considering street snowboard legend Jeremy Jones is part of the Destroyer homie crew, there’s no question to the core devotion of the brand. When Destroyer’s founder Mike Nelson rolled though the office, and I was able to put a face and handshake (back when we did those) to the man behind the brand, I knew I was a fan of the company. Their gear, however, still needed vetting.
[continued...]
From Freehub Mag
At our core, we are mountain bikers and adventurers. Luckily for others, we are also storytellers, builders and advocates for all things bike, and we strive to bring mountain bike culture to the like-minded masses through our magazine and website. People are what drive our sport, and their stories are what motivate us to produce our printed publication, short films and web content. Whether it’s the tale of a world-class athlete, legacy of a local trail builder, or delineation of a struggling community turned mountain bike mecca, these are the narratives that drive innovation and inspiration alike—and the stories we love to tell.
