Leather, nakedness and commuting

[Mark YPVS]

Also depends on the type of accident, I was I full kit when a car hit me, I was doing 5mph and she was doing about 10mph but she didn't stop and drove over me (2 years recovery), a few years later wearing jeans trainers paddock jacket I high sided my R1 at about 120mph and walked away dislocated shoulder.
In the wet I use armoured stuff, on long rides a mix of leathers/ armour, for the 10 min commute (dry) amour jacket/ jeans/ sidi boots but always gloves.
its a gamble because you don't know what type of crash you going to have ( none hopefully)
Mark

[Skippernick]

That sounds pretty good. I already have (and love) bike jeans. Part of the reason I bought them is for commuting since I can wear jeans at work.


I'll look into the mesh jacket. Is this the idea:
http://www.hein-gericke.co.uk/clothing/m...black.html


(As an aside, I thought Hein Gericke closed down)

Not really, the stuff i was thinking of, no idea what its called, but, Henry Cole wears it, the presenter of the motorbike show like this.
https://www.itv.com/itvplayer/the-motorbike-show
Although not the leather waist coat, :lol

[nick crisp]

Have had minor gravel rash and a couple of cracked ribs when knocked off in jeans and t-shirt.
Smashed my shoulder and arm, broke my leg, punctured spleen, liver, intestine and lung, collapsed other lung, broke 8 or 9 ribs etc etc, all in one accident, when riding in full leathers, boots, gloves, the lot.
Where does this leave me? I'll tell you where. If everybody stopped selling all the protective gear, I'd still ride. So there... :nana

[simonm]

Maybe have a look at moto cross gear ?

This kinda stuff:  http://www.ghostbikes.com/categorylist/O...ss-Armour/

[chaz]

I have many years ago ridden a 650cc AJS wearing just shorts and sandels, no crash helmet either then, cool but stupid, and have ridden in t-shirt and jeans when I had a 535 and of course helmet, but if you slide down the road it's going to hurt and if you're unlucky it's months of skin grafting which is even more pain?

[redthunder]

In work this morning (Dublin) I saw a fella commuting on a Ducati Monster, lovely bike but it wasn't the bike that drew my attention. The guy was wearing a suit, shirt tie jacket the works, shoes a helmet and .... a satchel. A brown leather man bag. Now he did have a nice Shoei helmet on but unless his suit was made of kevlar any accident and he is in trouble.


A year or two ago here in Dublin some of the lads in work dealt with an accident where an 80+ year old man driving a toyota hiace sized van knocked down a biker who got caught up in part of the van and dragged by it for 4-500 metres, the old fogey hadn't a clue he even hit a bike never mind was dragging the driver along the tarmac at 40km/h+.


My point is regardless of how you drive, you have every chance of being taken out of it by someone else and speed may not be a factor at all (above).


I've only been riding since May 2012 and in all that time have been an ATGATT person all the way. Until this week, the weather has been so hot I've dropped the bottoms I have for jeans which are cooler but once it cools down again the gear will be going back on.

[VNA]

In this weather if you are wearing loads of gear, well the heat and dehydration might make you more likely to have an accident.

At the same time you can get knocked down by some lunatic just crossing the street, but we don't walk aboot in full PPE all day every day.

There's loads of folks who don their fancy leathers, PPE etc and it make em feel safe, so they ride faster, take more risks.

[Dead Eye]

The only thing I've been known to change is my trousers which at the minimum are normal jeans but the rest of the time I have my kevlar jeans with armour. I wear full protective clothing for everything else

So far, I haven't had to deal with the temperatures getting too high. I don't have to commute and very rarely ride around towns or cities where the traffic slows down - this means I can keep a bit of speed and stay relatively cool even on the hottest days.

[nick crisp]

I do actually always wear a proper jacket with armour (textile) and gloves even in this heat nowadays, but have worn jeans etc throughout most of my riding career. I don't have proper bike boots at the moment (temporarily), but even the Nikes I'm wearing give a modicum of ankle protection. Of course once we're back to wet weather (default setting!) this'll have to change.

[Loz]

I dont get this jeans thing, when my kids were young they reguarly took out the knees of their jeans just from tripping over!! why do you not value your legs as much as the rest of you? ....old woman attitude maybe  :rolleyes  just dont get the logic :eek

[Dave48]

You can be the best safest rider in the world when suddenly it all goes "t**s up"-loose gravel, diesel ,blind innatentive phone obsessed cager,private hire driver who has just finished a 15hr shift going home like a zombie on auto-pilot. Ah you say but my observational skills are so good I would have spotted all these potential hazards& more. Well all these things have happened to me and believe me you don't want to be using your skin like a pan scourer on the tarmac or trying to lift a bike off your leg while the header pipe is intent on giving you deep burns to thecalf/inner thigh or whatever. Forget all this "fashion" shit- it really is about self-preservation and while no jacket or trousers will prevent severe crush injuries you can avoid all the pain & tears resulting from having your skin flayed off by the road surface. Buy the best you can afford from helmet to boots-its easier to repair/replace a bike than undergo skin grafts & reconstructive surgery. Cagers think they are safe behind their glass and dashboard-have you ever experienced a 25-30mph impact in a car-say hitting a tree or lamp post/-even with a seat belt/air bags its a bit like falling face down from a 30 foot building-
Does it matter what the cyclists wear-its their choice-their body-you don't even have to undergo any training to cycle on the roads-Im not prejudiced against cyclists I have been on for most of my life-seem to remember doing a ROSPA cycling proficiency course in 1959. :lol Lost the badge but still got the certificate!-its good to be certified!! :eek :rollin :rollin

[nick crisp]

Why jeans? Firstly because I find textile armoured trousers to be far too warm in the summer. Secondly, because most of my riding is done to visit places of interest, where I don't want the bother of having to change when I get there, and don't currently have a top box to stuff it all in. Thirdly, when I started riding, there wasn't all this protective gear available anyway, everyone wore jeans and I guess that's stuck with some of us. In my 30 odd years of riding, I've come off the bike, now let's see, 6 times I think, and as far as legs are concerned, only had minor gravel rash on a knee once (whilst in jeans). I have also worked in parts/clothing depts. in bike shops for about ten years and always recommended to customers that they get fully kitted, after that it's their choice. If you decide to do one thing or another, I'm not going to criticise you for it, that's your choice, and I don't want to take that away from you.

[Loz]

Why jeans? Firstly because I find textile armoured trousers to be far too warm in the summer. Secondly, because most of my riding is done to visit places of interest, where I don't want the bother of having to change when I get there, and don't currently have a top box to stuff it all in. Thirdly, when I started riding, there wasn't all this protective gear available anyway, everyone wore jeans and I guess that's stuck with some of us. In my 30 odd years of riding, I've come off the bike, now let's see, 6 times I think, and as far as legs are concerned, only had minor gravel rash on a knee once (whilst in jeans). I have also worked in parts/clothing depts. in bike shops for about ten years and always recommended to customers that they get fully kitted, after that it's their choice. If you decide to do one thing or another, I'm not going to criticise you for it, that's your choice, and I don't want to take that away from you.

Fair enough, believe me i am not critising, i too passed back in 1975 and wouldnt have ever considered any sort of safety gear and saw many a nasty injury including a good friend that came off wearing a skirt riding pillion and lost alot more than just skin  :o  but it still didnt change my attitude, but then again the choices werent there either, certainly not the gear we have on offer now.But i have changed and i suppose my self preservason has changed too, so i am not critising just wondered what the thought process was as it seemed some valued one part of their body more than another and yes you are right its a personal choice as it should be 

[Dead Eye]

The reason for jeans is that out of all the standard items of clothing for your legs, they offer the most protection - its not great protection, but its a bit better. Jog bottoms, suit trousers, shorts and many other forms will completely disintegrate and a lot of artificial materials will melt to your skin under high temperatures. A decent pair of jeans (not the £5 crap) will drag a bit, albeit not particularly far and despite offering no real protection against crushing / burning at least they won't melt on to you

At the end of the day though, they are still a last resort and offer pretty poor protection compared to proper attire

[Lawrence]

The reason for jeans is that out of all the standard items of clothing for your legs, they offer the most protection - its not great protection, but its a bit better.

http://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=231812

Trying to find a copy of the original article...

[Slaninar]

I respect the help and extra protection gear offers, but for IN TOWN riding I prefer the cool head and slow careful driving that shorts and cycling helmet provide. When I'm hot and sweating on a motorcycle, I tend to be more nervous and ride faster.

Of course that at same speed, fall with full leathers will be less dangerous. However, riding at 35 C, I'm more likely to get into trouble when too hot.


The topic "Leather, NAKEDNESS" was so promising...    :\




http://strategywiki.org/wiki/Fallout_2/Armor

[Dead Eye]

[quote author=Dead Eye link=topic=8762.msg87058#msg87058 date=1373539308]
The reason for jeans is that out of all the standard items of clothing for your legs, they offer the most protection - its not great protection, but its a bit better.

http://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=231812

Trying to find a copy of the original article...
[/quote]

Oh I know they aren't great, just saying that they are better than jogging trousers or shorts

[simonm]

[quote author=Lawrence link=topic=8762.msg87064#msg87064 date=1373540593]
[quote author=Dead Eye link=topic=8762.msg87058#msg87058 date=1373539308]
The reason for jeans is that out of all the standard items of clothing for your legs, they offer the most protection - its not great protection, but its a bit better.

http://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=231812

Trying to find a copy of the original article...
[/quote]

Oh I know they aren't great, just saying that they are better than jogging trousers or shorts
[/quote]
So to use the analogy of putting a Magnum against a belt sander rather than a Mr whippy.  :lol

[nick crisp]

Let's get this straight - unless you wear proper motorcycle Kevlar and armour jeans, jeans give you no protection worth mentioning, end of...

[Slaninar]

Let's get this straight - unless you wear proper motorcycle Kevlar and armour jeans, jeans give you no protection worth mentioning, end of...

Better than just skin. Not much, but at low speeds, if pavement is not too abrasive - it does make noticeable difference.