[moomintroll]

Hi all,
Looking for some opinions on what amount of protective gear people would recommend.
I commute 25 miles each way every day over Woodhead (A628 i.e busy A road & back roads, and wear the following. Dainese Knee protectors, Dainese Elbow Protectors, Spine and Chest Protectors, Base Layer, heavy army jacket, jeans, leather gloves, boots & most days 2 piece rain suit over the top.
But some times, feel that it may be overkill for getting onto my 125cc (Mostly only doing about 45mph). It takes me 20 minutes to get in my gear before I set off. I have switched from full leathers as I felt such a turkey in superbike gear pootling along.
I know that we can never know when we are going to end up in an accident, but am I over doing it?
Thanks

 

[StumpyFingers]

You may feel like you are over doing it and you may well be, until you do have a spill and it saves your skin.

 

[AIRWOLF]

Sounds sensible to me, you can never have too much protective gear. :thumbleft:

 

[outrunner]

Not too sure about the jeans, I tend to be as the Yanks say an ATGATT rider........All The Gear All The Time.

Andy.

 

[AlanH]

Mostly only doing about 45mph

The only times I've ever been injured have been at under 30mph with all the proper gear on:

I was t-boned by a car and a pair of hefty FT MX style boots saved my left leg. I got a compound fracture and needed plates and months of rehab but if I was wearing shorter boots with less protection I'd now have a carbon fibre and ally leg instead.

The only other really painful off I've had was at about 25mph where I was side-swiped by a Vauxhall Carlton (hit and run driver). I went over the bars landing on a high curb spine first. A Dainese back protector and Dainese jacket saved my spine and neck but I still managed to break my shoulder blade in four places and break four ribs.

So, if it wasn't for wearing the right gear, my life would be very different right now. Every time I'm tempted to save a few minutes getting kitted up, paranoia always kicks in and I think how pissed off I'd be if I had a smack on the only day I don't put on the right gear.

 

[Sharribee]

Hi all,
Looking for some opinions on what amount of protective gear people would recommend.
I commute 25 miles each way every day over Woodhead (A628 i.e busy A road & back roads, and wear the following. Dainese Knee protectors, Dainese Elbow Protectors, Spine and Chest Protectors, Base Layer, heavy army jacket, jeans, leather gloves, boots & most days 2 piece rain suit over the top.
But some times, feel that it may be overkill for getting onto my 125cc (Mostly only doing about 45mph). It takes me 20 minutes to get in my gear before I set off. I have switched from full leathers as I felt such a turkey in superbike gear pootling along.
I know that we can never know when we are going to end up in an accident, but am I over doing it?
Thanks

I think you should probabley ditch the army jacket and jeans and get some proper protective clothing. At 30 miles per hour you will go from denim to bone in less than 10 seconds, there is absolutely no point in having the rest of the stuff on because your are ignoring one of your most important organs - your skin.

Why don't you invest in some decent fabric gear with integrated armour, that way it will take you 5 minutes to throw it on and you will be fully protected rather than protected against bone trauma to the upper body and joints and leaving yourself vunerable to the most likely injury - i.e. loss of skin, muscle and bone.

 

[winxp-master]

I suppose just reiterating what others have said that you can NEVER have too much protective gear on.

I wouldn’t wear jeans on a bike for a pension!

Ditch the army jacket and get a jacket with integrated armour in like Sharribee says as this will save time.

You say you have leathers so obviously you already know the benefits of wearing them so just go back to what you know, what saves skin?… leathers…what saves broken bones?…armour.

I use 2-piece leathers and even if I am just going 1 mile into town I put them on, I have put armour in the slots provided so I don’t have to mess about with extras and it takes me about 10 minutes so it’s nothing really.

I’d rather wear leathers over any other protective gear, leather and be cold, wet, uncomfortable than textile and be warm, dry and comfortable… just in case, as you can always shot a textile jacket over the leather jacket as I do, takes another 2 minutes though

L8rz.



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[Von Short Hausen]

feel that it may be overkill for getting onto my 125cc.....<snip> .....I have switched from full leathers as I felt such a turkey in superbike gear pootling along. <snip>

Bike gear doesn't relate to what sort of bike you're riding, it's there for when you've left the bike and are sliding along the gravel.

I sometimes feel overdressed when I'm roasting at the lights and the scooter brigade are all around me in t-shirts and flip-flops. But then I remember the time I put my bike down the road.....and stood up without a scratch on me.

Be careful, but don't forget to enjoy your biking :thumbup:
Shorty

 

[Whealie]

Another vote for ATGATT.

50mph slide and my wife and I got up a bit bruised and wearing shredded bike gear - but it had done its job and protected our bodies. That was coming back from the shops about two miles from where we were staying.

I have to go out today simply to put fuel in the bike so it is ready for tomorrow's trip to the National. I will put all my gear on just for that journey.

Here's a few pics of what gravel rash looks like (I just searched Google)

You get the picture?

So, no matter how stupid you feel you might look being overdressed, imagine how stupid you would definitely look if you came off underdressed.

 

[StumpyFingers]

I came off a push bike once, besides gravel rash I had to have 3 stitches in my leg.

 

[Sharribee]

Whealie they are nice pictures of gravel rash, I've seen so much worse. We are talking exposed bone, tendons etc etc. It happens at low speeds if you don't have the proper clothing.

Not going to post them here though as would be completely inappropriate

 

[Whealie]

Whealie they are nice pictures of gravel rash, I've seen so much worse.

My point exactly. Even at low speed, the skin is easily damaged. So itis just as important to wear ATGATT on a 125 doing a top speed of 45mph for a 20 minute commute.

 

[Sharribee]

My point exactly. Even at low speed, the skin is easily damaged. So itis just as important to wear ATGATT on a 125 doing a top speed of 45mph for a 20 minute commute.

I know sweetie I was agreeing with you.

 

[Sharribee]

Whats even scarier is that when you get to hospital you get someone like me to pick the gravel out of your rash with a lovely pair of forceps

Can you guess how sympathetic I am.

 

[Whealie]

Whats even scarier is that when you get to hospital you get someone like me to pick the gravel out of your rash with a lovely pair of forceps

Can you guess how sympathetic I am.

eeeeooooow!

 

[Sharribee]

I got told off a few years ago in my old hopsital, we had a young motorcyclist in with some nasty injuries but he had been riding like a numpty, with shorts and t shirt in.

I took one look and out of my mouth popped "I bet you wish you'd worn leathers now, ah well you won't do it again will you"

I was taken to task and told I was too hard on him. I suppose they were right, I did give him lots of pain killers before I picked the gravel out :toothy2:

 

[StumpyFingers]

Whats even scarier is that when you get to hospital you get someone like me to pick the gravel out of your rash with a lovely pair of forceps

Can you guess how sympathetic I am.

What about the wash with Hydrogen peroxide ( Hydrogen dioxide), made my eyes water once or twice.

 

[Dee Dub]

I... wear the following. Dainese Knee protectors, Dainese Elbow Protectors, Spine and Chest Protectors, Base Layer, heavy army jacket, jeans, leather gloves, boots & most days 2 piece rain suit over the top...

To reiterate the others, I'd say that you should dress smarter rather than more. And by smart I mean intelligently, not dapper. You have lots of layers when a set of gear with protectors does it all in one go.

Winxpmaster votes for leathers with over suit. Although I love leathers, textiles give similar protection and - by keeping me warm and dry - I'm less likely to have an accident in the first place. I rode once from S Wales to Belfast in leathers and kept having to stop and put on waterproofs in the rain, take them off when I got too hot, put them on at the first sign of rain and regretted it when the sun came out, left them off at the first sign of rain and then got drenched, watched from the lay by as cars that I'd overtaken passed me again. Now leathers are for dry days only.

 

[GoodFoodGuyd]

Hi all,
Looking for some opinions on what amount of protective gear people would recommend.
I commute 25 miles each way every day over Woodhead (A628 i.e busy A road & back roads, and wear the following. Dainese Knee protectors, Dainese Elbow Protectors, Spine and Chest Protectors, Base Layer, heavy army jacket, jeans, leather gloves, boots & most days 2 piece rain suit over the top.
But some times, feel that it may be overkill for getting onto my 125cc (Mostly only doing about 45mph). It takes me 20 minutes to get in my gear before I set off. I have switched from full leathers as I felt such a turkey in superbike gear pootling along.
I know that we can never know when we are going to end up in an accident, but am I over doing it?
Thanks

I had an accident on a 125cc back in August 2000. I was riding home through Cardiff docks after working a night shift 3 mlies off shore. Being summer I was thinking along the same lines as your good self " am I over dressed " ?. At 7.43am that morning my question was answered. There are disused railway tracks at various points throughtout the road taken out of the docks. At the last set of said tracks, they disappear in the kerb line ahead and the road bears to the right. I entered the swing bridge with a good road position as articulated lorries weighing a fair few thousand pounds enter the bridge from the opposite direction and naturaly swing out a bit to get the ar*e end round the corner. My speed was 10mph ( honest officer ) and as I exited the swing bridge, my back tyre caught the last raiway track and promptly disappeared from beneath me, quickly folowed by the rest of the bike. I tried in vain to recover but whether it was a result of lack of experiance or it was a case of " it ain't gonna work doing that Greg " . The bike handlebars were turning eratically from left to right with me hanging on like a rodeo rider. At some point, I don't quite know where I let go. The left hand side of the bars swung round and hit my left shoulder, this shattered my humerus which in turn dislocated my shoulder. The right handside of the bars then went to work on my face, shattering my helmet, breaking two teeth and sent various bits of the helmet into my left cheek and right side of my head. I spent 10 days with these injuries before the heath hospital in Cardiff operated. And I have spent the last 8 years in considerable discomfort as a result of the delay in operating. A day doesn't go by were I will ever think " am I over doing it " again.
Food for thought if you ever think that popping to the shops in nothing but jeans, light jacket and boots " will do any harm "
Its called protective gear for a reason, had I not been wearing mine on the day the reason would have been obvious and the outcome alot different
Regards
Greg

 

[icenian]

Some people don't like clunky bike gear. But that's not a great problem these days really.

Try some Hood jeans. http://www.hoodjeans.co.uk/ They're like the Draggin ones you see advertised a lot, but they have more kevlar in the lining; plus they're British made, a bit cheaper, and finished to whatever leg length you ask for. They supply Knox knee armour which is good; the hip armour is a bit thick (I use the Hein Gericke Hiprotec stuff instead in the hips; http://www.hein-gericke.co.uk/shop/index.php/cPath/1_20_93).

There's a good range of value for money textile jackets with built in armour, and if you want you can get something that looks pretty much like a casual jacket.

Never neglect hands and feet (or Sharribee will come along and make us all feel very ill by using the words "ankle" and "abrasion" in the same sentence). If "proper" bike boots don't appeal, Altberg (http://www.altberg.co.uk/; for some reason the prices on the web site are mostly £10-20 more than you actually pay) make boots rather like army boots but with protection; as much as you can get without a boot that goes over shin and calf, anyway.