For you guys that bike to school/work/uni

[BASS-TREBLE]

My trip to school is around 15 mins long on the 'Highway' and I wear pants, jacket, gloves, helmet and solid shoes which is all stored in the topbox at school.

I see the guys with a shirt and shorts on that stretch between Papamoa and the Mount, just makes you think a bit.

So what do you wear when you go on your daily trips? No matter how long they are.

[Steam]

Full gear. Always.
I commute every day, not far, but I've fallen off too many times to have any illusions about having awsome riding skills.

[babyblade250rr]

i've had a few off's in the past i couldnt imagine my skin vs tarmac!! full gear all the time even in the blazing heat! wouldnt do it any other way

[ital916]

I ride with touring boots, armoured cordura pants, armoured cordura jacket, leather armoured gloves, full face helmet, back protector and a high vis vest. I also try to pack some common sense in there too.

[James Deuce]

I see the guys with a shirt and shorts on that stretch between Papamoa and the Mount, just makes you think a bit.



Burn them!

[Usarka]

Saw a girl riding pillion on the way to work the other day in a skimpy top and very short shorts.

Well done and thank you.

[FROSTY]

And the defenders of our nations roads are seen riding with short sleeved shirts on. Hmm good example guys

[MidnightMike]

I see the guys with a shirt and shorts on that stretch between Papamoa and the Mount, just makes you think a bit.

Yeop, Ive notice that whenever ive headed round that way, the obviously have either never binned or have had any decent injury to show them that their arms/ legs etc vs the road isnt pretty.

[Geeman]

Ride to work and back each day and wear draggin jeans, fully armoured Puma boots, armoured cordura jacket, armoured leather gloves and full face HJC. Tried the suggested warehouse waterproof trousers and didn't like em at all. Bought some waterproof trousers from an outdoor store - more expensive but more comfortable, pack smaller and seem to work well.

I also see people in jandals, shorts and t shirts - wouldn't bother me at all as I believe in freedom of choice (and natural selection) but the powers that be seem to use them as an excuse to make my ACC charges even higher.....

[Swoop]

And the defenders of our nations roads are seen riding with short sleeved shirts on. Hmm good example guys
Jon and Ponch always wore short sleeved shirts on CHiPs!

[Ride it till the red]

I'll probably get shit for admitting it but I'll put my hand up and say I have been known to be one of the above. :stupid:

Now i neither think that my skin will beat the road nor that I am GOD and will never fall off but I do believe in calculated risk.

By that I mean, when I ride to work (every now and again) it is a 5 minute trip. The trip consists of a windy steep downhill (my street) and then via two roundabouts a short trip along a 50kmph section of SH1. I often choose to ride this journey wearing shorts and a tee for the following reasons: 1: The gear is a hassle once at work. 2: I'm often running late and it take time putting on gear (poor excuse i know). And 3: Lately it's been really f**king hot! Now the way I see it, I know the hill like the back of my hand as I have been riding it since i was 6 (starting on a push bike down to school at the bottom) and ridden slowly leaving plenty of room for other drivers error i think I'm reasonably safe. Through the roundabouts i always take a long pause and make sure I have more than enough space and therefore will live longer and finally along the stretch of SH1 I tend to be extra cautious when unprotected (the feel of wind on my arms strangely reminds me of the feeling of blowing gently on a fresh road rash and makes me leave that much larger a bubble around myself). Now I know most riders do the above anyway as do I, we all do our best to ensure we don't crash but the point I'm making is that i do things alot slower and ensure I make that extra effort to be safer whilst without my gear.

Obviously there is always the unexpected and as they say "shit happens" but i feel when/ if it happens at least I've made an effort to stop it happening. I accept that if I bin it will be my fault that my legs and arms are grazed and it hurts and I also accept that I will hear "I told you so" but as an adult (kinda) I figure I can make that choice. Any other riding and it's nothing but protection for me.

Just my thoughts on the matter and why i do what i do, obviously most will disagree and tell me I'm dumb but such is life :rolleyes:

[Steam]

... and tell me I'm dumb but such is life.

Not at all, you seem to know the risks well. Good answer.
Now, all you need to do is REALLY take full responsibility, and pay your hospital bills in full without resorting to ACC, and also don't claim for loss of earnings after an unprotected accident.
:jerry:

[cynna]

I'll probably get shit for admitting it but I'll put my hand up and say I have been known to be one of the above. :stupid:

Jon or Ponch?

[DingoZ]

Got a 20-30 minute ride to work and back every shift.

All my gear goes on. Every time.

Came up to a set of lights in town the other night. Scooter guy pulls up along side. Shorts and tshirt no gloves. Grinning away in his open face helmet. Leans over and says "Aren't you f..n hot in that gear".....

I nod my head in reply.

Light green and off he shoots....wobbling all over the place. Now I am only going around the next corner to stop and get some money out.

i stop and get my money. Back on the bike, and head off towards work.

Fuck me. goes around the next corner and see's scooter lying in the middle of road... Scooter boy off to the side, yelping in pain.... Bitumen burn's gotta hurt...

Nice lot of skin missing from his legs, and his hands look like bloody mince meat. Elbow and forearm is pretty much the same way. And he was going scooter speed.....

Thanks goes to Scooter Boy for the reiteration of the advice lots on here try to give others..I'll always be a ATGATT type of rider

:)

[Ride it till the red]

Well in the work i currently do I'm not eligible for ACC (don't ask me why, I wouldn't know just going on what I'm told) so ya don't need to worry about that...

As far as paying hospital bills goes.... If it's a major (there has been, fortunately none from road bikes and hopefully that continues) I go private and insurance gets it (or some of it anyway they're good like that). If not I figure the ACC levies I pay from currently owning 11 registered vehicles (inclusive of farm registered toys, scooter etc (hey they still have the levies)) should cover it, yes it may be unfair that you pay them too and don't use it but at least it's there if ya need it.

Again, most will disagree but that happens and I won't lose sleep over it, nor do I see any real flaws in their reasons but for now I'm content doing as i do :yes:

[Ride it till the red]

Got a 20-30 minute ride to work and back every shift.

All my gear goes on. Every time.

Came up to a set of lights in town the other night. Scooter guy pulls up along side. Shorts and tshirt no gloves. Grinning away in his open face helmet. Leans over and says "Aren't you f..n hot in that gear".....

I nod my head in reply.

Light green and off he shoots....wobbling all over the place. Now I am only going around the next corner to stop and get some money out.

i stop and get my money. Back on the bike, and head off towards work.

Fuck me. goes around the next corner and see's scooter lying in the middle of road... Scooter boy off to the side, yelping in pain.... Bitumen burn's gotta hurt...

Nice lot of skin missing from his legs, and his hands look like bloody mince meat. Elbow and forearm is pretty much the same way. And he was going scooter speed.....

Thanks goes to Scooter Boy for the reiteration of the advice lots on here try to give others..I'll always be a ATGATT type of rider

:)


Ouch, guess people learn one way or another (or not at all?)

I see what your saying, and would never encourage others not to wear gear, I know it's possibly a bad decision not to but I live with that possibility

[Nagash]

To work, (5 minutes down a windey road, Scenic Drive) I wear my Leather Jacket, no gloves, work pants, steel capped working boots and a half helmet (I've got two full face helmets aswell but they don't fit on the bike lock).

I accept the risks of injury and have binned like this in the past loosing skin on my legs and hands but I don't go to A & E. Just grin and bare it.

On any other ride i'd wear my full leathers but there's little to no facilities for me to store all my gear at work.

[breakaway]

Ok I gotta ask Ride it till the red, aren't you worried about how much it will hurt / how much time you'll lose when something like this (http://www.speedfreakinc.com/safety/extreme_roadrash_cause_effect_and_lesson_learned.h tml) happens to you?

Bear in mind that such a major injury could have been easily avoided by an additional minute or two for putting on your jacket / jeans

Also, I'm not one of the ATGATT crew. I go to uni every morning, riding through the heart of Auckland City with moron drivers all over the place wearing jacket / gloves / helmet (and sometimes boots if I get bad vibes). I'll always wear jeans though.

[Squiggles]

Jacket, gloves, helmet. Full leathers if its wet / i suspect the trip will be more dangerous than usual. Wore the leather pants in my first year tho

[Squiggles]

Ok I gotta ask Ride it till the red, aren't you worried about how much it will hurt / how much time you'll lose when something like this (http://www.speedfreakinc.com/safety/extreme_roadrash_cause_effect_and_lesson_learned.h tml) happens to you?

I'm one to advise that gear is a good idea, and say why, but if they choose not to its their choice made, i prefer to know that any possible suffering will not be because of a sheltered life (i.e. they never considered that they would come off) but more because of a choice they perhaps should have made differently

[marioc]

Full leathers,riding boots,gloves the whole nine yards.
I dont intend to find out the hard way when I fall off.

[Badjelly]

Burn them!

The safety-Nazi Nazi rears his ugly head yet again!

[Ragingrob]

If I'm riding to Uni from my old flat or somewhere within like a 2 stage bus fare in Auckland I'll ride with boots, jeans, leather jacket, helmet, and gloves. If it's any more than that eg. On the motorway, then I'll don my armoured cordura pants also.

[klingon]

Well in the work i currently do I'm not eligible for ACC ...

Good news: If you're a NZ resident you're eligible for ACC whether you're at work or not.

I ride to work every day from Mt Albert to Glenfield - about half an hour including city traffic and motorway conditions. I always wear the gear!

Full face helmet
Gloves
Armoured boots
Armoured jacket

Trousers are a bit more tricky. My main riding pants are armoured cordura with a quilted lining - and the lining isn't removable! For my first year of riding I wore them over my jeans or long work pants every time I got on the bike. Last January/February I just about passed out from heat stroke every day on my way home from work! :doh:

This summer I rode in jeans all of January while I was looking for a pair of Draggin jeans that fitted me. I ended up buying a pair and getting them altered (by Kerrie of course) so now I will be wearing Draggins! Yay!

Also Santa bought me a Spidi Airtech jacket so the wind can blow through the mesh. Luxury! :niceone:

I still get hot while waiting at lights or moving in slow traffic, but I would prefer that than taking the risk of road rash.

[HungusMaximist]

For me, Uni is about a 8-10 min ride.

On days that aren't rainy, I wear a Jacket, Jeans, Gloves, Helmet, and normal walking shoes.

It's all about how I feel for that day, somedays I'll chuck my walking shoes in top box and don some boots and swap them when I get to uni.

I usually try to prepare myself for the worst and don the full frikking gear when the weather is looking shit but yes, I admit and many do also, it is a bitch lugging around all that gear for a short 10 min trip.

[Ride it till the red]

Quote:
Originally Posted by breakaway
Ok I gotta ask Ride it till the red, aren't you worried about how much it will hurt / how much time you'll lose when something like this happens to you?


I'm one to advise that gear is a good idea, and say why, but if they choose not to its their choice made, i prefer to know that any possible suffering will not be because of a sheltered life (i.e. they never considered that they would come off) but more because of a choice they perhaps should have made differently


Exactly, from reading that story i think the case was slightly different (doing reasonable speed on a larger sportsbike as a pillion). I would never ride as a pillion without all my gear as I don't trust it nearly as much, not because I'm a better rider than whoever I would be behind but because a pillion is more weight and I prefer to be the one making the decisions when unprotected. I've taken into account what it would be like and how easy it is to protect against it but as I said it's a calculated risk and for me on those short journeys alone it is preferable to take the risk.

[paturoa]

I always have clean undies too (though some are overdue for the rag bag !)

Good call BT.

[Mole_C]

Always wore helmet, gloves + full leather and normal shoes when i went to uni and just suffered carrying it around till i got a locker. Seeing the bone in my mates knee cap after a 50km crash put me off ever riding without gear. After the 2 crashes i've had i'm dam glad i have all the gear and especially glad the guys at cycletreads made me get good boots. After having the bike land on my foot and sliding along where my exposed ankle would've been i'm lucky i wasn't still in my skate shoes and got off with just a sprained ankle.

[Magua]

Helmet, jacket and gloves always to uni. I have been known to skimp on the boots and pants though. Too fucking hot to carry all that crap around.

[stevewederell]

I have a 20 - 30 minute commute each day each way and wear full helmet, gloves (although not armoured), and padded (or is that armour - what's the difference?) jacket and pants. No boots at this stage but will be when I start doing longer rides I'll there...boots 'n all!

The kicker is I'm just a newbie and am currently denting the seat of a GN250!

[Dargor]

While on my L i would always where my jacket but now i calculate the risk. Always with gloves(cant type well without fingers), full face helmet, pants, boots though.



Now, all you need to do is REALLY take full responsibility, and pay your hospital bills in full without resorting to ACC
If it were a perfect world where cars didn't pull out in front of bikes i would agree.
But if a man pays his taxes and hes not at fault then why should he take full responsibility. Should hit pedestrians take full responsibility if they aren't leathers.

[MGST]

I ride 8km to work ( which happens to be the University ) every day rain, hail, or shine. I wear cordura jacket and pants, proper sport/racing boots, gloves, and obviously a helmet. I wear all the gear everytime I ride no matter how far it is. Wearing all the gear saves on suncream in the summer too....

[slydesigns]

Helmet (a given)
Shift palm slider gloves
Shift textile jacket with CE armour
Back Brace
Padded under suit pants
Shift Freestyle pants (tested in an accident on the tarmac already and they worked great AND as they are baggies... you can run a set of normal pants underneath and ditch the baggies on arrival at your location with no hassles if need be)
Shift knee/shin guards
O'Neal boots

All my incidents and my only major accident so far have been due to other road users and all in 50km zones! And I do stunt riding!! Its ludicris to ride without gear in urban areas, less room to move, more traffic, more blind idiots in a rush. My KR1 was written off on a 1km ride from home to the manfeild mobil, filled up, pulled out and got T-boned by a 78yr old grannie 400m later! I saw it coming, but as it was wet, I choose to slide into her sideways, jumped off and over her car and landed mostly intact with a some scrathes on a palm slider and pant leg as well as 2 cracks in my pelvis from the tank I stoved in on the way over (didnt know about them for 4 weeks).
We don't go MXing in shorts, jandels and a t-shirt, why do it on the road, which is harder???

Gear works. Period.

[Choco]

ATGATT.
Saying that I will admit that sometimes I skimp on the HI-vis/ back protector (it gets VERY hot in traffic) when is just around town, but anything long (5-10km+) distance I have ALL the kit on. The smallest amount of kit I have EVER used on my bike was; Armored jacket, armored pants, leather gloves, helmet, blue running shoes. Anything less than that is STUPID.

[HornetBoy]

Round town to work -and i mean through the main avenue and side streets i wear casual Jeans ,whatever shoes i need when i get to my destination, dri-rider mesh jacket ,Teknic Gloves,and of course helmet .
On my daily commute to uni(wanganui to palmy and back 140km each way) i wear my full kit codura all over, boots ,helmet ,gloves

funds going well hope to be wearin some leathers

:2thumbsup

[fireliv]

To work (10 mon ride 50km-60km zones) Jeans, Armoured Jacket gloves full face helmet and sturdy shoes.
On rides where I will be in 100km zones, out comes the armoured pants and leather boots. Even if I am going to work in a different area that means going through 100km zones I will wear full gear. Maybe I should to work also but I'm comfortable with my choice

[crash harry]

20-30 mins to work from south-central Auckland to south auckland. I commute every day - I don't have a car

I wear:
Lid (KBC)
Leather jacket (Aromour-Tech)
Draggins
Sidi boots (either touring boots or budget race boots depending on my mood)
Nylon over-pants if it's raining

Then again, that's all the safety gear I've ever worn when I ride.

[rphenix]

Round town to work -and i mean through the main avenue and side streets i wear casual Jeans ,whatever shoes i need when i get to my destination, dri-rider mesh jacket ,Teknic Gloves,and of course helmet .
On my daily commute to uni(wanganui to palmy and back 140km each way) i wear my full kit codura all over, boots ,helmet ,gloves

funds going well hope to be wearin some leathers

:2thumbsup


Yep I've been wearing the Dri-rider mesh jacket to work as well. I've often wondered how it would fair in a crash though I dont wear any of the under-layers just my workshirt then that ontop. Once its cooler its back to the Quasi leathers.

[HornetBoy]

Yep I've been wearing the Dri-rider mesh jacket to work as well. I've often wondered how it would fair in a crash though I dont wear any of the under-layers just my workshirt then that ontop. Once its cooler its back to the Quasi leathers.

have crash tested it if you would like some pictures give me a pm ,didn't do too well aye,as you could probably imaging fabric doesn't hold the gravel for too long lol.

but it is a good jacket if you don't crash in it <_<

[EJK]

Draggin Jeans ftw! :yes:

[HornetBoy]

Draggin Jeans ftw! :yes:

oonly problem ive found with them is if you get a sudden heavy shower then you get the eqivelent of 20kg weight on your legs ,feels bloody awkward i can tell ya

[90s]

I ride on two wheels everyday from down off Scenic drive to Queen st to work at Uni.
On the bike - most days now - full gear inc Clover back protector, except work trousers. I do wear to protect my legs though full Fox Forma Pros along with Fox Racing Pro shin and knee guards under the trousers.
In the '80s I was trashed by a car on a scooter, coming back from playing hockey still in shorts ... and you don't want that my friends ...

Other days I cycle, and wear generally Fox/No Fear/ Cannondale cycling stuff, Met Parabellum, Fox gloves, diadora SPD shoes.
Here's a good question some people ask - how comes you ride in such full armour on the bike but cycle essentially in thin nothing? Bearing in mind out of blockhouse bay down the hill I peg 70ks on the push bike.

The answer is, apart from the practicality, that in a bin on the cycle I am not going to be dragged along underneath it. And this is where a lot of bike injuries might come from if you are not protected.
Dragged along under a car though, and I'll wish I was wearing full armour on the cycle too.

[jcupit69]

Every day to work and or uni:
Helmet (agv)
Gloves (Spool)
Kevlar jacket (Ixon)
Leather pants (shoei)
Boots (SiDi)

and iv got a Knox spine protector if im just goin out for a straight thrash, and i really want to get some kevlar jeans so i can lose the leathers for everyday riding.

Had 2 accidents and never damaged myself to bad (broken bones), but i put that down to always wearing my gear, i'd have shattered my sholder in my last accident had it not been for my jacket.

Good gear saves lives, but if people dont wana wear it they've just gota accept the risks.

But i really do hate some things you see people wearing riding scooters, there still gona hit the road like the rest of us and you still lose skin at low speed when ur only wearing shorts and jandels :brick:

[NOMIS]

Full gear all the time, lost 1 glove so fark me got to fork out more money, my helmets getting loose, time for a shoie.
My jacket " water proof" = bull shit so gunna get a Ixon Leather= textile one when i can afford.
and yeh boots, pants, glove, helmet, and jacket all the time sometimes even 400m to the dairy from home.

[Capinure]

When i had my Gn250 i wore a jacket in very rare occasions.
But now that i hve a gsxr i might invest in some pants.

[Jantar]

I sometimes ride without full gear, and I certainly know the risks (as in OUCH). But one rule I don't break is "No bare skin".

For commuting to work the minimum gear I wear is full face helmet, Leather Jacket, Leather gloves, solid shoes. For trousers, sometimes its just regular jeans, sometimes kevlar jeans and sometimes full leathers. That choice depends on the weather and how much traffic I'm expecting. Its only a 10 km commute and if I'm expecting heavy traffic (more than about 6 other vehicles on the road) then I'll go for the kevlar jeans rather than normal work ones, or leathers over normal trousers.

For longer trips its ATGATT.

[HRT]

Is this a location thing also? If I was in Auckland I'm fairly sure I'd be wearing more gear more often (probably). Reason being its probably a longer commute to work for most people.

Down here work is only 5 mins away and believe it or not, we actually get hot days too. Going to work is a minimum of full face helmet (only one I have, wouldn't have anything else anyway), jeans and steel cap work boots. If its a bit cold (usually) then on goes the jacket and gloves but on a warm day I don't.