Leather vs Fabric in a slide

[rocketman1]

Saw on tv the other night this experienced rider saying that many riders get injured because when they crash and slide in fabric / synthetic jackets and pants, the fabric grabs the road an causes them to tumble instead of sliding, this causes many injuries that they would not have got had they been wearing leathers which make you skid & slide.
I realise all the bike racers wear leather but I did not realise they do this because of that reason.

Any thoughts?

[Gremlin]

Not all gear is made equal. Poor fabric or leather will blow apart, fail to protect etc. Generally speaking though (so removing the top end fabric/leather and same for bottom end) leather will protect better, fabric will work better weather wise.

Top end fabric gear has things like superfabric and the top end fabric gear will actually handle abrasion better than most leather.

Fit of any gear is also super important. The armour isn't going to work well if it's able to rotate away from the impact point.

[AllanB]

I like to wear leather.



On the bike as well.

[caspernz]

I like to wear leather.



On the bike as well.

This comes as no surprise...your next lube order is ready for delivery by the way



But jokes aside, in practical terms Gremlin summed it up nicely. Yes leather is better for protection in a tumble, but for everyday use in all weathers, most of us favour fabric gear. Or in some cases a combination of both. If you're commuting it's not ideal to be wearing that one piece leather suit, especially if it's a wet day, so the zip together good quality fabric set is a good compromise.

Just buy the best gear you can afford, and make sure it's a decent fit, but then Gremlin covered that part as well.

[Crasherfromwayback]

top end fabric gear will actually handle abrasion better than most leather.

.

Got something that can back that statement up?

[ellipsis]

...The last time I had an off that drew blood and guts, on the road, my nylon sleeveless overalls did not grab or catch or cause me any problems at all...it was the post at the end of the bridge that caused the damage...

[Cosmik de Bris]

Not all gear is made equal. Poor fabric or leather will blow apart, fail to protect etc. Generally speaking though (so removing the top end fabric/leather and same for bottom end) leather will protect better, fabric will work better weather wise.

Top end fabric gear has things like superfabric and the top end fabric gear will actually handle abrasion better than most leather.

Fit of any gear is also super important. The armour isn't going to work well if it's able to rotate away from the impact point.

If you are going to make statements like this you will need to provide some evidence. You might as well use Daniel Dennett's reasoning; "My friend Lucille says "..." and she is always right.

[The End]

I like to wear leather.



On the bike as well.

Me too

[Gremlin]

Got something that can back that statement up?

Here's one of the technologies used, and I'm forgetting the other technologies http://superfabric.com/ Bear in mind, here's just the materials that Rukka use: http://www.rukka.com/motorsport/materials

Bear in mind, I said top end fabric. These jackets or pants are often north of $2k and I said most leather. I have no idea which is better, top fabric or top leather, but I stopped wearing leather years ago because realistically, summer is about a month in NZ, and the rest of the time you have a good chance of rain.

These special materials are placed in impact points, not covering the entire garment (too expensive). Plus you've got CE ratings etc.

[Hemi Makutu]

Fabric is more convenient, & likely adequate for general road use,
but AFAIK, - if any prolonged abrasion testing is done, proper leather is still boss..

[PrincessBandit]

My one and only off (sliding down the motorway behind my bike) - results to clothing were: leather jacket ripped open at top and partially shredded across my broken collarbone, white denim jeans barely grazed open leaving small amount of gravel rash on one of my thighs. The jeans were quite heavy duty denim despite being dress ones (I use past tense cos I got too fat to wear them after the accident). The leather jacket ripped open due to, I suspect, the top dome not being clipped closed as I had a scarf which made the dome a bit tight. Had the dome been done up it might not have ripped open to leave particularly nasty road rash across my right shoulder.
So the leather jacket, designed for motorcycle use, while not clipped properly shut, tore open; my legs in dress pants suffered hardly any damage at all.

[Crasherfromwayback]

my legs in dress pants suffered hardly any damage at all.

I've had a couple of reasonably nasty offs in jeans, and they do hold together pretty well.

[Motu]

Everyone has a different story - I've got lots. One time sliding down the road in leather jacket and Levi cords (flared), I had little burn marks on my hip from the rivets, my leather belt was nearly worn through at the hip, small graze on the elbow of the jacket....and there wasn't a mark on the cords.

[PrincessBandit]

... One time sliding down the road in leather jacket and Levi cords (flared)...

Flared cords? Showing your age there...

[rocketman1]

It is good to get real reports from riders that have actually been down the road on their backsides.
They are the real test pilots.