Your thoughts on riding gear??

[Chaos83]

Hi KBrs =)

re: Please tell of experiences with indicidents with/without gear being worn. Could you give me advice on the gear I wear taking in to consideration my circumstances?

I have been riding for 4 years now. Since I started, I have never gone out without my: full faced helmet; leather jacket (TZ1); leather gloves; a pair of jeans (nothing special); and some closed footwear, but sometimes it is only a pair of sneakers.

Never owned a cage, so I use the bike to get around. My riding style is: mostly within speed limit but sometimes slightly more; some weaving and lane-splitting; a fair amount of overtaking. I ride about 130km per week around Hamilton.

Since I commute by bike, I have avoided getting armoured pants and boots - it would mean wearing those items to uni, to work, to shops, etc and it also means $$$. However, I like having a full functional body and sometimes when I ride I think to myself, "am I wearing enough".

I was hoping some more experienced riders could share their experiences with and without proper gear being worn. Could you give me advice on what I wear for my lower body?

Cheers

__________________

[Maha]

Sneakers?....no..
If you cant afford leather pants, jeans will have to do but if you can afford leather pants, then go get some!...skin protection is paramount and im not talking SPF 30....go see Quasi , he is in your neck of the woods...

[Grahameeboy]

Or if you are thick skinned like Kittyhawk, you just wear leg warmers

[sAsLEX]

I would def get a pair of decent leather boots to cover your ankles as they often get trapped under the bike!

I wore John Bull combat boots to uni for years comfy as, dont give two flying fucks what people thought

[Phurrball]

IMHO boots are absolutely essential. Feet are intricate instruments.

After my wee bin recently, and the torn leather on the back of my right boot (!!!) and the damage my shin sustained even through a substantial riding boot - I'd never ride without boots. (And didn't and won't ride without boots)

I hear you re getting around with gear - but what price do you put on your skin? (Lockers are damn handy for the gear, and boots aren't too bad to walk about in on odd errands)

[blacksheep]

get yourself some draggin jeans,normal jeans will give you about 1 second of protection before skin contact definately get some ankle pro,the kms you do you should look at it as an investment to keeping yourself safe and healthy,cos if you haven't got your health wot have you got

[Grahameeboy]

It's not just skin...knee joints etc need protection.

I only wear jeans if popping down the road.....to work and some rides I wear a two piece because it is more practical and on coro type rides I wear my 1 piece which has armour galore including shin armour so with my spidi's I have xtra shin protection.

Boots are a must if you are gonna spend some money now as you you seem to have a decent jacket, gloves and helmet.

Motomail do some good leather trouser with armour.

I remember when all we had was leather gear with xtra leather / foam on joint areas............we thought we were well protected then or was that well'ard

[Nasty]

Boots and good riding pants are essential. My sister had a major accident which included fatatlities and she was badly damaged wearing jeans etc, but she was wearing boots which basically saved her ankle (it broke but was able to be reset to heal) ...

I wear at least draggin jeans .. which offer what i think is the minimum protection. And have codura now as the weather closes in - I have a thing about not being wet at work.

[James Deuce]

If you want boots you can walk around in all day, StylMartin do an ankle high boot that is waterproof and has good ankle protection. Obviously no shin protection.

It is called the "City" and retails for around $220 and are very comfortable. I'm about to order my second pair as I muntered my current pair test riding an Aprilia Pegaso. That comfy walking sole wears away fast.

[sAsLEX]

oh and if your wearing jeans you can get knee armour to slip underneath that you can take off on arrival and hide in a locker, or leave on in case you get in a pub brawl....

[KoroJ]

I agree with the other replies, you need to wear some protection.

You can get boots that are comfortable to walk in and could wear all day without a problem, and cordura pants can be slipped on over your jeans and taken off on arrival.

They're a little bit bulky to carry, but better that than not being able to sit or walk for a week or two. I am sure you would only have to see one accident to be convinced to wear them.

[Chisanga]

All I can do is confirm what has all ready been said; the two times i've come off, my boots have taken a decent whack and scuffing up... the boots cost me about $400 but worth every penny and are still in a wearable condition now. I shudder to think what may have happened if I was wearing sneakers.

[TerminalAddict]

I've been known to wear jeans and doc martins while commuting

[Henk]

Ditto on the docs and Jeans.
Docs are ok, I've crashed in them a couple of times, with Levis the rivets get really hot and leave little round scars once the burns heal. Not recommended.

[quallman1234]

Boots and good riding pants are essential. My sister had a major accident which included fatatlities and she was badly damaged wearing jeans etc, but she was wearing boots which basically saved her ankle (it broke but was able to be reset to heal) ...

I wear at least draggin jeans .. which offer what i think is the minimum protection. And have codura now as the weather closes in - I have a thing about not being wet at work.

Agreed Jeans are useless.