Protective clothing research

[Teal]

Hi my name is Liz. I’m a motorcycle researcher. I worked on the Gear study, in which we interviewed 212 riders after they crashed, to see how well their gear protected them. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlovDQM0TnA .

Most of the gear worked really well, but over a quarter of the motorcycle jackets, pants and gloves failed in crashes. So now we are looking at ways of rating products so that riders have reliable information about which products will do the job.

I am logging in here to ask whether you think that is a good idea? And what type of information you want to help you to decide which motorcycle protective clothing to buy. I would also like to know how much hot weather is an issue in deciding what you wear when you ride?

[nodrog:Me]

I wouldnt bother doing research, apparently Q-Moto is the best gear you can buy, ask Mort.

[NighthawkNZ:Me]

Man I have run out of pop corn...

[Scuba_Steve]

I like the idea of a rating system.
Would like to see separate ratings for impact & abrasion and maybee separated into zones.
As for Heat/Cold I tend to keep pretty much the same gear just swap the gloves

[huff3r]

I think a rating system would be very helpful, to allow us to judge a product based on it's actual performance rather than claims from the manufacturer.

Especially seeing as most manufacturers insist they are the best, it would be interesting and make it far easier to make a truly informed decision when purchasing gear.

[Ratti]

a standardised test for abrasion, impact protection, and seam strength.
abrasion resistance varies according to weight of the rider, speed and surface.
Impact protection has similar requirements.
Strength of seams varies hugely, I repair gear and see a lot of sub standard work, frayed seam allowances, poor choice of stitch length and cheap thread.

[Quasievil]

Personally as the owner of Qmoto I would love an opportunity to have gear tested at a good level, and Im very comfortable to do so.
where do we sign up and when !!

[Bassmatt]

Man I have run out of pop corn...

(10)

[Hopeful Bastard]

Wouldnt mind seeing one made.

As a new(ish) rider, I just bought gear for the $ i had. If i had a list of what's what, and the star rating for each pro and con about the gear, I feel i would have made a better informed decision about what i bought.

Wasted approx $100 on gear (After i resold it) that didnt fit me, Or i wasnt happy with. Might not sound like much money but on a minimum wage, For me, $100 is hard to come by.

[tigertim20]

Hi my name is Liz. I’m a motorcycle researcher. I worked on the Gear study, in which we interviewed 212 riders after they crashed, to see how well their gear protected them. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlovDQM0TnA .

Most of the gear worked really well, but over a quarter of the motorcycle jackets, pants and gloves failed in crashes. So now we are looking at ways of rating products so that riders have reliable information about which products will do the job.

I am logging in here to ask whether you think that is a good idea? And what type of information you want to help you to decide which motorcycle protective clothing to buy. I would also like to know how much hot weather is an issue in deciding what you wear when you ride?

Id be all for a rating system, but as with any 'independent testing' one does wonder where the funding comes from for the 'independent tester' and what political motivations they might have.I tend to buy based on two things 1) recommendations from others, followed by 2) having the stuff in hand, and going over ot to see if it meets my own standards.
for what reason/through which organisation are you doing such tests?

As for weather, well most gear has either e thermal liner, vents/zips, or both, and for me thats usually enough

[Ender EnZed]

Hi my name is Liz. I’m a motorcycle researcher. I worked on the Gear study, in which we interviewed 212 riders after they crashed, to see how well their gear protected them. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlovDQM0TnA .

Whilst of some interest, so far you seem to have demonstrated that common sense is, well, sensible. There doesn't seem to be anything new or surprising in your results and I can't see them influencing many people in their choice of gear.

Most of the gear worked really well, but over a quarter of the motorcycle jackets, pants and gloves failed in crashes.

How did they fail? What criteria did you use?

I am logging in here to ask whether you think that is a good idea? And what type of information you want to help you to decide which motorcycle protective clothing to buy.

a standardised test for abrasion, impact protection, and seam strength.

+1

A standardised system of testing applied to a wide range of products would be valuable. It would need to be ongoing and able to cover a decent amount of the cheaper online stuff as well as the big names that are sold through shops.

I would also like to know how much hot weather is an issue in deciding what you wear when you ride?

None. It only affects what I wear under my gear.

Also: Who is funding this study? What's it cost so far and what kind of budget do you have for the future?

[sleemanj]

You mention that a large percentage of clothing "failed", but you don't describe that "failure" means in that respect.

To me as a rider, a piece of clothing would fail if I got injured. If I did not get injured, but the clothing did, then the clothing has not necessarily failed in it's task to protect me, it has succeeded in sacrificing itself for my benefit.

[tigertim20]

You mention that a large percentage of clothing "failed", but you don't describe that "failure" means in that respect.

To me as a rider, a piece of clothing would fail if I got injured. If I did not get injured, but the clothing did, then the clothing has not necessarily failed in it's task to protect me, it has succeeded in sacrificing itself for my benefit.

Yup.

Interested to hear more about the criteria etc used.

[NinjaBoy]

Hi my name is Liz. I’m a motorcycle researcher. I worked on the Gear study, in which we interviewed 212 riders after they crashed, to see how well their gear protected them. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlovDQM0TnA .

As already mentioned, while the article was of interest the findings seem to be just common sense.

Most of the gear worked really well, but over a quarter of the motorcycle jackets, pants and gloves failed in crashes. So now we are looking at ways of rating products so that riders have reliable information about which products will do the job.

In terms of a rating system what are you proposing as the Europeans already have established standards for motorcycle protective gear as outlined here: http://www.satrappeguide.com/motorcycle_ppe.php

Most of the big brand names have there gear labelled accordingly and my buying decisions are based upon this.

I would also like to know how much hot weather is an issue in deciding what you wear when you ride?

Well designed good quality gear have features such as zip vents, perforations etc.. for hotter weather conditions. Choice of riding gear for me depends upon what type of riding I'm doing. ie. Commuting in Summer I might wear Cordura Jacket/Draggin Jeans but full Cordura pants if its wet. Weekend Open road rides is full leathers.

[Urano]

I am logging in here to ask whether you think that is a good idea? And what type of information you want to help you to decide which motorcycle protective clothing to buy. I would also like to know how much hot weather is an issue in deciding what you wear when you ride?

Hi Liz, and welcome.

as for your question... isn't it the same thing done with ECE regulations?
if something is 13595 compliant, hopefully at level 2, or even better Cambridge Standard compliant at level 2 or 3... is well enough...
ECE and CS levels are nothing more than a "performance rating", as you would offer.

the problem is that 90% of bike gear is sold as protective but it is not ECE compliant, so it is not protective.


what would your idea add to this? can you explain it better? i can't understand...