Dress for the slide, not the ride!

[The Spin Doctor]

Will go look! But if it is that some surfaces will encourage slides and others rolling, I have seen something like that before. But, we don't get to choose what surfaces we land on!! LOL

I'm talking about abrasion and slide time. Tumbling is actually good in terms of reducing abrasion injury because it's when we slide that the clothing hooks up, gets stretched and either rips, pulls seams apart or wears through.

I'll never have hard armour in anything again - I'd rather have no armour!!

Seriously, go take a look at the modern stuff... you won't even know you're wearing it.

I've had textiles that are no good either - or that ride up and expose skin to road. Makes your choices!

But that's why you've got MotoCAP... you can see how well various garments perform on a range of tests that replicates real crashes. It's about making informed choices rather than taking pot luck.

Depends on how/when/where you crash! I've only ever skinned/cut knees - so far!

It does... most crashes are collisions with cars or hard objects... that's what makes the lower leg vulnerable.

Like I said, we have to make choices. I protect the bits I feel need the most protection to enable me to continue to live alone. Not sure how I could protect lower legs for all eventualities though!!

I clipped some Armco with my shin back in the 90s... didn't even know I'd hit it till I saw the damage to the boot.

Ultimately we can't armour ourselves against every eventuality and we can't protect everything either - internal injuries for example from a heavy impact - but we can make informed decisions.

For example, based on the knowledge of which bits are more and less likely to get injured I know back injuries are quite rare so I don't bother with a back protector on the road because most of them are pretty uncomfortable / hot.

And independent clothing testing means e can choose stuff that works rather than relying on what the manufacturer tells us.

And then we can scale our protection according to where we ride and the risks we take. I have leathers for the track, textiles for the road and Bullitt denims for the really hot days and 20 mph days in the city. I should probably wear my high boots in town too.

Until they finally manage to build a bike which as many secondary safety systems that wrap us up like a car's safety cage, that's all we can do

So, I'm not telling anyone what they should wear, just pointing out that informed decisions ARE possible!

[The Spin Doctor]

I'd like to see Shellgrip tested... but I suspect that failing that, the results of sliding down a race track surface will probably suffice.

Chris was hoping to bring his portable tester over this year, to get a grip (sic) on UK road surfaces. He was quite surprised when I told him we have so much surface dressed roads (which makes our roads more like NZ roads), he thought it was mostly smooth rolled asphalt tarmac like they have in Germany. He's actually changed his talk slightly to reflect that

[Horse]

What about shell grip? That doesn't sound fun! Also more likely to be on bends and junctions where you're similarly more likely to crash.

Crash mid-bend on-road and you probably won't be sliding far before hitting something or heading off into the scenery.

[Whysub]

Even better are the cobbles on hairpins on lots of the mountain roads throughout Slovenia.

Said to offer more grip for cars in the snow, but bloody horrible in the damp or wet on two wheels. Especially with big, unguarded drops on some

[wull]

What about shell grip? That doesn't sound fun! Also more likely to be on bends and junctions where you're similarly more likely to crash.

Crash mid-bend on-road and you probably won't be sliding far before hitting something or heading off into the scenery.

That’s true but it won’t take far(distance) or long(time) for the skin to disappear.

[Noggin]

Will go look! But if it is that some surfaces will encourage slides and others rolling, I have seen something like that before. But, we don't get to choose what surfaces we land on!! LOL

I'm talking about abrasion and slide time. Tumbling is actually good in terms of reducing abrasion injury because it's when we slide that the clothing hooks up, gets stretched and either rips, pulls seams apart or wears through.

I'll never have hard armour in anything again - I'd rather have no armour!!

Seriously, go take a look at the modern stuff... you won't even know you're wearing it.

I've had textiles that are no good either - or that ride up and expose skin to road. Makes your choices!

But that's why you've got MotoCAP... you can see how well various garments perform on a range of tests that replicates real crashes. It's about making informed choices rather than taking pot luck.

Depends on how/when/where you crash! I've only ever skinned/cut knees - so far!

It does... most crashes are collisions with cars or hard objects... that's what makes the lower leg vulnerable.

Like I said, we have to make choices. I protect the bits I feel need the most protection to enable me to continue to live alone. Not sure how I could protect lower legs for all eventualities though!!

I clipped some Armco with my shin back in the 90s... didn't even know I'd hit it till I saw the damage to the boot.

Ultimately we can't armour ourselves against every eventuality and we can't protect everything either - internal injuries for example from a heavy impact - but we can make informed decisions.

For example, based on the knowledge of which bits are more and less likely to get injured I know back injuries are quite rare so I don't bother with a back protector on the road because most of them are pretty uncomfortable / hot.

And independent clothing testing means e can choose stuff that works rather than relying on what the manufacturer tells us.

And then we can scale our protection according to where we ride and the risks we take. I have leathers for the track, textiles for the road and Bullitt denims for the really hot days and 20 mph days in the city. I should probably wear my high boots in town too.

Until they finally manage to build a bike which as many secondary safety systems that wrap us up like a car's safety cage, that's all we can do

So, I'm not telling anyone what they should wear, just pointing out that informed decisions ARE possible!

I was lucky in that a lovely person from here sent me some of the soft stuff. I do now need to go find out exactly what it is so I can get more. One of the biggest reasons (apart from fit) not to wear bike jeans was the armour pockets and their velcro patches. The armour was never in the right place or comfy and the velcro patches left me with sores/cuts each time. Based on discomfort/injury from the trousers I went with normal jeans However, I never advise other people to do the same and always recommend Draggin' or similar - a bit do as I say etc!


On MotpCAP - the stuff I had that was shockingly bad was Frank Thomas back when I was a relative newby and trusted the name. Made the same mistake with a one piece years later, the stitching disintegrated on it own

Now I do a lot more research, usually! But also am a little fatalistic on crashes and what protection I will get - like I wrote earlier, very do as I say and not as I do!!


With my boot I knew I'd been lucky not to break my ankle/foot/leg due to the bruising. Then I looked at the boot!!


Im not really sure that fatalistic is the right word, but as you say, we can't protect against every eventuality, so I chose what I want to protect the most and add more dependant on comfort/distraction for riding.


One day I do want to go and work with a MTM person to get something that gives me a bit more peace of mind for my shoulder, but I'm not going to delay riding in the mean time! LOL (any more than I have been delayed!)



(It took so many efforts - 5 - to post the last reply where I replied to each section that I'm giving up in advance this time!! LOL Sorry!)

[Whysub]

I commuted 120 miles a day into London for over 20 years. I would not have dreamed of commuting in anything less that decent kit (which my employers purchased for me) at any time of the year.

The last set of textiles they provided me with were a Hideout Leathers two piece, with excellent results in the Cambridge tests. Not that I have ever put that to my own test.

Also I had Daytona race boots. When I got hit in the side by a u-turning car, my foot and the footpeg took the impact. The inner boot of the Daytona's took the impact, not my foot.

On one of the VD supermoto trips to Corsica, one rider (El I think it was) crashed in a pair of Draggin Jeans. They were absolutely shredded, but the kelvlar panels were still intact, and he escaped with little more than a few light grazes. I have the photos on disc somewhere....

[Docca]

That Biker Tek clip is fantastic.

I still wear what I like though. Tonight was a work shirt and jeans. Weekend was shorts. That’s not hero status stuff- just how I prefer to ride.

Photos of people with throat cancer never used to put me off smoking either btw

[Hot_Air]

Personal choice and freedom matter, and they’re an essential part of motorcycling. (But I want to make an informed choice, hence I prefer MotoCAP over marketing.)

I don't know if this is just me, but I find vented leathers aren't warm in summer so long as I'm moving.

+1. I find perforated leather — once I’m moving — the comfiest gear in summer, thanks to the lovely cooling breeze.

[Dickyboy]

Photos of people with throat cancer never used to put me off smoking either btw

You need to look after a mate of 40yrs as he dies from a combination of cancer/bleeding out/starvation that'll put you off big time