Triumphrat

Sooooie · 07-07-2008

I'm looking for some perspective on the issue of riding clothes. I am an avid competitive cyclist (the human powered kind) on the road and on a mountain bike. On the road, I race at speeds up to 40mph+ in packs of 50-100 guys weaving in and out inches from each others' wheels where everyone is bone tired and crashes are an everyday occurrence. Most of the time, guys get off with painful road rash and maybe a broken collar bone or wrist at the most. On the mountain bike, I do 4-6 foot drops, riding over roots, in and out of trees, etc, where crashes descending a rock garden of boulders at 20mph are also common, rarely with any serious injury. We wear a vented foam half-helmet with plastic cover, a short sleeve polyester jersey about as thick as a golf shirt, a pair of thin leather, fingerless gloves, a pair of lycra shorts, and leather shoes. I used to race motorcross when I was a kid and then rode a street bike for years until college. I just finally bought my new '07 Speed Triple after about 20 years off the motorized bike.

In reviewing the forums, I am amazed at the extent of protective equipment being used today. In my day and place, it was unheard of to wear a leather jacket in the summer unless you were touring, and leather riding pants.....????? Jeans, a t-shirt and tennis shoes were the norm. Of course, we weren't wearing seat belts back then either. Now though, it seems that, at least on the forums, it is unheard of not to dress as if you are racing the Grand Prix just to travel 5 miles to the grocery store for a gallon of milk. I am not criticizing this practice at all and I aplaud it in fact; I am just finding it hard to reconcile logically considering my cycling history of wearing very minimal protection under extremely dangerous circumstacnes and the obvious inconvenience of wearing big heavy leather jackets, pants and boots everytime I jump on the saddle just to run an errand or for my commute. I also see that forums on sport bikes regularly sing the praises of frame and axle sliders, etc. as if dropping the bike is a monthly occurrence. Frankly, it's starting to scare the crap out of me! I certainly understand the dangers and the safety aspect, but I'm wondering how much of this is style as opposed to real necessity. Obviously the risks and rewards have to be weighed, but if someone is not racing, how do the odds play such that I should go to this pretty big inconvenience and very significant expense to prepare for an eventuality that is not a very high probability. It almost seems analogous to wearing a helmet and fire suit in my car!

Having said all of this, I plan to get a leather jacket when the weather turns a little cooler (in the mid 90s now) or even now, and alternatively, I am considering buying a good mesh protective jacket to wear now while it is hot I commute with a backpack, and the jacket will help keep my clothes looking better as well as provide some minimal protection in the event of a crash. I already wear leather gloves with nuckle protection and an Aria Vector Phil Read full face helmet. I don't know if I could ever don leather riding pants for my commute to work or if I could ever get benefit out of riding boots when that means I would have to carry my work shoes around with me. I fear that I would eventually just stop wearing them for convenience sake.

Anyway, sorry for the long post, but I am just interested in getting the experience of some other riders on this topic to give me some perspective for my personal decision about riding gear. Thanks a lot for your input.

Medic09 · 07-09-2008

I'll be lazy and not bother looking for the statistics that support *some* of my opinion. The data is out there; I've seen it many times. As for anecdotal evidence, my wife (rides a Honda Shadow) is a practicing physician who has spent a lot of her time in autopsies (as a pathology resident) and later in the ER and in rural clinics as a clinical physician. I am a paramedic, flight medic, and ER nurse. We've both seen lots of motorcycle accident results.

First, the good news. I think most of the road crash victims I've treated have gotten off without life threatening injuries. More have come away with temporary or permanent disfigurement or disability. Many have probably recovered with no nasty sequelae once they're past the healing stage.

Now, the bad news. I have flown patients out of state for specialty neurological care who had low speed crashes and no broken bones. Just a bonk on the head, but the impact passed through to the brain (no helmet in all cases) has left them either as if they were mildly retarded or as if they had a minor stroke. Not pleasant. I have seen, of course, the patients whose head injuries left them unconscious and hooked up to life support. In many cases, patients never fully recover from these injuries. It is impossible to know who will recover, who won't, or how long and what kind of care it will require. BTW, the little available data out there says that most of the deaths by head injury included fractures of the lower face and/or jaw. (My guess is that caused airway compromise and they died of not breathing.) In other words, a full face helmet may be more beneficial in case of an off.

As far as clothing goes, I've seen patients who got off quite lightly with some road rash and that's it. I've also seen patients whose road rash stripped the skin back or tore it off so that they've needed skin grafts over extended periods just like someone burned badly in a fire. And cleaning the road rash debris that was ground in during a 70 mph slide is a painful mess. If a patient broke an ankle or foot inside their boot, it usually seems to splint them nicely. I've left it like that until arriving at hospital, at times. If they were wearing flip-flops; well, I won't tell you what I think of that.

I NEVER ride without a jacket and helmet, and boots and gloves. For short errands around town I'll cheat and wear just jeans. Same in the incredible heat we sometimes get here in the summer. I am about to buy an open-face helmet for hot weather riding. But I know I am taking my chances. Usually, I'll wear armoured pants (I like the BMW City Pants), or mesh overpants for longer rides; especially at higher speeds. It isn't that big a deal to stash my riding gear in saddle bags at the other end, or to change my shoes if need be.

I think that statistically most people get off without serious consequences long-term. But I have no way of knowing where I will fall in those numbers. I choose, based on my own witness, to be quite cautious. So does my wife. Many of our friends, especially the ones sitting on Goldwings or bigger STs, ride in lighter clothing. That's their choice. I think the ones in shorts and flip-flops are begging for trouble.

BTW, I'd bet most people partially neglect their bike maintenance without noticing serious problems or deficits. I choose to change my oil regularly, check and oil my chain, replace worn or broken parts etc. Why would I give my bike more care than my self?

JohnB · 07-18-2008

I'm with the doc on this one. Riding with leathers, even the vented kind, really sucks in the summer. But I'd rather sweat than bleed!

PeteH · 07-25-2008

Leathers or protective fabric gear, frame bobbins or crash bars, they`re all insurance, there when you need need them but hopefully not used.

Sydneywizard · 07-29-2008

The good doctor is quite right, and he should know as he sees the outcomes of these events first hand.

+1 on JohnB

A shiver literally runs down my spine when I see bikers wearing only jeans, tennis shoes and a t-shirt (save for a helmet), I know that they have never had an off (and I hope they never do) but if they had, they would most certainly be wearing better protective gear. But even a slow off resulting in nothing more than gravel rash will at the very least hurt big time for weeks.

Here's the mantra, ATGATT (All The Gear All The Time).

TattooedRedHead · 4 Weeks Ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sydneywizard

The good doctor is quite right, and he should know as he sees the outcomes of these events first hand.

+1 on JohnB

A shiver literally runs down my spine when I see bikers wearing only jeans, tennis shoes and a t-shirt (save for a helmet), I know that they have never had an off (and I hope they never do) but if they had, they would most certainly be wearing better protective gear. But even a slow off resulting in nothing more than gravel rash will at the very least hurt big time for weeks.

Here's the mantra, ATGATT (All The Gear All The Time).

God I love this man! +100 for ATGATT!

If you ain't gonna wear all the gear, don't bother gettin' on the bike...

--Kory

mgtbeck49 · 4 Weeks Ago

+1 for ATGATT. The Doc said it all.

saphena · 4 Weeks Ago

Would I enjoy a slide at 30mph in my shorts?
Would I enjoy smacking my head against the kerb at 30mph?

No, I'm with the doc - ATGATT

hAnKbOt · 4 Weeks Ago

In a car you have a steel frame surrounding you keeping you safe.

On a bike you have steel frames bearing down on you trying to make you dead.

Go outside, put your bare hand down on the road with as much pressure as you can. Drag it for 1ft. Multiply that by the 40-120ft you would slide in a real off. Then tell me if you want to wear gear.

I always wear at least a jacket, gloves, and full faced helmet. No exceptions. Ever. And I'm a punk 26 year old kid. No excuses.

TattooedRedHead · 4 Weeks Ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by hAnKbOt

In a car you have a steel frame surrounding you keeping you safe.

On a bike you have steel frames bearing down on you trying to make you dead.

Go outside, put your bare hand down on the road with as much pressure as you can. Drag it for 1ft. Multiply that by the 40-120ft you would slide in a real off. Then tell me if you want to wear gear.

I always wear at least a jacket, gloves, and full faced helmet. No exceptions. Ever. And I'm a punk 26 year old kid. No excuses.

26 here too! ATGATT ALWAYS!!! I won't let my girlfriend get on the back of the bike unless she has alllllll her gear on, which looks hot anyways

She has the scorpion womens gear and Icon Bombshell boots and a black icon helmet, my God is she freaking sexy in her gear.

I wear a titanium armored jacket, full face helmet, armor reinforced pants ( hip and knee armor ) tough icon boots and carbon fiber reinforced gloves.

All the gear goes on, no matter where I'm going.