Hand on gear test
#1
10-05-2008, 07:43 PM
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Oregon
Posts: 20
Hand on gear test
Well, I crashed, now that it's over I'll share my experience with the gear.
$170 Full face KBC Force RR: held up great, the shield was a light smoke, didn't affect night riding hardly at all, very impressed with it.
$300 Leather Rev-It brand jacket: took most of the fall, held up good too, the pads in the elbow and shoulder saved a ton of bruising. I recommend a jacket with padding definitely, even a back pad as well.
$90 Gloves were Alpinestar SP 2 Gloves: Not much damage to these, carbon fiber is a bit scraped up though.
$80 Pants: Frank Thomas textile pants. These were nothing special but they held up great considering I hit my right hip first. Definitely get hip pads though!! I did not have any....regretting it now.
$60 Boots: Leather Caterpillar brand. These were just leather steel toed work boots I had laying around. MY feet didn't get hurt but I'm going to look into riding boots next time.
All this gear held up great at 35. All of it I got for about 650-750$, some of it on sale, so not too much in the way of gear. Hope that helps ya out if you're lost on what to get for some first time gear.
$170 Full face KBC Force RR: held up great, the shield was a light smoke, didn't affect night riding hardly at all, very impressed with it.
$300 Leather Rev-It brand jacket: took most of the fall, held up good too, the pads in the elbow and shoulder saved a ton of bruising. I recommend a jacket with padding definitely, even a back pad as well.
$90 Gloves were Alpinestar SP 2 Gloves: Not much damage to these, carbon fiber is a bit scraped up though.
$80 Pants: Frank Thomas textile pants. These were nothing special but they held up great considering I hit my right hip first. Definitely get hip pads though!! I did not have any....regretting it now.
$60 Boots: Leather Caterpillar brand. These were just leather steel toed work boots I had laying around. MY feet didn't get hurt but I'm going to look into riding boots next time.
All this gear held up great at 35. All of it I got for about 650-750$, some of it on sale, so not too much in the way of gear. Hope that helps ya out if you're lost on what to get for some first time gear.
#4
10-31-2008, 12:04 PM
I'll add a few comments - no brand data though.
Best jackets for street are textile with built in CE rated armour for shoulders. elbows and back. They're more comfortable than leather, cooler in summer, and waterproof. You usually get a zip-in liner for cold weather and lots of vents to open in summer. In abrasion tests leather stands up better, but the tests go on for a long while and textile holds up fine for the duration of a crash. It often needs replacing afterwards though. The jacket should be long enough to cover the hips.
Most full face helmets offer more than adequate protection for street. The most important thing is fit, followed by ventilation to minimise fogging of the visor in wet, cold or humid conditions. An anti-fog insert - sometimes an 'extra' is well worth having to minimise misting of the visor. Last crash, I'd have lost half of my face and one eye without a full face helmet. With one, there was no injury except to the helmet.
Boots need to cover the ankle, as that's very vulnerable to losing strips of skin. Steel toe boots should not be worn. Under some impact scenarios the boot sole can fold over, even if it's reinforced with a steel shank. If it does, the back edge of the toe cap can act as a gouillotine and sever the toes. It happens to a couple of riders in the UK every year. Ideally wear a tall boot that offers good impact protection for the shin and support for the ankle against twisting.
For gloves, look at composite gloves with leather palm and fingers, textile back (more waterproof) hard knuckle guard and perhaps a strip of chamoise on one finger for wiping the visor. Cuffs should be narrow and tuck inside the jacket sleeves - otherwise rainwater runs down the sleeves and fills the gloves. Not nice. Hands are as vulnerable as ankles to losing skin. There is an inherent tendency to break a fall by sticking a hand out, so while I might move a bike around without my helmet and other gear, I'll never get on one at all without gloves. Not too sure about carbon on the gloves. There are reports that in some circumstances it can shatter and cause severe lacerations. Might be rubbish, but until I've seen more research I'll avoid it.
Pulling wet gloves back on is horrible, so I always carry a spare pair.
I don't wear riding pants on the road. I'm not suggesting anyone follows my lead there. I do wear breathable waterproof overtrousers when it rains or drops below freezing.
I can attest that this gear gives more than adequate protection in most street spills - I've had a few over the years - and copes well with mosts non-extreme weather conditions.
I don't wear leg protection simply because the boots and jacket give a reasonable level of protection to all but the knee, and I like to be able to step out of my gear, shove it in the top box and walk away unemcumbered. I don't mind a little scarring on my legs. I am thinking about knee protection after my last crash. I lost a little skin from one knee - nothing to worry about, but enough to make me think it could have been worse. That crash I also landed on my hip - a 2 year old artificial hip - and slid a way down the road on it. No ill effects. That's why I like a jacket long enough to cover the hips.
It's also a good idea to wear something reflectve on the road. I use a 'Sam Browne' style belt. A vinyl reflective jacket is good in the rain - it adds an extra layer of waterproofing.
Anyway, that's my experience and my thoughts for anyone who wants to read them. It's for street, not track.
Rob
Best jackets for street are textile with built in CE rated armour for shoulders. elbows and back. They're more comfortable than leather, cooler in summer, and waterproof. You usually get a zip-in liner for cold weather and lots of vents to open in summer. In abrasion tests leather stands up better, but the tests go on for a long while and textile holds up fine for the duration of a crash. It often needs replacing afterwards though. The jacket should be long enough to cover the hips.
Most full face helmets offer more than adequate protection for street. The most important thing is fit, followed by ventilation to minimise fogging of the visor in wet, cold or humid conditions. An anti-fog insert - sometimes an 'extra' is well worth having to minimise misting of the visor. Last crash, I'd have lost half of my face and one eye without a full face helmet. With one, there was no injury except to the helmet.
Boots need to cover the ankle, as that's very vulnerable to losing strips of skin. Steel toe boots should not be worn. Under some impact scenarios the boot sole can fold over, even if it's reinforced with a steel shank. If it does, the back edge of the toe cap can act as a gouillotine and sever the toes. It happens to a couple of riders in the UK every year. Ideally wear a tall boot that offers good impact protection for the shin and support for the ankle against twisting.
For gloves, look at composite gloves with leather palm and fingers, textile back (more waterproof) hard knuckle guard and perhaps a strip of chamoise on one finger for wiping the visor. Cuffs should be narrow and tuck inside the jacket sleeves - otherwise rainwater runs down the sleeves and fills the gloves. Not nice. Hands are as vulnerable as ankles to losing skin. There is an inherent tendency to break a fall by sticking a hand out, so while I might move a bike around without my helmet and other gear, I'll never get on one at all without gloves. Not too sure about carbon on the gloves. There are reports that in some circumstances it can shatter and cause severe lacerations. Might be rubbish, but until I've seen more research I'll avoid it.
Pulling wet gloves back on is horrible, so I always carry a spare pair.
I don't wear riding pants on the road. I'm not suggesting anyone follows my lead there. I do wear breathable waterproof overtrousers when it rains or drops below freezing.
I can attest that this gear gives more than adequate protection in most street spills - I've had a few over the years - and copes well with mosts non-extreme weather conditions.
I don't wear leg protection simply because the boots and jacket give a reasonable level of protection to all but the knee, and I like to be able to step out of my gear, shove it in the top box and walk away unemcumbered. I don't mind a little scarring on my legs. I am thinking about knee protection after my last crash. I lost a little skin from one knee - nothing to worry about, but enough to make me think it could have been worse. That crash I also landed on my hip - a 2 year old artificial hip - and slid a way down the road on it. No ill effects. That's why I like a jacket long enough to cover the hips.
It's also a good idea to wear something reflectve on the road. I use a 'Sam Browne' style belt. A vinyl reflective jacket is good in the rain - it adds an extra layer of waterproofing.
Anyway, that's my experience and my thoughts for anyone who wants to read them. It's for street, not track.
Rob
Last edited by williamr; 10-31-2008 at 12:12 PM.
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