I live in miami florida and i think that right now its way to hot to wear all of the gear that the safety corse recomends, do you guys still wear pants,jacket and gloves even during the summer ?
Yes.
TourMaster Cortech Coaster Air perforated leather jacket (currently with the liner in)
Fieldsheer Carbolex overpants ($50, not perforated) over jeans
TourMaster Carbon Comp II gloves (with silk liners for the cool morning commute (the liners go in my pocket in the afternoon))
I live in Texas, Nick, where temperatures are regularly over 90 and 100 degrees. You should check out mesh jackets. I have a Fieldsheer Mach 3 right now and it's great. It feels like I don't have a jacket on at all, but it has CE armor and everything. Also look into some "shorty" type gloves. I'm using Olympia Terminator gloves right now. They go to the cuff, but are made of all leather (good high quality leather gloves are a MUST. You do NOT want your hands getting f%&ked up. Unlike scratch, I wear just jeans during the summer, but I make sure they are good quality denim. I've crashed in jeans before and don't have an issue with them around town. On longer rides I'll be getting some mesh overpants similar to my jacket.
Trust me, crashing without gear is something you DON'T want to do.
At least get these: http://www.firstgear-usa.com/fgweb.nsf/Products/B40C7794F1BB7582862571240057D781?opendocument
Quote from: scratch on May 10, 2006, 02:37:56 PM
At least get these: http://www.firstgear-usa.com/fgweb.nsf/Products/B40C7794F1BB7582862571240057D781?opendocument
I was looking at something similar.
http://www.fieldsheer.com/web2006/PRODUCT/introduction/TEXTILE/TITANIUM.htm
Good solid pants. My father has a pair. It's too hot for textile around here though, mesh is pretty much a must-have.
Fieldsheer Titanium Air for skinny people - $60 + shipping, sizes 28 and 30
http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/item.aspx?style=11896&department=113&Division=1
http://www.brocktoncycle.com/eshopprod_cat_1137-9169_product_95811.Fieldsheer_Titanium_Air_Mesh.htm
Size 32 only - $50 + shipping
http://www.derbycycles.com/cgi-bin/eShop/index.cgi?pid=3175
I live in Atlanta gets really hot here but I still wear my mesh jacket, First Gear HT 2.0 overpants ( need to order just the pants one of these days ) and Alpinestar SPS Street glvoes, and my boots.
In the summer I only wear a helmet and cover the rest of my naked body with Vaseline...
I figure if I go down, I'll just slide on the lub.
:flipoff:
It doesn't get that hot here, so I have no problems always wearing my gear.
Quote from: RVertigo on May 10, 2006, 03:06:30 PM
It doesn't get that hot here, so I have no problems always wearing my gear.
It never rains or gets cold here, so I have no problems riding all year round.
Here's a pic of me getting ready to ride:
(http://www.traversee.qc.ca/images/photos/1955-1999/Vaseline.jpg)
Plus, riding without gloves sucks. Wear some good all-leather gloves for a month and then ride down your street without then on. I felt like a noob, mainly with working the clutch.
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=20659.0
There's a good reason to wear good gloves.
We were hitting 90F here in Feb.
This is also typically with full sun.
My wife and I feel cooler in gear than without it since it keeps the sun off and controls the airflow.
I have a New Enough clearance Tecnic mesh jacket.
Firstgear mesh overpants.
Fieldsheer medium weight gloves ventilated and full leather. I tend to wear the full leather in summer to better ward off bug strikes.
The wife has a Joe Rocket mesh with the perforated leather over the shoulders.
I have hellacious sweat glands so I prefer mesh to leather, but I do have a few pointers. Go with CE hard cap armor. Initially it may appear that the soft armor would be more comfortable, but the pads tend to want to flatten out and crawl around. The hard armor stays in place on the elbows and shoulders. I prefer a full wrap around collar to prevent fabric flapping against the neck. Most jackets snug up on the sleeves and waist, preferably get one with adjustment in the chest also.
If you are going out for a dedicated ride and you don't have to make a public appearance, get some skin layer clothes instead of your street clothes underneath. Some recommend UnderArmour, BCG has something similar for a 1/3 of the price. Mine feels 10F cooler than a street clothes base. Also remember that the base layer can save you some road rash since it allows the heavy gear to move around without peeling off your hide.
There is some great hot weather gear out there, once you use it, you will find that the ride is more enjoyable with it than without it.
thanks you guys didnt know about that stuff. u c my friends all around here that ride bikes are (whats the word) croatch rocket maniacs. they do tricks all the time and all they were is their helmet right know, but i dont think thats safe enough. the only issue i have with jeans is that the traffic here can get really bad and i find that and the humidity a bad convination.
Yep, I wear my gear all year around. Of course being here in southeast Missouri it doesn't get as hot as Florida, but we still get pretty hot along with the humidity.
Tony
IMO too hot for gear = too hot to ride.
Quote from: Egaeus on May 12, 2006, 09:32:27 AM
IMO too hot for gear = too hot to ride.
Good point. :thumb:
Quote from: Egaeus on May 12, 2006, 09:32:27 AM
IMO too hot for gear = too hot to ride.
blah blah blah, acceptable risk, blah blah blah, too much to carry around all day, blah blah blah, Bob Saget.
Quote from: AlphaFire X5 on May 12, 2006, 09:58:21 AM
blah blah blah, acceptable risk, blah blah blah, too much to carry around all day, blah blah blah, Bob Saget.
Just my opinion. You (generic, not specific) can acceptably risk your ass (literally) all you want. I prefer to keep mine without road rash.
Ok I am going to be honest I always wear my helmet and gloves but I only wear my mesh jacket when it gets below 65. I assume the only time I will learn is when I have an accident without my jacket. I will post pics when it happens, hehe, hopefully never. I know I know I should wear full gear at all times but hey, what the heck. I know everyone here doesn't wear full gear at all times! Come on be honest...
The only time I've ridden without full gear was when taking the MSF course, and around the parking lot here in the apartment complex when getting the bike running. By the way, I nearly ate it when I hit a concrete parking barrier at about 10 mph (it was sticking out sideways and I wasn't looking for it). I had no gear on, so I was very lucky to be able to hold on and escape with a bloodied toe.
Quote from: Budrick320 on May 12, 2006, 10:20:24 AM
I know everyone here doesn't wear full gear at all times! Come on be honest...
My bf and I do....at ALL times! :thumb:
(Ok, if we're moving our bikes from the front patio to the garage--about 15 feet--we don't, but that's ALL! :nono: :laugh:)
I wear all my gear all the time.
But I consider jeans and good solid shoes, a jacket, helmet, and gloves to be good gear for around town.
I've crashed in jeans before and they performed just fine.
Quote from: AlphaFire X5 on May 12, 2006, 10:49:42 AM
I wear all my gear all the time.
But I consider jeans and good solid shoes, a jacket, helmet, and gloves to be good gear for around town.
I've crashed in jeans before and they performed just fine.
I'm with you, my "full gear" for daily riding is helmet, leather gloves, leather jacket, leather boots, and denim. I think a 1-piece leather suit may be a bit excessive for riding to work.