Riding Gear

One said:
The ATGATT brigade has a strong following in some parts of the internet.
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Sin_Chase said:
It's not a bad thing. At 30mph you can do some serious damage. gear does not just provide abrasion resistance, but twist/impact and other protection that can cause life changing injuries.

A serious hand/wrist fracture can be something you live with for the rest of your life.

Everyone should wear ATGATT, if people do not it's their choice. Does not stop me thinking they are foolish though.
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With regards to ATGATT, would kevlar jeans and this kevlar hoody in question not be ATGATT?
 
Any decent armoured/abrasion resistant gear is better than nothing or normal clothing. I would say if you had that on then yes, that's protective gear, even if not as good as what might be considered "full" gear.
 
Sin_Chase said:
It's not a bad thing. At 30mph you can do some serious damage. gear does not just provide abrasion resistance, but twist/impact and other protection that can cause life changing injuries.

A serious hand/wrist fracture can be something you live with for the rest of your life.

Everyone should wear ATGATT, if people do not it's their choice. Does not stop me thinking they are foolish though.
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I'm ATGATT but I leave others to do as they please.
 
I had a pretty bad off when I hit a kerb/bollard

my textile jeans wore a hole right through in the ass at one side and fetched the skin off,(took months to heal)me and the bike slide a fair distance down the road,i was wearing a decent textile jacket with armour in and that faired much better

what surprised me was my gloves,it hardly touched those yet fetched the skin off underneath

left me with a fractured wrist which they wanted to insert a metal pin in to close it up but I refused,i cant twist it round or bend it back as far as the other hand

I understand when its sweltering weather and you wanna leave the gloves off and maybe a t-shirt or a hoody,idk how well those Kevlar ones hold up but I wouldn't like to find out

nothing rode up clothing wise,jeans wernt zipped to the jacket either

armour is vital imo,i would dread to think of the injuries had I been wearing a t-shirt and no gloves

(just wear the proper gear,textile/armoured stuff,you'll soon get used to wearing it,much better imo no wind or flies hitting you like they do with a silly t-shirt on)

p.s.what the hells an ATGATT?:p
 
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Sin_Chase said:
It's not a bad thing. At 30mph you can do some serious damage.
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I regularly hit 40mph down a hill on my road bike with nothing but lycra and some short gloves, with almost fully exposed arms and legs, and a poor excuse for a helmet in the form of a normal road bike helmet. It's just a risk some people choose to take, not outrageous imo.

30mph half a mile to the shops on a motorbike = whatever I have on at the time plus helmet most of the time. Yes it will obviously hurt more if I come off than if I'd put on my leathers and boots, but a balance has to be struck at some point.
 
You don't have the potential of a big heavy machine landing and dragging you down the road though,unlike a light pushbike
 
Participant said:
I regularly hit 40mph down a hill on my road bike with nothing but lycra and some short gloves, with almost fully exposed arms and legs, and a poor excuse for a helmet in the form of a normal road bike helmet. It's just a risk some people choose to take, not outrageous imo.

30mph half a mile to the shops on a motorbike = whatever I have on at the time plus helmet most of the time. Yes it will obviously hurt more if I come off than if I'd put on my leathers and boots, but a balance has to be struck at some point.
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Entirely up to you. As long as you appreciate an off at 40MPH on a road bike is death territory and if not - Your skin is saying goodbye.

It is your risk and your choice. However, the 30mph 30 second trip to shop does not expose you to less risk. The point is if you have an off or someone hits you the fact it was 30mph/30 seconds is going to do very little :p

You do not HAVE to strike a balance, nothing is stopping you gearing up to pop to the shops. You can choose to 'strike a balance' but to say you must is ridiculous.
 
This is steering slightly away from my original post although rather interesting.

I always wear boots, regardless of distance/speed. (Nasty story of a friends brother).

I also always wear gloves even if you end up with sweaty hands :P

It is just the hoody instead of a jacket for short (non-NSL) journeys to town/mates/cinema etc.

I know weather is changing away from summer now but was just curious. :)
 
I despair at people who ride without gloves, skimp on other clothing and you're running a fairly big risk but no gloves is about as stupid as wearing no helmet in my opinion.
 
I just find the ATGATT preachers hilarious. Like seriously, if you're that concerned, what the hell are you doing on a bike in the first place?

I'm fairly convinced that some of the guys can't come to terms with the fact motorcycling might kill them, so they wrap their heads with the ATGATT lifestyle. That way when they read of a motorcyclist's death they can pretend to themselves that it was because of inadequate gear.

More pedestrians die on the roads than bikers. Food for thought.
 
Nobody is under the illusion full gear prevents death. It does prevent a whole host of injuries that might take months to recover from in an accident if not worn. Or in some cases help prevent life changing injuries.

I find the opposite mentality even more bizzare - "I'm at risk of death anyway so screw the gear"

I seriously could not care less about people who do not wear gear, your risk your choice. But to sit there and pretend that wearing it is for the sake of illusion is utterly incomprehensible. I am sure reflecting on the fact other road users die more frequently than bikers will be most comforting after an off without gear on. *shrug*
 
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It's (some) people in tin cans that have the illusion of safety, most bikers are well aware of their potential fate.

Preachers are preachers, no one likes to be preached to!
 
Sin_Chase said:
It is your risk and your choice. However, the 30mph 30 second trip to shop does not expose you to less risk.
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Well, it is less risk (statistically). If, say, you have one accident per 50k miles, you are less likely to have it in a 3 mile journey than a 150 mile one.

You also ride more carefully with less gear on (at least I do)

I know it's a risk but I'm happy to take it....I also bought some VW shares yesterday :D
 
I have seen them and have considered them previously... but never at THAT price!!!

Kreeeee said:
What's wrong with changing at work?
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If you have a changing area, it's fine.
We have to change in the toilets, so spending 2 or 3 days out of every five with your socks soaked in some careless bloke's **** and **** is the main reason I either wear textiles over work kit, or defy the dress code and just sit in leathers all day.

One said:
I just find the ATGATT preachers hilarious. Like seriously, if you're that concerned, what the hell are you doing on a bike in the first place?
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Same reason soldiers wear body armour, drivers wear seat belts, butchers wear chainmaille gloves, and so on...
Having come off a couple of times, that gear has kept me unscathed where normal clothes would have seen me quite badly hurt. But in general, it's more that biking is quite safe - It's the other road users who cause the problems!

I think everyone can tell I'm an ATGATT type, but for me it's about getting gear that I can comfortably wear all the time even when off the bike.
I believe in wearing what you like, so long as you recognise both the risk and that some other bikers will think you're a **** for doing so.
 
I can understand the ATGATT mentality, but its not always that practical. When the weather is good I like to commute to work on my bike, its about a 4 mile ride through 30 and 40mph zones. When I'm doing this I wear full gear except for my kevlar jeans, they have knee armor and kevlar ofc, but I wouldn't call them full gear. There's no place to change at work, but that's OK because the dress code is fine with jeans. So, that's my compromise. You may now commence smugly shrugging your shoulders at me.
 
One said:
I just find the ATGATT preachers hilarious. Like seriously, if you're that concerned, what the hell are you doing on a bike in the first place?

I'm fairly convinced that some of the guys can't come to terms with the fact motorcycling might kill them, so they wrap their heads with the ATGATT lifestyle. That way when they read of a motorcyclist's death they can pretend to themselves that it was because of inadequate gear.

More pedestrians die on the roads than bikers. Food for thought.
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Perhaps, but statistically there's far more pedestrians than bikers. Biker make up around 1% nationwide of road vehicles and for bikers the stats are something like 20x more likely to die riding a motorbike compared to drivers. Just because something's dangerous doesn't mean you shouldn't try to minimise that risk. I wince when I see sports bike riders in t-shirts with no gloves, the scarring and injuries will be horrific.

I use a thick textile twatsuit for commuting. Look quite crap, but zips off and goes in a box.
 
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Sin_Chase said:
It is your risk and your choice. However, the 30mph 30 second trip to shop does not expose you to less risk
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Yes it does though.

I regularly hit 30mph on 4 hour rides on my roadbike and am arguably more vulnerable, because I have nothing in reserve and am less visible / respected as a road user on my bicycle.

That's why I choose to strike a balance on very short and slow motorbike journeys.

I totally respect those that decide to wear all gear at all times, but personally I simply can't be fathomed to get a full suit on to go 600m to Waitrose.
 
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